If you haven't been following or watching the 2007 edition of the Tour de France...you are missing one of the best TdF's in a long time. Vino rising up from the dead, Rasmussen holding on to yellow for over a week, Levi 's steady ride to the front, Soler surprising, a real contender for the KOM, and Contador, the biggest surprise of all. First off, I really cannot understand those road cyclists who have  little or no interest in the Tour to begin with. I really just don't get it! Why? or why not?

It is the essence of sport, it has everything, and I mean everything wrapped up in one event that races 2,206 miles, over three long, grueling weeks. It is the only world sport that takes place on open public roads. Monster, historic Ascents through the Pyrenees and the Alps of France, Switzerland, and Germany.

It was the first week of the Tour, and I met a rider out on the roads of Far Hills, probably in his late 30's or so. This guy is riding a Cervelo,  dressed in full CSC kit...So I say, Hey catch today's stage? Great wasn't it? Like a 6 foot wave off the ocean that smacks you back into the low surf and sand...the guys says "No, I don't follow the race stuff" I replied, man, you're missing a lot of good racing man. He shrugged and said he had no interest in those guys. WTF? Okay, so explain to me the Cervelo and the full CSC Kit????????????????????? What then, you just like all those the pretty colors? Ppppphhhhhht. I'm dumb-founded. I mean CSC is one of the biggest and best cycling teams in the Pro Peleton! Cervelo is a high-end bike, made for racing! Am I missing something here!?

I have met similar hard-core to semi-hard-core road bikers that don't care much for the Tour and cycle racing for that matter. Okay, I can understand not following cycle racing, but the Grandest Cycling Race in the World? A  race that began in 1903, An event that covers over 2,000 miles over 3 weeks!? Come on, at least peek in once and while to see what real strength, courage, and determination it takes to ride all three weeks, no?

Men, battling each other, against all the elements, and their very own limits. There are spectacular displays of athletic performance, where riders  push their bicycles to over 45 mph in a sprint to the finish line, this after riding 4 to 6 hours over 100, to 140 miles. Grueling climbs up mountain passes, 4,000,  5,000, or over 6,000 vertical feet up! Breath-taking wicked fast descents, where speeds touching 60 mph! - is not uncommon. By the way if you don't flinch at the thought of flying down  a steep, curving, twisting hill at 60 mph...you just don't know anything about cycling. But that is another story...for a different day for the ill-informed...

In addition, there are hideous crashes, stupid accidents, crazy-ass fans lining and crowding the roads, and even scandal. You want to talk about drama? This  is real life drama my friends, played out mainly on the roads of France, with brief moments in Belgium, Spain, Germany in front of millions of spectators over three weeks. Played out on televisions across the world, every single day for 3 weeks in July. There are hundreds of story lines within the big story that is the Tour de France. 21 teams, 189 riders start the Tour, and one by one they fade away, or crash out.

One by one the weaker and the unprepared fall by the wayside, as the Peleton whittles itself down while on its way to Paris, and the so coveted Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey) All of this drama, passion, dedication, grit, and determination, for the ultimate glory, takes place against a backdrop of some of the most stunning, beautiful, and natural landscapes around the globe. The Tour de France is without a doubt, one of the most incredible sporting events in the world. I love it, I really immerse myself  in the Tour like no other sport or event in my life. From the Prologue to the last stage in Paris, I'm glued to the TV and the internet for 3 solid weeks.

I watch it on TV or the web at least twice a day. I almost never get up early for anything, except when the TdF rolls around. From the opening music on Versus, to the played out strategies, to the grinding climbs, to the ultra fast descents, to the break-aways, to the excited commentators, to the fist pumping finish line salutes, to the emotional podium celebrations, right to the final closing credits, and the haunting music that ends the day. I know it sounds a bit dramatic and cliche'...  but the Tour de France is an Epic event, one that epitomizes the struggles, the disappointments, the failures, the triumphs, and the glory that make up this life.

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