Much of that anxiousness has to do with the fact that yesterday was the start of this year's Tour de France. I'll say it now…I'm a fanatic for the event. To me, it's more than merely watching the pros at work.
The Tour de France is so special in so many ways. Beyond the shear spectacle of 198 riders spending three weeks traversing the changing countrysides of France and in this year's event, Holland, there is energy, the excitement and the encouragement that I get from watching those guys. It's the beauty of the French farm lands, the Alps and Pyrenees, the small towns and along the canals in Utrecht and towards Zélande today. It's the intense energy that infuses those watching these riders as they deal with both the high speeds and the riding in tight packs. While the ordinary rider can travel along those same courses, there is no way to replicate the feeling of riding so closely among fellow riders. And at those high speeds (yesterday's Time Trial winner averaged over 30 miles per hour!)
In the past couple of years, I was fortunate enough to be standing along the roadsides in Paris, watching the pros zip past me on their way through the multiple circuits of the final day of the Tour. The rush of the peloton. The rush of adrenaline. It was and still gives me such a boost of emotions and only makes me want to get on my bike that much sooner.
If I want any more inspiration to drive me along the road, I only need to think back to those days along the Paris roadways or days of watching riders attacking monstrous climbs up Mount Ventoux or Alpe d'Huez to spur me on.
So as I watch today's nearly 100-mile ride across Holland, I will take the efforts of those 198 professionals as the stimuli to help me complete my ride across America.
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