Home again - No, I mean me, not Lance.... Hauling my two carry-on bags of heavy camera equipment to return the car and on their shuttle, then up and down numerous stairs in De Gaulle, in and out of airport busses, and in and out of Customs and Immigration was like a marathon. Not to mention having to pick up all my checked-in baggage at O’Hare, haul everything thru Customs and then stand in huge, long lines to recheck the baggage again. It feels kinda like doing a double century ride.

I figure that I left Le Meridien Etoile in Paris at 1am Pacific time, and I arrived at 12:30 am Pacific time the next day. That adds up to almost 24 hours of traveling to me, any way you figure it. And, I must say that the Meridien Etoile is the snobbiest and rudest hotel that I ever stay in - I think their service depends on their estimate of how expensive your clothes and your luggage look. There’s one concierge who always gives you wrong directions (or should I say the longest, most confusing route) to Charles DeGaulle Airport - I test him every year. When all you have to do is get on the round-about beside the hotel and take the first major right turn onto A1. More motel workers revenge, I think....

I read a funny thing by Robbie McEwen in his BBC Sport column. He was talking about the same thing I did - getting flashed by ugly behinds. Robbie wrote, “As for my Tour low point, it's got to be the number of moonies. I have never seen so many bare arses in my life. Particularly on the mountain stages, blokes would just drop their trousers and moon us. After the comedy value of a couple it was like "oh, not again”. So for next year, lads, please keep your trousers up.” My sentiments exactly.

Still a lot of cycling left this year.... If you are in my neck of the woods, how about the Timpani Crit on Sunday, August 7th in Santa Clara? See the link for info. It’s a great, little local race... Come on out....

And the San Francisco Grand Prix on Sunday, September 4th - I’m hoping Eki might race there. I saw him Sunday morning at Le Meridien and he looked great! He told me he would be racing in September - I asked about the SF race and he doesn’t know yet what his schedule will be.... I told him to not forget that he is my Iron Man. He laughed and said, "I'm really your Iron Man now, with all the metal pins in my back".

The photo is Eki, along with another racer, and George cresting Fillmore St Hill in the 2004 T-Mobile San Francisco Grand Prix..