This guy started in the middle of Fillmore as soon as the last lap was finished. He made it about two blocks up the hill with this heavy load... Everybody was cheering him on as they walked down. The cops were just looking and shaking their heads in disbelief. I heard some guy say, “Damn, talk about having legs...”

So the big news is not that Lance and Sheryl are engaged, but it’s that he would even mention going for Eight... "I'm thinking about it," Armstrong said. "I'm thinking it's the best way to piss ‘em off." Johan says that Lance is getting pretty bored and missing his training rides....

Or maybe Lance just did it to give LeBlanc and his L’Creep entourage a jolt.. I bet Jean Marie almost had a stroke when he heard that quote. Ditto for Jan - Oh, no, Not Again! But I can imagine that Lance is just pissed off enough to think something like: OK, you F’ers, throw every test you have now and in the future at my pee, I’ll win Number Eight just as clean as I’ve won the last seven. I’ll ride once more and prove that you all are liars and full of merde....

So last evening, two of us Threshold staffers drove a celeb list of the CSC team to the airport: Ivan Basso, Frank Schleck and Bjarne Riis. I sorta kept hoping for a few traffic jams so I could be in such illustrious company for a bit longer. I’ve really had fun with Ivan about the Go Lance tattoo on my leg.

The second day, at breakfast, I saw Ivan looking at my tattoo - I reached down and put my hand over it, like I was trying to hide it, and we both were laughing. That night, at dinner, I said to him that I thought maybe he was going to be the one who wins the Tour next year. He said, “If I do, you must tattoo Go Ivan on your other leg.” I told him if he did, I just might do that. When I saw him Sunday evening, he again told me that he wanted to see Go Ivan on my leg. Then, last night, when we took him to the airport, Ivan waggled his finger at me and said, “Don’t forget... I want to see Go Ivan the next time we meet!” He is really nice, and funny and such a fox. I think I’m in luv.... Ivan and Chechu are my favs...