An amazing achievement given his hip problem. Very inspiring! And a much more graceful exit from his sport than the captain of the Italian soccer team who was ejected in the final moments of his final game, for head butting.

Yeah, but you still prefer the Italian's legs, don't you? ;-)

Normally, I might say yes, but that was a pretty serious flaw, difficult to overlook even in my book. ;-) Fortunately (contrary to Landis' situation in TDF) the Italian team went on to win in spite of their captain.

Yay for Landis. And huge props to you, Eric, for providing me with information that allowed me to not only have an intelligent conversation with my father-in-law about something he enjoys (cycling) but also to let him know about who won when he didn't even know I knew it was going on. His expression was priceless and you could almost hear him thinking, "Huh, maybe she's not worthless after all." So thanks, Eric. :)

Beth, it's pretty scary to think that someone is actually relying on me for an "education."

I suggest dropping the phrases "MIG welding" and "drywall anchors" in front of your FIL to further enhance your standing. Just don't try to make one relate to the other. That would be folly. But, you know that. ;-)

Heh. No I'll forgo mentioning drywall anchors with him as that might be construed as an invitation to "help" around the house. And I don't need any more jerry-rigged articles in my home, the man's favorite materials are pvc pipe and duct tape. I think he'd think welding was cheating. :)

Beth, maybe you could slip in a "real men weld" kind of reference, now that you've gained some cred in the cycling realm. He might take the hint and give up the duct tape.

OTOH, you might not want him loose around your house with a Tool of Mass Destruction. ;-)

Any chance you are in Fort Davis to train for the 2006 Cyclefest? All I had to hear was "Texas Alps" and I passed.

Nah, we didn't take our bike to Fort Stockton...just a quick overnight trip.

The Fort Davis ride is a great one, though. We've done the 76 mile loop a half dozen times or so, on single bikes, on a conventional tandem, and on our recumbent tandem. We've also ridden up to the Observatory...once. That was quite enough, thank you very much. Anyway, no cyclist who lives in west Texas should pass up a chance to ride in the Davis Mountains, even if you're not up for the big loop.

But don't even bother going if you don't have a triple. Know what I mean? ;-)

I lived in Austin for five years and just about wore the teeth off my inside ring (yes I neccesitate a triple) riding the 360 loop and 2770 loop near Buda