There was a time in my younger life when bicycling was pretty much everything to me. I lived on my bicycle. I rode to work every day rain or shine – and in Seattle winters, it’s mostly rain. When I wasn’t working, I was cycling for fun, including some rides into the shorter ultra distances. I was president of the bicycle club. I lead recreational rides. I went off riding by myself just for kicks. Bicycling was life. That’s all changed. I still own bicycles, but I don’t think I’ve been on a bike in seven years at this point. My bicycles are not in riding condition – and I might not be either – but I still am interested in the Tour de France.

Of course, I could do without the drugs and the controversy in the Tour. I’ve ridden 203 miles in under eleven hours with no more drugs than an extra cup of coffee. I’ve done 920 miles in nine days – in the mountains – with nothing more than a couple ibuprofen. I’ve done 156 miles with 10,000 feet vertical in a day with no extra boost at all. Tour riders are riding faster than I am and they’re getting paid. Speed and big money, however, are no reason to muck up the great sport of bicycling with drugs and doping. It’s time for the Tour riders to start riding and stop dragging the sport through the mud.

Despite my disgust with the drugs, I am delighted to to have a few days this year when I can actually watch Tour de France coverage. I sat down to watch the tour this morning and picked up the sock to knit. This is what happened:

The gold thread is the marker I described yesterday to mark the beginning of the final inch (unless I decide I need another final inch after that). Observe the rows after the marker very carefully. Note the knitted purls, the purled knits, and the extreme tension variation. I was sprawled on the couch, feet on the coffee table, watching the Tour de France and trying to knit. Every time something exciting happened in the race, my feet would start twitching and my tension would double. The knitted purls and the purled knits are simple lack of paying attention.

Knitting during the Tour de France is not going to work!

I thought about spinning while watching the Tour, but quickly discarded that idea.I was tired from work last night and really enjoying sprawling on the couch. Spinning just felt too much like effort. Besides, spinning a wheel has certain similarities to spinning bicycle pedals and there is just no telling what would happen to my twist every time a rider started to break from the pack.

With knitting and spinning out of the picture, I decided to crochet some scrapbooking embellishments. They’re quick and easy and I can rip the whole thing without much wasted effort. This is what I produced while watching the last 35km of the Tour de France this morning:

Four finished objects. Pam will include these on cards or scrapbook pages.

The ends are sticking out intentionally. We are still experimenting with these embellishments and scrapbooking. I’m not securing or weaving in the ends the way I would on a garment, I’m just pulling the thread through the last loop and not weaving in or tying at all. It’s hard to hide threads in these tiny finished objects. Given the intended use, it may be easy to secure the ends with a drop of glue. As we learn how to use these embellishments, I may have to go back and secure the ends better. Experience will tell.