Bastille Day and Podium Finishes For The Hawley Company

(image from Google Earth)
Happy Bastille Day everybody! Once a year, French folk throughout the world stop, collaborate and sometimes listen to speeches about French Independence and advanced techniques for prison storming (aka Airport High School Graduation). It is also traditional that a French cyclist tries his darnedest to win a stage of the Tour. And by "tries" we mean "starts the race 10 minutes late and only mildly hungover from the previous night's red wine bender". All French bashing aside, the Tour and Bastille Day share a rich and lustrous history that you would be advised to read about at a more informative but infinitely less entertaining website. Might I suggest http://en.battlestarwiki.org/wiki/Bastille_Day or Rush's Bastille Day!

(Henri Cornet, winner of the 1904 Tour and the last Frenchman to start the race on time and only mildly inebriated):


In other cycling/race-related news,...Saturday afternoon saw Kyle (graphics), Big Willy Style (shipping) and yours truly (daycare) towing the line at Jamie's Summer alleycat. The start time was listed "Promptly at 2 PM" so that meant the race didn't get started until 2:20. No wine before its time. The start was organized chaos. Chuck Sly (receiving) was manning the first checkpoint/packet pick-up at Granby Park. Always good to see a familiar face amongst the hoardes. A quick glance over the manifest and it was off to the races. Will and I hauled around town, screwed up a checkpoint, met up with Kyle, rode like headless horsemen, (I made a dumb mistake and had to bid adieu to my race partners) and at the end of the day, Will and Kyle wrapped up 2nd and 3rd respectively. First time this season The Hawley Company had two racers on the podium. Now that's how you represent!

(Alleycat racers gather to discuss the contested elections in Zimbabwe)
(Post race sit-in to protest the Mugabe regime and raise awareness of democratic reform in Africa. From left to right: 1st place, Outspokin' Lass, 3rd place)