Le Tour de Fleece

The Finish Line - 2007 Edition Buttons

The time has come to hand out the victors' laurels, that is, blog buttons!

You may feel free to take one of the following (please remember to follow the instructions at the bottom of the post and save the button to your own server!):

1.  The Prize for the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey)

If you completed your goal, please take this button for your blog:

2.  The Prix de la Combativité (Prize for Combativeness)

Okay, so you didn't make your goal.  It happens.  But did you give it your all?  Did you try your best?  Then please take this button:

When I first hosted the Tour de Fleece in 2006, I originally said there would only be a button for those who actually finished and achieved their goal.  But while watching the Tour, I thought about that red dossard (the thing with the numbers that the riders wear on their backs) that's handed out at the end of each stage for the rider who was the most combative each day.  And I thought it would be a good idea to offer it up to any of you who tried your level best but discovered that life got in the way, or that the goal you set was a bit more than you could handle.  You didn't give up?  You get a button, too.

Thanks to all who participated in the Tour this year!

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To download a copy of a button to post on your blog or website, right-click on the one that you've earned and select "Save Target As..." or "Save Picture As..." from the pop-up menu (in Internet Explorer); in Firefox use "Save Link As..." or "Save Image As...".

For other browsers or operating systems (Mac, Linux, etc) the menu selection may be slightly different, but you should be able to find the corresponding choice without too much trouble.

Please do not link to the buttons on this site, download the file and post it to your own blog or website -- Thanks!

done spun

Well, as I said in my last post, the unexpected happened:

There's actually one more hank of it, still on the swift, but I managed to get it all spun, plied and into hanks (more or less), and all that just before the final sprint.

I wasn't pushing myself, I wasn't trying to do it, but fifteen minutes every morning (plus a little bit of other time here and there, but not much, quite honestly), and I managed to spin up the better part of 250 grammes.

And it was pure coincidence that it co-ordinated, colour-wise, with my bike.

I wish I could say that this year's Tour de France has turned things around for me.  Yes, it's good that they appear to be trying to clean things up.  Yes, 1998 was much worse -- but wouldn't it be great to have a clean, exciting Tour in 2008?

However, those of you who managed to meet your spinning goal in the last three weeks -- well, you've made organizing this worthwhile.  I'm only sorry that I wasn't up to making it like last year's event, but there's always next year to look forward to, right?

I'll get my Tour Director and Other Half to organize the prize buttons -- as last year, there'll be a yellow for those who met their goals, and a red for those who gave it a very good try.

And do let me know how you did, and whether you'd like to do this again next year -- maybe we can get together some prizes like last time, and make it a great lot of fun!

As for me -- I took a turn on that bike tonight, and was dead winded at the end of half an hour.  I need to get out and spin more than I need to stay in and spin, I think.  And it made me realize just how amazing the Tour de France can be.

Here's hoping it manages to brush up the tarnish and shine once more.

okay, I know I said low-key, but...

I'd honestly meant to post more than I have during the Tour, but I managed to come down with a ripper of a nasty summer flu/cold bug.

Spinning, however, is one thing I can manage when I don't feel well -- I envy the knitters who can use the down-time to work on a project, but I just can't knit at all when I'm sick.  Spinning, though, has continued.

I wil confess that I had a moment at the end of last week when I wanted to buckle down and Just Finish The Whole Box of Fibre before the end of the Tour -- it was do-able, I just had to spin more than my ten or fifteen minutes in the morning.

I had to force myself to take a step back -- this was not my goal this year.  My goal was to be sensible, to set a routine, and just see what could be accomplished one spinning bite at a time.

The surprising thing is that I was weighing out what was left yesterday, and although I might not get the whole box spun, I might actually come close, even just sticking to my sensible goal.

As for the Tour itself, I remain torn -- the whole Rasmussen affair that exploded the end of last week left a bad taste in my mouth, and it's hard to listen to or read veteran cycling journalists say that every time a rider does something to surpass expectations, they wait for the other shoe to drop on yet another doping scandal.  One even said, as he watched the French customs officers search the team buses to make sure they were "clean", that he thought this was the end for him -- that he wouldn't likely cover the tour another year.

And yet.  And yet.  I still want to believe that things will get better -- I still want to feel the amazement I've felt the last week, and not wonder if it's anything other than sheer will, determination, and the fruits of training paying off.

I want to be back for another Tour, both "de France" and "de Fleece". 

if this is wednesday, it must be?

...Stage 4.

Okay, so I'm still not really feeling the Tour love, but I am enjoying moments of it.  I'm lucky in that I really do think that the CanalEvasion coverage is second only to that of France Television -- and since we're getting all the images from France Television anyway, the only difference, really is the commentators.

Oh, and the length.  In France, all of the Tour is televised, either on France2 or France3 (IIRC)

So I am enjoying listening to Richard Garneau, Louis Bertrand, and Bernard Vallet talk not only about the tour, but about cycling in general. 

Aside:  I just discovered that Bernard Vallet and I share the same birthday:  January 18th!  Different years, but same day!

The last couple of days (okay, especially yesterday, during that seemingly interminably long stage 3) they've been talking a lot about motivation and determination:  what motivates someone to take on a challenge like the Tour de France (considered The Most Challenging Sporting Challenge in the World, Bar None), what motivates them to keep going.

I've followed that discussion with some interest -- on a very basic level, these are things you can think about in your life in general, in your life as a spinner or knitter, or, in my case, as I make a decision about a sporting event of another kind (I'm thinking about running a marathon.  I'm not sure I'm motivated or determined enough, so it's been helpful to hear what the TdF cyclists go through, even though the two aren't on the same scale.)

And yesterday I had a kind of "duh" moment.  I couldn't figure out why, after months of spinning every day, I just let it go.  I figured it had become such a habit that I'd never do something like that, but I did.

Yesterday, though, I turned on the television to watch the tour, went to the kitchen to make tea for breakfast, set the timer for the tea to steep, and went upstairs to watch the race and spin until the timer went off.

I realized -- here's the duh -- that the time it takes for my tea to steep is the perfect amount of time to spin each day.  No need to *make* time, no need to count the minutes.  Set the timer for tea, start spinning, stop when it goes off.

It's like coming out of meditation when the bell rings, you know?

So no, I'm not getting massive amounts of spinning done, but I'm really happy with how this is turning out.

Onwards!

Stage 1: A Cantebury Tale

So, we're off.  The Prologue has been run, Stage 1 from London to Canterbury is finished, and I'm just about to sit down to watch Canal Evasion's coverage of Stage 2 (Dunkerque to Gand).

I've worked on some kind of major project during the Tour de France for the last ten years now.  Up until the last three years, it was always a knitting project (because I didn't spin, then) -- the first time, it was one of Gladys Amedro's christening sets for my as yet unborn niece.  For many years, it was a Starmore Fair-Isle.

The last two years, I undertook a big spinning project -- both years I spun a 500 gramme box of roving with an eye to making a shawl afterwards.

This year, though.

This year, I was finally, thoroughly fed up with all the doping scandals.  Usually I watch a number of the spring races, including the Giro d'Italia, but this year, I only managed a few days of the Giro coverage.  I couldn't bear it, because practically all they talked about was doping, doping, doping.

I just could no longer muster any enthusiasm for a sport I'd followed, with all its ups and downs, for such a very long time.  Oh, I know, there have been doping scandals in the past, but I always believed that it would be dealt with.  The last year, I haven't been so sure that anyone is really willing to clean things up, to do more than slap a bandage on it all.

So I wasn't going to watch the Tour de France this year, and I wasn't going to spin.

I can't state for sure what changed my mind, but, obviously, I did.  I sat down Saturday morning to watch Richard Garneau and Louis Bertrand, and although I won't say they lit a fire of enthusiasm under me, I will say that they reminded me of what I do love about the Tour de France (and about cycling in general).  They touched briefly on the doping problems, but said they didn't want to dwell on that in their coverage -- they wanted to focus on the positive things.

I can't say I'm excited about le Tour this year.  But I've managed to watch a couple days coverage, and haven't felt completely discouraged, either, so maybe there's hope.

As for my challenge?  I'm taking it easy this year, for a change.  My goal is to spin 10 to 15 minutes a day.  I've gotten out of the habit of spinning a little bit every morning, and I just want to use this time to get back into the habit.  I also don't want to end up doing myself an injury this year, taking on something very big.

I will confess that I am spinning a little more than my required 10 to 15 minutes, but I'm taking lots of breaks, and alternating spinning and knitting as I watch.  It seems odd not to be going for broke, but I think it's a better attitude for me to develop.

And with that -- I've got to run, as coverage is about to begin!

Return of Le Tour -- the Tour de Fleece 2007

I realize I'm getting off to a bit of a late start, but I was hesitating about running the Tour de Fleece this year -- in fact, I've been so discouraged by all the doping stuff going on in cycling lately that I've been seriously thinking about not watching the Tour this year.

However, I've had a couple of emails from folks asking if I would run it again, and I think that the only way to get out of the doldrums about cycling is to do something positive.  Besides, I've got a bit of a stash sitting around that really deserves to be spun up.

So there we are:

I'm going to be doing things in a little more low-key way than last year, as I've just not got the time to organize prizes and whatnot, but essentially, the rules remain the same as in 2006:

Here is the first run at a set of guidelines, which I'll edit and refine once I get a moment.  But the basics are here:

The Tour de Fleece 2007

Eligibility:  Any spinner who would like to take on a spinning challenge during the 2007 Tour de France bicycle race.

Concept:  You will set yourself a personal spinning challenge.  You will begin spinning on the first stage of the Tour (July 7th), and finish on or before the last stage (July 29th).  You, of course, may spin on those days designated rest days for the riders.

Rules:

1.  The idea is to set yourself a challenge.  It doesn't matter what the challenge is -- it could be spinning fine for the first time, or producing an artsy fartsy yarn as an exercise, it could be spinning enough for a specific project.  If you've always wanted to spin a little every day (say, a spinning meditation practice), but never seem to find time for it, perhaps that could be the challenge -- spinning every morning of the tour.  What matters is you set out the challenge, and meet it during the specified time.

2.  There will be no spinning before the start of the first stage.

3.  You must finish spinning before the last stage ends.

4.  You may sample and do other research as needed beforehand if it helps you decide on your challenge, or will help provide you the tools and information you need to meet the challenge.

The Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey)

As much as I enjoy the different categories of the Tour de France, for the purposes of the Tour de Fleece, there is only one option -- the Maillot Jaune (Yellow Jersey).  Either you meet your challenge, or you don't.

Finishers will get a button for their blog, which will be essentially the same as last year's version.  Of course, there is the immense pride in undertaking the Tour and riding -- er -- spinning to completion.

Who's in?

I'll be using the Tour de Fleece blog from last year to list participants and offer up news.  I've also got a button that you can put on your web site to show that you are participating, so I'll put that there, too.  Leave me a message in the comments, or send a message to the email address in the sidebar, and I'll make sure you are included

What am I spinning?

I'm not sure yet.  I've got a few things in mind, though.

What about the tee-shirts?

I actually loved those tee-shirts from last year, so I think I'm going to do them again.  Except with 2007 on them.  And since I was really pleased to have raised some funds for the Dyana Afghan Women's Fund, any of the profits from stuff in the CafePress shop will go to them again.