Just before the race came by he started to get warmed up by jogging in place and making strange high pitched screeching noises, which attracted the attention of everyone who had not already become fixated on this spectacle. I was just cracking up, he truly was enjoying himself. He had told me that you only live once so its good to go out there on a limb every so often!! When the race came by he took off and started running, for every group that would pass by he would run - Big helmet with huge antler rack and a very large American flag. He said he had another flag, a Lance Armstrong ˜Live Strong” flag, he asked which I thought he should use, that or the Stars and Stripes. I told him that he comes this far he has got to represent the country, so no doubt use the Stars and Stripes.
He said he was going to the start line of today’s stage in Pau to sing the National Anthem “uninvited.” He said he did this a number of years ago back when Lance was still racing. He just walks as close as he can to the start where the rides are waiting to start and just BELTS OUT the national anthem. He said that he was right next to Lance and that lance didn’t acknowledge him, but all the other foreign riders took some interested and treated the anthem as some form of pre-race entertainment.
A quick aside: If you, the Antler/Longhorn guy, happen to read/find my website somehow, I would love to remain intouch with you, please send me an email scootermclean [at] gmail [dot] com and we can get intouch.
As for the race, it was cool seeing the riders go by. It was just about as I had imagined you see them approaching through a massive flotilla of motorcycles, and then they are right there in front of you for 2 seconds, and then you watch them ride off into an uncertain future. Some riders looked to be in a lot of pain, others looked very calm and collect. Thomas Dekker of Rabobank was laughing.
