My girlfriend goes like Vino. Strong spurts but sputters at the end. Sometimes she escapes and finishes ahead of the bunch.

Caught her a few times rewinding my videotapes to the highlights of the stages and then her attention fades a bit. It looks like she's going to hang on to the finish, but sometimes it looks like she's struggling...

Mrs. Caloso is like George Hincapie: steady, loyal, always ready to do the hard work on the front.

Plus, she's psychic: The other day she said, "I can't believe none of these idiots running along the riders ever gets run over." Just like that, some yahoo gets run over by the camera motorcycle.

Mrs. Hip is still in the peloton, thanks to the scenery mostly I think.
Next year I hope to ake her there to see the end in person!

What's that all about? Popups on TV? Please explain.

As soon as I saw this thread I reached for the TDF best of DVD in hope of the same result, but for some reason it had the opposite effect.

Literally. Popups.

OLN likes to put written advertisements on the bottom left side of the screen... it takes up enough of the screen to annoy the hell out of you. They toggle between Survivor, the BBQ Cook Off, and whatever else they want to advertise of their non-cycling schedule. It is a bit annoying.

They also like to say something like "speaking of which, the biggest BBQ cookoff in history... blah blah blah", right in the middle of the Tour, and go on for like a minute about some stupid artery-clogging BBQ-a-thon they're going to run, or they'll blah blah blah about the Survivor reruns. It amazes me at how inept their programming is sometimes, though I will step up to the plate and say that some cycling is better than no cycling (or CBS summaries). Still... annoying as hell to listen to totally enjoyable banter between Phil and Paul, then suddenly, one of them is diatribing about some crazy BBQ cookoff. *scratch head*

Koffee

My wife was hanging strong until the stage 15 in the Pyrenees. I got up to watch it live Sunday. Way early out here on the West Coast. I was whoopin' it up when I got the "SHUT THE F@%& UP AND TURN THAT DOWN!"

She's cracked and abandoned the Tour...

my wife just moved up to #1 on GC with the comment of "I want to take the whole family for a trip in a campervan to the Tour when they are old enough".

But I think I'd rather go to the Giro :) Still, I've locked her in for it regardless.

UPDATE:
Mrs. Hip falling off the back as of last night when I got the comment:

"Oh I just don't care for Lance. He's so boring and goofy looking. I can't get into this."

Oh-oh....tour abandon coming?

Team Lemurhouse has the "too many generals" problem, as Mrs. Lemurhouse makes a bid for leadership by attacking the TV remote. Younger domestiques splitting along gender lines.

My wife is wearing the white jersey of best "young" fan. She's increased her pro bike racing knowledge by about 100x this year. She was just as far out on the edge of the couch as George began his sprint against Pereiro. It's amazing to think that we've been to the Tour the last two years before this one without her knowing what she knows now. At the side of the road those two summers she would ask question like "why isn't Lance leading" but now she asks things like "Why hasn't Vino attacked yet?". :D I'm so proud...

I hear there are other DVDs that are more effective at this, rumor has it you can buy them on the internet.

Sad news. Last night my wife blew up on the final climb and rode in the back with the autobus. She switched over to Big Brother. After that she did go back to the Tour. She still rolled her eyes a couple of times when Trautwig asked Bob Roll a question, but I think it's over until the time trial. She'll have to reach deep into her suitcase of courage... come up with something magical... to catch back up.

My wife enjoys spandex very much :D

my fiance watches the final 30 minutes of every stage to keep up with the tour. she'll ask how it went, who did what, what about this rule or that, etc. she's also asked me how's tommy gavin doing in "rescue me" and caught the last episode with me. most gals hate that show. i gotta give her credit for joining me in my interests!

Abandoned. Be sure to take her race number off. ;)

Best thread of the Tour.

:)

"Didn't you watch that this morning?"
or
"Why are you watching that again, you already know what happens?" :(

FUNNY!

Still scouting out for a good member to add to the team. I expect to have a real contender for the GC in the next few years.

Bonking on stage 16...and you say you watched the tour? Who else was in the house? :)

My Lady ain't into the tour at all. I put it on the tv the other night, she looked at it and said "Oh boy. Watching a bunch of guys riding bikes. How exciting." It's not her fault, she's verrry pregnant right now. My little boy(20 months old) likes the tour alot, though.

Mrs. Hip hangs on to the back of the peloton! Last night while flipping to "My Fair Lady" during commercials on OLN she says, "Aren't you going to put the Tour back on?"

YES!
She's got her legs back and hanging in there now....

My wife started the tour on a poor note with constant references to "bulges", "tight shorts" etc., now if I'd mentioned "nipples" or "bums" during Wimbledon I'd still be living in the shed! However, I'm arriving home from work to be greeted with the stage results and the low down on how the day went!

definite red number for day's most aggressive rider.

While wearing a new pair of pumps, "I could only watch this while drinking" -damn, I knew she might resort to doping.