Day 1 - Manhattan - NYC

New York, New York

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GPS Notes

GPS navigation systems, like most programmable tools, i.e. PCs, alarm clock radios, VCRs, PVRs, etc., usually work well and does what it's programmed to do. I would say, other than a hardware failure, they hardly fail to do what you programmed them to do. GIGO ;-)

My Garmin c330 Street Pilot has been a blessing to me since I received it as a Christmas gift from my children, Paul, Pam, and Trish.

It was a big help to us as when we navigated our way to Disney Wolrd, Orlando, Florida last summer. It's also been a big blessing to us as we navigated our way to NJ, which will be our home base for the next few days as we plan to visit and see as much as we can, New York City / Manhattan.

Glitch

Some confusion, leading to fear of getting sucked into the Lincoln Tunnel, came about as the GPS took as almost all the way to the final destination, until we were sort of left to ourselves to navigate ;-), that's when it stopped to navigate since it claims we have reached our destination when in fact we were still on Highway 3 moving towards signs pointing us to the Lincoln Tunnel.

Human Error

We made it to our hotel, by the grace of God. The data that I entered, specifically the address coordinates of the destination, our hotel, was incorrect. Even as I checked with Google Maps (wi-fi internet in our hotel), I found out that Google maps were pointing, plotting, to a wrong address / coordinate. I referred to Google Maps to locate the address coordinates I used with the GPS. Even Marv committed the same mistake. And when I checked the POI (points of interest) programmed and stored in the GPS memory, I found that the address was not complete either.

Lesson learned

Always double check your address coordinates, cross reference it with an actual map.

Nevertheless, I thank my God for keeping as safe and secure all the way. He is good all the time.

Romans 8:28 says:

"28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[j] who[k] have been called according to his purpose."

Amen!

Another Blow to the Tour De France, Rasmussen's Yellow Jersey's Been Pulled Out from the TDF

Rasmussen Pulled From Race

By Phil Liggett
July 25, 2007

So, the Tour de France is punishing into chaos tonight after both, the French Team and the Dutch Rabobank has packed their bags and headed home. The seal of 189 riders in London are now down to 135 to final days into Paris. Just what the millions of spectators will make of this, remains to be seen. They certainly will not see the race leader for the past 9 nine days and today’s stage winner, Michael Rasmussen. He was sacked by hi Rabobank Team for lying about his whereabouts when he failed to make himself available for the now well documented out of competition drug test.

His team manager, Theo de Rooy, said that Rasmussen had told him he had been in Mexico with his wife. We all know now that Rasmussen has been seen training in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. The team then withdrew because of the Code of Ethics, which is now agreed within professional teams.

Earlier in the evening, I had also dreaded to go home for the same principles after former Italian Champion, Christian Moreni, had tested positive during a spot check on Stage 11 for synthetic testosterone. Moreni finished this afternoon and was then taken away by handcuffs by French police.

The new leader of the race will be young Spaniard, Alberto Contador by 1:53 ahead of Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer who is +56 seconds in third.

Thank heavens none of these three riders have ever been remotely suspected in dealing with drugs and could now turn out to be the race’s saviors.

Tomorrow is going to be a strange day.

[ Versus Web Site ]

LE TOUR DE FRANCE OBTAINS THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE ASTANA TEAM

Another sad chapter in the Tour De France history.

The organisers of the Tour de France have been informed by Marc Biver, the manager of the Astana team, about the positive test of Alexandre Vinokourov on the day of the time trial stage in Albi. At the request of Patrice Clerc, President of A.S.O., the Astana team has agreed to leave the 2007 Tour de France:

Christian Prudhomme, the Director of the Tour de France, and Patrice Clerc, wanted to reaffirm in Pau their stance in the fight against doping and to assure the public of their determination to insist with the battle. “The start in London was a formidable occasion to re-conquer. It has failed. The riders have to understand that they are playing a game of Russian roulette if they are doping. They have to realize that we will never give up the war against doping in which we are involved. Doping ruins our childhood dreams. Vinokourov has cheated and the only possible answer was: leave! It’s an absolute failure of the system. It has to change now. The re-conquering of cycling has to be done with the Tour de France. I started this job believing that we could change this system but it’s not enough: there has to be a revolution!”

Alexandre Vinokourov – “I’ll never give up…!”

Yesterday, I admit, was a terrible day. It really affected my mind and that’s one of the reason I finished so far behind the peloton at Plateau de Beille. ...

[ Tour De France Page ]

Sunday Morning Bike Ride To Hogs Back

Just slightly confused I think, but wasn't there a movie, a novel, made, written, about the Hogs Back of Ottawa? ;-)

While the rest of the household were asleep and the Manotick Inn was moving and swaying to the beat of the household guests' snoring, Uncle Marvin, Uncle Pilo and I snuck out for a bike ride.

Other than the fact that we love and enjoy riding, we also wanted to escape the chores associated with breakfast preparation for 20 or more people. ;-)

The route of this morning's ride was decided just as we mounted our bikes - ride to Hogs Back Rd. or Ave. or St. via Prince of Wales.

Undulating roads (TDF inspired word) of Manotick and some wind made the ride even more interesting to our knees. Oh, let's not forget the flat tire Uncle Marv had, but thanks to our speedy roadie, Speedy Felino, a spare tube was put back in place of the punctured one, air pumped into it, in no time flat ;-)

It was a beautiful sunny and warm morning perfect for a bike ride for the tres amigos bisiklistas.

From Hogs Back we rode through the 'Experimental Farm'; we're still not sure what kind of experiments they do over there. On one stretch of the bike path I noticed this sorry looking creature up ahead which I thought was a dog, all alone by itself, no one walking along side it- it turned out to be a cat. Then there's this person on a bike who we could not figure out whether it was male or female, LOL ;-) I just hope that we did not breath too much of the air around the farm, hehehehe.

On the way back we stopped by a Timothy coffee shop for some caffeine transfusion, some sugar as well through a single raspberry muffin the three of us shared. We also stopped by a Filipino owned and operated store on the way back to the Manotick Inn where, among other things, advertised on the store window, was "cow foot'. The heat and the undulating roads were starting to zap our energy so we decided to go inside and pick up a couple of pop soft drinks and we were pleasantly surprise to find out they had Sarsi (root beer like drink from the Philippines) in their cooler. So that was a treat in itself. We were burping as we rode back home ;-), must be highly carbonated that Sarsi, but it was goooood.

In all, we rode for 45 kilometers and some on this beautiful Sunday morning.

We did escape preparing, cooking breakfast but breakfast almost escaped from us, there were a few pieces of breakfast sausages, scrambled eggs, and rice left for the weary bisiklistas, but, lots of coffee, it wasn't so bad after all.


by the restrooms at Hogs Back park, my hair soaking wet from sweat


Uncle Mrvin showing off his new cycling jersey and knicker 'capri' bib ;-)


Kodak (kodakan) moments


caffeine and sugar transfusion stop at Timothy's Coffee Shop along Woodroffe Rd.


Tito Lits


bright sunshine reflecting off the coffee shop's chair

and finally


loyal cycling fans that we took on a shopping spree at the Bayshore Mall's 'Dollar Store" ;-)

Alexander Vinokourov finally wins a TDF stage this 2007

He led at every time check and proved that he’s back in dominant form. Alexandre Vinokourov won the 54km time trial in Alby by over a minute and... [ more ]

Boonen Breaks Up The Traditional Transitional Formula

Boonen Breaks Up The Traditional Transitional Formula

The Quickstep team benefited from a long chase of two escapees that was controlled by both the Lampre and Francaise des Jeux team. It was only in the final three kilometers that Tom Boonen’s boys moved forward to set up a lead-out train that delivered the green jersey to the front at exactly the right time. The winner of stage six held off all the other sprint specialists to claim his second stage victory this year and the sixth of his career. He beat his two closest rivals in the points classification – with Erik Zabel and Robert Hunter taking the minor places. It was a stage that was animated by two escapees who took off at the 52km mark: Amets Txurruka and Pierrick Fedrigo built a lead of 11’30” and worked well together until being swallowed up by the sprint squads just 1,200m from the line. Of the three transitational stages, two have ended in bunch sprints...

[ rest of story ]

A Tour of France Via the Tour De France

Today's 12th stage takes the TDF from Montpelier to Castres- 178.5 kms.



Montpelier
Capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, Montpellier is also one of the leading cities on the Mediterranean world, in keeping with ties that go back many centuries.
The « city of a thousand and one lives », having gone through a demographic expansion like nowhere else in France, has chosen to expand towards the sea. Port Marianne, one of many new neighborhoods to have cropped up in recent years (Antigone, Malbosc, Ovalie,….) perfectly typifies that commitment to the roots of Mare Nostrum. Capital of the world’s largest vineyard, home to Europe’s oldest Medicine University and to major companies (Sanofi, Dell...), Montpellier is taking on the future as a city to be reckoned with in Europe and in the Mediterranean. Montpellier is adding new facilities and pursuing its surge, so as to meet the legitimate needs and hopes of its population.
8th largest city in France, Montpellier more than ever aims to lead the way in sustainable development, solidarity and local democracy, making it a special place where to live together and in harmony.



Castres
Situated 80 km from Toulouse, on the road to Compostela, Castres took off in the 9th century. The beautiful houses which can still be admired along the river Agout were then home to weavers, tanners and dyers, as Castres first specialized in textile manufacturing. Around 1670, major works were undertaken. The bishop’s palace was built, according to plans by Mansart ; it now houses the Goya Museum, dedicated to Spanish art. The adjoining garden, designed by Lenôtre, has been well preserved. There is also the Jaures Museum, about the pacifist and socialist leader, a native son of Castres. The major economic players all strive to implement efficient infrastructures: regular flights to Paris and Lyon, education, high-speed telecommunications network.

Team Barloworld Gets Another Stage Win

Barloworld, a wild card team from South Africa, gets a stage win again courtesy of South African cyclist Robbie Hunter. What a dream Tour indeed for Barloworld.



Robert HUNTER
Born: Johannesburg (Rsa)
1977-04-22

Residence:
Principato di Montecarlo
Rue Princesse Grace, 21
Professional since: 1998
Victories: 31*

Cannondale Falls In Love With Briançon In 2007!

Team Barloworld’s Colombian climber Mauricio Soler won stage nine of the Tour de France today, taking his fourth and most important victory of his short professional career.

Cannondale Falls In Love With Briançon In 2007!

Team Barloworld’s Colombian climber Mauricio Soler won stage nine of the Tour de France today, taking his fourth and most important victory of his short professional career.

“It was an incredible win, something I never expected to achieve. But with some great team work it all worked out fine,” Soler, 24, told reporters. The Barloworld rider was awarded by the new President of French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, who followed the race on the Tour de France director's vehicle.

With 64 km to go, Soler launched with a solo attack from the already shrunken peloton. In 17 kilometers, he managed to rejoin an earlier breakaway from two and a half minutes behind, and then launched another impressive acceleration that no one else could match. The 24-year-old Colombian climber reached the top of the Galibier with a 2.20 gap on Contador (Discovery Channel) and 3.20 on yellow jersey Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne). Soler, with all the team leaders chasing hard from behind, bombed down the descent aboard his Cannondale System Six, and then pushed up the final rise to the finish, where he could finally raise his arms for the most important win in his career.

With this win, Soler gained positions in the overall standing (he is now in 17th position), in the climbers' classification (2nd) and in the white-jersey contest (3rd). Michael Rasmussen kept the yellow jersey with 2.35 over Alejandro Valverde. As Rasmussen is also the climber classification's leader, tomorrow it will be Soler to don the polka-dot jersey, being second in this special standing.

The win marks Cannondale’s second stage win in Briançon, as Team Liquigas’ Giro d’Italia-winning Danilo Di Luca took stage 12 of that race as well!

Soler: Barloworld’s Colombian Hero

Soler: Barloworld’s Colombian Hero

Juan Mauricio Soler had given a hint of what he was capable of when the Tour de France first arrived at the Alps. In his debut in the race, the Colombian has been aggressive on the climbs but the favorites of the general classification had always been able to reel in his attacks. This time, not even an inspired Alejandro Valverde, Michael Rasmussen or Cadel Evans could spoil the Barloworld rider’s party. He attacked 10km before the summit of the Col du Galibier, reached a lead of over three minutes and arrived in the highest city in Europe with an advantage of 38 seconds over Valverde and the other title hopes.

The 159.5km eighth stage of the 2007 Tour de France – from Val d’Isere to Briancon – began at 12.36pm. There were 171 riders in the race. The itinerary after the first rest day included three climbs including the 94th edition’s highest pass, the ‘hors categorie’ 2,770m high Col d’Iseran (with the summit at 15km), then the cat-1 Col du Telegraph (at 99km) followed by the HC Col du Galibier (at 122km). The first rider at this summit wins 5,000 Euros for the ‘Souvenir Henri Desgrange’. The two intermediate sprints were in Le Villaron (at 33.5km) and Bramans (60km).

Popovych Makes His Move
At the 3km mark, Arrieta (A2R) rode ahead of the peloton. It was the first attack but no one cared. At 4.5km, Popovych (DSC) set off in pursuit and caught him at 6km. ‘Popo’ then rode ahead. With 5km to climb, the Discovery Channel rider led the peloton by 1’40”. Cardenas and Soler (BAR) were also aggressive early. Popovych led Lefevre and Soler by 30” at the top. Gusev (DSC) attacked the peloton in the last kilometer of the Iseran and he continued his escape on the descent when he was joined by Astarloza (EUS), Clements (BTL), Vaugrenard (FDJ) and Gutierrez (GCE). Popovych claimed first-place the intermediate sprint and was caught by the five chasers at the 38km mark. Rabobank led the peloton 1’25” behind. The Rabobank team then moved to the front of the bunch to take control. At the 45km mark, their group was 2’05” behind. The average speed for the first hour was 38.6km/h.
Burghardt (TMO) slammed into a dog at the 48km mark but remounted his bike and rejoined the peloton. It was the only accident in the early part of the stage. The points at the second sprint were won by Astarloza who was the best-placed on GC of the escapees. The peloton was 3’00” behind at the 60km mark.

Col du Telegraph
With 9km to climb to the Col du Telegraphe, Gusev accelerated and prompted an attack from Astarloza. Six kilometers from the second summit, Astarloza led Gusev, Popovych and Gutierrez by 25”, Clement by 35”, Vaugrenard by 50” and the peloton by 2’55”. Millar led the peloton for the first 8km of the Telegraphe then peeled off and Camano (SDV) took over. Clement caught Gusev’s group halfway up the climb.
Gusev, Popovych, Clements and Gutierrez caught Astarloza between the Telegraphe and Galibier. At the base of the third climb, the five riders were 3’05” ahead of the peloton. Vinokourov (AST) consulted the race doctor on the Telegraphe climb.

Col du Galibier
On the early slopes of the third climb Clement caught up with the four stage leaders. They were 1’10” ahead of Soler (BAR) and 2’20” ahead of the peloton. Mercado (AGR) attacked with 16km to climb. Soler caught the leading quintet 8km from the top and raced into the lead. Only Popovych could match the Colombian’s pace. With 6km to climb Soler raced into the lead. Valverde sparked up the action in the yellow jersey’s group with 10km to go and this blew the bunch to pieces. Evans was the first to respond, then came: Rasmussen, Sastre, Kloden, Kirchen, Mayo, Cobo, Leipheimer and Contador. Moreau was dropped but wrestled back to this group at the summit. Vinokourov lost contact and, at the top the situation was: Soler in the lead, Popovych then Contador at 2’05”, Evans at 2’20”, Astarloza at 3’00”, Valverde and the rest of his elite group at 3’15”.

Soler Gives Barloworld A Victory
On the descent there was the expected regrouping: first Evans waited for the yellow jersey group which split into two on the false flat leading to Briancon with five in the lead (Rasmussen, Valverde, Gutierrez, Astarloza and Kirchen) then seven (Evans, Arroyo, Sastre, Moreau, Leipheimer, Cobo, Mayo and Kloden). With 6km to go, Rasmussen’s group caught up with Contador and Popovych. And 2km later there were 14 together again. Try as they did to catch Soler, they missed the cut as the Colombian powered alone up the final rise and claimed his maiden stage victory and the first win for Barloworld in the Tour de France. Valverde and Evans led most of the way up the final rise and finished 38" behind Soler.
Rasmussen was sixth in the stage (at 42") but inceased his overall lead; he now has a 2’35" advantage over Valverde and will wear the yellow jersey in stage 10.

Light Rain

Or simply, looks like light is raining down from above.



Tita Nil and Trish, somewhere in downtown Montreal

The business of the Church is God

The Church

The business of the Church is God. She is purest when most engaged with God and she is astray just so far as she follows other interests, no matter how "religious" or humanitarian they may be.

A.W. Tozer, The Set of the Sail, 80.

Today's Devotional- Whitewater Experiences

July 1, 2007

Whitewater Experiences

READ: 1 Chronicles 28:9-20

Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. —1 Chronicles 28:20

About this cover

I was enjoying the start of my first whitewater rafting experience—until I heard the roar of the rapids up ahead. My emotions were flooded with feelings of uncertainty, fear, and insecurity at the same time. Riding through the whitewater was a first-rate, white-knuckle experience! And then, suddenly, it was over. The guide in the back of the raft had navigated us through. I was safe—at least until the next set of rapids.

Transitions in our lives are like whitewater. The inevitable leaps from one season of life to the next—college to career, singleness to marriage, career to retirement, marriage to widowhood—are all marked by uncertainty and insecurity.

In one of the most significant transitions recorded in Old Testament history, Solomon assumed the throne from his father David. I’m sure he was filled with “white-knuckle” uncertainty about the future. His father’s advice? “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; . . . for the LORD God—my God—will be with you” (1 Chronicles 28:20).

You’ll have your fair share of tough transitions in life. But with God in your raft you’re not alone. Keep your eyes on the One who is navigating the rapids. He’s taken lots of others through before. Smooth waters are just ahead. —Joe Stowell

I am safe when danger threatens,
For I’m trusting Christ the Lord;
Since He promised He’ll be with me,
Though I fear, my faith’s restored. —Hess

God will guide you through the rapids of change.