Best TDF shwag?

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

My brother has a green hand from a couple of years ago. His goal this year was to bring back as many
as he could get (he was in Toulouse) so that they could wave them at the Downer Ave race during
Superweek.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

The best stuff I got from the caravan was the containers of brie.

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

From today's almost-daily dairy section on our website, at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

My kids love the polka dot hats, and of course the gummy-bikes.

-Bob

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

From today's almost-daily dairy section on our website, at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

Mike, you also run a Dairy? It's the Sonoma Cheese ehh?!

-Ken

Some creep has a very nice Shiner Bock Banner that says "Allez Lance!"

Shiner gave it to us before the 2001 TdF. We hung it up at several stages across the Pyrenees and
the middle of France. No problems, nobody messed with it. Phill Ligget even commented on it during
Stage 19 - ssrc.msstate.edutdm oln.htmOpen ↗ . Then we hung it up on the Champs
Elysees. Big mistake - the place was lousy with Americans. We turned our backs for one minute and it
was gone. So - some schmuck now has a rather nice piece of schwag.

So if anyone you know has the banner, [censored]-slap the punk for me.

-r

"Bob Schwartz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I

asked

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my 10-year-old tonight at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand?
"Who would have thought of it? A large

green

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my family?

My brother has a green hand from a couple of years ago. His goal this year was to bring back as
many as he could get (he was in Toulouse) so that they could wave them at the Downer Ave race
during Superweek.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

Mike said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF?...

Mike, do you go with a group, make your own tour, or what? Inquiring minds on r.b.rides
want to know!

--Karen M. yep, thinkin' 'bout it!

Bob Schwartz said:

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

My brother has a green hand from a couple of years ago. His goal this year was to bring back as
many as he could get (he was in Toulouse) so that they could wave them at the Downer Ave race
during Superweek.

Bob Schwartz [email hidden]

In 1998 we managed to bring home a rather large "Depart Dublin" banner that was attached to
O'Connell Bridge.'til removed with the aid of a pair of nail scissors Amongst swag from the Vuelta
my Favourite item is a Team Polti mouse/place mat

Jan

---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (grisoft.comgrisoft.comOpen ↗).
Version: 6.0.507 / Virus Database: 304 - Release Date: 04/08/03

The best one must be a team bike one of the cars lost from it's roof. Belgium tv had a piece where
they went in a team car for a day. I can't remember the team but at the end of the day the team chef
talked over the radio if the lost bike was found, it wasn't. Apparently one of their team's cars
lost it at some part of the course where they couldn't stop to collect it.

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

From today's almost-daily dairy section on our website, at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my family?

Funny kid you have there, Mike. PMU did have a cool looking car that your 10-year-old probably would
have liked. Here it is atop Alpe d'Huez, waiting for the road to open:

terrymorse.compmucar.jpgOpen ↗
--
terry morse Palo Alto, CA terrymorse.combikeOpen ↗

How About a large 1KM to the top banner?

- Chris - customgetaways.comcustomgetaways.comOpen ↗ Sport Vacations (Multisport, Cycling,
Marathons, etc...)

Quoted message said:

Mike, do you go with a group, make your own tour, or what? Inquiring minds on r.b.rides want to
know!

Karen: Most of my life, at least the cycling part (and does any other part matter?) is on our
website, on the relevant diary pages-

www.ChainReaction.com/diaryfrance2003.htm and www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

But to answer the question, this is my 4th Tour de France, and 5th time to France. My first two
trips were entirely with a group of TREK dealers and I was fairly insulated from the day-to-day
aspects of traveling through a foreign country. But I wanted MORE! The most fun parts were when I
was out on a ride and we'd stop in someplace for food or drink, especially when it was off the
beaten track (and english wasn't spoken). I also determined that six days just doesn't cut it... you
suffer a couple days from jet lag on the way over, and then again on the way back, and that becomes
one of the more memorable aspects of your visit.

So for the 3rd trip I spend the first six days with some TREK folk and then another eight days out
on my own, following the TDF back to Paris. I learned an awful lot about France and myself those
eight days... generally great times, but with one day where things really didn't go so well and your
spirits sag etc. But I learned that, when things aren't going so well, just have a bit of patience
and everything changes for the better.

Last September I took a trip with my wife to Paris, with a side trip via TGV to Avignon, and had a
great time. I have no problem getting around in France, despite my terrible attempts at
understanding and speaking the language. There's something very compatible about the place... maybe
just because there are lots of mountains? Whatever it is, I enjoy it immensely. Especially when
things don't go quite as planned, because that road that you thought was going up some well-known
pass but instead turned into a paved goat path that went on mile after mile after mile and finally
ended up at some little church at the top of a mountain... you just can't imagine how cool things
like that are.

This last tour was with Graham Baxter Sporting Tours, primarily because everything fell into place
at the very last instant... I wasn't actually planning on going (I wanted to, but things weren't
working out as planned) but then saw they had an opening and the price was very reasonable... just
couldn't pass it up.

If you're going for the first time, I'd suggest either going with someone who's already been there,
or do one of the organized trips. Graham Baxter tours (sportingtours.co.uk) are exceptionally
reasonable, but there's an absolute minimum of hand-holding, and you're not going to be staying in
the most luxurious accomodations (but not places you're worried about your safety either, and keep
in mind that things *are* different in France, so don't expect elevators, or at least not one big
enough to squeeze anything but yourself into, in any hotel less than 4 stories, and get used to the
idea of thinking in terms of things being "quaint" or "charming."😉.

If you want something fancier, I met a lot of people over there who had gone with TREK Travel and
were very pleased with things (I asked a lot of questions, giving them lots of opportunities to
bring up things they didn't like, since, after all, customers ask me for recommendations).
Unfortunately, TREK Travel already has takers for their spots next year, and have a current
waiting list of 400 more. There are many other options, and I'll try to get them up on a web page
real soon now.

Will I ever make up my own tour group? Probably not; my mission is to try and give people, via our
website, a bit of a you-are-there feeling, and that requires quite a bit of time... at some point
you need to put in a few hours of sleep each night, and when you spend a couple hours at the end of
each evening downloading photos and updating a website, in addition to the day's activities, and
have to get up pretty early each morning... no, I don't think tour operators have anything to fear
from me! More likely I'll drive them quite a bit of business.

Hope this helps-

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

From today's almost-daily dairy section on our website, at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

My gf works for a magazine publisher so we got press credentials for us and our car. The media
sticker that adorned our rental car's windshield is now on my bumper. We also snagged one of the
tour route arrow signs. Some brilliant salesman was selling them on E-bay for $100.

I picked up a green hand but didn't feel like lugging it around for the rest of our trip.

Andy

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

From today's almost-daily dairy section on our website, at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

The best...We were at l'Alp two years ago. They have these banners that are ~ 3X12 that says "L'Alp
d'Huez" with some sort of animal on it (we called it the muscrat). After the stage, we subtly pulled
one off the barriers. I think it's in my friend's apartment somewhere now.

-a

I was at the tour 2 years ago, My garage is full of very meaningfull stuff many yellow direction
arrows, a few green hands, a sign showing where to gas up, a pocka dot hand. a sign that says "1"
from the alpe we had a sign with a marmott on it but the chicks caught us so we only got her hat as
a trade. Satatelites- Milions of them, hmmmm cheese (thats gone )and lots of key rings.

pitty a few years before the green hands were blow up ones now I just have to get some stuff from
the Olympics next year

john

(Andrew Martin) said:

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I asked my 10-year-old tonight
at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand? "Who would have
thought of it? A large green hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my
family?

From today's almost-daily dairy section on our website, at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

The best...We were at l'Alp two years ago. They have these banners that are ~ 3X12 that says "L'Alp
d'Huez" with some sort of animal on it (we called it the muscrat). After the stage, we subtly
pulled one off the barriers. I think it's in my friend's apartment somewhere now.

-a

Quoted message said:

From their website: "Last year 400 of our clients fulfiled their lifetime dreams by riding a
stage of the Tour de France (Etape du Tour). Why not join them and 7,000 other cyclists from all
over Europe in this, the biggest and best one day cycling event. Just like the real thing, this
event is operated on closed roads, with feeding stations and Mavic assistance. Organised by the
French cycling magazine "Velo" together with the Societe du Tour de France, the 2003 Etape du
Tour will take place in the Pyrenees and follow the exact route of stage 16 from Pau to Bayonne.

Karen: The Etape du Tour is one of the nastier things you might ever attempt in your life. As
described, you ride a real live stage from the Tour de France, complete with closed roads and many
people cheering you on. But what's not mentioned is that many, if not most of the riders treat it as
a race, and you have electronic ankle bracelets that keep track of your time. But wait, there's
more! They've instituted a cut-off time at a couple of place en-route, so if you're not averaging at
least 18 km/hr or so, you're out. Doesn't sound so bad? Consider that it's a very mountainous
course, and that average speed includes the time you've spent stopped for food or water.

I rode the event in 2000, when it encompassed the Ventoux stage. Of course it's on our website-

www.ChainReaction.com/letape2000.htm

Most definitely qualified as epic.

This year, I did a much longer tour with the Graham Baxter group, hooking up with them in Paris on
July 17th, taking a long bus ride to Toulouse the following day and then following the TDF through
the Pyrenees, Pau, Bordeaux, Nantes and finally Paris. We did between 60-100 miles of riding/day,
but no large organized events. A lot of fun, a lot of riding, not much sleep!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

Mike said:

... The Etape du Tour is one of the nastier things you might ever attempt in your life. ...
They've instituted a cut-off time at a couple of place en-route, so if you're not averaging at
least 18 km/hr or so, you're out. Doesn't sound so bad? Consider that it's a very mountainous
course, and that average speed includes the time you've spent stopped for food or water.

I rode the event in 2000, when it encompassed the Ventoux stage. Of course it's on our website-

www.ChainReaction.com/letape2000.htm

It's been a while since I rode a plain ol' century, let alone 120 miles. Never done one in
extremely mountainous territory, let alone after flying overseas. If there are enough downhills,
averaging 11 mph might not be terrible. Have they arranged for better temps than the Tour
organizers obtained? And do they also provide spectators armed with musette bags? "You're not
going fast enough. Here's the knock-down zone. Bounce your crotch off the top tube and win the
stage!" The humongous Paris group ride in yellow shirts looks like more fun.

--Karen M. it's only about $500 to get to Paris from DTW!

Mike said:

... The Etape du Tour is one of the nastier things you might ever attempt in your life. ...
They've instituted a cut-off time at a couple of place en-route, so if you're not averaging at
least 18 km/hr or so, you're out. Doesn't sound so bad? Consider that it's a very mountainous
course, and that average speed includes the time you've spent stopped for food or water.

I rode the event in 2000, when it encompassed the Ventoux stage. Of course it's on our website-

www.ChainReaction.com/letape2000.htm

It's been a while since I rode a plain ol' century, let alone 120 miles. Never done one in
extremely mountainous territory, let alone after flying overseas. If there are enough downhills,
averaging 11 mph might not be terrible. Have they arranged for better temps than the Tour
organizers obtained? And do they also provide spectators armed with musette bags? "You're not
going fast enough. Here's the knock-down zone. Bounce your crotch off the top tube and win the
stage!" The humongous Paris group ride in yellow shirts looks like more fun.

--Karen M. it's only about $500 to get to Paris from DTW!

I have a 1989 TdF poster taken from the visitors office in Luxemborg City, I busted my ass to get
Greg LeMond or Andy Hampston sign it , but never was lucky enough. I still have the poster, and
still plan on getting it signed some day. Also toasted the tour with Pedro Delgato (drinking
espresso prior to a stage)

Bill

"amh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

08/05/03 10:40pm WHAT'S THE BEST SHWAG I BROUGHT BACK FROM THE TDF I

asked

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my 10-year-old tonight at bedtime? "The green hand, duh!" What's so special about a green hand?
"Who would have thought of it? A large

green

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hand with PMU on it. It's brilliant!" What, sarcasm, in my family?

From today's almost-daily dairy section on our website, at www.ChainReaction.com/diary.htm

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

My gf works for a magazine publisher so we got press credentials for us and our car. The media
sticker that adorned our rental car's windshield is now on my bumper. We also snagged one of the
tour route arrow signs. Some brilliant salesman was selling them on E-bay for $100.

I picked up a green hand but didn't feel like lugging it around for the rest of our trip.

Andy

Rabid Chihauhau said:

Some creep has a very nice Shiner Bock Banner that says "Allez Lance!"

Shiner gave it to us before the 2001 TdF. We hung it up at several stages across the Pyrenees and
the middle of France. No problems, nobody messed with it. Phill Ligget even commented on it during
Stage 19 - ssrc.msstate.edutdm oln.htmOpen ↗ . Then we hung it up on the
Champs Elysees. Big mistake - the place was lousy with Americans. We turned our backs for one
minute and it was gone. So - some schmuck now has a rather nice piece of schwag.

So if anyone you know has the banner, [censored]-slap the punk for me.

-r

Keep an eye on eBay... :-)