Our end stage is Narbonne, near the Mediterranean Sea. Narbonne was built on the Via Domicia, the first Roman road in France, and near the Aude River. The Canal de la Robine was built, and connected to the Canal du Midi, also known as the Royal Canal, in 1787. This canal provided a shortcut to the Mediterranean Sea. Though the Canal closed in 1989, it is a UNESCO world heritage site. Its name is near and dear to sock knitters, for the pattern for Nancy Bush's Canal du Midi socks were published in her book, Knitting on the Road. Narbonne is also known for its winemaking.
Race Report: The Cobra was bit back today, when Riccardo Ricco tested positive for a new version of EPO. He and his team Saunier Duval, have officially left the Tour. How incredibly sad.
On a happier note, Mark Cavendish (Columbia) won the sprint and today's stage. Leaving the Pyrenees, riders raced on a mostly flat transitional stage today, giving the sprinters an opportunity to shine. Our GC contenders stayed the same, which means Cadel is still wearing the yellow jersey! Good times.
Standings:
Yellow: Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto)
Green: Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
Polka Dot/KOM: Sebastian Lang (Gerolsteiner)
White: Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas)
Team: CSC Saxo Bank!
Lantern Rouge: Wim Vansevenant (Silence-Lotto) holding steady at 158th place. How does he do it?? Especially with his team leader in the yellow jersey??
And now, our team updates!
Team FDJ News:
Well it's been a rather busy couple of days in the Pyrenees, followed by a rest. But no rest for the knitters of Team FDJ, we have been whizzing along with our projects!
Janine has completed the 13 repeats of the pattern in her Clapotis:
She's thinking about making it longer; any Clapotis experts who want to provide some advice, please feel free.Sarah's Juno Regina stole has been growing steadily, especially during the flatter stages of Le Tour. She's hoping to get in a big chunk of knitting before we hit the Alps. It's looking gorgeous so far, n'est pas?
Also, Julia has made some amazing progress on her Entrelac Chaussettes:
Stacy is also coming along nicely with the Mon Cheri baby sweater, despite some slight mojo issues this week - let's cheer her on from the roadside!
As for myself, I'm going away for the weekend and am taking my Baudelaire socks with me. I've got a 2.5 train trip plus a lot of movie watching and general swanning around time. So I'm hoping to return with one completed sock, photographed and all!Team CSC:
EnnaVic is taking an extended rest day, but looking forward to getting back to her sunflower tam. She figures 3 rounds a day on the Tam, and she'll hit the finish line flying! She is also celebrating a Kiwi win for NZ cyclist Hayden Roulston (he's a cutie) in the four-day Tour des Deux-Sevres in France a couple of days ago.
Elisa has made huge progress with her cardigan. She's finished the collar, bottom band and the left front button placket. With this an all the plying she's doing with her handspun, she'll be in need of another rest day soon!
I'm almost done the front of my Lady Sweater and hope to start the sleeves on the weekend.Team AG2R-Mondiale
Jen has taken a detour to finish a ribbed lace bolero. She only has to bind off.
Gemma pinned out her shawl-in-progress and the tail is suddenly visible. The magic of lace!
TEAM COLUMBIA
Morgan chef d'equipe - has been working away on her Wicked. Worried about running out of yarn even though its not likely, she sent a frantic email to her supplier in hopes of finding the same lot. Also, she has conquered a hill by learning bust darts.
Christine has been busy splurging and shopping but has still found time to work on her skb. Progress is looking great!
Mari has gone on vacation to a wedding. Hopefully all the partying won't interfere too much with her TDF! Have fun Mari.
Jam_Mam is working on a beautiful lace shawl and has made some good progress on it.
Kathy's mobius capelet is growing in leaps and bounds. She will be taking a picture and getting input on length.
Devorah puts it best "Theoretically, I have been diligently working of my Tour de France socks. In reality, what was supposed to be a sprint has turned into a climb up the mountains. The mountains being real life."
Lyn has had two false starts. Here is hoping that third time's a charm!
Roxana was interviewed when she was hit hard ... " Road)
This Bastille Day shall go down in infamy…
I’ve been run over by the proverbial team bus. Today on our drive home from NY, I started thinking, hmm…now would be a good time to slip the sock on my foot and give it a go (don’t worry, I was in the passenger seat). Disaster. Far too small for my feet. It looks like a perfectly normal sized sock, but I think the problem is that I’m knitting it in cotton, on a size zero needle. No give whatsoever. Thought surely my eight year old could slip her foot in there and save the day. Nope. Grabbed the six year old. Impenetrable. How could this be??? It looks like an adult sized sock, but it lies, it lies!
I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I could frog it and start again, but I don’t trust this evil yarn. If I’m to continue, I think it’s going to have to be with something totally new and possibly not very French. So upsetting! I was having so much fun cheering on the team with my blue sock!"
Jo is motoring along and had this to say ... "Well.. After the wheels fell of my race at the start (not to mention the chain, and the saddle)… The bike is rebuilt and I’m back on course…
Had a great day yesterday.. the maps I’m following are really clear and easy to follow.. even if every turn is completely different to the previous one!!! No easy there and back on this route!!!"
Martha crashed and burned with her Polka Dot project and has changed it to Aleita Shell by Bonne Marie Burns. GO Martha!
Barbara was going to be starting the pocket. Let's hope the light helped her see against all that blackness.
Team Quick Step Update
It was good to see our men at the front of the peleton lately, and Team Quick Stitch aren't far behind...
Alli has finished her Cropped Cardigan!
She veered off course for a while, forgetting to make the same modifications she had made on the first sleeve, on the second but like a true pro, made it back to the front of the peleton and took the stage...maybe we should nickname Alli "The Cobra"?
Another to finish a project is Jennifer, who has completed this stage with a beautiful beret (wrong size or not).
Poor Madalyn is trying desperately to catch up but her Lucy Shawl is refusing to play nice!
Whitney, who has finished her shoulder straps is ready to knit down the sleeve.
2 comments:
I reckon Wim takes pride in being last! He must just drop right back towards the end of the race I guess. Go Wim! (or at least Go Slow Wim!)
Re clappy - I made mine a lot longer (I also didn't make it as wide) - I don't think the pattern length is enough to really wrap it around yourself properly - but it's up to how you want to wear it, I guess!
I made my clapotis a lot longer too, mainly because I wanted to use up every last skerrick of yarn!
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