Redtree Times

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.

–Albert Einstein, Letter to his son Eduard (5 February 1930)

While I am still enjoying my hiatus from the blog (returning next week sometime) I felt compelled to point out that this year’s edition of the Tour de France begins this morning. They just started with the ceremonial start in Bilbao, Spain as I write this. The Tour has been a big part of my July mornings ever since I began painting on a fulltime basis back in 1998. The sheer physical and mental test it provides over three grueling weeks is unlike anything in sport.

If you want to get a better idea of what goes into it, I urge you to take a look at the film Tour de France: Unchained on Netflix. Some of the footage will take your breath away. The shots from within the peloton are absolutely claustrophobic. It gives you a better idea of the skill it takes to compete.

Here’s a little bit of France and bicycling to go with the Tour’s start. This is Yves Montand and La Bicyclette.