The innuendo rolls on...

Well, the Tour may be over, but the doping stories continue to break. Yesterday came the news that Iban Mayo, a Spanish rider who finished 16th in the tour this year, had tested positive for EPO. And today there are further reports of accusations against race winner Alberto Contador.

The only glimmer in all of this has been the great coverage received by Cadel Evans back in Australia. There are all sorts of stories running about his achievements and background, which can only do wonders for the sport in Australia. Hopefully it will encourage Australian drivers to be a bit more considerate to the cyclists out training on the roads.

Today's photo is the last in my stork series for now. I have not managed to get any more yet, but hope to soon. And in case it wasn't obvious, yesterday's photo was not one of mine! As much as I would like to have been on the Champs Elysee like I was in 2004, it was not to be this year.

And here is a thought for the day that came in an email from my real estate agent this morning - "if you think no one cares, miss a couple of mortgage repayments..."

Shane

Vive Le Tour

The Tour has now been won and run, and it finishes with mixed emotions for many.

The media reports today capture that range of emotions, from the "subdued finish" in Paris, the disappointment of fans, the hopes for the future in the youger riders and the teams taking a stand against doping, and for us Aussies, the pride of seeing an Australian on the podium for the first time ever.

Saturday afternoon here in Europe was tense as the final time trial got underway. A 55km solo race against the clock, and the big question was whether Aussie Cadel Evans could catch the race leader, Spaniard Alberto Contador, who started the day 1:50 ahead of him.

In the end, Evans nearly did it, falling 23 seconds short. The surprise was third place Levi Leipheimer nearly catching Evans, finishing just nine seconds in arrears. Watching it live on telly was pretty exciting, willing Evans to catch Contador, then getting nervous as Leipheimer crept up and threatened the second place.

It was so near, yet so far in the end. After 3570km, and more than 90 hours of racing, it came down to 23 seconds. "Sorry I didn't win it," was Evans response for all the Aussie fans. Hardly necessary after such an achievement, but nonetheless an unusual response from an elite sportsman.

Rupert McGuiness, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, put the result nicely in context:

"Evans was on the verge of pulling off the single greatest sporting triumph by an Australian athlete, one surpassing the 1983 America's Cup win, Cathy Freeman's 2000 Olympic 400 metres gold medal run, Kieren Perkins's 1500 metre Atlanta Olympic win in 1996 from lane eight - or any of Ian Thorpe's Olympic, world championship or world-record breaking feats."

Now journo's love a bit of hyperbole, but I think this captures the significance of it in a sporting context very nicely.

There are lots of other articles about the Tour out there today, many of them asking the question of what next? There is no simple answer, but the end of politicking in the sport, and a period of self reflection for all of those involved in the sport would both be good starting points.

Shane

Oh, Le Tour!

Perhaps there is little more that can be said about the sad goings on at the Tour De France this week. With the expulsion of Vinokourov, then a positive test for one of the lesser known riders, plus the earlier T-Mobile expulsion it was going badly. But the removal from the race of yellow jersey wearer Michael Rasmussen was definitely the big story.

Personally, I welcome the decision. To slip up and not declare your whereabouts once is perhaps an innocent mistake, but Rasmussen's repeated breaches of the rules are simply not on when you race at such an elite level.

Whilst it has been a tough week for the race, I think it is better to be open about the problem than trying to sweep it under the carpet and imagine everything is alright.

And with that event fading, all eyes are now on tomorrow's final time trial, which will be the real test of who will eventually win. Of course I will be glued to it here, willing Cadel Evans to rip down the road and overhaul the current leader Contador. It will be live on tv here, but you can always catch it live on my favourite Tour following website Cycling News.

Today's photo is the next in my stork series. This one was taken when the stork came down to the ground to receive a feed. More about that later! Am hoping to get back tot he park this weekend and catch some more photos of the storks. Reason being that I was in the park this morning running, and the two juveniles are now quite large. I can only assume the whole family will depart pretty soon (or they are going to have to enlarge the nest!)

Shane

Dutch Wildlife

Continuing the series of stork photos, I was inspired to write on Dutch wildlife. Normally this would be a short article about the relative lack of wildlife actually. Coming from Australia where there is plenty, and on the back of my recent trip to Alaska where there is a lot of (large) wildlife, the Netherlands seems pretty devoid of wildlife.

But then a story appeared in Dutch News yesterday about the Gelderland village of Epe, close to the Veluwe national park. The town has announced plans to start shooting wild boar inside its borders because of the nuisance to gardeners and risk of traffic accidents. According the the local council, some 25 boar have taken to roaming the village streets at night.

Personally I think they are missing a great tourist opportunity here. I can envisage a whole industry built around this, with refreshment stands, postcards, t-shirts ("I went to Epe and Survived") and stuffed imitation boars. And this is not as far-fetched as it might sound - far less obvious things seem to pass as entertainment around here! For example, when I head out for my long rides on a Sunday, many of the canals are lined with dozens of people taking part in fishing competitions. And this is not some case of standing by the canal and throwing in a line. These guys (and they are mostly blokes) have lots of high tech looking gear, tents, outdoor furniture and and array of cooking equipment. In a strange way, I am inspired by their dedication to luxury!

Anyway, today's photo is one of the storks departing from the nest they have in the park.

Shane

Storks in the Park

During the spring, two storks moved in to Vondelpark. This has created a bit of excitement, with stories in the papers, and many people stopping to check them out. I went down to the park one evening recently to try and catch a few photos, and have a couple of nice ones. Today's first image captures the stork out of the nest sitting on a pile of logs in an area of the park that is off limits to pedestrians.

Shane

Summer of Neglect

That seemed to be the most appropriate title, given that my last post was nearly three weeks ago. I could blame it on the summer, but the weather has been so lame in Amsterdam that it really is making me think it might be time to move back to Australia! Mostly I have just been doing other stuff - hanging out with friends, watching some movies, and following the Tour de France.

Of course, it has been a disappointing day for fans of the Tour. The revelations that Alexander Vinokourov has been busted for blood doping are so disappointing. It has been a very interesting tour so far, with some great, but it is hard to kow what to believe anymore. Vinokourov's inspiring comeback, like that of Landis last year, counts for nothing now. And it overshadows what has been a marvellous battle up front, with Contador and Rasmussen duelling it out through the Pyrenees. Of course, with his failure to provide details of his whereabout to doping testers, a shadow hangs over Rasmussen as well that tarnishes the yellow jersey he wears.

And it was gut-wrenching to watch Cadel Evans on Saturday as the real mountain goats repeatedly attacked him until he could respond no more. Nonetheless, it is inspiring to have an Aussie rider in the podium places, and fingers crossed he can stay there until Paris.

Got a call from our friend Dwayne today who has just spent several days in the south of France following the race. He and Lisa will be back in Amsterdam in a few weeks, so will be cool to catch up with them and here the tales of spectating on Le Tour.

Today's photo was one I took a few weeks ago. It is the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I have a bunch of photos to post right now, so will make sure I put up a new one each day - no excuse for not posting then!

Shane

Work, work, work...

Life is pretty busy at the moment - lots going on at work, busy all day and trying to catch up on email and other stuff at night. Not that it is all bad - there have been plenty of social activities, making the most of the long summer days. But it means not much activity on the blog front, so am just going to post a nice photo I took back in Alaska. This is simply a river flowing throught he heart of Denali National Park. It captures the feel of the park very nicely.

Shane

Pasher Bulker update - she's free!

Following on from the last post, and after days of efforts, the Pasher Bulker is finally free (thanks Kim for the breaking news!). Based on what I hear from home, whilst most people will be happy with this, some will be disappointed - tourism has boomed in the area, and people are even selling t-shirts at the site!

Anyway, there are updates on the Sydney Morning Herald website, and they also have a very cool set of time lapse photos which show the bulker being pulled free from the beach - check it out here.

Shane