Plenty of sporting propositions this weekend, ladies and germs. First we have the Elefinks and Donks playing pocket pool with people’s lives, then we have Paris-Roubaix, where I’m gonna go out on a limb and say George Hincapie will not win again.
If I were to cross the water to watch a bike race, it would either be cyclo-cross worlds or the Hell of the North. Paris-Roubaix is like the original heavyweight championship of the world, when there was only the one sanctioning organization. The guy who can take it and dish it out is the guy who gets to stand with his fist in the air at the end of this slugfest.
I do not, however, care to journey to DeeCee to watch white millionaires in dark suits fart higher than their fat asses. A country of smart people with a lower tolerance for bullshit would have stormed this Bastille long ago, taken their heads, stuck them on pikes and paraded them around the National Mall.
But even voting is too wearisome for our flabby body politic, which spends its time at another mall altogether, in the food court. “Yeh, gimme a double-cheese Republican, extra bacon and Freedom Fries. Drink? Tea, a’course.”
Mad Blog Media 
So don’t go to D.C or the Forest of Arenberg go to Wasington County, New York State on Sunday for the Tour of the Battenkill a race with dirt, climbs and a covered bridge.
I agree 100% with you Patrick: Europe is only worth seeing for two things and you spelled them out right there!
Sorry Larry but Italy is beautiful but cross and Hell of the North separates the real men from the pansies in Lycra. Now….I could find it in me to admit that the Giro is 100x more exciting than some other race in Southern Belgium/Northern Spain/Western Germany/Eastern England. But to “spend time” in Europe one should do it for the mud, sweat and tears of the real cyclists: mudders!!
Mighty big limb there Patrick. Let’s hope it doesn’t break while you are out there, okay?
These people don’t drink tea they drink diet coke.
Maybe you missed this — http://cycleitalia.blogspot.com/2010/05/saturday-in-hell-or-heaven.html
but I’ll admit I’ve yet to see any of the monuments of cycling in-person, except for Milano-San Remo in 2010. We’ll rectify this in 2012 while we’re living in Italy by jetting up for the Ronde/Paris-Roubaix weekends, renting a car and getting out there amongst the frites and beer! We’ll see Giro di Lombardia this fall, so only L-B-L will remain. I’m sure the cobbled classics will be great but every Italian I know (no matter where they go) is REALLY glad to come back to Italy, where the food’s the best in the world…and the bike riding’s pretty nice too. I’ll like watching the pros duke it out over cobbles but for me and my own bike, I’d rather be riding around vine-covered hills in Italy any day!