Can it really be July already?

I was browsing through the sports section this morning and came across an article about Serena Williams commenting on how she has regained her form and enthusiasm. Apparently she has lost weight (not difficult) and done a lot of fitness work. Well bully for her. I have no problem with the girl...she would definitely beat me on the old tennis court... but why should we feel any sense of wonderment and awe that she can find time to keep herself in trim. After all, these girls earn ten grand if they go out in the first round. Surely she can keep her hands out of the biscuit tin for a few more years, and give that grunting blonde automaton a good trouncing. While we're on the subject of girls who may have eaten too many meat pies in their day..... did you catch the resurgent Spicey Girls? Munting or what.

Predictably there was some good stuff about cycling in the paper too. The amazing Obree got a mention, so did Wiggins, but best of all there was a long piece about Greg LeMond. He has been involved in the Floyd Landis doping hearing in the States, testifying against him. Sensationally it transpires that LeMond had admitted to Landis during a private phone call that he had been abused by a family friend when he was a teenager. Landis evidently leaked the tale to his manager who then tried to blackmail Lemond in an attempt to stop him appearing in court. LeMond has kept this story bottled up for all these years but the grubby blackmail episode has prompted him to spill the beans, get counselled or whatever it is the Americans do nowadays and basically offload the feelings of guilt etc. Very strange.
Didn't LeMond win the Tour by 8 seconds from Fignon in 1989? I'd rather hear the story of how that happened.. I mean ..8 seconds. I bet the French were pissed about that.

2 weeks today it'll be the eve of the thing, so I'll be having a nosh-up and drunken singsong in some crowded French bar near Foix. I expect top Northern semipros Jacko and Atkinson will be unable to hold their drink. Still, there's no point in taking the Etape too seriously is there?
Jacko has been windsurfing today at Rhosneigr. I would have loved to have joined him, but I had to look after son No.1 today. We've had more rain.

My daughter and her skating buddies have been up at 5am for the last few days preparing for today's competition in Bracknell. I've said it before , but the dedication and commitment of these youngsters is amazing. Mind you, the parents are equally amazing, because they do all the ferrying about, and hence I've hardly seen the wife for a couple of days. Apparently she's ill.

Last night we were out at a local shindig. The second-best-band-on-the Island, The Accelerators, were playing at a party and they were pretty damn good. Peter Downing will be amazed to learn that they played his favourite song by The Only Ones. It is terrific what a Vodafone advert can do for a band's career.

I've got my cycling back on song today. Clearly with two weeks to go, I need to go easy, but you can't underestimate the positive psychological benefit of getting out on the saddle and doing a few miles. I'm consumed by the desire to keep fit and healthy for these last few days. There's plenty of research that suggests heavy training lowers ones immunity for a few hours after each session. I'm a pill junkie at the moment, and am adding echinacea into the equation. Why not? I've got nothing to lose and even the world's most anti-homeopathic sceptical doctor can try quack medicine once in his life. Furthermore, my missus has got a stinking cold so I am exiled to the spare bedroom. It would be a total disaster to pick up a heavy cold at this stage, especially as I've been as fit as a fit thing since March with barely a snuffle. The other factor is good sleep and early nights, and that's exactly what I haven't had this weekend.

The aga is up to temperature , but there's an oily smell in the house so I'm worried about the flu. If anyone else out there has got problems with the diesel bug, get in touch. I know how to clean the burner mechanism!

I hope my daughter has had a good day in Bracknell. It's nearly 10 pm and she's not back yet. Serena Williams take note.