Yet another surprise, Rund um Köln

Rund um Köln's organizer has announced that 2008's edition would be different
from the previous years' editions.

First of all, it would be held on Sunday, March 23rd 2008. RuK has been
traditionally held on Easter Monday, which will be March 24th in 2008.

The main sponsor of the race, T-Mobile, has not yet been committed to give the
money that once pledged. The race may lose its main sponsor.

If the race organizer can not find the sponsor(s) that will fulfill the obligations
(a lot of money), the race will be held without ProTour teams. And if Team CSC
doesn't participate, there is no reason for me to get there and watch it.

Let's see what will happen.

Surprise, surprise Paris-Nice

The very tentative plan already needs a change.

March
9th. Sunday: Paris - Nice (Fra) -- Prologue in Paris

24th. Easter Monday: Rund um Köln (Ger) -- in Cologne

30th. Sunday: Critérium International (Fra) -- last 2 stages

This was the plan for the upcoming March but ASO (Amaury Sport Organisation)
announced that the traditional Prologue in Paris would not materialize
in 2008 but there would be a short ITT in a city called Amilly south of Paris.

I already have hard time reaching Paris in time. Amilly, wherever it is (3 cities
with the same name exist south of Paris), is not closer to me than Paris.

Amilly is found in (three Prefectures) 28, 45 and 61. In any case it is far from
Paris. Possibly by Amilly they mean Amilly (45). I have drive almost 600km
to get there. I give up! I will not drive to Paris on March 9th.

Maybe I will drive to Kuurne to watch Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne instead.

2nd. Sunday Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne (Bel)

Waypoints aquired during 2007 race watch

I was traveling with my Garmin StreetPilot (a navigation system) during
the 2007 season. I eventually accumulated useful waypoints.

For example, camping sites, supermarkets (or they call those bigger than normal
supermarkets "hypermarché" in France), and others.

• E.Leclerc
• Carrefour
• Géant

These are common supermarkets I visited during TdF and Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.
These supermarkets have their web sites, which enable you to look for
their affiliates in your neighborhood. If, only if, I was going to follow
TdF in 2008, I would search for their affiliates along the course and plot
them in my StreetPilot to make it easy to shop.