little; give Lance and the Posties congrats for an impeccable performance; talk shit about what we are going to do after the season; try to hook up new contracts and of course, gossip - as only bikers know how. And for me, well I was able to reflect a little. As we all commended each other on the various performances, I was dropped back into reality a little when a couple of my peers commented to me how amazing it was that I had made it through the Tour after coming back from two broken elbows, 8 weeks earlier. And I know now that they are right. Sometimes it takes some reminding of where you have come from and how hard you have worked to get there. For me, this was what the ride to the
Champs Elysees was all about.

As we turned onto the finishing circuits of the
Champs Elysees , the spectators erupted, sending a shiver down my spine. The next thing I knew, I was in the gutter heading for the Arc de Triomphe, thinking that we were going kind of fast but at the same time feeling that it seemed normal. I looked down at my computer and we were doing 65km/hr. It freaked me out a little that I had gotten used to this and that this speed, outside of sprinting, was normal. I guess that it?s what three weeks in the Tour does to you.

Crossing the finish line, I was a little bummed that I didn?t do better in the sprint. I was feeling good on this final day of the Tour de France and hoped for something great but it didn?t happen. I quickly got over my disappointment. We had all come a long way to get to
Paris. I had come an even longer way. As we paraded up the
Champs Elysees , I thought of Carole and what we had both endured over the last few months. I felt pretty emotional to say the least. Not only had we made it to the Tour but we had made it to the finishes with world class performances and along the way, I had earned a lot of respect from my peers and supporters alike. I was a world away from two broken elbows two months ago?and it felt great!

Julz

PS. Carole?s note: Just want to thank all you guys for the mountains of messages you have left on the notepad. It?s been a really humbling and overwhelming experience for us both to read your words of encouragement and support. You guys ROCK!!!!!

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