I started to cycle a few years ago. Since then I loved to watch the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong was and is still my hero, and when he stopped cycling professionally, I stopped watching the Tour de France. I went as far as cancelling my satellite TV subscription and that was that.

I still cycle 3 or 4 times a week, and love the feeling of speeding down the road with my friends. I'm a lot fitter than I used to be, but I'm no master of the saddle. I do the odd race here and there, but nothing seriously.

Now that Lance Armstrong has re-joined the ranks of professional cycling again, after his 3 year lay off, I am more interested than ever in watching his progress. I just can't justify getting a new satellite dish and subscription just to watch the Tour de France. My wife would kill me!

I was pretty upset that I would miss watching, until a friend told me that I could watch the whole thing on my computer. I told him I could watch the highlights on You Tube if I wanted to, but that was not what I wanted. He then told me that there is a way to watch it live while it happens! I was amazed to say the least.

This year, the TDF is going to start on the 4th of July and will run until the 26th of July. It will start in Monaco and will twist and turn all through and around France for 3500 kilometres, until the riders finish in Paris, France. In my mind that is totally insane!

I will be watching as much of the TDF as I can lay my eyes on, using my PC at work and at home instead of an expensive satellite TV system, that I only want to use for one thing.

As I type, Lance Armstrong is competing in the Giro de Italia, and doing pretty well. According to one race writer, he has only to make it look like he is going to accelerate, and the crowds and TV viewers hold their breaths to see what will happen. I can't wait to see how he does, and If he can make it to his 8th win on the Tour de France, to smash the record of most TDF wins in history. That would be one that I doubt any one will ever break.