Cycling

Note from a newsroom colleague: Dear Chris, How was France? I imagined you sitting at a sidewalk cafe drinking Irish coffee and ogling a blond across the way while pretending to study the fingernails of your outstretched hand. Meanwhile, I've been getting up at the crack of dawn to watch the Tour de France on Versus. How you could be in Paris on an exceptionally long "assignment" taste-testing regional brandies or whatever it was you were doing and not report on the race is beyond me. But here is your chance at redemption.

He once was a humble cyclist with a reputation for grit, whether riding with broken bones so painful that he ground 11 of his teeth to nubs or crying openly during the 2004 Tour de France when his beloved dog and constant companion Tugboat had to be put down. On Friday, Tyler Hamilton, 38, announced his retirement from cycling after failing a doping test for the second time in his career that included a dramatic stage win at the 2003 Tour de France and a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics.

With the flavors of café au lait and chocolate croissant lingering on my tongue from breakfast, I steer my bike toward the banks of the St. Lawrence River. My tires chatter across the cobblestoned alleyways of Old Quebec city, through the ramparts of the only walled city north of Mexico and on to the port. It's early morning, but the ferry is already busy with commuters heading on the 10-minute trip across the river to the hilltop town of Lévis on the opposite bank. With the bright sun and a warm breeze on our faces, we disembark right onto a paved cycling path and set off eastward, deep into the heart of rural Quebec.

Former Olympic cyclist Roger Young of Indianapolis was named sprint coach of the U.S. cycling team.

South Korea informed the International Olympic Committee that it has accepted a final IOC proposal on sharing part of the 1988 Summer Olympics with North Korea. Kim Chong-ha, president of the South Korean National Olympic Committee, sent a reply to IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch saying Seoul agreed to let North Korea stage archery, table tennis, women's volleyball, one of the soccer preliminary groups and the 100-kilometer cycling team time trial, according to a spokesman for Kim.

Alberto Camargo of Colombia won the next-to-last leg of the 44th cycling Tour de Spain, and Pedro Delgado of Spain virtually clinched the overall championship at Palazuelos del Eresma, Spain.

Regarding the letter written by Bruce Schulte (Times, Oct. 4), I am both a cyclist and a walker and have utilized the pedestrian and the cycling paths along the beach in the South Bay area. The separation of pedestrian and cycling traffic provides a safe and enjoyable environment for both modes of exercise. In particular, the City of Hermosa Beach provides cycling paths which take a different route than pedestrian traffic. Everybody benefits. My congratulations to the Hermosa Beach Police for enforcing a reasonable regulation.

* "Running, Walking and Cycling for Causes" will be the Nov. 8 topic of a talk by Tim Deway, former editor of the Ojai Valley News, at the Unitarian Group of Ojai's meeting. The public is welcome to attend the 10 a.m. meeting at Grey Gables, 701 N. Montgomery St. For more information, call 640-9838.