Hello from France. This is a working trip to sell souvenir plates to raise money for the Texas Bicycle Coalition.

Since our arrival Monday, July 4th in Dusseldorf, Germany to pick up the RV, we have traveled through Germany, Belgium and France.

Gayle and I have been to three stages of the Tour so far, two finishes at Montargis and Nancy and a start at Luneville. It has rained off and on every day. It is difficult to follow the progress of the Tour itself since we are not traveling with a group and our French is limited. We have seen Lance every day as a blur in the Peloton.

Tuesday, June 28th
The Learning Channel, Raising a Champion
The Linda Armstrong Kelly Story, 8:00 p.m. EDT

Thursday, June 30th
CBS, The Early Show, 8:30 a.m. EDT
CNN, Live Today, 11:45 a.m. EDT
Fox News Channel, Dayside with Linda Vester, 1:00 p.m. EDT
Bicycle Radio, 3:00 p.m. EDT ESPN, 3:50 p.m. EDT
CNN, Headline News, 4:40 p.m. EDT

The BikeTexas Share the Road Y’all Souvenir License Plates, featuring Lance Armstrong, the first person to ever be honored on a Texas plate, are now available. Just in time too, as Lance aims to take home an unprecedented 7th consecutive Tour de France win this month.

The Tour will be buzzing, and Robin Stallings, (TBC Executive Director), and his wife Gayle Cummins Stallings (Past TBC Executive Director), will be hot on the Tour's heels, and attracting a bit of their own attention. They will be diligently following the Tour de France participants in an RV decorated with a 3' x 8' graphic wrap of the license plate on both sides of the vehicle. Along with their personal belongings and bikes, they will be carrying the BikeTexas Share the Road Y'all message in the form of 3000 of the souvenir plates to share with international audiences and Lance fans.

American David Zabriskie was the unexpected winner of the opening stage of the Tour de France after an amazing ride in a 19km time trial in the Vendee region. Lance Armstrong, finished just two seconds behind. Lance passed Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso on the difficult and wind-swept road from Fromentine to Noirmoutier-en-I'lle, taking a minute out of the German and from Ivan Basso.

It was however a difficult start for Lance who is bidding for a record shattering seventh-straight Tour win. Lance sliped and lost his footing at the race start, but amazingly made up for that time loss by an incredible show of spead, determination and strength while steadily chasing down Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, who had started a minute earlier.