Tour de France, Buffalo Style

Yesterday, a group of hot men in very tight pants set off from London for an intense test of endurance, will and physical prowess. Today in Buffalo, a girl in baggy jammies will plop herself down with her knitting needles for a frantic three weeks of sock knitting. Will she stick to her project or will she wander off the path to sample from the vines of other WIPs? Will she be able to navigate the tricky road of a sock pattern with multiple sizes? Will her fingers blister or her behind bruise as she races against the clock to put two new stockings on her toes?

Although the world will not be watching our version of le Tour, the knitters’ version of the race of races promises to be c’est magnifique. The pre-race blogging has already been impressive (a dictionary of French terms AND a catalogue of hotties to cheer for? Um, yum…). It sounds like the knitting is going to be even yummier.

I’m competing in the green jersey section, for speed. This will likely be the only time in my life I get to call myself a sprinter, so I’m enjoying every minute of it. My goal is to complete a pair of Baudelaire socks in Koigu. If I happen to enjoy a tail wind and complete those, I have some Sweetgeorgia sock yarn in the Paris colorway which I may also dip into. Or there’s always that French Market bag that I’ve wanted to do. But being realistic, completing the single pair of socks is likely a challenge enough for now.


As part of the race hoopla, our local paper ran an article with area bike tours. The second part of my race challenge is to complete at least two of these tours in the upcoming weeks. I’d like to do more, but as they require crossing into Canada and the bridges are being uptight about documentation, I may be confined to Stateside routes. Nonetheless, hopefully my Baudelaires will be displayed in a variety of scenery on their road to completion.

Happy knitting and riding!