Saddle up! Not sure if there are other quilters / sewists out there who are as enthused as I about the 97th Tour de France. Anyone else have a Greg LeMond poster??

Or did you watch Breaking Away…

the movie or TV show?? Ride on Townies!

Yeah, I’ve been a bicycle junkie for a long time.
Today is the 8KM Prologue in Rotterdam – it begins @ 11:00AM Central Time. Lance has announced this is his last Tour and he will retire… again. How many times has he said that?
Here are some resources for your Tour following pleasure…

• The Wiki info explaining the 2010 Tour
• The Official Le Tour de France page
• The List of Teams
• Aside from some (US) television coverage on ESPN, VERSUS channel is covering it well
• The Map of the Tour
  

If your in Austin check out Bicycle Sport Shop {my sons work there and there is usually a big screen going with the Tour on}

Now clip into your pedals and get working on your Quilt Le Tour! Get some yellow in there if you can! {Yellow Jersey} Represent!
What style are you? Road Racer? A Hipster with a Fixie? BMXer? Mountain Biker?
So many cycle-y ideas out there. I am drooling over Denyse Schmidt’s “Cog + Wheel” pattern

On Monday I will announce what the first giveaway will be and draw at the week’s end. Sign up at the Flickr group to join in the Quilt Le Tour Challenge. I have a few wonderful prize contributors on board. So excited to tell you! But… Not yet. Muwha ha ha. If you are in the Flickr group and have some favorite bicycle related pics feel free to add them to the group.

Can anyone tell me what piece of cycling equipment is also used by quilters????

Cheers!

Because you will never find a bike race or alley cat ride without beer

I am the ‘matriarch’ of a cycling crazed family. I live in the land of Lance {Lance Armstrong – Austin TX}. I am Mama Kong of Kongko Urban Cycling Gear. I am a quilter. It just makes sense to start a quilty challenge around the Tour de France. The Tour de France begins THIS week, July 3, starting in Rotterdam and ending at the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 25.

So, We will begin on July 3. Each Tour de France team has 9 members so the challenge is to make something composed of 9 blocks or 9 fabrics or 9 designs representing cycling. Your interpretation. . . circles, wheels, hexies, mountains, chains… whatever you envision. It could be in the block design and/or the fabric. The block designs that come quickly to mind are pinwheel, whirligig, Irish chain, dresden, wagon wheel…you get the idea. You can be ambitious and make 9 different blocks. If you are only up to making one block that is ok too. It can be pieced or appliqued…or whatever method you choose. This is a fun challenge not a demand
At the end of the Tour there will be a giveaway drawing for the group members …perhaps more than one.
I have some WONDERFUL prize contributors!! Details to follow soon.
I have started a Flickr group. Please join at the Flickr group then come back and leave a comment on this post that you are participating.
Copy the code in the box below for your website to yield the linked bicycle button.
<div align="center"><a href="http://coffeeandcotton.com/tour-de-france-quilt-challenge" target="_blank"><img src="http://coffeeandcotton.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/CoffeeAndCottontourdfranceButton.png"></a>

Let’s Roll!

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle; I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride my bike; I want to ride my bicycle; I want to ride it where I like…; I don’t believe in Peter Pan, Frankenstein or Superman; All I wanna do is bicycle, bicycle, bicycle…
~Freddie Mercury – Queen 1978.