Yesterday was a long day.

It started out with a half-assed protest by the French. They only protested within their respective teams and didn't inform us as to what they were doing or just what it was they were protesting.

I agree about taking a stand but taking a stand without unity is a waste of time and, from my point of view, embarrassing. They were quick to throw stones and then at the end of the day they had a positive case of their own in Cristian Moreni. Just great!

So we got back to the hotel and it was swarming with police because we were staying in the same hotel as Cofidis. Then, as if anything couldn't get worse, the Rabobank guys pull their own yellow jersey out of the race.

I swear I thought that one was a joke or a bad rumor. No, just a bad movie known as “The 2007 Tour.” I was so depressed and shocked, I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. I did a little bit of both, but then got it together.

The Chicken lied to his team and the anti-doping authorities and he got caught. If his team doesn't believe him anymore, then we shouldn't either. So, after all of this, there was more energy flowing through our hotel than at an AC/DC concert. I found myself walking from room to room getting everyone’s take on the situation.

I finally made it to bed around 1 a.m. with all sorts of random thoughts flying through my head. I finally focused on my daughter, whom I’ve not seen in three weeks. That put a smile on my face and I finally drifted off to sleep.

But after dinner tonight, I had all of this put into perspective by one of my friends from Chicago. He asked me how I was doing and I responded with, “I’ve been better.”

“Yeah, I’ve been better, too,” he said.

He then went on to tell me that our mutual friend and my biggest fan, Lenny, had passed away last night after a ice hockey game. He had a heart attack in the locker room and never came back.

This stopped me in my tracks and made me take a step back away from sport and look at life. Cycling is my life right now and we are wrapped up in a horrible situation that is hopefully at the bottom of the curve. But hearing this put cycling on the back burner really quick and made me realize that while the problems within the Tour are huge and horrible, the big picture is much, much bigger.

Today was a great stage as expected and the Chicken was forgotten quickly. We don't have any time for people getting in trouble and we will not waste a Tour de France stage on their account. The sport deserves better and so do the fans, who came out in droves to watch today. It didn't disappoint, as we had some of the hardest kilometers of the Tour today.

I was excited for the race today and I had plenty of angst to take out on my bike, but tomorrow I will ride for Lenny.