Le Amber Jersey

Late one night, shortly after the invention of the bicycle, Mr. John Spectacle sat on his back porch with a his best friend and a mug of the finest beer. Spectacle was one of the bicycle’s foremost enthusiasts, noted as the first recorded rider to have laid a piece of plywood over a rock and ridden at high speeds over it in an attempt to “catch some air”. This even received a good deal of publicity, both for its daring and intrigue and for the fact that nobody could understand how he intended to capture a gas that was invisible and found its way in (and out) of any container.

This particular night, Mr. Spectacle formed the beginnings of an idea that would shake the entire civilized world with its brilliance and simplicity.

“Charles?” he slurred.

His best friend looked up slowly from the dregs of his own glass.  “Whadyou want?”

“What if,” said Spectacle slowly, picking his words carefully. “What if we could drink beer AND ride bicycles?”

After a great deal of thought, Charles raised his glass.  “I will drink to that,” he stated, and, attempting to clink his glass with Spectacle’s, he slid forward off his chair and went to sleep peacefully in a puddle of foam.

Spectacle stared into the distance.  “This will be the greatest race in history,” he said quietly.