guachi

I very rarely watch bike racing. It's not zero but I'd be surprised if I average more than a few days of watching racing a year.

one4smoke

Don't race, but I watch. Not boring to me at all. Like the scenery and photography of the telecasts as well. The strategies of the racers and teams are also very intriguing.

Troul 

Indoors; Aat times, I'll watch TV while cycling. When cycling outside, & should an event occur, I'll watch others compete while I ride from afar.

Watching tour de riding just hasn't done much for me. If I can time TV to cycling just right for a hyped up UFC "show", then the miles are racking up while those being televised are wracked up.

Doug64

Several years ago I hired my grandson to record all the stages of the TdF for me. I did not have a chance to look at the videos after we got home from a long bike tour. However, I did manage to tear a retina in my left eye. After the surgery to repair it, the surgeon put a nitrogen bubble in my eye to press the retina to the back of my eye during healing. The catch was I had to keep my head down several hours a day, and sleep on my stomach.

The cure was to place my laptop on the floor in the kneehole of my desk, insert a DVD into the drive, lean my head face down, with a rolled towel to pad my forehead, on the edge of my desk, and watch the Tour. I watched every video my grandson recorded, and sent him a little bonus in appreciation for his effort. I didn't feel a bit guilty about taking that much time watching bike racing.

P.S. I have not had a TV for 30 years, so I hope watching the races on my computer counts.

rsbob 

Have watched TdF for decades. The scenery, villages and mountains are gorgeous and remind us of our trips. Really enjoy the breakaways which succeed and the mtn stages.

Herzlos

The only sports I watch on TV are snooker and Worlds Strongest Man, because I can't do either of them and they are quite fascinating.
Other sports I'd rather play (badly) than watch.

redcon1

I love to watch bicycle racing, especially the one-day classics and the grand tours. I cycle for fitness and fun, and have never raced except against my own PRs.. but I love to see the pros at the top echelon of our sport.
I would much rather watch a Grand Tour stage than an NFL, NBA, or MLB game.

IMO, If you cycle and can't appreciate professional cycling, then you aren't riding for Sport (performance & improvement), but rather for Transportation or just Enjoyment (and you might wear basketball shorts while doing so ). And there is nothing wrong with that.
OTOH, If you can appreciate professional cycling, it makes sense to follow it on via televised events, the internet, etc.

AndrewJB

FYI...NBC, which I believe is the major outlet for bicycling races here in USA on their NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), announced this weekend they are shutting down NBCSN at the end of 2021. Some of the sports events will go to USA network, but no mention was made of bicycling races in articles I read (which were mostly auto racing related articles). My guess is a lot of the bicycle racing coverage with go to the NBC Gold "Cycling Pass" pay streaming. TDF will probably still find some kind of OTA coverage though.

OnTheTarmac

Is there any other way to ride a bike? Bonus points if they are dressed like they're on the Tour but cruising <15mph.

Riveting

It's fun to see a Pro race live, then go home and re-watch the national broadcast and try to find myself. There I am (with the sunglasses on top)!!! (Obvious Hint: It's a lot easier to find yourself if you're at the Finish Line, standing across from Bob Roll)

Snotrub

For the past 20+ years, I have spent every July, except 2020, engulfed in the traveling spectacle that is the Tour de France. I watch other events throughout spring and summer but the TdF is my favorite. We cut the cord this year so I bought the NBC Sports Cycling Pass and watched EVERYTING!! It was my first time watching the World Championships and the Vuelta. I became entranced with the scenery from Spain and would like to visit some day. I was planning a major trip to the Alps of France to ride all the major climbs of the TdF, but after watching the Vuelta, I've been thinking about hitting the Pyranese instead.

caloso

It was a sad day that they announced the end of the Tour of California, which always included a stage that finished at the Capitol, just up the street from my office.

Snotrub

I liked the Tour of California and was bummed it was cancelled. I also like the US Pro Challenge in Colorado. My riding buddies and I would make an annual trip to CO to watch a few stages.

Litho dbh

I'm not a competitive rider, never much paid attention to cycle races. But while researching a new commuter bike on youtube. I was directed to other videos that were cycle racing. One of them was Stars and Watercarriers. Pretty interesting. Then I was exposed to the Lanterne Rouge channel. He's racing enthusiast. He'll post short videos with his commentary on particularly interesting stages of important races. His knowledge and enthusiasm is contagious. 2 big thumbs up. I'm now a bike racing fan. If there's superior commentary.

caloso

One of the great things about having a world-level tour in your own back yard was to see the pros on your own training routes, and to hear the commentary from Paul and Bobke Roll. There's a section of the local Tuesday Night River Ride that every local racer knows has a wicked crosswind and sketchy pavement. It's a levee road, which means that there's no opportunity to echelon, and the strong riders will go to the gutter to drill it and try to shatter the field. There's a water tower that the NorCal Ferrari Club painted its logo on, so everybody knows it as Ferrari Tower. And everybody who's ever done the Tuesday Night ride knows how critical it is to hang with the group till Ferrari Tower when the road goes into some sheltering trees. A real thrill to see that from the helicopter.

indyfabz

As mentioned above in post #21, I got to ride "with" 7-11 and Coors Lite one Saturday before the US pro road racing championship, which was held in my home town of Philadelphia for many years. We rode on roads I routinely used.

Many years later I was fixing a mechanical along side an MUP that I often used when Armstrong and the rest of the Motorola squad came cam cruising by. I was made at my LBS because the mechainical was caused by it failing to tighten a part sufficiently after working on the bike.

Race day itself was always a party.

ZHVelo

I have seen some documentaries about footballers and some of them watch every ****ty game they can find. Absolutely beyond me. I could understand your own league, but these are top division players watching some random games in the third division or some other country at a far lower level.

Flip Flop Rider

I love to watch the Tour

would watch other races if I could find them on directv

never dress up to ride, just regular clothes

caloso

I dunno. Maybe they just love football. Crazy, huh?

Doug64

These are some "crazy footballers" . It was a great crowd in France during the 2018 World Cup. I actually got into it, as did my wife and daughters. We spent two months riding in Europe and tried to catch as many games as we could. We were rooting for France. I spent about an hour with these folks, photographing the festivities.