See photos from the 16th stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, July 21, 2009.

See photos of Lance Armstorng, seven-time winner of the Tour de France, riding in this year's event.

Looking for a little diversion? Spinners have geared up for a little personal challenge to run concurrently with the Tour de France (that's bicycles, of course -- another kind of wheel spinning). Here's the deal: Sign up at the Tour de Fleece and pick a challenge. This year's challenge involves diving into your stash and spinning up some fleece that's been hanging around waiting for attention. The goal is to meet your challenge by the time of the last stage of Tour de France on July 27.

Here's what I like about this challenge: There is a goal and a deadline. That's just what newspaper work is all about. Exploring and explaining an idea by a given deadline.

Don't know how to spin? Well, then, learning to spin can be your challenge. Of course, you won't have any stash to draw on, but that's OK. You can learn to spin at yarns, etc in Carrboro, Shuttles, Needles and Hooks in Cary and the Bull City Fiber Loft in Durham. The Tour de Fleece blog also has lots of resources for learning on your own (as well as some links to the Tour de France). You can also check out the spinning portion of Homespun here and here and here.

If you're joining in, drop me a line and let me know. I'll keep you up to date on this blog and also at this blog.

And here's my goal: See that pile of fluff in front of the spinning wheel? I picked it up at the aught-five Sheep and Wool Festival. I'm going to spin that fluff into fiber. This will involve, I think, rousting out my carders and brushing of my spinning skills. I can't wait to get started!