1. it's many races within a race.
2. best announcers anywhere - phil liggett and paul sherwen + bob roll (aka bobke - very funny man) and the callipygous kirstin gum
3. beautiful countryside
4. lance armstrong continues to be an inspiration when facing my own trivial difficulties...
5. two words: podium girls
6. quaint traditions - example: no attacking when the leader is going potty
7. has to be the most demanding sporting contest - one of the first winners reportedly yelled at the organizers: "you're all murderers!".
8. tons of strategy that isn't necessarily immediately apparent...
9. it's fun to use cycling terms in non-cycling contexts - for example, instead of saying you were in a traffic jam, say you were caught in the peloton
10. did i mention the podium girls?