The idea was to ride stage six, from Frome in Somerset to Bideford, Devon, some 184km – and three large hills – later.
It sent noted cycling scribbler Tim Moore up north to ride stage one, and what a lovely job he made of it.
Simpson's primary objective for 1967 was overall victory in the Tour de France; in preparation, he planned to ride stage races instead of one-day classics.
What comes next is one of Shakespeare's most famous opening lines: "If music be the food of love, play on," Mr. Coco tells the pianist riding the stage elevator with him.
The Welshman's defining moment was the first 700 metres of the team time trial when, if he failed to hold the pace of his team-mates he faced the prospect of riding the stage alone and possibly finishing outside the time limit.
Seventeen hours to ride one stage?
He rode the stage from Nevada City to Sacramento in 2 hours 47 minutes 12 seconds and leads Peter Sagan of Slovakia by four seconds.
Only in 2005, as Armstrong neared the retirement that he ended last year, were his teammates given leave to ride for stage victory themselves.
The year after Lance Armstrong's record seventh victory in the Tour, Landis, one of Armstrong's former teammates, rode in Stage 17 with the spotlight to himself.
He is married with two grownup sons, but he's still up before dawn, exercising horses he will ride on stage.
