Le Tour de France

As a cyclist who presently only cycles up to 8 Km (if its flat) at any one time,  any further than that would leave me walking like John Wayne for days, I have total admiration for the competitors who for 6 days a week for 3 weeks cycle 150 Km per day over the Alps. Pyrenees and any other mountains they can find.

I enjoy watching Le Tour edited highlights, as you are able to see the varying countryside as the tour crosses and recrosses France.  Although the scenes when the cyclists are battling up 1 in 10 inclines, on roads overcrowded with spectators, then find themselves accompanied  by an overweight man dressed as a chicken, who then runs alongside them shouting(or should that be clucking) encouragement, I find  somewhat bizarre. A few years ago on a wet day in France I had to resort watching it live, it was somewhat unfortunate, as all the cyclists were protesting about something,  it meant they did not race each other, but merely ambled along for five hours. It was like watching paint dry. C’est la vie.

In my university days I was very interested in the behaviour of social insects, such as ants and termites. The pelaton (main group of cyclists) behaves in a similar way in that it seems to develop a persona and behaviour of its own. It swarms around roundabouts and swallows up (mostly) any cyclist who has the temerity to try to escape from its clutches.

In July 2008 Le Tour passed through the neighbouring village of Le Grand Pressigny. We were excited at the prospect and searched in the village’s Office de Tourisme, and neighbouring ones, for information about the event to no avail. Eventually we found a small note saying the caravan would pass through at 1.00 p.m. and the race at 3.00 p.m.  Caravan, what was that ? Would it be a procession of cars towing trailers?  Time would tell.

Gareth shows off his prizes

The day arrived and on the route, just outside a friend’s house, was parked a bus with a small stage in front, sponsored by PMU, the group involved in the French betting industry. On the stage were a compare and two lightly clad young women. The day was looking up. They started holding competitions, and we were extremely proud when our son Gareth, won a prize of big hands, a pen and a hat by answering the question in French. C’est mon garcon!!

The caravan duly arrived, consisting of sponser’s floats and floats made up of racing horses , lions etc and also with young women poking out of cars sun roofs. It passed through for about half an hour. During its passage they threw into the crowd hats, pens, bottle openers, mini saucisson etc for which we all scrabbled around  on the ground picking them up. It must have been a sight watching a professional accountant elbowing children away (rather gently persuading them to move) to pick up a mini saucisson.

Excitement started to rise along the road, which was only 5 or 6 meters wide, when  3 cyclists (a break away) came into view. Three minutes later the swarm of the pelaton arrived 6 to 8 abreast and nose to tail. They were so close that you could touch them and then within 20 second it was gone.

Hope it comes again soon.

The peliton arrives with Alberto
Contardo in the yellow
jersey

The peliton leaves