La tour.

[coyotedave]

I'm thoroughly enjoying watching the first stage of the tour on TV. I finished night shift this morning so was unable to go and see the start from Leeds.
It's great to see the tour on roads I no so well, Was up there with JB on Monday.

I'll be watching all of the tour as I do every year. Would love to go to the French alps and ride some of the famous tour roads, One day.


Cheers Dave.

[Billy Bananahead]

Watching le tour on the telly is the best place to see it.
It came past where we were staying in France a couple of years ago and so we thought we'd go and watch.
Blink and you miss it.

[picos mestizo]

Would love to go to the French alps and ride some of the famous tour roads, One day.


Cheers Dave.

Well worth a visit.
Did it last year when the campervans were assembling on the colls a week before the event.
Superb riding, high temperatures & steep climbs / ascents.
Worth all the riding it takes to get there & back.
Great to watch on TV, shame about the team politics but that's just how serious an event it is.

[Elle]

I drove to Scott Hall Road at 8.30am expecting traffic queues but no one was there so I parked for free on the roadside. Got a fantastic spot, enjoyed the caravan & support crews go past then 10 minutes before the riders arrived security staff appeared - to ensure we stayed off the road which hadn't been an issue for the previous 2 hours!
We had the tallest, fattest security guard in the line!
At the last second, when the riders arrived, this guy stood directly in front of my sister and I. Several spectators asked him to move along but he ignored us. It was too late to move & 20 seconds later the riders had passed. Wasn't happy
Nevertheless, it was a great atmosphere, also watching the remainder of the race on TV now.

Nice n Quiet before folk arrived

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The support caravan was fun to see

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A minute before the riders appeared (note where security man is stood)

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Then just as they arrive, I see this

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Missed the first batch of riders but managed to capture this

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What an amazing day it must be to see this event from the beautiful Dales

[coyotedave]

Great pics Elle. Glad you managed to get to see the riders, Well almost, :).



Cheers Dave.

[Spike941]

Great event, especially once they get into them there mountains. BTW, your heading should read Le Tour, as La Tour just means The Tower. The French masculine / feminine thing.

[shed]

Watching it now on tv in overcast south devon , road and scenery Yorkshire looks amazing,

[johnnyboxer]

Had a great day today, all very relaxed in West Tanfield and a great atmosphere

Watching Stage 1 on a massive screen was ace, like whooshing through all the Dales roads I know so well, in a computer game sorta way

French Gendarmes on their bikes - FJR1300's were fab


Even bumped into Prince Harry in the beer tent and shook his hand, nice bloke (thumbs)




Going to watch the Cote de Blubberhouses in the morning, I feel like catching the ferry next week and heading off to the Alps to follow Le Tour

A truly awesome experience

[Elle]

Had a great day today, all very relaxed in West Tanfield and a great atmosphere
Going to watch the Cote de Blubberhouses in the morning, I feel like catching the ferry nest week and heading off to the Alps to follow Le Tour

I thought about Blubberhouses too - avoid the orange giants

[92kk k100lt 193214]

When the Tour came to Ireland my office was on the route as it came into Cork City.

Closed the office for the day and invited clients to come in and bring their kids.

We watched it on television in the office until it came up close, we had chairs set up at the side of the street. It was all over in 2 minutes. Then back to the television to see the finish.

Also saw it in France a few times, most recent was in 2008 and we were staying in a village that was seeing it two days in a row. Due to the large numbers of cars etc we cycled along a canal tow path up to the village and got ourselves a nice spot. This was real television, all the support crew. How did we know when it was coming? Helicopters, like wasps, rush into position over the bend coming into the village to get the best footage. All over in 3 minutes. Roads opened in 15 minutes.

Another year we were in Bordeaux in a shopping centre when nit passed by, they closed the road outside for just half an hour.

But its worth seeing. To see the cycling you need to watch it on television, or compete!!