France 3

Ah Hell, it's October. Look at that. So anyway, stages, 12, 13, and 14, were really cool. For 12, we caught a spot near-ish to the finish in Montpellier. The caravan starts coming through waay before the riders. Van after van and car after car one by one. And flying past! There were some rather drunk fans that looked as if they had been having a grand old time most of the day, standing beside the road. Then the Peloton appeared down the road. First they were far away, then they were there, then they were gone. Holy smokes does it go by fast. It's more like a train than I ever realized. Then the second group came through and were gone. They were going so fast, I didn't recognize a single rider. Not one. I later found out that I got a pretty good shot of Boonen, which I am quite pleased with. And that was pretty much it. We walked around Montpellier a bit that day, and had a nice lunch in a large sort of square.

Stage 13, was a bit more scenic, we picked out a spot where the stage came nearest to where we were about an hour's drive away on a nice drive out through the country side into sort of a hillier area. Out in the middle of nowhere, we found cars lined up along the side of the road. We parked and walked down the road till we found the crowd. We were right at a 90° turn at the bottom of a hill so we went to just before the turn figuring that they would be stretched out and slowing for the curve. This reasoning worked well. As the Peleton Rolled by, they were all single file and a few of them could be recognized this time. I was able to pick out Boonen, the Discovery riders, and Rasmussen. This time there was an escape group 2 minutes ahead, then the peleton in a huge stretched out line and then another few groups trailing. It made for a much longer sighting. Memorable bits for the day included a large German that yelled at us becasue he thought we were going to stand in front of him. He was drunk and very much an ass.

Stage 14, the Time Trial was it for me though, this was my favorite day of the trip and it also provided the best photos. We went up to the large rolling hills where this
stage was located. It was bright and sunny when we left, wearing shorts, t shirts and sunglasses. However, teh weather had other plans. A cold rain came in. So I stood for 4 hours in the rain freezing my butt off having the time of my life. The riders, coming by one by one in order was so absolutley fantastic. Everyone knew who was coming next so different groups would periodically yell the rider's name as they came into view. The unforgettable moment would be when Christophe Moreau, the French national champion came into sight. A man jumped up pointing and shouted, "Mooorrr-eaauuuu!" and suddently the entire crowd was electrified. They went nuts. These rain-soaked, freezing cold fans were cheering like he'd just won. He's like a rockstar to the French. It was fun to see that kind of excitement and it reminded me just how far from home I was. As the boys from Discovery rolled through and I got to cheer for them by name, I think I felt a little of what the others had. The coolest was listening to the crowds cheer for each rider in their own language. Contador rode by to cheers of "Venga! Venga! Contatdor!" Moreau to "Allez Moreau!", there were also Germans, Australians, Brits, Swiss, and a couple languages I couldn't place. I think we were the only Americans at that spot. I was definitely cheering the loudest for Discovery at that stretch.

After that, I was pretty much satiated. The tour got too far away to follow, so I watched on live TV as Vinokourov and Rasmussen disgraced themselves and Contador climbed to the top. I went riding on the folder, doing a longest ride of 24 butt numbing miles (poor saddle choice). In all the bike held it's own, but those mag wheels, while indestructible, have a bit of a wobble that adds to the butt numbing in a not fun way, I'll probably put the coaster wheel back on it. It was a good vacation in all. That's about it.