(no title)

July 19, 2014

Stage 13: Carnival on the Col

Watching the Tour de France at about 3 km from a mountaintop finish surpassed all expectations. Thanks Thomson Tours for arranging a brilliant experience: getting us right to the tents on a bus, and providing food, drinks, and television coverage of the race in English. We had time to walk up to the Arrive Village and get a sense of what it will be like for the riders to go up, up, up to the finish line. The road was lined with camper vans, tents, and people who cycled up.

Happy coincidence the tents were set up across the road from Norwegian eye candy. These delightful group of fans from Bergen and Stavanger kept us amused all afternoon. We especially enjoyed watching them being interviewed by Norwegian television. Two of them danced almost all day, much of it in carrot and banana costumes. The people viewing was so fantastic that when the caravan went through it was almost a distraction.

The Thomson cyclists rode up the Col (the first HC or beyond categorization climb of the Tour) and met us at the tents. Chamrousse ski resort rests at the top of about a 20 km climb, with an average 7% incline. Our tour guide Jacinta heartily encouraged us to express ourselves, even stopping at the grocery store for us to pick up last minute costume supplies. My fellow spectators got into the spirit of mountainside viewing and dressed up: Patrick as Willie Nelson, James as Wolverine, and Kris as, um, an Aussie swimmer (?). I had my California flag, Tony and Sandy had their Melbourne football jerseys, and there were several Australian flags.

We all gathered at the tents put up and protected by Thomson Bike Tours for 4 days. We had Sky television race coverage in English! This attracted a big crowd of other fans. This helped us not forget that it is a bike race. We knew to expect the yellow jersey Vincenzo Nibali to come up the road first. What was surprising is how much time passed before the next two riders. He added to his lead and now has a 4 minute cushion. Essentially only a catastrophe like a crash will keep him from the top of the podium in Paris. Tonight he collected the stage winner’s trophy, the yellow jersey and the polka dot jersey. His nickname is the Shark and we are seeing more inflatable sharks and other shark images popping up along the roadside.

Fantastico!

July 17, 2014

Cobbles: One Deciding Factor in Tour de France 2014

Lorrie from the B&B sent me a couple of her photos from the sixth set of cobbles. She and Greg had commented that the riders looked tired and scared. The cyclists are definitely stressed out. (Due to the low quality of the Wifi in this hotel, I am sharing just the one photo for now.)

This is Stage that determined a lot of riders’ Tour fortunes, most especially the GC contender Chris Froome.

After Lorrie and Greg followed the Tour de France for 5 days, they went to Paris and were there for the Bastille Day fireworks and military parade. They are home in Cincinatti and watching the rest of the race on television.

Thanks for sharing the photos Lorrie.

P.S. Watch for our group about 3 km from the top of the mountaintop finish tomorrow. Our group may be on camera since we have “Willie Nelson” and Wolverine (or at least a guy in a real Wolverine hat).

July 17, 2014July 17, 2014

Stage 11: The Sun Shines

We set out for the “Arrive” in Oyonnax at 8:15 a.m. after a quick VIP Spectator Team photo. We said so long to the couple of dozen Thomson Tour cyclists who were heading out for a full day of climbing. God bless them.

It took several hours to drive to the plastic and comb capitol of France. Oyonnax is not picturesque. It looks like the kind of planned, sterile manufacturing towns that sprang up in the 1960s and 70s. We had a good lunch and then focused on le Tour. We walked to the VIP area near the finish line. Gone are the clouds, rain and cool temperatures of the first 10 stages. Today felt like I was home in Davis, California: hot, very hot.

Our zany tour guide Jacinta arranged for a “behind the scenes” tour with Valentina. She allowed us to walk out and take photos on the finish line. We bumped into Greg LeMond and James from Minneapolis had a good conversation with him. She also made sure we got photos from the official VIP photographer and champagne in the viewing area.

One of my goals was to find out more about the sponsor liaisons or podium girls. Today was a relatively quiet finish (far fewer spectators) so access to the sponsor liaisons was relatively easy. One of the PMU green jersey sponsor liaisons, Lisa, spoke English and answered my questions. I asked if it is competitive to become a liaison. She said no, she just applied and had an interview. Later on the bus Kris and Tony joked that they will apply and I added, you also need to be devastatingly beautiful. Tony and Kris laughed and admitted that this took them out of the competition. (Then there is the gender difference.) Did I mention that they are all very tall?

Lisa’s colleague is a model but she is not. She started with the Tour when it came to France. She only represents PMU and the green jersey. There are other PMU liaisons because in the 7 stages in France she has only cheek-kissed Peter Sagan twice. (Sagan has held the green jersey since England.) Two of her other colleagues presented the jersey today and rocked the Star Trek inspired dresses. My favorite costumes are definitely the King of the Mountain sponsor Carrefour (French grocery stores)—those infamous red polka dots.

I always wondered how the podium girls worked. Was it like the Pasadena Rose Parade court? Or were they local girls? In George Hincapie’s new book, The Loyal Lieuntenant, he describes meeting his wife on the podium. He felt an electric shock when she kissed his cheek and pursued her in spite of the sponsor’s frowning on relationships between liaisons and riders. She described her experience in his book: “I had done the Tour (and Paris-Nice too) in 2002, and the custom was you got on year as a sponsor liaison and then moved on. (The casting process was quite intense, starting with over eighty girls who were eventually whittled down to only four.) But two weeks before the 2003 Tour, the head of Credit Lyonnais called and said that a couple of the main sponsors had asked if I could come back and take part in another year. It was just fate that I was on that stage…”

I also enjoyed watching the press zone after the race. They created a kind of cattle chute for the riders to walk through and pause for interviews and photos before heading into the trailer studio for video interviews. No chance for getting signatures.

The inspirational story of the day was Andrew Talansky of Miami, Florida. He deserves a dedicated post.

July 15, 2014

Tour de France Rest Day: Behind the Scenes

Imagine two small cities quickly constructed for the departure and arrival of the Tour de France stages each day. The finish is a much bigger production because all of the media broadcasting from wherever the finish is that day. Just moments after the finish, crews begin breaking it all down to move to the next town. It reminded me of the circus, except the circus does not move everyday.

When you walk behind the scenes you have to watch your feet. There are wires snaking everywhere. There are also water tanks and septic tanks. Surprise, there are also open air urinals. There are trailers and tents for every imaginable kind of media.

I was walking by one smaller trailer and I saw a photojournalist with large lenses hanging off every each arm. “Are you one of those photographers who bravely takes pictures hanging off the back of motorcycle?” I asked. He said yes and invited me to step in the trailer and see the small tribe of photographers all hurriedly downloading their photos to send to AP or Reuters or other news services. I snapped a few photos and he introduced me to Jesus– “one of the best”. I left them to their work and continued exploring.

I found the NBC Sports trailer and the announcer Paul Sherwen hugging his kids. There was a tent where the stage winners went from one interview to the next in English, French, Italian, Spanish or German.

The packing up was getting more intense and I realized that I better stop taking pictures and pay more attention to where I was walking. Where is my lens cap? Not my pockets. Oh fudge. A few moments later I passed the photojournalist’s trailer and there was Jesus holding out my lens cap. I thanked him and wished him good luck and a safe tour.

July 15, 2014

Stage 10: Tour of Chiens in Mulhouse

We got up early, packed and dashed for the bus to le Gare (train station) in Mulhouse. The original plan was to stow our luggage in a lockers, go to the official “depart” or start. Alas, in France there are no lockers in train stations, so we adapted. I asked a policeman to show me on the map where the Tour route passed closest to the train station. We schlepped our bags about 5 blocks and found a great spot for viewing the caravan and the start.

The first cute dog alert occurred just moments after we sat down at a café for a coffee. I ended up taking so many pictures of cute dogs that Hetta and I joked that today it was Le Tour of Chiens (dogs).

We had a lot of fun and it was easier than going to the official start. We nipped back to the station and made our respective trains. So glad I had this time with the WatLoves and great to see Nora and Grace Julie growing into adventurous young women.

I bought a first class ticket on the train to Lyon because it was only E3 difference. I am not sure what advantage there is to first class other than better padded chairs and a plug for recharging my computer. Noticing a lot of all white cows in fields. It is an unfamiliar breed and it is hard not to think of them as ghost cows.

By the time I got to Lyon I was feeling truly rotten from this cold. It is a bank holiday weekend so no pharmacies open (not even the 24/7 emergency pharmacy!) No room service. Just one lonely desk clerk who filled two teapots with hot water. Got to my room and turned on the Tour and watched the last 34 km. Shock! Contador crashed out. So sad for him and for all fans. Thought the break would stay away and then Nibali decided to write his name all over that last climb and crushed it. He deserves the yellow jersey.

July 14 is Bastille Day and if you think it might be like Independence Day in the USA with decorations everywhere, you would be wrong. They put all their money toward fireworks. I woke up from my drugged sleep thinking that I was in Syria. Then I remembered my original intention was to stay close to old Lyon so I could see the Bastille Day fireworks. Oh well. I am in it for Paris and it another 2 weeks on the road.

Tomorrow I am meeting the Thomson Tour group at 8:30 a.m. and gladly letting them lead me for the second half of my adventure. I will be the mysterioso member of the group if I still do not have my voice. (P.S. I sound like Demi Moore today.)

July 14, 2014

Stage 9: Spirits Perking Up

You know you are travel weary when you look at a baguette askance. You know you are travel weary when you view going out to dinner as a chore.

What is the best medicine for the travel weary? Meeting up with good friends who you can completely relax with and lean on if needed. Such are Harriet and Brian and their daughters Grace Julie and Nora (aka the Watloves). Having spent many an Independence Day or New Years Day with them, and girls weekends in Portland, I knew we could travel together.

Brian really wanted to see the Tour and his family enthusiastically supported this part of the trip. I made reservations at one of the most affordable places for a family of 5—Les Jardines du Temps in Illzach about 5 km outside of Mulhouse. Brian quickly mastered the bus and tram schedule so we could get around on public transportation. Mulhouse (Mul-loose) offered a special for Le Tour E5 for a family of 5 so I became Auntie Julie.

Getting to the finish or Arrive for Stage 9 was relatively easy. We stopped at a boulanger near the tram station and bought a sandwich and then headed to the finish line about 1 p.m. We could have gone anywhere near the finish at that point, but chose to be at about 350 meters from the line. This way we could see all the team cars and other vehicles before they turned off, and better defend our space on the railing. (My favorite team bus today was Astana—they have all of the stuffed lions from Nibali’s yellow jersey sitting in the front window!)

The Watloves promised a friend from Humboldt County to look for a memorial to relatives who died in the Holocaust in Mulhouse. The old cemetery was literally 100 yards from the finish line. They found the memorial and took a lot of pictures. Their friend’s mom survived the war because a neighbor hid her and her parents in a barn for six years!

This stage was the first of the climbing stages and the characters are starting to appear. There was a Viking invasion from Norway, and an Aussie invasion from down under. I bumped into my train friend Ashilde and her mom. By this time I had completely lost my voice so I was not able to say much that could be understood.

Harriet spotted a Jens Voigt fan club and came and got me to take pictures. I returned with Grace Julie to give me a voice and translate German. Ergo Patron has been a huge fan of Jensie since 1998. He is from the same town, Mackleburg, in Germany. Then he introduced me to Jens’ mom and dad! They did not speak a lot of English, still we managed to figure out that I am from California, his Mom has relatives in California and Jens is going to Utah and Colorado after the Tour. A lovely couple.

Every so often we would check the big screens to see where the racers were on course. Tony Martin was blazing a 8 minute lead in the breakaway. At about 60 km he dropped the only other rider in the break and forged on alone. His lead dwindled and still I was hoping that he might stay away and win the stage. I have enjoyed his riding since his days with Columbia HTC and last year he had a second place finish. He is the reigning world champion time trialist, and a great road warrior for Omega Pharma Quickstep and I hoped he would win. Grace wanted him to win because he is German and it would bode well for the World Cup. She has been living in Germany this past year on exchange and feels a certain loyalty to her host country.

He did win the stage. Icing on the cake: Fabian Cancelllara came in second in a sprint for the line. He was part of a bunch that trailed Martin by about 2 minutes. The same bunch included Tony Gallopin who took the yellow jersey off of Nibali. A Frenchman in yellow on Bastille Day—nice gift to French fans.

We had to get creative after the race as the public transportation was not restored to normal for some time. The girls really wanted to watch the World Cup Germany vs Argentina game in a pub. We walked to Illzach and found a kebab place for dinner but nothing that looked like a public place to watch the World Cup. And it started to rain hard. So we hustled back to our lodgings and they watched the game and I dozed. You all know Germany won in overtime.

Mulhouse lit fireworks. For the World Cup, the Tour or Bastille Day? Take your pick.

July 13, 2014July 13, 2014

Tough Day for Le Tour; Easy Day for Me

Blel Kadri won a very hard stage 8. Flat until the end and then some good climbs. The finish was up a 10% grade. It made me think of Yorkshire. Ouch. I loved watching him once he realized he had won. I bet you right now he is still walking a f

BF since 2nd Grade: we met in Mulhouse to watch the Tour

ew inches above the earth. He was transported. I watched it all on French television. Alberto Contador also clawed back a few seconds in the general classification.

My day was much easier. I rode the train from Nancy to Strasbourg and then changed to Mulhouse. Met up with Harriet, Brian, Grace and Nora Watson Lovell also known as the WatLoves. Great to hear of their adventures in Germany and to see Grace after an exchange year.

We are staying at Les Jardin du Temps. It is a beautiful lodge in a vast garden in a suburb of Mulhouse (Illzach). Very quiet and beautiful. We will watch the finish tomorrow afternoon and the start the following morning. Then they go on to Switzerland and I travel to Lyon to meet up with Thomson Tours for the Alps.

July 11, 2014July 11, 2014

Stage 7: Never Give Up

Oh my spirits flagged midday. I had a successful shopping excursion to get warmer clothes for the Alps. Just as I gave up on France having sunshine it popped out for bit this afternoon. Since I packed for the weather I experienced in Europe last July, I have plenty of sundresses and not enough long pants and layers. Thanks to a big sale at Go Sports I have a ski jacket and a hideous pink turtleneck (both will go to Goodwill in Paris before I fly home). I also received kind help from a couple from Perth in the pharmacy who recommended the Strepsil for my throat and shared their around the world travel plans.

When I got to the train station I learned that I had 2 trains and a bus to get to Nancy. I took a deep breath and dove in and it all worked like clockwork. I checked into a better hotel and turned on the television for my daily ritual of “how many kilometers to go?” I waivered for a bit in my room. I could not figure out what day it was, what stage. I looked out the window and wondered, “Why am I doing this?” And then I started out and I met a lovely couple from South Africa also staying at my hotel and walking to the Tour finish line.

With about 3 hours to wait, there was already 2-4 people deep along the barricades before and after the finish. I picked a spot just 20 feet after the finish with only 2 people deep. I set up my REI chair and did some knitting. Now that I have seen the caravan a few times it is easy to just relax and enjoy the atmosphere and not stress over catching stuff. Interestingly they do not toss swag near the finish line. I guess even though there is an hour or more before the racers arrive, they do not want to have any hazards on the course.

I love being small and slipping through the crowd to get to the finish in the first place, and then my height is a disadvantage. Once the crowd starts to squeeze in I wish I were as tall as my brother Dean (+12″) and as broad shouldered so I could hold my ground. Ah well, crowd behavior is similar the world over. The finish was so close everyone around me called it for Peter Sagan. He is a favorite with fans and even has his own hard core fan club. (In fact they were so noisy with the air horns during the awards presentations that the gendarmes hustled them out of the VIP section.)

Even the actual winner Matteo Trentin thought Sagan must have won. Until the officials told him he won. The photo finish is my inspiration for today. Never give up.

I stopped for a bite to eat on my way back to the hotel and I realized that whatever day it is, tomorrow I am headed to Mulhouse and will see Harriet and Brian and Grace and Nora. I am loved and they are adored. I am getting my second wind. Life is great.

Watch this video for one of the most thrilling 1 kilometer of the Tour 2014: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x21awbk_en-the-flamme-rouge-the-last-kilometre-stage-7-epernay-nancy_sport

July 10, 2014July 17, 2014

The Tour de France Fan Tribe

Whilst I am traveling around England and France chasing the Tour de France, I am part of a unique tribe. We are not just cycling fans, we are keen enough to spend our vacation time and our savings to traipse around the countryside, stand in the freezing rain for the privilege of seeing the peloton go by in about 30 seconds.

You can usually recognize the tribe by their clothes. Many are wearing bicycle kits with team jerseys or Tour de France leader jerseys– telltale signs on trains and on sidewalks that these people are following the Tour.

A tribal subgroup is the English speaking fans who do not speak much French. Today I met Greg and Lorrie from Cincinatti, Ohio in my hotel breakfast area. They stood out in the freezing rain on the sixth section of cobbles yesterday. (Hopefully Lorrie will guest blog and share her photos). “Our clothes may never dry, “ they said like happy fans able to partake in the suffering on Stage 5.

At the start of Stage 6 in Arras, I found myself standing next to Mark and Jessica from the Lake District in England (see photo). They were going to just follow the Tour in Yorkshire and then they went to London, and then they found themselves driving their car onto a ferry to Lille and now Arras. We traded information like news starved sports fans that we are. They got soaked on the first set of cobbles and spent the day waiting and wondering what happened to their favorite rider Chris Froome.

Thank goodness for Twitter and Facebook, Bicycling and Velo blog sites, and other English speaking fans. Together we piece together how the race is going. Everything in France is in French only, of course.

When I got on the train to Paris, I noticed a young man who was also following the tour. As we disembarked he caught my eye and gave me a knowing look that said, “The Tour, right?” We had a brief conversation. He is from Australia and is wrapping up his Tour today, spending a few days in Paris before heading home.

I did not make it to Reims in time to see Andre Greipel win his first stage of this Tour de France. Although crosswinds split the peloton, all the leader jerseys remain the same. At dinner a friendly couple from Boston just happened to be from in the area and decided to watch the finish. They loved the experience catching swag off the caravan and then seeing the front group race for the finish.

Communication challenges abound. Most people have been super gracious about my lack of French vocabulary. I stopped at the Cafe de la Prefecture and tried to order a jambon sandwich off the board. The waiter said something to the effect of “no, no you want this” and he pointed to a special that I thought was erased. Sure, why not. It was a delicious sausage with a warm mustard sauce, fries and a salad. Other situations have been more stressful. Like taking the train to Reims through Paris and discovering with just 28 minutes until departure that I am in Paris Nord station and need to be in Paris Est station “five minutes away”. Everything is 5 minutes away, except when it is 10 or 15!

Other times no communication is attempted at all. I was shifted to another hotel without any email or attempt to communicate. Fortunately both hotels were fairly close to the train station in Reims. I have to credit Eurostar, for all the delays related to the recent repairs, they have done A+ work on communicating with customers.

This is why travel is fun. It is not always easy and it stretches us. Even simple things like stepping into the pharmacy to get contact solution and throat lozenges. It took quite a while to communicate that I wanted Bonbons au Miel. Meanwhile I discovered that in France you can get flea medicine for your dog or cat at the pharmacy.

July 9, 2014

Survivor: Tour de France Stage 5

On the train from Lille to Arras I met up with a mother and daughter from Norway who are following the Tour de France from Leeds to the first rest day. Ashild is a huge Peter Sagan fan. She has been able to meet him and she shared her photos. She must be thrilled as he had a very good day today in spite of the cobbles and muck.

My hotel, Chambres d’ hotes La Cour des Grands in St Nicolas-Arras, is lovely; however, I missed the small print that says check in from 5-7 p.m. I used the phone I got at Heathrow to call when I found the front door locked. The proprietor was gracious about coming over and letting me in, giving me a key, a map, the log in for wifi and the code for the front door. This is the first time I’ve stayed in a hotel that does not maintain staff at reception. Once I was in it was fine. I used my French phrase book to ask the maid where I might find a laundromat. She gave me excellent directions by pointing and waving her arms.

The plan was to do a load of laundry and then continue on with clean clothes in my pack and watch the Tour in an Irish pub in English. This worked well last year in Bergen and Lyon. Alas, the French manager at Dan Foyle’s Irish Pub in Arras is more interested in heavy metal music than sport. He turned the television to the Tour and then proceeded to block the view, even making out with his girlfriend. And to add insult to injury, the pub was out of Guinness. Revoke the Irish in the pub sign!

I hiked in the rain and muck to my hotel and tucked myself in bed to watch the last 78 km. What a day. I was cold and miserable walking around town. I cannot imagine how wretched the race course must have been. I watched rider after rider go down. I got teary watching Chris Froome abandon the race at about 66 km. Then I rooted for Fabian Cancellara to bridge to the yellow jersey trio and go for a win. It was not to be as Lars Boom was on fire. Tour GC leader Vincenzo Nibali earned more respect today by controlling the front all day.