3 hours on the bike this AM, on tomorrow's course, was a rejuvenating, and eye-opening experience.
Cows, horses, hedgehogs...farmers, feed troughs, hay bails...weed-whacking, painting, balloon-hanging...it all went by in a blur as i tried to emulate (ha!) the men i describe on a daily basis.
One of the reasons the Tour de France is so special is it involves so much of the country. And i don't mean the landscape. The PEOPLE of France want the world to see the shining colors of each town, just as much as the suffering of the riders on the bike. They take PRIDE in the race route, and the brief moment of notoriety the passing peloton brings.
Each town spends countless hours, and countless dollars, putting their 'best face forward'. Those of us who follow the Tour, whether it be here AT the race, or at home on television, could learn a thing or two from their commitment.
While we are all individuals, sometimes it's OK to support the 'collective'- if the larger goal benefits the largest amount of people. The Tour gets it, and so does every municipality along the way. I want to be here because i love what the Tour stands for, from a sporting standpoint, but also for what it represents to it's country. Pride, tempered with appreciation, abounds on these roads. You can't help but feel it's presence.
Everywhere i rode today, people shouted "Allez" ('go'), made fun of the fact that the race was actually TOMORROW (so why was i riding TODAY?), and found my little part in the proceedings entertaining. I even had a tractor operator race me up a hill- he waved, gave me the thumbs-up, and laughed hysterically as he drove past me on an incline.
You can say a lot about the French, but one thing they can never be accused of is taking this race for granted. It's perhaps the grandest global stage they now have. And every citizen i've seen, gives it the respect it deserves.
We definitely had the same experience as we road our parts of stage 1,3, 4 and 5 (and Ventoux). The people of France were so gracious to us as visitors and the culture so accepting of bicycling in general that one can see why it is a "mecca" of cycling.
ReplyDeleteMy 72 year old mother in law constantly heard people shouting "mama" in encouragement as she road by groups of spectators...
One other anecdote - we were stationed at one of the corners in the TTT in the village of Montpellier. During the pre-ride, many riders in team colors (lottery winners, contest winners, sponsors, etc.) rode by to cheers from the crowd. By far the biggest cheer though went out to a 60+, heavy rider who was holding onto a Gendarme motorcycle as he came up the hill to our corner! The shouts of "allez" shook the leaves on the trees in that small village!! Definitely one of my most memorable experiences of the Tour this year for me.
Keep up the good work - back in the US watching your broadcast on Versus now!
better than getting dropped by greg and jeff half way up del monte this morning..fat and out of shape, but happy:)
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