Saturday we rented a car and drove to France for a glimpse of le tour. it was absolutely ridiculous and i must do this again. We arrived in Ax 3 Thermes in the evening before the race was to arrive and decided to drive to the peak of the highest climb just about 20 miles north and just sleep in the car. It was raining lightly and the fog was settling, so as we climbed the moutain we couldnt see anything but the road a few feet ahead. Also it was fucking freezing, and of course i am incapable of dressing for the weather so i froze my ass off. anyway, just as we got to the peak, cars began to line the street, so we decided to pull over and park the car and figure everything else out in the am. We walked back to the top where there was one tent filled with a few hundred people who couldnt be more happy to be in the middle of nowhere (heaven) to watch their favorite sport. In the end I made some french friends and slept in the trunk of our rental, drunk. The seats folded down.
For some reason I cant remember my id or password for my flickr account so here are a few photos. Ill let you know when i get the flickr up and running again...
upon arrival
What we woke up to the next morning
The race was insane. The whole idea of the tour is so great. About half the spectators bike in from surrounding towns, some do the stage, and in the afternoon they block off the road. The strangest thing was how most spectators were either A) French men over 50 who look like they are in the prime of their life and just biked in from god knows where or B) Families on holiday. I thought this was great. You spend the morning hiking around and making friends and you can feel the excitement brimming as the afternoon ensues. Once the clouds dropped we realized where the hell we were, and i was in love.
and thennnn THE RACE CAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
okay here is what is all you need to know:
1. this really doesnt matter, other than the fact it is the reason you are there. Once you surrender to the fact that you will have no way of knowing what is actually going on in the race, it's awesome to spend the day in a completely secluded place making friends with total strangers whom you cant communicate with outside of obscure athlete's names.
2. I lost my glasses in the chaos and got the most sunburnt ive ever been in my life. altitude matters yall
3. LANCE SRSLY SMILED AT ME i can die happy.
4. No really these riders are unbelievable. Just the scope you get of the terrain they ride is mind blowing.
5. it was SO. MUCH. FUN. and i will go again. and bring a tent and my parents and maybe some pants.
also i got some fucking awesome pictures
Christophe Riblon, stage winner
The Peleton
What an incredible day.
and now ... the LOVE OF MY LIFE comes to spain tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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