Wow wow and wow
Do I need any other
word to describe a day at the Tour de France? I spent the past five days
in the Pyrenees as a tourist, two of those days were spent on mountain stages
of the Tour de France, the other 3 days were spent saying statements like,
"wow this is beautiful" and "wow this tastes so good" and
“this road is steep.” We ate really really really good food and met some very
fun people. Really, would be my second choice of word to describe a vacation in
the south of France. Really fantastic views, really great roads for cycling,
really friendly people, really glad I came.
Compared to the
predominantly French feeling of stages 10,1 1, and 12, I had attended last week
in the area of the Rhone River Valley, stages 16 and 17 in the Pyrenees
highlighted some of the best climbs in the Pyrenees and had that epic feeling.
The weather was perhaps the best I had ever experienced on a Tour day (in 6
previous visits). Perhaps Cavendish and Zabriskie would not agree, as they
reportedly suffered in the heat, but as a fan, the clear skies made for
dramatic views as we sat on a hillside waiting for a pack of riders to pass
by.
Last Wednesday morning
we joined the gathering numbers of cyclists riding the approach up the D934
south of Pau to climb the Col d' Aubisque. This road is commonly included on
the route of the Tour and happens to run directly below the sauque (farm) where
we are staying in the Vallee d'Ossau. To understand the Pyrenees one must grasp
the idea of various valleys running south into a huge mountain range stretching
west to east and dividing France from Spain.
To understand the Tour
de France, one must grasp the idea that these valleys mean nothing to a cyclist
who must traverse 5 valleys in one stage and never get the chance to sit and
enjoy the view, eat a grilled sausage sandwich from a local food vendor, giggle
over trinkets thrown from an entertaining caravan, or have the opportunity to
stop and snap photographs along the beautiful route.
Cycling on the route
of the Tour de France is like getting to play a scrimmage game with your best
friends on the football field before the Superbowl and then meeting fans from
around the world who are there to do the same thing and then getting to stand
on the sideline and watch. The only goal of a fan is to have a good time, under
good weather, and cheer on their favorite riders. We got to do all of
that.
We were so excited we
woke early to begin our ride up the mountain, we did not want to be blocked by the
Gendarmes, which is sort of par for the course. The Col d’Aubisque was tricky
since it was the first of 4 significant climbs of the day and the caravan would
pass by 2 hours prior to the riders. We had no idea what to expect, we only
wanted to be there to participate. We continued pedaling, up and up, receiving
cheers are we rode past surprised fans.
Never once did it
occur that we were doing something extraordinary, we are cyclists from
Colorado, where half the riders are women. But here in France, it is a rare
sight to see women riding epic climbs. Two days later we met 2 women from
Florida who were here to do the same thing. When they told us they traveled all
this way to ride onto the route of the Tour de France, we responded, “wow that
is so cool,” but wait, we were doing the same thing!
The Tour de France is
a grand organized chaotic exciting festival. A day of people helping people,
offering pushes up the hill, sharing caravan swag, allowing passage on the
descent, laughing and smiling no matter what your country or language. The
experience as a fan melds well with the goal of teamwork of the pro riders. To
me the Tour de France is people, then sport, and then scenery.
We rode, we walked,
but we got to the top of that mountain. Those Gendarmes let us by, but not
until we engaged them in various honest conversations explaining - yes our
cycling shoes were in our napsacks, but our flip-flops were on our feet. No, we
would not put back on our cycling shoes after passing the Gendarmes because we
were content to walk up the Col d’Aubisque rather than ride up it (actually
much harder), nor would we de-flat our tires (as they suggested) to prove our
intent. The Gendarmes would have to trust that we were experienced
flip-floppers on 9-10% grades. Negotiating with a Gendarme is a subjective art
form in France.
The Tour de France
riders got to ride up the Col d’Aubisque. On Stage 16 of the Tour de France, they
rode up the Vallee d’Ossau to climb the Col d'Aubisque (Col #1), across to the
Col du Soulor, down to the Valley Lavenden, up the Gorge de Luz, up the Col du
Tourmalet (Col #2), down to the Adour River, up the Col d'Aspin (Col #3), down to
the town of Arreau in the Vallee d’Aure, up the Col de Peyresourde (Col #4),
and finally descended into the spa resort of Bagneres-du-Luchon to an entirely
new outcome of the Tour de France. Well no wonder after all of that.
Meanwhile after
watching the riders pass by, we had a short pedal to the top of the Col d’Aubisque
where we enjoyed a grilled sausage sandwich and a cold drink at the café while
watching the Tour proceed on TV. Our biggest concern was carting back our huge
stash of caravan loot and wondering where our next baguette would be found. Being
a fan is easy.
I want to let the
riders know that the fans have an incredibly good time out there waiting for
their over-heated high wattage bodies to ride by. Thank you for providing us
with a great excuse to wile away the day on a beautiful mountainside in France.
We came home to sleep
and do it all over the next day, during a totally different experience on Stage
17 at Peyregudes (tons of fun). For now photographs from being a fan at Stage
16 of the 2102 Tour de France: Thomas Voeckler won the Stage! This was the scene on just one of the Cols - can you imagine the others?
