July 27, 2003 (France) – Bonjour mes amis! No idea if that is spelt correctly. Never mind! Wow, what a lot of amazing stories to tell and I know most of you don`t have time to read a novel so I will try to keep it short or petit! When I last left you, I was embarking on a short 4-day tour south of Paris with Patricia, the solo Canadian tourist I met up with. We hit Chartres and Chateaudun and then I headed back to Paris. It's different travelling with someone else – my conversations for the day actually lasted longer than “Bonjour!”, “Canadian!” and “1 tent, 1 person and 1 nuit.” It is also much easier to finish a bottle of wine and thus much easier to get up in the morning! Pleasure riding with you Patricia! Hope Pamplona is all you dreamt it to be!
Then I met up with a friend from home, Jill, for a few days in Paris. What a treat it is to have some company especially from home. We met under the Eiffel Tower to start, just like a movie or something! Some highlights from her visit; walking in the rain again and again (had to break down and buy an umbrella!), had some yummy dinners, wine, crepes and tea in many cafes, enjoyed baguettes together, got to stay in a hotel for the third time, blow dry my hair, put on makeup and have a shower without someone else in the next stall singing or making wierd noises! But most of all, just chatting about home and catching up! Thanks for the visit Jill!
Some of you have been wondering about wear and tear on my gear. Here are some details! Took my bike in for a tune and ended up with a new rear cassette, new chain and new brake pads! Definitely a language barrier but I must have needed it! My BOB trailer connection was giving me some trouble so the same bike shop fixed that for me free of charge which was nice of them since the “tune-up” ended up being a little more expensive than I expected! Had the first leak in my tent. No worries Gail, figured out the problem and all is good. Slept in a puddle that night but what are you going to do when you live in a shoe! Finally, it was so hot the other day, my candle lantern melted in my tent all over my sleeping bag and Thermarest! Just wax so fairly easy cleanup. Other than that, all is good but I still want to send some stuff home to lighten the load!
A few interesting things I have observed over the last little while. What is full fat cheese? I don`t know but I like it and it doesn`t have any nutritional information on the package so I will continue to eat it until I find out! Why are eggs in everything here? Pizza, pasta, soup and crepes! I dig eggs but come on! Why does a small, warm glass of Coke cost more than beer or wine in cafes? No wonder Europeans have wine with every meal! Finally, something un-food related, what is up with Motoball? Soccer on dirt bikes. They are nuts about it here! Funny to watch that's for sure!
So on to the Tour de France which I am sure some of you have been waiting on the edge of your seats for! This will be the hardest section to keep short so I am sorry! There are just too many exciting things to tell you about! I walked the prologue in Paris which was 6.5km and very fast. Picked out my spot for the start and imagined Lance launching around the corner. The day of the Prologue, I got to the Eiffel Tower in time to be able to see the media village, the start ramp and the athlete area where some were warming up. It was sureal to walk up from the metro and see all of the Tour yellow banners and people everywhere. I was smiling all day! When I got to my spot, there was a huge Canadian flag hanging over the barrier! So I got the pleasure of standing for seven hours with some fellow Canadians Scott & Margo and a few cool Americans Beth and John. To sum up the Prologue: overwhelming, tiring, and epic! Fans and team managers yelling “Allee!”, “Vamos!” or “Go!” depending on their nationality. What an international event! When I first planned this trip, I thought that the likelihood of including part of the Tour was just too far off. But when I saw Lance appear on on the cobblestones of Blvd. Delessert in front of a huge caravan of media, team cars and police, then jump out of the saddle to shoot around the corner and disappear, I knew I was living a dream! Not too many people can say that! And that was just the Prologue!
From Paris, I drove to St. Dizier for the end of stage 3 and the team time trail. Driving was an interesting way of getting out of the Paris area but I made it safe and sound. It`s amazing how fast city turns to country here. I am driving a Mercedes A170, diesel, standard which all of my gear fits perfectly into. We are quite a team! Caught a section of stage 1 in the middle of nowhere on my way to St. Dizier. Couldn`t ignore the helicopters, route barree signs and cars lining the highway. They came and went fast but the atmosphere was very cool! Onto the finish of stage 3, again lots of waiting but it was worth it! The caravan is the weirdest thing about the Tour. Companies sink tons of $$ into being able to drive the route before the riders come through to give out samples of their product. Floats with dancing girls, flogging insulation, bad music blarring from the Terminator 3 cars, Aquatel spraying the crowd with water and a capped crusader throwing out cheese! Very cheesy if you ask me! People will do anything for free stuff and get quite angry if a vehicle has nothing to give. Anyway, it`s a good indication that the riders are close. Dramatic sprint at the end that Baden Cooke won but there was a horrible crash right in front of me at the 150 meter mark. Very scary. He got up and finished but his shorts were ripped right off. Poor guy.
Then the team time trial. Got a spot at the 57km mark and they were still moving so quick. Lance and the boys were heads and tails above the rest you could just tell by watching. Lance was leading when they came by too which is a picture that will stick with me forever! Met a few Aussies and and American, Brad, who are following the Tour by bike! Quite the feat if you ask me! Brad decided to join me by car to Alpe D`Huez though so it was nice to have the company and have someone to help pay for expenses! We camped in a field on the way which was way outside of my comfort level but having Brad there made it much easier and safer.
Arrival in Alpe D`Huez and the French Alps for stage 8 & 9 was very dramatic. These mountains are like nothing I have ever seen. Lush, jagged and huge! Found a campground even though I heard everything was full. Rode up to Alpe D`Huez form Bourg D`Oisnas twice just for the heck of it! 12km straight up. It was hard but very fullfilling. I even passed some people! A good friend from my Trilife days passed me, Jason Vincze and I met him and Tracey at the top! What a small world! He noticed my Canadian flag! They graciously took Brad and I out for lunch and it was a great visit. Thanks again Tracey and Jason! Hope your trip was all you dreamt it would be!
Thousands of others were riding the route with us and there were RV`s already lining the road awaiting the arrival of the riders. Some had been there for a week creating a shrine to their team and painting the roads. Amazing dedication. I slept under the stars at the top the night before to ensure I got a good spot. Just around the corner from the 3 km mark. We had quite the collection of people by the time the start came along. Made for such a good atmosphere. Hooked up with all my friends from the Prologue which was great. There were so many people on the mountain by the time the caravan came by, close to 500,000. Best atmosphere of the race. Mayo was too far ahead when he passed by me but when Lance, Beloki and Tyler passed by, they were working just as hard after completing some 200 kms ! Unreal! The best stage of the race for sure!
Due to low financial times and the extra kms on the rental car, I will not be following the Tour until the finish in Paris. No worries, I saw what I came to see! Lance in yellow! Looks even more likely with Beloki out now. What a terrible crash and what a recovery by Lance. Been a blast, but it`s also been nice to get away from the crowds and chill out. I'm in Val D`Isere now and I rode up to the highest mountain pass in France today Col de L`Iseran which has also been a part of the Tour in the past – 17 kms straight up and more difficult that Alpe d`Huez due to the wind and amazing views that distracted me! I am getting good at this climbing stuff which I disliked so much in the past! Off to Chamonix tomorrow for some more riding and hiking. Mont Blanc here I come!
Looking forward to getting back on my bike in Germany at the beginning of August and then the visits begin! As some of you may know, my amazing boyfriend, Lawrence, is flying to Italy to visit me at the end of August for 10 days for some hiking and relaxing in the Alps. Then my mom will be arriving shorlty after his departure to ride Tuscany with me so I'm getting very excited as this is just around the corner! I am so lucky to have amazing people in my life that are willing to fly across the ocean to visit me. Thanks Lo-Lo and Mommy! So that is it for now! My fingers are tired not to mention my legs! Hope all is well with you all and summer is not as hot as here. Keep me up to date and Vive la Tour!
Love, Robyn