Tour de France
The last time I publicly stated my desire to see the Tour de France was back in December 2004 and here we are with 2 and a half years rolling by before I finally get to achieve a small personal goal.
I got a little help though; for those of you who may not be aware, the Prologue and Stage 1 of Le Tour de France 2007 were in England 
I tried to see the Prologue in London yesterday but was denied by the lack of parking on the outskirts of the capital – yes, it was heaving – 1 million+ people turned out to cheer the riders on.
But Sunday’s jaunt involved a sunny drive out to the Kent countryside and I finally got to see Le Tour.
Having found myself a nice spot outside the little town of Royal Tonbridge Wells, along a green and leafy oak-lined English road, I bagged myself a handful of photos of the riders as they whistled past, before heading east to the finish in the city of Canterbury.
Canterbury was fun getting into – road closures and diversions, but finding a spot to park was surprisingly easy. Getting anywhere within sight of the race finish was nigh on impossible so I holed-up within view of the raised winners podium for some long-distance zoom shots.
And I wasn’t totally disappointed – I got to see Robbie McEwen, the Aussie stage winner, who crashed just 25 kms before the finish, but still got back on his bike and went on to win, maillot jaune winner Fabian Cancellara and Britain’s own David Millar, holder of the “King of the Mountains” jersey for now (yeah, I know; where are the mountains in Kent?)
And when all the public festivities were over and everyone was told to go home, I lingered on a little and somehow found myself in the journo’s compound; I don’t know how I got in there 
I was just a few feet away from Robbie McEwen and could easily have interviewed him about his fall and consequent amazing comeback, but nah, I grabbed some pics of him and Cancellara instead.
So, a good day out, I’d recommend it, especially as it’s in Belgium today and then on to France. We will be there next year…
Check out the beeb for Sunday’s Stage 1 Tour de France 2007 report.
neat! it’s always nice to fulfill personal goals
and even though i’m the one always shaking my fist and cursing at bike riders on the road, i have to admit that looks fun. cheers, mate.
RebeKah: Mate, you should mosey on with us to France next year… mind you, you’d have to take 3 weeks off to do it all before ending up in Paris.
Great day out then! Reminds me of the years I spent trying to get into the F1 paddock at Silverstone. Only suceeded once, but I did it!!
Don’t think much of that shirt he’e wearing – bit too bright.
Brom: Yep, good day, lots of standing ’round and mere seconds of sporting observation, but the whole circus was fun
Heh, that’s an F1 story AND a Lemmy story you need to tell…
Anyway, what’s wrong with yellow?
wooohoo…i’m going to Par-is….I’m going to Bel-gium
(I can’t wait….)
Woohoo, I’m glad to hear that happiness is creeping back in.
My BBFK: You have to be in Eng-land to be on the doorstep of Europa :p But yes dear, we are going to Paris and we are heading off to Belgium, and I promised to pop by somewhere near Rotterdam to drop off some beer too
Jay: Oh, this happiness, this happiness, this happiness is out of control
Tip o’ the hat to Duke Special there