8.7.07

The Tour de France in a Minute or Less

The Tour de France started in London this year. Every year they do the Prologue and Stage 1 in a different country before moving to France and this year we're lucky enough that it was here. The route was actually scheduled to go through Greenwich which is only 10 minutes from where I live. This was an incredible opportunity to see something like this so we stood waiting for about 45 minutes just to see the riders. This is actually the first time we've seen the beginning of the race. A couple of years ago we by default were in Paris on the Champs Elysee at the very end of the race when Lance Armstrong won his 6th title.

It was crazy watching the race though as there was more entourage than cyclists on the route. Buses, Sponsors, French and British Police, Cars with extra bikes and Race Officials were the majority of what we saw. When it came time for the hundred or so cyclists they were so fast that they were gone in like less than a minute. Even though it was short and we had to deal with rude people trying to push into our view--it was definitely worth it. I really admire people who do this kind of thing which is the ultimate test of endurance and strength of character. I feel really grateful that I live in London so I can have these opportunities to be a part of experiences like this!

2 comments:

sherrie said...

how cool is that? and you got to see lance armstrong win in paris a few years ago. that's something you won't forget soon. you really are livin it in london ;) i work with a girl from england and she goes back once a year. i always make her sit down and tell me everything she did and saw. i'd love to make my way out there someday!

Celestia said...

I love your Ghandi quote on the sidebar. Fatih has a friend who is from India and he let us borrow his Ghandi movie. It made me cry, I can't believe what they did to those people, but Ghandi was an amazing person.