Le Tour de France: The Action

After all the hard work of arriving to Bergerac, I'd almost forgotten why I'd ridden there in the first place.... As soon as I had set up my tent, the rain stopped, and I headed towards the Tour de France route, where I would watch the stage finish line.

As the crowd gathered around the road where the riders were due to finish in a few hours, vendors drove around in small carts throwing out hats, candy, chips and generally getting the growing crowd pumped up.

I lucked into a spot exactly 250 meters from the finish line and leaned against the security railing to watch he action, thankful the sun had started to poke throughout the clouds.

It should have been a warning when two vendor trucks selling umbrellas came through but I was starting to feel warm in my shorts and tee shirt, barefoot while my shoes and socks dried out from the morning's ride. Before the cyclists come, a procession of sponsors floats, teams busses and security cars drive the route and just as the first few floats began to arrive, the rain started again.

This was a candy company sponsoring the Tour throwing candy from the floats.

And these guys had dancers on the back grooving to American pop music.

Before long it got too rainy for me to take any pictures and I was left shivering and barefoot waiting for the cyclists to arrive. An hour and a half of soaking in my tee shirt and finally another umbrella salesman came by. I might be stubborn but I'm not stupid so I bought one to keep the rain off my already drenched clothes. I had also lucked into meeting a couple from Turkey standing next to me that happened to be staying in the same campground. They were kind enough to loan me a sweatshirt seeing how miserable I was.

Soaked.....

Before long, a few cop cars sped down the road and a lone cyclist came into view. He had broken away from the pack and with the many crashes along the race that day was able to hold off the pelaton. Screaming and banging on the security railing lining the course, it was an incredible rush watching him speed past at breakneck speed despite the still pouring rain!

Less than a few hundred meters behind a group of about five cyclists battled for second place, sprinting down the soaked pavement, rain dumping and crowd screaming and banging on the railings! 

More cyclists would arrive in groups over the next fifteen minutes, some bleeding from the days unusually large number of crashes. With each group, several team cars, police and camera motorcycles would zip in in front and behind.

This stage had pretty much sealed the overall Tour de France victory Italian Vicenzo Nibali as his lead for the entirety was over 7 minutes but the cool thing about the Tour is while there may be an overall winner, each stage is a race in and of itself. There are many races within the overall race for such accolades as King of the Mountain for best climber, Best Young Rider, Top Sprinter and also a team competition for fastest team.

 

Above, the overall points leader is given his green jacket to signify his position. The overall time leader wears a yellow jacket, King of the Mountain wears a white and red polka jacket and so on.

Despite the rain, it was an amazing day and definitely one checked off the bucket list!

Luckily for me, there was a time trial stage the next day also starting from

Bergerac. In the time trial, each rider starts individually and races against the clock. 

I got a spot against the railing 100 yards from the roll-in start!

A cyclist speeds past...

Each cyclist gets a police escort and right across from me was the line of motorcyclists getting ready to go off. With riders leaving every 3 minutes all day, there were a lot of cops!

Each biker also has a team support car following them carrying a spare bike in cases something goes wrong. Here a rider comes straight at me with his support car in tow.

About 1/4 mile from the start the course made a hard turn in front of the town's towering church. It was amazing how fast the cyclists gained speed coming out of the turn...

Inspired from watching two days of he tour, I couldn't stick around all day as I had to start my own ride back to Bordeaux. After seeing the Tour de France in person and having ridden the same terrain these guys traverse over 26 stages over three and a half weeks with only one or two rest days, I have a whole new respect for their endurance day after day and even more so for their mental stamina. Overall, an incredible sporting event and showcase of human willpower and endurance!

Le Tour de France: Getting There Part 2 (Better Photos)

Getting back from the tour after seeing two Tour stages was equally challenging to getting there and still took two days. I rode a slightly different route but the views were the same. Countless chateaus, miles of rolling vineyards, sunflower fields, historic churches, country estates and thick forests lined the entire way. 

I avoided highways takin country roads where a car might pass every 5-10 minutes, though highway is a relative term as I only saw a car every 2-3 minutes.

Below, pulling into a small hilltop town...

The Chateau de Duras...

Which way to go?

Occasionally, a dense forest would provide much welcomed shade...

Are we there yet?

Company on a lonely road...

Sunset on the Dordogne River...

Bergerac, France bridge

An amazing journey!!

Le Tour de France: Getting There

I started watching the Tour de France on TV in college as a casual cycling fan. At the time, I was not a cyclist myself but the mental and physical stamina the bikers must have to ride so far and so fast for three weeks straight combined with the stunning scenery the Tour passed through drew me in. It was not my plan wen I left home to catch the Tour, but circumstances aligned where my path would come close to intercepting with their route, so as often happens, my plans changed.

After landing in Bordeaux, perhaps one of the most famous wine regions in the world, I rented a bike, loaded it with newly purchased camping gear and set off on my own tour, 140 kilometers (87 miles) towards the town of Bergerac where I would have the fortune of seeing the third-to-last and second-to-last stages. 

Having never been to France or done a cycling tour before, I learned a few things pretty quick: with a sturdy frame and loaded with gear, the heavy bike would be slow going; I could barely say "please" and " thank you" in French and the locals were in no mood to humor me; there were going to be a lot of hills. Mostly, this would be way tougher than anticipated.

(I was actually pretty embarrassed by my lack of French vocabulary and butchered pronunciation. At times, I felt like a complete ass.)

The first 35 miles were on a dedicated bike path from Bordeaux to the town of Sauveterre-de-Guyenne where I would then take country roads.

The path followed an old train route and went through this long, cool tunnel.

I had planned to get all the way to the to the Tour route on day one, however steep hills and windy country roads changed my overly ambitious plan. And while the hills were extremely difficult in the intense heat and humidity, the countryside more than made up for it. I ended up camping in a small town called Duras, at a private campground owned by a British expat.

After 57 miles I was ready for a beer and some sleep! But sleep was put on hold for the town market which just happened to be going on the one night I was there!

Got some awesome food and a cheap bottle of wine, managing to order by pointing, giving the vendors a big smile, and saying "thank you" as sincerely as I felt it.

After passing out in my tent, I still had about 30 miles to go to Bergerac the next day for the Tour!

The humidity was worse than the day before and I set off from camp around 9 am. Thunder rumbled in the distance, each time a little louder and lower than before. I stopped for a pastry in a small country town and just as I walked out the door of the shop, heavy, big rain drops began to fall. Seeking shelter under an overhang across a narrow alley, it quickly turned into a torrential downpour, thunder and lightning intensifying and striking very close by. Completely unprepared for the rain (no tarps for my gear, not even a rain jacket), I waited it out with a couple pastries.

After a 45 minute soaking, I waited 15 more minutes after I last heard thunder and headed out again during a break in the rain. Just a few minutes in, it began to rain again, though with much less ferocity than it had before. I stayed alert for lightning though I never saw anything but quick flashes, now distant with the moving front, though I still rode as hard as I possibly could, pointed for Bergerac.

Several rainy hours later, I pulled into the municipal campground soaked through. Greeted by the camp host's head shaking at my lack of French I set up my tent under a tree in the playground, the only area that wasn't completely muddy after the squal. 

Despite the difficulty in getting to

Bergerac, the last mile of my journey was along the Tour de France route, with motorhomes and fans lining the course hours ahead of the cyclists arrival, it was just the push I needed to make it in.

A rainy fork in the road...

In the four hours it took to make the 30 some odd miles (super slow with the rain and hills), the Tour was now only a few hours from reaching town and my day was just about to get started!

A Day Trip to Toledo

Connected to Madrid by a quick high speed trainride, Toledo is a spectacular city with more churches, synagogues, and monasteries in a smaller area than can be believed. Historic for being the conquered by the Romans, the Moors, Christians and Muslims, as well as being home to a large Jewish population; it was one of the few early examples of cohabitation by all three major religions. Thus, the plethora of grand religious buildings we're left with today.

Set high up on a hill above the train station, the city has an amazing entry across this stone bridge. Never one to take the bus if I can save a few euros, I walked up the hill to Toledo in the sweltering heat.

  

The biggest church in town in "The Cathedral," which dominates the skyline from the highest point on the hill.

Inside, ornate paintings and sculptures filled entire walls up to the domed ceilings.

You could tell the city was built over hundreds over years from the various types of construction used. Above is another church near the Jewish quarter.

Another church, I saw so many I can't really even remember the names (I also went last week so my memory is lagging).

Tired of looking at churches? Here's the view into the courtyard inside a monastery...

And yep, this place was touristy... After a few hours wandering around I ended up picnicking and taking a nap on a bench far from the crowds...

But not everyone was lost with a camera and tourist map... Some locals...

The last four days I have been cycling through the backcountry of Bordeaux, France loaded with camping gear to watch the Tour de France. Updates on that to come soon!

Madrid: Parte Dos

Besides the museums, I also really enjoyed exploring all of Madrid's food and plazas! It seemed like every few blocks, an intersection would widen into a big plaza housing several cafes with tables set out for tourists and locals alike to enjoy some tapas.

Above and below, Madrid's most famous plaza, Plaza Mayor.

Besides restaurants, there were different entertainers and freaks of all kind looking to hustle money for photos with tourists.

Here I caught one of them taking a smoke break... By the way, everyone in Spain seems to be smoking...

Another huge and famous plaza, Puerta del Sol.

On the opposite side of town from the museums and several blocks from Plaza Mayor, the Royal Palace is where the Monarchy conducts business and has done so since the 1700s when the current building was constructed. Though there are over 2,000 rooms, jut 50 of them are open to the public so I took a peak inside. More fascinating than the ornate and sometimes over-the-top decoration and furniture still in use was the aura of the rooms inside. It was incredible to know that monarchs from centuries ago used these exact same rooms to commission timeless works of art and make decisions that would alter the course of history.

Outside the Royal Palace - no photos allowed inside. I did manage to snap one of the fresco in the king's private chapel while security looked the other way...

After a long day of walking and sightseeing, it was always good to renourish on some tapas with an assortment of alcohol. Mercado San Miguel was a market filled with about thirty different bars and restaurants where I managed to stuff myself to the gill.

Wine glass selfie inside the mervado... Shameless, I know...

The most bizarre thing I tried was this assortment of fried seafood which included sardines, octopus tentacles, squid rings and shrimp. I wasn't sure how to eat the fish and small shrimp so I just ate them whole, shell and all...

Another shot of the chaotic feeding frenzy.

And another church just for good measure...

I did and saw so much in Spain in just five days, it would be impossible to include everything here... There were towering churches and beautiful buildings everywhere you turned; some even more spectacular than the ones I have posted in these photos.

I'll part with two more photos. The first was a strange new concept hotel wherein they assign you a roommate... Um, no thanks!

And the last shot from the National Library's exhibit on Spain's historic relationship with the US. As a Californian,  we learn all about Spain's influence on our past from "discovering" California to the missions they set up along our coasts and ultimately becoming Mexico before the US annexed it as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. But Spain's reach was far wider than that, having controlled a territory that stretched from Florida to Canada's west coast. The map below shows a sampling of all the Spanish named cities across the US. 

I'll be taking a quick vacation from Madrid to catch the Tour de France before returning for one last night... Hasta luego espana!