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Any Port in a Storm :: Beyond the Breakwater :: Post Cards :: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
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AuthorTopic: A day at the Tour de France (2012) (Read 1,291 times)
kerouac2
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A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Thread Started on Jul 5, 2012, 6:15pm »		[Quote]

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The first time I ever saw the Tour de France in person was in 1964. I didn't really remember, but I knew it had to be either a family visit in 1960 or 1964, so just by checking the itineraries, I saw that it was in 1964 that the Tour came near my grandparents' village, for a stage that went from Forest (a suburb of Brussels) to Metz. All I know is that we went to some small town and occupied an excellent vantage point on the terrace of a café-restaurant which overlooked the main road. After a long wait, the riders came whizzing through and three minutes later it was all finished.

That sounds like a kind of ridiculous thing to wait for, doesn't it? But it is a whole process for fans -- figuring out where they might see the Tour, going there on the day it is passing through (and for the mountain stages, often camping out for 2 or 3 days in advance), the comraderie of the long wait along the road, with huge picnics, games for the children, card games and naps for the adults. The advertising caravan comes through about 90 minutes before the riders, and this defies description. Every imaginable company participates -- and they throw trinkets to the crowd. Samples! Caps! Keychains!

And then the advertisers are gone, and the wait sets in again, with a few straggling advertising cars passing through, some motorcycle police, a few official Skodas... and you wait. This is when some people who have brought small children must leave, because the small children have become uncontrollable and cranky, and it was a mistake to try to make them wait.

And then the cyclists come through in a few seconds of intense excitement. People have come from Australia and Brazil and South Africa, all over France and all over Europe. And they absolutely love that brief moment.

Dare I say it? It is quite a lot like sex -- a long slow buildup with all sorts of preliminaries and then just a few intense orgasmic moments. But people glow with happiness as they leave the site and they wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Anyway, I wanted a double orgasm this year, so I went to Abbeville to see the start of the stage, and then I hightailed it to Fécamp to see the riders a second time.

12-15 million people come to see the Tour in person at one of the stages, making it by far the most viewed sporting event in the world for people physically present. And even on television, it is one of the top three, after the summer Olympic games and the World Cup for football.

But first I had to drive to Abbeville.

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I managed to get there a little before 9 a.m. when just about all of the roads into town would be shut down. I parked in a field that had been organised for the occasion, as many other fields had also been prepared.

Lots of other people were just camped out in the central park.

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There were grassy bicycles decorating all of the garden areas.

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I followed the various arrows to find where the action would be taking place.

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The municipal theatre was the VIP guest centre.

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« Last Edit: Jul 5, 2012, 6:16pm by kerouac2 »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
kerouac2
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #1 on Jul 5, 2012, 7:23pm »		[Quote]
There's lots of free stuff even if you are not an official "guest."

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In any case, there were plenty of things to look at as the morning began.

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It was supposed to rain all day. Thank goodness for incorrect weather reports!

Here is an Australian reporter reporting that he is indeed in Abbeville.

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Trinket throwers throw trinkets.

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Teenage junior cyclists are on display.

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It is all a communion of "France profonde" ("deep France").

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Somebody had discovered the perfect overview of everything for their cameras.

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Traditional music also has its place on the route of the Tour.

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« Last Edit: Jul 5, 2012, 7:30pm by kerouac2 »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
mich64
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #2 on Jul 5, 2012, 9:06pm »		[Quote]
I can not wait to experience this some day... soon I hope! I love looking forward each year to see where the tour stops are and watching the race on TV each day enjoying the countryside and all the little villages along the way. :D

Will you attempt another spot this year?

Thank you Kerouac for sharing your day! :)
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mich64
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #3 on Jul 5, 2012, 9:10pm »		[Quote]
I noticed Elbeuf on the map, a cousin of my husband lives there and we have visited him and his children at their homes on two of our visits, lovely area. A large car plant there. We drove from Merlebach to Elbeuf in one day, it was a long drive.
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kerouac2
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #4 on Jul 5, 2012, 9:13pm »		[Quote]
I was somewhat fascinated by the media coverage of the Tour de France. Even though I am perfectly aware of what an awesome event it is, it doesn't really sink in until you see of the vehicles of the various media.

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« Last Edit: Jul 5, 2012, 9:14pm by kerouac2 »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
kerouac2
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #5 on Jul 6, 2012, 5:21am »		[Quote]
The morning was beginning to get organised. People were staking out viewing positions.

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Now it's time for the "caravane publicitaire" and the goodies to catch, just like Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

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[photobucket height=480 width=640]http://s450.photobucket.com/albums/qq228/kerouac2/Tour%20de%20France%202012/?action=view¤t=a73f8b93.pbw[/photobucket]

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tod2
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #6 on Jul 6, 2012, 11:19am »		[Quote]
A big WOWIE Kerouac! The photos are fab - I loved the way you faded the 'caravan' photos in and out in the last shot...I would like to know how to do that... ;)

I also want to know how you managed to drive to Fecamp and get there ahead of the pack??
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bixaorellana
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #7 on Jul 6, 2012, 5:43pm »		[Quote]
What a fun day out. I wouldn't have had the patience to stay there all that time, so greatly appreciate your doing it for me. Super pictures and a really illuminating text.

Tod, surely you've noticed the slide shows sprinkled throughout anyport before, haven't you?

Two ways to do them:
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/ind....02&page=1#85947
and
http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/ind....14&page=1#95280

You can also link to a slideshow in places like Flickr, but that's never as effective as embedding it, as Kerouac does above.
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kerouac2
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #8 on Jul 6, 2012, 6:36pm »		[Quote]
The ads kept coming and coming. So strange that when you watch television, there is every chance that you will change channel during what is called in France "the advertising tunnel," but when you're waiting for the Tour de France you will put up with anything.

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undressed go-go boys dancing in suds

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Vittel spraying the crowd with probably not Vittel

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And then a lull. The suspense begins to build. It builds for 30 minutes.

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And here they come at last! In this section they are all together, since the starting point was only about 800 meters back.

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The technical cars follow close behind the peleton.

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This poor straggler must have had a flat right on the starting line! :-[

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« Last Edit: Jul 6, 2012, 6:37pm by kerouac2 »Link to Post - Back to Top  IP: Logged
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #9 on Jul 6, 2012, 7:36pm »		[Quote]
To get to Fécamp fast enough, I had to hightail it to the A28 and A29 autoroutes.

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Well, I never made it to Fécamp, because the road had already been closed. I took the Fécamp exit from the autoroute but when there was another sign to Fécamp shortly afterwards, there was no way to get there: the road was closed. However, I had just gone over an overpass and seen down below a bunch of people lining the road. There were a bunch of cars parked on the grass lining the road, so I joined them in an impromptu manner, provoking just a tiny bit of road rage from a lumber truck following me. Oh well, I can put up with a bit vigorous honking if I still get my way.

I always wonder where all of the people come from that you see lining the road of the Tour in the middle of nowhere. There doesn't seem to be any way to get where they are standing in the middle of the fields but somehow they are there.

Time to see how they do it.

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kerouac2
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #10 on Jul 6, 2012, 8:17pm »		[Quote]
They really have to make sure that you cannot use the road, because people would drive through anyway if there were any possibility of doing so.

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A bit beyond that point, they can be more symbolic.

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The road that was open was the one with the red banners.

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There was also a railroad overpass where the railway employees had to make sure that nobody crawled up there.

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So people spread out along the length of the closed road.

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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #11 on Jul 6, 2012, 8:47pm »		[Quote]
I like how in reply #8 there is a photo of two ladies fortunate to have a view from their apartment! I will have to remember this when I plan my Tour de France trip, try to find a rental apartment in a town along the route. Probably a huge challenge, but a worthy one.

The advertising vehicles were enjoyable, I laughed at the car covered in bread.

It would be a dream to be involved in the logistics of the race.

Who are you cheering for? Our Canadian, Hesjedal, was in 8th place yesterday, I heard that he was involved in one of those crashes and lost a lot of time today and is probably out of contention now. I will know more tonight when we watch the recorded version after dinner.
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #12 on Jul 6, 2012, 11:04pm »		[Quote]
How exciting!

I read your other thread and was really surprised to learn how vicious and corrupt the competition was (and is?). But here it looks good wholesome fun.
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #13 on Jul 7, 2012, 4:07am »		[Quote]
Here comes the advertising caravan again!

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The advertisers work just as hard with the thin rural crowds as in the cities.

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Even labour unions advertise along the Tour route.

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This man clearly sneaked out of his office to come here in his business suit.

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Here's the rubber ducky again, advertising a newspaper.

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Okay, where are the cyclists? Out here there are even signs to direct them.

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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #14 on Jul 7, 2012, 4:25am »		[Quote]
Here they come at last! The helicopters are a sure sign.

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A few cars precede today's front runners.

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Today, there are three riders who have managed to get ahead of the peleton.

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But they are only about 3 minutes ahead of the pack.

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And then they are gone in less than a minute... :'(

There are still dozens of technical vehicles following.

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All of the cars with the spare parts are amazing.


[photobucket height=480 width=640]http://s450.photobucket.com/albums/qq228/kerouac2/Tour%20de%20France%202012/?action=view¤t=2661fbd6.pbw[/photobucket]

The "voiture balai" is the last vehicle of the Tour.

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Show's over. Time to disperse. The long afternoon picnic is finished.

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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #15 on Jul 7, 2012, 4:31am »		[Quote]

Quote:
so I joined them in an impromptu manner


made me laugh out loud

Enjoying this immensely.
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #16 on Jul 7, 2012, 6:39am »		[Quote]
Just fantastic! You got some pretty good shots of the riders up close - something impossible to do when standing bunched in on the Rue de Rivoli!
Did you record this stage of the Tour at home so you could watch it later? Now that we can see where you were standing alongside the road, we might even catch a glimpse of you taking photos ;D
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #17 on Jul 7, 2012, 10:17am »		[Quote]
It's a shame that I don't really keep up with professional cycling, because I would like to be able to recognize some of the riders that I took pictures of. I do have a picture with the yellow jersey in it, so that would be Fabian Cancellara, and in the last photo of the riders, that is France's favourite cyclist, Thomas Voeckler, in the Europcar team jersey on the right.
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #18 on Jul 7, 2012, 4:07pm »		[Quote]
Some facts and figures surrounding those caravan vehicles.

The publicity caravan in figures:

A 20-km long parade
160 colourful and decorated vehicles
600 caravanists
33 brands represented
16 million gifts given away
45-minute long procession
12 members of the republican guard
4 traffic regulator motorcyclists
3 medical cars
€ 200,000 to € 500,000 investment for each advertiser

Next year the caravan will turn 80 years old!
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #19 on Jul 7, 2012, 4:38pm »		[Quote]
Oh ~~ you've added a great deal to this thread. Amazing day out & amazing photos. The ones of the cyclists coming right at you are world class.

It is amazing that so many people managed to get through the fields in order to view the races, but somewhat of a shame that more of them cannot.

The bicycle races here go over the Cerro del Fortín, which is quite steep, but they have to make several loops in order to get the distance required for a full race. The sides of the road are so packed with spectators that the transit police have to make a human cordon of themselves to keep people off the road.

Insanely clever & cool use of the slideshow in this section ~~ deep curtsy of respect!
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #20 on Jul 7, 2012, 8:10pm »		[Quote]
Once when the Tour came through Avignon during the festival, I was staying in one of the budget motels where all of the other rooms were occupied by caravanists. Breakfast was very weird the next morning, because they were all wearing their costumes or uniforms and I felt completely out of sync.
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #21 on Jul 7, 2012, 8:54pm »		[Quote]
Oh phooey! Hesjedal was involved in a nasty accident. I missed seeing yesterday's race due to an unexpected visitor and woke this morning to the news that his injuries have prevented him from continuing. Hopefully he will recover for the Olympic race. Now I will have to pick a new rider to cheer for.
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #22 on Jul 10, 2012, 9:12am »		[Quote]
I am so pleased for Wiggins! He did Great Britain and himself and family, proud!
I have one request for Bradley.....please shave off those hideous 'Abe Lincoln' sideburns >:(
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Re: A day at the Tour de France (2012)
« Reply #23 on Jul 15, 2012, 4:09pm »		[Quote]
Oh what a day!! I can hardly believe that some idiot/s threw tacks onto the road in a deliberate bid to unhinge the riders.
To me it looks like they aimed to inflict carnage on anyone and everyone. Bastards >:(

At least a gentleman's sporting chance won the day as the group slowed for Evans. Jolly good show what!, Good on yer mates!,
Heelwat mooi manne! ;D
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