Using the excuse of having to bring our Landy back from the Sierras in Spain to get it MOT'd we decided to take a little road trip/summer holiday and catch a stage of the Tour de France along the way. So after after a day or two at our place in the Sierras we packed up our trusty Landy and headed up to Costa Blanca to stay at Jo's mum's place in Denia. Bringing my road bike with me definitely paid off as I found some superb riding both along the coast and up in the mountains. After 10 days of riding, relaxing, eating and drinking it was time for the good life to end so we packed up and headed north to the Pyrenees.
After a short stop in La Molina, where I also found some more amazing riding (22km climb at sunrise, eagle, wild horses, mountain vistas etc!!!), we headed west to the Col du Tourmalet to catch a very historic stage of the Tour de France as it was the 100th anniversary of the first ever Pyrenean stage. After cruising up and down the Tourmalet a couple of times we finally managed to find the perfect spot to camp amidst the thousands of other people who had also come to pay homage. The weather couldn't have been more different from the Costas though. Mist, fog, thunder and lightening, and torrential rain made it feel more like being back home! After a short walk down to Bareges for a beer or two we squeezed into our little tent for what turned out to be a fairly sleepless night due to the thunder and lightening.
We awoke on the morning of the race to more bad weather but it didn't matter any more. The Tour was in town, the atmosphere dialled up, and the mountainside was alive with madness and expectation. Finally at about 5 o'clock, after the 'caravan' had come through whipping up a frenzy while showering bystanders with various freebies from the sponsors, it was the main event. Police motorcycles cleared the road and the first riders came flying by. First a lone breakaway hotly pursued by Schleck and Contador, both moving at an incredible pace considering the terrain. This was the day they marked each other like for like before Contador sportingly let Schelck take a well deserved stage win on the finish line.
After Contador and Schleck various groups flew by with all the big stars included, most importantly the legend that is Lance Armstrong (we love Lance!), which was undoubtedly the highlight for me as I am unashamedly a huge Lance fan. As this was also the last big mountain stage of his career it was that bit more special to see.
And then it was over! As fast as they had come they were gone and on up to the finish line at the summit. So after packing our tent away we attempted to get off the mountain, as did the other 200,000 people it's estimated were there that day. So after 2 hours down the mountain, 2 hours to Toulouse, and 1 hour trying to find a hotel we found ourselves in a service station carpark trying to kid ourselves a Landrover is almost as good as a hotel room (Jo in no uncertain terms can now assure you it's not!!). So after another sleepless night we pointed our now well abused Landy northwards and made the rest of the epic drive home.
When your arrive home filthy, hungry, and bleary eyed with that thousand yard stare, but elated and with stories to tell you know it's been a successful road trip.....
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