The Tour!

The past approximately two weeks that I have been house-sitting have also been spent follow the Tour de France. I thought about trying to go see part of the tour in person, but the closest it got to us was 2 1/2hrs north and essentially, I would have had to take a train to a place to watch the riders go by....and that would be it. I thought about trying to go to a town where the finish line for that day's stage would be, but as you can imagine, it is kind of a big deal and I came late to the party. Alas, I watched each day on tv and got way too involved.
I got to watch the crazy fans on the side of the roads dressed up in strange costumes and sometimes not dressed at all. I constantly wondered if it makes the riders nervous when there are so many people who can literally just reach out and touch them because they are so close to the route. I marveled at the amazing views of castles, countrysides and cozy little towns captured by the many cameras covering the race. I laughed at the goats who decided they wanted to take part in the race and ran alongside the riders in stage 17. I cringed when then-leader Andy Schleck's chain got messed up during his attempt to break away, letting Alberto Contador take the lead in a highly-discussed move of supposedly bad sportsmanship. I was stunned by the sheer dominance of Mark Cavendish and his seemingly ease in sprinting past the other riders. I contemplated the safeness in riding a bike while also drinking a glass of champagne, as Contador did during the final stage on the way to Paris. I frantically searched the internet for the explanation as to why team RadioShack had to change their jerseys for the final stage when really I thought the black ones were way cooler looking than the red ones (apparently you can't change jerseys, it's the rules.) All in all, I immersed myself vicariously in one of the national events of France, and enjoyed a bicycle race as much as possible with respect for the competition and culture that it showcases.