Official Rest Day
Like the riders in the Tour de France, every hard working traveler needs a rest from blogging. Today is it.
We finished dinner last night at 12:30 at The Ledbury. Yumm!
Until tomorrow.
2011 – Europe and Japan
Bookcase at the V&A
Not the healthiest option
snack at the V&A.
I had a healthy wrap with salad before this, I promise.
No traffic
Cycling has it’s advantages if you want a view.
Eurostar to London
We caught the train From Le Mans to Paris, went on a great taxi ride through Paris, then the Eurostar to London.
Stage 7 start
Viva le tour!
On Friday we said goodbye to the Tour de France, as we watched the sign-on of the cyclists and the depart for the last time.
After keying into the GPS “Bugatti circuit”, we arrived and eventually parked. By this stage we learnt to park like the French – anywhere is good enough. We walked to the started and looked around, much of the space in front of the sign on centre area was already 4-5 deep, and found a spot on the side on the fence that the cyclists had to go past to enter the centre area.
While waiting there was the usual entertainment, from the Nesquick Rabbit, and Skoda Yeti (of which I got a hug), and team Vittel. By now we knew the routine. Then right on queue as the riders began to sign on, it rained again, and out came the poncho. Our location turned out to be absolutely perfect. Interviews were done in the area in right in front of us. A few cyclists came to sign autographs for people nearby. Cadel, and Griepel spoke to the journos from SBS. Ah magic! While I didn’t get any signatures, I just kept taking photos.
Seeing the Tour de France was amazing – but on reflection, it certainly made me value the experience of the Tour Down Under, given the access to the riders, bike preparation area, not to mention location – given the amazing experience you can have at little or no cost.
Le Mans lights
The name of the city Le Mans, conjures up thoughts of Top Gear, and motor racing. Not a medieval city, rich in history. It was a pleasant surprise.
We stayed in the old section, opposite Cathedral St-Julien (XI-XV). During July and August they are featuring projected images on the historical buildings throughout the old area. For those of you who remember Northern Lights part of the Adelaide Festival, this was leagues in front with music, and moving images. As nightfalls around 11pm, it commenced at 11:30, and was very worthwhile!
Shop in Le Mans
Lorient – Contador
Anyway, back to Lorient. Once the heavens opened up, I decided €10 was a worthwhile investment in a poncho. Especially, given the umbrella was in the car (“it’s not going to rain”), and we were wearing summer clothing – much like everyone else. Admittedly, we weren’t at the front of the railing, but good enough to have a view of the cyclists arriving to sign on. However, those in front of us did have a jacket and an umbrella, but didn’t posses the ability to stand in persistent rain, and decided it was all too much, and left. Ah victory was ours! We were now on the front railing – perfect opportunity for photos, even if the rain continued.
Much like the Tour Down Under there was the traditional commentator (25 years going strong in the role), talking about the local town, the route and the entertainment. The town band arrived…. went on the stage but the rain prevented them from actually playing. The TV interviewers and commentators who spent time setting up earlier, packed up – all too much rain for them to persist. However we remained – given the advantage point we weren’t going to let a little rain move us.
About an hour after it started raining, the cyclists began to arrive. They rode up, leaned their bike against the railings, walked up the stairs, and signed on. The commentator called out their name and any significant races they had won. This was sometimes difficult to understand given the French accent. Once signed on after shaking the hand of local official, they proceeded down the stairs got on their bike, grabbed a powerade bar, and rode to the starting area.
Standing there, in the pouring rain, watching the “who’s who” of pro cycling in one spot was quite amazing. Seeing Contador, the Schleck brothers, and Evans, was absolutely fantastic. There were so many cyclists in the space of 20 minutes…. It was hard to keep up with who had arrived, but despite the rain, we continued to take photos.
Within 20 minutes, the cyclists were all signed on, the presentation was over and we had 15 minutes until the start. Still feeling the buzz from the presentation we thought walking along the neutralized section would provide a good advantage as the cyclists rode by. However, it started to rain again, and as we were walking past the start, there appeared to be plenty of room. We took a position, took more photographs until they rode off.
Ah…. It was a fantastic experience, despite the rain.
East is West
Cycling in a big city can be exciting. London is pretty calm compared with Beijing and Shanghai the traffic is slow and generally respects bikes and the road rules. Perhaps, the hardest thing isn’t the environment around you but the inner compass.
We had plans to cycle to the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was “close” and Boris Bikes were just around the corner from our hotel. After some very slow credit card transactions we got ourselves a 7 day pass and got our first bikes from the racks.
We arrived at our first turn, we had a choice of going left or right at the Strand. I was convinced that right was right and Helen was convinced that left was right. I’ve been known to be disoriented in cities before, so we followed Helen’s conviction.
We cycled along the Strand and took some turns in the “correct” general direction. I could see any signs or monuments, but Helen was convinced. As we cycled along she said “Look St James we must be getting close”. All I can say is that St James is quite popular. We kept going. I was feeling increasingly out of the way. Finally I demanded the iPhone and noticed that we had gone the wrong direction!!
Right was Right.
We ended up cycling past Kings Cross, along Euston Road, then down Bloomsbury Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Picadilly Circus, Pall Mall.
We then arrived in front of Buckingham Palace. There seemed to be 10 million people there. Asking a local bobby we found out that it was changing of the guard. Here is a random holiday tip. The best time to cycle around Buckingham Palace is at about 11:00. No traffic!
Oh, btw, we did manage to the V&A eventually.
