Pau...Tour de France...Lance

I took a day, hopped on a train to Pau and caught the end of stage 16 of the Tour de France. After watching this race on TV for several years, I was NOT going to miss the opportunity to catch part of the excitement. Of course, anyone watching on TV saw it much better than I, however...I wanted to experience the excitement of being there!

Pau was a pleasant surprise...it's a beautiful city in the Pyrenees...sort of like a French version of San Francisco. Since I had to hike from the train station to the finish line (about a mile uphill), I really DID notice the hills...and the palm trees. I never expected to see palm trees in SF nor did I think I'd see them in the Pyrenees. It was 85 and sunny..hot for some...perfect for this Florida resident. Very nice town...complete with huge chateau and old French architecture. I'll have to visit when I have more time to spend.


The Tour area was a chaotic tangle of riders buses, commercial sponsor cars/trucks and assorted other strange vehicles, like funky looking water taxis spraying the crowds with a cooling light mist. Then, of course, there was the press with its motorcycles, cars, high flying cranes with seats for the camera people and helicopters.

Interspersed with all of this were the fans. Sponsors made good use of the waiting time to toss all sorts of promotional items to the masses. If you didn't happen to catch a freebie, there were plenty of booths selling their wares. There was also an enormous screen showing the race in progress. People seemed to enjoy watching and discussing the strategy of the riders with the nearest person who would listen...or understand. The many languages presented a few problems, but most were overcome rather well. The crowd was very friendly, regardless of language spoken.

It WAS an exciting day! Oh...and Lance sends his regards!