Before leaving we visited with some of our neighbors at the hotel. Everyone here has been extremely nice and helpful. We had a great visit with a family from Paris - both sets of grandparents, parents, and three daughters. The dad was real helpful and helped confirm the route we were taking that day. He said the villages we were going to were great and steered us away from a couple of touristy spots. Then we visited with a family eating breakfast near us. They were from Belgium - Heidi and Claude and their two kids - They were into cycling and were headed down to watch the tour as well - except they were driving. We were able to give them some tips. We talked for a while about Belgian cycling - Boonen, Museuw, etc. We also visited with the father of the hotel owner - he is an interesting guy. Went to the US in the 50s and began raising Charlais cattle because of what he learned in the US. He was instrumental in getting that kind of cattle into the US and other countries - we got a good lesson in meat from him. He speaks pretty good english.
Other notes:
David is brushing up on his french using Rosetta Stone - he will certainly be fluent soon.
We have determined that there are three kinds of French men: 1. the guy who doesn't have to wear a shirt - always has a big gut and is typically about 65 plus. Can go without a shirt at restaurants. Really amazing. 2. The guy who wears 'Man Capris' this person will often have a Man-purse as well. We don't recommend this look. 3. The dude with the HUGE mustache. This guy is pretty cool. I am currently working on a version of the huge mustache.
We mapped out a course that took us from our hotel through several little villages, over a moderately high pass and then down to the road Le Tour was on.
Finding our way is a little difficult because our map doesn't have a ton of detail. We have to stop alot to be sure we are on the right track. At one point we rolled into an ancient City called St. Didier where there was a beautiful boulevard with old buildings and trees shading the way and after we made one turn we lost our way. Fortunately, another cyclist was coming down the road (there are a ton here) and we waved him over. I tried to speak to him in french and his answer was, 'you are american?'. He was very helpful and took us on a scenic route to the next turn and gave us the directions we needed. He was from switzerland and living in this area now. He was apparently retired from some kind of internet business and told us he was riding 400 K a day for two weeks straight - doing 100k loops. Leaving his house at 4AM and returning at 9PM. We asked him why and he said, ' why do people climb mountains?' He just wanted to see if he could do it. He dropped us at the start of the real climbing and sent us on our way. Steve would like me to add that he was particularly impressed by Steve's Canondale. They really seem to think Canondale is special over here.
After we left Mr. Switzerland we climbed a steep road to another ancient town called Vanosc which was really beautiful. Very isolated. We then started the climbing in earnest - not a long climb - about 10K. It wound at a steady pace up through small canyons and hills to the Mur pass. The area looks a little like Austin hill country. Temp was about 90, but dry so it didn't feel to hot. We calculated that the climb was at least a Category 3, maybe 2.
David started moving up quickly and Steve kindly stayed back with me at a bit slower pace. We flew down the other side through some beautiful towns and watched the tour go by. It was moving slower this time. People sit for hours and then it goes by and that is it. We are trying to understand why they don't carry a radio and listen to the race as it approaches. No one does that. In America we would have tons of radios.
When the race was gone we were in need of water and some lunch. We ended up climbing up to an old town called Rousillon which was awesome. It had all the narrow streets and a great feel. We found a little restaurant and ate outside - in fact it looks like no one is allowed to eat inside. The outside area was PACKED, even in the sun and there was not one person indoors. The food was relatively inexpensive and we sat there for a while before heading out.
The ride back up the pass was smooth and beautiful - very little traffic.
The other side was very twisty and steep - we had an awesome ride down - so fun carving the turns. Way better than a rollercoaster.
The bad thing was that we got separated and Steve and I ended up looking for Dave and Dave was looking for us. We fortunately connected about 10K later at a restaurant - kinda by chance. We stopped and had some food - again we visited with some really nice people. We have decided that we have only met VERY friendly french people.
After we got got home we were pretty tired - stopped by the pool and laid around until dark and then went up to sleep. A good day.
au
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