Today was one of the most fun days so far. We heard a rumour that you could sneak onto the Champs Elysee with bikes after they closed the road for the tour. It is the one time of the year that bikers can get onto the Champs without dying. We figured it was a once in a lifetime opportunity so we unpacked our bikes (in our tiny apartment) and woke up at the crack of dawn to try to ride the Champs. We got there at about 7am and it was so much fun. The cobbles were really rough and I can't imagine riding over it at the speeds the pros do. We decided to dress Heather and Andrew up before we left with their bear Gooberette on Andrew's head and just married signs on the back of their bikes. They stole the show. Here are some selections of pictures.
There are a few cars but it's pretty deserted. Here we are standing the middle of the road of one of the busiest European cities...hee hee...FUN!Note the bear Gooberette on Andrew's head.
Here I am riding away towards the Arc de Triumph.
There are a few cars but it's pretty deserted. Here we are standing the middle of the road of one of the busiest European cities...hee hee...FUN!Note the bear Gooberette on Andrew's head. After we rode on the Champs we left Heather saving our spot and headed back for showers and breakfast. She found us a great location in the front row at the hairpin bend and we joined her by 9am. Then came the waiting...
And more waiting...
And shockingly enough...more waiting...approximatly 7 hours of it.
One of the other highlights of the day is when I finally got my green PMU hands. I am very excitied in this pictures. We actually got an autograph from Ryder Hesjedal on one of them.
The number of people was outragous. They slowly trickled in behind us until we were in a huge mass of humans. Mike put the camera in the air pointing behind us and this is what he captured.
Eventually the race came though and we have tons of pictues. Here is one of the eventual overall winner Alberto Contodor.
One of the other highlights of the day is when I finally got my green PMU hands. I am very excitied in this pictures. We actually got an autograph from Ryder Hesjedal on one of them.The number of people was outragous. They slowly trickled in behind us until we were in a huge mass of humans. Mike put the camera in the air pointing behind us and this is what he captured.Eventually the race came though and we have tons of pictues. Here is one of the eventual overall winner Alberto Contodor.
To finish the day the teams did a lap of honour and when the Canadian Ryder Hesjedal rode by with his team Heather yelled and he saw her Canada jersey and he came over and gave us his autograph...pretty cool. That is Ryder pointing at us before he came over.
We finished our day with a very French dinner...Pizza Hut...yummmmmmmm!
No comments:
Post a Comment