Tour de France

Yesterday I went into work a bit late so I could watch the Tour de France ride by where it crossed my route. Where I went to see them was pretty quiet, with only a few spectators, so it seemed pretty subdued. Also, it was before the official start of Stage 1; they were just cycling through central London to some ceremony at Tower Bridge and then racing for real out to Canterbury. It was fun to see them though, and think about all the work and preparation they put into this event which is now upon them.

The cyclists, even though not yet racing, were all past in about 30 seconds. Following them was an endless parade of official vehicles, many of which were sprouting bicycle forests from their roofs.

Ever since I heard that the Tour de France would start in London this year, I had been entertaining this delightful (though not so realistic) image of all the cyclists in their sponsor splattered spandex cycling through London, folding up their Bromptons and hopping on the Eurostar to Paris. Of course, it doesn't work that way and they don't ride Bromptons, at least not in the Tour.

Meanwhile, in Paris they're implementing something a bit like Grandma's bicycle plan for New York.

With the Wimbledon finals also in London this weekend, it was quite a lot of sport for the city. It was unusual also because normally if it's not football (i.e. soccer), rugby or cricket, no one here seems to care.