June 22, 2007

Like many cycling enthusiasts, I love the Tour de France. Le Tour is the world's most popular sporting event. Each July, France is consumed by the three-week race. Ten million cheering spectators support the riders from the roadside, along the entire 3500 km route. The crowds enthusiastically celebrate the world's most grueling athletic event, resulting in a ten million person, twenty-three day, traveling mass of the world's most avid bicycle fans.

For the riders, the Tour is their whole reason for existing. In 1967, Tom Simpson died from exhaustion while pursuing the Tour's leader's jersey, the Mailot Jaurne. After Simpon collapsed from his bicycle delirious, he gasped "put me back on the bloody bike" with his last dry, hot breath. Simpson's tenacity and complete dedication exemplify the Tour peleton's culture. Riders take huge risks for the slim chance of winning a single stage of the Tour. The competition boils. Bob Roll's description is representative:

"Every minute of every day of the Tour de France was hard. There were always attacks going, which made it really nerve-wracking... Every nerve ending felt like it was exposed to rushing wind. You can't tell anyone how hard it is. You can't represent the suffering (Bob Roll).

Each year, since 2001, I have compulsively watched the Tour on television. The most exciting and influential stages are always in the Alps and Pyrenees. Consequently, spectators swarm near the top of the Tour's hardest climbs, barely parting way for the riders to pass through. As a fan of the Tour, I have developed some curiosities: How fast will lead group ride up the long, steep finishing climb to Plateau de Beille? What does a million people cheering look/sound like?

This website is about my bicycle tour along the route of the 2007 Tour de France. Through planning and doing this tour, I learned about traveling with a bicycle (planes and trains), bicycle touring in France (camping and lodging), and the Tour de France spectacle itself. This website is still being updated. I am in the process of compiling the knowledge that I gained from the trip. Once this phase is complete, I will work on recording my experiences, which are extremely colorful but possibly less useful than the how-to information. If you notice anything that would benefit from changing, please let me know.