A quiet day today, if you can call standing on the side of the road watching the Tour de France hurtle past, a quiet day. We stood in one spot while the caravan of sponsors drove past tossing out their goodies. Sharon snaffled a small bag of sausages, a hat, some cake and a few other items which we should have given to the small children nearby. A French woman standing near us picked up a stubby cooler and looked at it, turning it over a few times looking puzzled.
“Ze mobile phone cover?” she asked Sharon.
She gave it to us as she had no need to keep her phone cool in this climate.
Being a mountain stage, the riders were well spread out and it took probably a half an hour before they all rode past. This village is at the foot of the last of about five big climbs for the day and there were a lot of riders who looked pretty well stuffed! Saw Stewy O’Grady at the end of a big bunch opening a can of Coke. And then it was all over.
We took a drive to a lookout at a ski resort above Saint Lary where paragliders were jumping off and then headed up the mountain where the riders climbed earlier in the day before being turned back by a policewoman.
Our hotel in Saint Lary is to the right of the large field lower centre at the bottom of the mountain. The tour headed up and over the mountains through the villages at top right. We’ll head that way tomorrow and plan to ride (read drive) to the top of the Col de Tourmalet and other Tour peaks. Should be fun.