mr fifi had known about it ages ago, but even when he tried to book our preferred campsite as soon as this year's bookings came online, we missed out! So we knew it was going to be busy. We got into the campsite next door on a farm :) So all was planned and well. Several people I know told me they were going for the weekend, too, so I think we knew it was going to be A Big Thing. They reckon 2 million people came out to see the first stage, And we were 4 of them :D
We drove over to Leyburn on the Friday night. There was signage and decorations as soon as you hit the A66. Yellow ribbons, yellow bike mock-ups, polka dots everywhere! There was a real party atmosphere in the towns once we got to Yorkshire. Leyburn itself was festooned in Tour de France this and that. We could hear live music coming from the town as we settled down for the night. A big stage in the town was hosting a bit of a shindig.
In the morning we walked into town, there was an air of excitement, we were in a stream of people. Gorgeous weather. (After seemingly endless rain in the night!) There was a field full of campers on the other side of the road, and fields of cars around the town. Lots of flags and loads of cyclists.
Around the corner and into town, every house seemed to have some sort of welcoming decoration! Yellow bunting, and lots of knitted TdF jerseys! So cute!!
One shop in town had a bike wrapped in knitting in the window! Brilliant. And this pub had some Shaun the Sheep cyclists *g* (Also, I think that's the only policeman I saw all day, and I didn't even notice them at the time. There were quite a lot of crowd organisers, but it was all very organised and low key.)
It was a lovely little town. Hours before the race was due to come through, and it was mobbed. There was a big screen in the square to watch the ITV coverage. We had an ice cream, got our lunch, and wandered about deciding where we would stand to see the race. We settled on a space on the same side of the road as the public toilets, that had a bit of pavement to sit on, and relatively close to a corner so the riders would be going at slightly less than break neck speed *g* Then it was just a waiting game!
The place was busy and there's still an hour or two before anything would happen *g* We had fun just chatting, eating our sandwiches, and talking to the folk around us. People were cycling up and down the road, they let them do that until just before the race, we cheered any little kids on bikes :) Some kids across the road were chanting 'oggy oggy oggy' and the people on the other side of the road were shouting back 'oy oy oy' so that was amusing. Then there was the wee girl over the road who must have decided that this was clearly an occasion where you could shout and cheer and wouldn't get into trouble, so she proceeded to shout random things like 'I like hang-gliding!' and 'Candy floss! Candy floss!' That was pretty hilarious. Then the circus arrived! Sponsor trucks, chucking free stuff! UK police motorbikes, hi-5-ing the crowd, parping their horns and enjoying themselves entirely too much. Gendarmes on motorbikes, scowling. :D
Crowds were bigger now. Loudest cheer went to the McCain Chip vehicles. I got one of their freebies - herb seed sticks, ready to plant! Heck, wonder where I put it!
Carrefour, chucking polka dot hats! Would have loved one of them. Then the team cars came through. Crowd was oddly silent for BMC cars, everyone else got huge cheers. We waved at everyone. There are people sitting on the roof of the toilets now *g* OPQS car!!
Sky!! (BIG cheers.)
Then, finally, the cyclists whizzed by! We'd heard Jens Voigt was leading. To be honest, it really was impossible to see anything as they were cycling fast so quickly, but my god it was fun! Everyone was yelling and cheering and they just zipped past. I decided to concentrate on cheering the main group, then try and take pics of the stragglers *g* It worked! This is Nelson Oliveira, Portuguese Road Race and Time Trial champion, hence white shirt with rainbow stripes. Of course he's just having a swig of water. Never mind the bend coming up.
Then I got this shot of a few more guys, the one in front is another rider I've heard of, another Portuguese cyclist, José Costa Mendes. So I was pretty pleased with my cyclist shots! It was totally random!
And that, pretty much, was that! Some of the team cars with the bikes etc followed behind, then some more police, then that was it!! But you can really see just how packed it was.
Then the road re-opened to cyclists, and it was all over :D We walked back to the camper, chilled out, and that night we could hear the music again *g* Party time down town. Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was an excellent day, I'm glad we went. We saw a little hegdehog snuffling around the campsite in the evening, so that was cute. All round good trip! I hope you enjoyed seeing my pics!
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