Time to get back in the saddle
Well, it is hard to believe that it is two weeks since I stood on the Champs-Elysees to watch the finish of the Tour de France. I then filed my very last report for The Times and went out with a hotchpotch of cycling journos from all over the world for an end-of-tour meal and piss-up. Since then I haven’t written a word, apart from the odd (yes, I know they are all odd) Facebook status update. So I think it is time to get back in the saddle and say something … anything … if I can ever get my brain back into gear.
The Tour was a – I was going to say super, but my kids have banned me from using the word – an incredible experience, and although it was hard work, it is something that I wouldn’t hesitate to do again. I could have sat at home and watched it on the telly, where I would have seen more of the action than I did on the road. But there is nothing like being there, walking around the race village, mingling with the riders and teams at the start and finish, chasing the race from town to town, and seeing some fantastic scenery along the way. Sometimes we would get to our hotels in time for some food, often we had to just wing it and pick up something to eat where we could.
The only thing that I missed in that time was not being on a bike myself. It is great to watch cycle racing, but even better to be on a bike yourself. I managed two rides in the 26 days that I was away. The first was some downhilling in Avoriaz, which was great fun, and a bit hair-raising, because downhill is not my forte. The fun bit was catching the skilift back to the top of the mountain. About ten days later I managed to hire the last bike in the shop – a sluggish tourer – and trundled along a wonderful, flat trail up the valley from Lourdes into the Pyerenees.
Now I am back home, to a new home and new life, and my bikes are in storage. So what to do? Only one answer: borrow the wife’s Rockhopper and head for the hills – that way the grey matter will get some exercise. Watch this space …
August 9th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
I may have been hard work to do the “Tour” but I am sure the more you do the easier it will become. Plus when you have the camper van you and Pam could just go around europe following the big races and reporting on them freelance. Or not!