July 12, 2004
Welcome
Welcome to my 2004 Tour de France blog. The Tour started July 3rd. I will be in France on the 15th and should be sitting in the Pyrenees by the 16th. I will be following the race through the Pyrenees, the Alps and back to Paris for the finish on July 25th. Hopefully, I will be able to find internet access periodically so that I can post my updates.
Rough approximation of my route.
Posted by pcmg at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2004
Nightmare Trip
Well after sitting on the runway in San Francisco for an hour, flying 5 hours to Philadelphia, sitting on the runway for 3 hours before taking off for a 7 hour flight to Paris, and then because of the delays missing my train to Toulouse by 20 minutes, forcing me to take the 5 hour train ride 3 hours later and then driving up into the Pyrenees for a few hours until midnight, I finally made it to the Pyrenees. But after finding thousands of RVs littering the road to La Mongie, I've decided that later this morning I will move down into Lannemezan to watch this stage.
Posted by pcmg at 05:49 PM | Comments (0)
July 16, 2004
Heavy Rains on Way to Plateau de Beille
Heavy rain, thunder and lightning were the main sights on the way to the next stage. I did stop for a bit in Foix to grab something to eat and to grab a shot of Chateau de Foix. It was still raining pretty hard. By the time I got to Plateau de Beille the hillside was already covered with RV's and I'm camped out in the village near the base.
Posted by pcmg at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)
July 19, 2004
Nîmes to Avignon
From Mirepoix to Carcassonne to Nîmes on the 18th. After stage 14, I wandered around Nîmes for a while before realizing that I had no hotel and no chance of getting one in Nîmes. I found a wi-fi access point for the first time since I've been in France and booked a hotel for the night in Avignon. When I arrive around 10pm, there was a fair going on inside this walled city. The place was packed. I should have pictures from inside and outside of the city tomorrow (later today).
From the Romans: Maison Carree and Amphitheater in Nîmes.
Posted by pcmg at 01:13 AM | Comments (0)
Avignon Pictures
Some pictures from inside (where I stayed) and outside of the wall.
Posted by pcmg at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2004
Valence, Grenoble and Le Bourg-d'Oisan
Left Avignon yesterday and spent the night in Valence. Not much there except a lot of construction which caused traffic to move very slowly. I stayed away from the city center and in the hotel. Then I went into the Alps to Saint-Jean-en-Royans to watch the race. After the race I went to Grenoble. So did everyone else. The traffic getting into the city was crawling. Once in the city there were no hotels. The town seems very nice, but thunder storms kept me from looking around too much. With no chance of getting a hotel I decided to sleep in the car near the Alp d'Huez course in the town of Le Bourg-d'Oisan. The drive was about 30 miles and it was 30 miles of bumper to bumper traffic. I finally reached the town and found a place to park at 12:30 AM. Here are some pictures of Saint-Jean-en-Royans and the area around Le Bourg-d'Oisan where I camped.
Posted by pcmg at 06:56 AM | Comments (0)
Route de Grand Alps to Saint-Martin-sur-la-Chambre
Left Le Bourg-d'Oisan around 7pm. Decided that the best way to the next stage was to go east toward Italy. Driving through the Alps is incredible. I stopped several times while there was still light enough to take pictures. I was hoping to find a hotel on the way but there were only small towns and the hotels were packed with Tour personnel and people on bike tours. When I hit the road to go north, I had no idea what to expect. The mapping program I have been using along with a gps device, does not really differentiate medium sized roads and small roads that well. The road north had a sign on it that read Route de Grand Alps. This road was about a lane and a half wide with no guard rails and it took you over the Alps and had some of the most incredible views. Unfortunately, it was a little to dark for pictures and it was pretty scary driving the road, so looking around was limited to the occasional quick glance. After getting off that road I continued heading north hoping to find a hotel and before I knew it I was at the Col de la Madeleine. So I found a spot in a vacant lot with a bunch of other people, parked and slept in the car again in a town called Saint-Martin-sur-la-Chambre. Below are some of the pictures I took along the way.
Posted by pcmg at 08:35 AM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2004
Saint-Martin-sur-la-Chambre - Bourg-en-Bresse
After the race passed Col de la Madeleine, I left Saint-Martin-sur-la-Chambre and headed to Annemasse, just outside of Geneva and the starting town of stage 18. Of course there were no rooms anywhere near the area. So I headed in the general direction of the finishing town of Lons-le-Saunier. About 50 Km from Lons-le-Saunier is the town of Bourg-en-Bresse. The first hotel I stopped at was booked but they called ahead to the Hotel Ariane and they did have a room. This place had a restaurant and I eat there that night. The restaurant was run by the same people who checked me in. I sat out on the patio and had a multi-course meal with a half bottle of Rosé. The meal was great and I made it until the cheese plate before I had to slow down. I did have the desert of Chocolate crepes with ice cream but again I couldn't finish it.
Posted by pcmg at 07:27 PM | Comments (0)
July 23, 2004
Belfort
Traveling on one lane roads though little villages with intersection that branch 5 ways is over, now it's just traveling on the major highways. After stage 18, I took one of those pay-for highways two hours north east to the town of Belfort.
Posted by pcmg at 03:25 AM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2004
Paris
After find my car following stage 19, I made the 4 hour trip from Besançon to Paris, dropped off the rental car an checked in to my hotel. Fancy 4 star hotel with very limited internet access. I'd drop a star for that.
Posted by pcmg at 02:49 AM | Comments (0)
July 25, 2004
Champs-Elysées
Got up this morning to another overcast day in France. Went to the top of the Arc de Triumph and took a few shots of the city, which did not come out very well because of the weather. Now I'm sitting on the Champ-Elysées having a beer, and watching the place fill.
Posted by pcmg at 12:43 PM | Comments (0)
