Almost a year ago, Mark got a chance to fulfil a long-held dream and go to see the Tour de France during one of the stages in Normandy. Little did we know back then that we would end up living in France and Mark would get to immerse himself in Cycling Heaven here in Europe.
It has been a rainy weekend — gray, yucky, not a good set of circumstances for walking around with expensive camera gear — so we’ve just stayed snuggled up in the house. And Mark has been rather run down with a bad case of bronchitis that, in spite of the meds that our new doctor gave him, he’s fighting to shake off.
But what excitement there was in his voice when he got up from watching a movie yesterday afternoon because he heard a lot of honking and noise coming through our teeny-tiny-village and then I hear him say excitedly, “Here they come!” Something made me grab my camera as I raced to the kitchen window at the front of the house and arrived just as the first cyclists were going by.
Here come the lead cyclists as they race through Engomer in the Midi-Pyrenees of France
Zoom! The cluster of men on bicycles was a blur — literally! You can see the sign on the other side of the road that states Salle des Fetes and Tennis Court quite clearly, but the cyclists themselves were a true example of ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ action.
A blur of cyclists pass the front of our house in the Midi-Pyrenees of France
They were followed by more police and ambulance services and several support vehicles with spare bikes on top. Then the clump of people and vehicles in this organised racing event wove their way through the valley and were gone in less than a minute.
We’re just entering the beginning of the cycling season and there will be a lot more such events, not to mention the Tour de France, in the coming months. What fun this is for a diehard cycle nut like my darling husband!
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