Tour de France

With the race starting so close to us this year, we thought it would be rude not to pop along and cheer the riders on.  We caught the train to York (it's only 30 minutes away) and walked the route of the ride to get to the racecourse where we had tickets for the official start of stage 2.

We timed it all pretty well as the caravan with all the publicity stuff and advertisers was just coming along as we reached the route.  We watched them all come by and attempted to get some freebies - not particularly successfully and only managed a slapband and some tea!

Once that had passed it was easier to walk but still loads to look at as there were loads of parties going on in the gardens and side streets and the occasional police pushbike got lots of cheers!

When we got into the racecourse we met up with Steve's brother and his family.  The kids were pleased to see their cousins, especially since they had saved them premier seating on the front row with perfect views for seeing the riders go by!

The wait wasn't too long and it was helped by a Lancaster bomber fly-by and lots of people-watching.

Despite them doing a procession for the first 20 minutes out of the racecourse and through York, they still seemed to zip by at a fair old speed.  I would quite like to see them go and full speed but have to say it was nice to see them all saunter by with smiles.

We're now back at home watching them with just under 10 miles to go before they reach Sheffield - the kids are a little confused and can't quite believe they are the same riders that we saw this morning. Don't blame them - it seems an awfully long time to spend on a bike!