My Tour de France experience (It was a bit different)
Discussion
I would have posted this in the main tour thread but I think it is worth posting here in it's own thread as it was pretty cool.
It started a few days before the tour began when Paul (Pablo on here) asked if I wanted to go to see the second stage with him, he was one of the volunteers in the fetching blue uniforms. Obvious answer was yes so we drove up on the Saturday, stopped over night and were there prompt and early (0600) for the volunteers to be briefed and let loose to control the crowds. I wasn't allowed to ride with him on the bus to his station due to 'insurance' and 'security checks' due to not being an official tour maker so I got to ride 16 miles of the route... swings and roundabouts and all that.
I arrived where Pablo was marshalling hung around for a bit and got some breakfast (third sandwich since leaving Bristol!) saw what was going on and watched the streets starting to fill out. I went to go and find a good vantage point at which to watch the peloton go past. I found a telephone exchange next to the barriers and pitched up on there. Nice vantage point that put me above the heads of all the 'leaner-inners' to get a good view as it went through.
Sitting up on here I was approached by a girl who was working for BBC Radio Yorkshire and asked if I wanted to do an interview, I agreed and ended up live on air as a 'reaction to the race' person - pretty cool!
So there I am sitting on my telephone exchange and an elderly man comes and stands next to me. Looks up at me and says 'That is a good spot you have there, mind helping me up as well?'. So I do, thinking it is great that someone who is 79 he tells me is willing to hop up and sit onto a telephone exchange with me to watch the tour.
We get chatting and talking about cycling and he is asking me about some of the events I have done etc. We talk a bit about the tour, predictions for this year and a few bits and pieces while we wait for the peloton to come through. He seems nice and friendly and we have a good chat.
While talking about some of the things I had done I said that riding the TDF route was a bit special and probably the closest I will ever come to actually riding TDF. We had been chatting for about 30 minutes by this point and he comes out with words to the effect of 'Oh well it has been a while since I last rode it - I expect you have more chance than me now'.
Sorry? Did this man I am sat next to just say that he rode the TDF?, I ask to check that is what he said and yes, he said that he rode the tour a few times in the 60s. I must admit that I was somewhat sceptical to start with but we talked for longer about his experiences of the tours in the 60s, his stage wins in the Giro and his win of the Tour of Luxembourg and I believed what he said, I was still somewhat on the fence as I was finding it hard to logically justify why I found myself sitting on a telephone exchange with a previous tour rider!
He was then telling me about his friendship with Tom Simpson, did I know who he was? Yes of course I did, the first British person to win a yellow jersey and who tragically lost his life in the 1967 tour, we talked some about this and he was telling me his memories of Tom, riding with him and how much of a friend he had been.
The whole time I had been sitting there with him he was quite protective about a backpack that he had with him, making sure it was always in sight and asking me to help keep an eye on it. He then mentions about the yellow jersey that Tom had won and how he now had it. I can't remember how he came to have it but he told me the story of how after Tom had died there was some sort of agreement in place that he would take the next stage win as a tribute to Tom Simpson, however Barry Hoban took it from him instead. The reason he was being so cautious over the backpack was because he had said yellow jersey in it, would I like to see it? Yes!
Some of you may have worked out who I was sitting next to... Vin Denson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vin_Denson)
Here is a photo of him with the jersey and one of me holding it - there is a picture of both me and him, I thought I had it but the BBC Yorkshire girl took it I think.
PH cycling top of course!
All in a pretty cool day - thanks to Paul for inviting me and putting up with me in the car for a large number of hours!
It started a few days before the tour began when Paul (Pablo on here) asked if I wanted to go to see the second stage with him, he was one of the volunteers in the fetching blue uniforms. Obvious answer was yes so we drove up on the Saturday, stopped over night and were there prompt and early (0600) for the volunteers to be briefed and let loose to control the crowds. I wasn't allowed to ride with him on the bus to his station due to 'insurance' and 'security checks' due to not being an official tour maker so I got to ride 16 miles of the route... swings and roundabouts and all that.
I arrived where Pablo was marshalling hung around for a bit and got some breakfast (third sandwich since leaving Bristol!) saw what was going on and watched the streets starting to fill out. I went to go and find a good vantage point at which to watch the peloton go past. I found a telephone exchange next to the barriers and pitched up on there. Nice vantage point that put me above the heads of all the 'leaner-inners' to get a good view as it went through.
Sitting up on here I was approached by a girl who was working for BBC Radio Yorkshire and asked if I wanted to do an interview, I agreed and ended up live on air as a 'reaction to the race' person - pretty cool!
So there I am sitting on my telephone exchange and an elderly man comes and stands next to me. Looks up at me and says 'That is a good spot you have there, mind helping me up as well?'. So I do, thinking it is great that someone who is 79 he tells me is willing to hop up and sit onto a telephone exchange with me to watch the tour.
We get chatting and talking about cycling and he is asking me about some of the events I have done etc. We talk a bit about the tour, predictions for this year and a few bits and pieces while we wait for the peloton to come through. He seems nice and friendly and we have a good chat.
While talking about some of the things I had done I said that riding the TDF route was a bit special and probably the closest I will ever come to actually riding TDF. We had been chatting for about 30 minutes by this point and he comes out with words to the effect of 'Oh well it has been a while since I last rode it - I expect you have more chance than me now'.
Sorry? Did this man I am sat next to just say that he rode the TDF?, I ask to check that is what he said and yes, he said that he rode the tour a few times in the 60s. I must admit that I was somewhat sceptical to start with but we talked for longer about his experiences of the tours in the 60s, his stage wins in the Giro and his win of the Tour of Luxembourg and I believed what he said, I was still somewhat on the fence as I was finding it hard to logically justify why I found myself sitting on a telephone exchange with a previous tour rider!
He was then telling me about his friendship with Tom Simpson, did I know who he was? Yes of course I did, the first British person to win a yellow jersey and who tragically lost his life in the 1967 tour, we talked some about this and he was telling me his memories of Tom, riding with him and how much of a friend he had been.
The whole time I had been sitting there with him he was quite protective about a backpack that he had with him, making sure it was always in sight and asking me to help keep an eye on it. He then mentions about the yellow jersey that Tom had won and how he now had it. I can't remember how he came to have it but he told me the story of how after Tom had died there was some sort of agreement in place that he would take the next stage win as a tribute to Tom Simpson, however Barry Hoban took it from him instead. The reason he was being so cautious over the backpack was because he had said yellow jersey in it, would I like to see it? Yes!
Some of you may have worked out who I was sitting next to... Vin Denson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vin_Denson)
Here is a photo of him with the jersey and one of me holding it - there is a picture of both me and him, I thought I had it but the BBC Yorkshire girl took it I think.
PH cycling top of course!
All in a pretty cool day - thanks to Paul for inviting me and putting up with me in the car for a large number of hours!
What a great story, one of those one-off right place at the right time events.
I must admit, I'd not heard of him, as I know pretty much bugger all about the history of cycle racing but would have loved to have been there to chat to him.
It's a lot better than the annoying yank we ended up being talked to by for about three hours
I must admit, I'd not heard of him, as I know pretty much bugger all about the history of cycle racing but would have loved to have been there to chat to him.
It's a lot better than the annoying yank we ended up being talked to by for about three hours
Basically, Edd had the hots for the girl from radio Yorkshire and hung around her like a bad smell for the entire morning whilst I diligently prevented the good people of Starbeck from crossing the road when it was not safe to do so.
I wasnt on telly as they cut to an ad break just as they left Knaresborough which was a shame as I had given loads of chalk to the kids around us and their artwork was tres amusement. It also amused me how few adults can draw a bicycle, its essentially six lines and two circles but of the ten or so that tried, only two drew anything that would be recognisable as a bicycle.
Prudhomme seems content that le tour will be back in the UK again soon too which is good and the 3 day race in Yorkshire proposed for 2015 has to be a cert now!
I wasnt on telly as they cut to an ad break just as they left Knaresborough which was a shame as I had given loads of chalk to the kids around us and their artwork was tres amusement. It also amused me how few adults can draw a bicycle, its essentially six lines and two circles but of the ten or so that tried, only two drew anything that would be recognisable as a bicycle.
Prudhomme seems content that le tour will be back in the UK again soon too which is good and the 3 day race in Yorkshire proposed for 2015 has to be a cert now!
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