Tuesday morning, after much scrutinizing of maps, we got up at 5am to head out into the Pyrenees to see the Tour 
	de France bicycle race, which we had been following daily in the newspapers.  We took the backroads, which ended up being slower, but definitely
	 more scenic than the autoroute.  We drove through a miniature Yosemite Valley (or though it seemed to us) as well as 
	 countless old villages with their characteristic bakeries, butchers and newspaper shops.
	 <P>
	We arrived in the Tour stage start town of Saint-Gaudens in time to see the start.  Unfortunately at the
	start the 150 or so riders are all bunched together and going very fast, so that you can actually see them
	for about 5 seconds as they whiz by.  Nonetheless, it is still a very impressive, colorful, and heart-pounding sight.  The
	excitement was compounded by the fact that an American cyclist (and cancer survivor) was in the lead (and went on to win the entire race).
After the start, Bill and I jumped in the car and raced ahead via a different route to a small town in the mountains where we found a perfect spot on a corner during a steep climb.
 We were able to see the riders coming down the neighboring ridge, then up the hill and around the corner.  It was so exciting!!  There was suddenly an
 incredible noise as all the helicopters, motorcycles and cars appeared.  At this point the riders were
 going much more slowly and were more spread out, so that we had riders going by for the better part of
 30 minutes.  Definitely for us the highlight of our trip.
 
 <P>
<A HREF="france147.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france147.jpg" ALT="Start in Saint-Gaudens"></A>
<A HREF="france155.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france155.jpg" ALT="Town Where We Ate En Route"></A>
<A HREF="france157.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france157.jpg" ALT="Break for Lunch While Chasing the Tour"></A>
<A HREF="france158.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france158.jpg" ALT="Our Vantage Point With Neighboring Ridge"></A>
<A HREF="france150.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france150.jpg" ALT="The Lead Pack Breakaway"></A>
<A HREF="france151.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france151.jpg" ALT="Our Hero Lance in Yellow Jersey"></A>
<A HREF="france165.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france165.jpg" ALT="The Peloton Arrives"></A>
<A HREF="france166.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france166.jpg" ALT="Followed By Sag Wagons"></A>
<A HREF="france154.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france154.jpg" ALT="Cool Off"></A>
<A HREF="france159.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france159.jpg" ALT="Banesto's Bikes"></A>
<A HREF="france163.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france163.jpg" ALT="Bill Cheers a Rider"></A>
<A HREF="france164.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france164.jpg" ALT="Benita and Riders"></A>

<A HREF="france167.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france167.jpg" ALT="Get Close and Personal"></A>
<A HREF="france168.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france168.jpg" ALT="Afterwards in the Village"></A>
<A HREF="france169.jpg"><IMG border=0 SRC="thumbs/france169.jpg" ALT="Afterwards in the Village"></A>
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