Saturday saw the Tour de France come to London for the first time and I was in Hyde Park to witness it first hand. It ended up being quite a wonderful day, with an indescribable atmosphere. It was very encouraging to see so many people coming to watch what is really a minority sport here in the UK.
On the back of the excellent time had in London, myself and a couple of club-mates headed down to Tunbridge Wells to watch the peloton pile through the old spa town. We had to cycle, of course, so drove to Lingfield and jumped on the bikes for a nicely paced 20 miler. We ended up in a park with a huge screen, so we were able to sit in the sun and watch the race and then head up to the road to watch the riders as they passed through. It's great because you get this incredible wave of anticipation as you hear the team cars and police vehicles approaching, as well as the helicopters in the sky. Once the peloton appeared it was gone in a wave of brilliant colour. Lots of cheering for the british contingent, of course. I really cannot wait to take part in the Etape du Tour next year, it should be amazing.
We then headed back to the car positively inspired by what we had just seen. I made a point of hitting any hills hard and fast and putting my new spinning technique into practice, which saves my muscles and works my CV instead. This allows for greater endurance over a long period of time. I felt great on the bike this weekend, the hill work on the MTB has paid off big time. All I need is some lighter wheels!
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