So, I've never followed cycling much, aside from mocking Matt in his spandex diaper pants, but this year, I might get a little bit more excited about it since the 2010 Tour De France basically goes through our back yard. I know waiting two and a half hours on the side of the road to see the peloton blow by at 30 miles an hour might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but the Tour is perhaps the one thing that the majority of American's know (and perhaps even revere) about France, which is monumental in itself and certainly worth experiencing.
Stage 15 of this year's Tour goes from Pamiers (a town about an hour northeast of us) to Bagnères De Luchon, which lies 187km (116 miles) to the southwest. The course of this year's race is monumental for Pamiers because it is the first time the town has hosted a Tour stage. Although the exact course of the race hasn't been released yet, the hill profile below shows the Tour passing through the Côte of Carla-Bayle, which is about 10 km (6 miles) from our house.
Carla-Bayle is a beautiful fortified village perched atop a hill (the pic above was swiped off the internet...I'll try to post some other pics later). Construction of the wall that surrounds the village was completed in the 12-13th century and is a much smaller version of the famous walled city of Carcassonne which lies farther to the northeast.
From Carla-Bayle, the Tour winds its way southwest across the department of Ariège and into Haute Garonne. The stage ends with a brutal climb (6.2% grade) at kilometer 166 (mile 103), before reaching the resort town of Bagnères De Luchon which is tucked away in the middle of the Pyrenees, just north of the Spanish border.
I imagine things will be somewhat like a circus when the Tour rolls through, but it will be cool to see (and hopefully share with Ben and Shawna when they're here!).
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