My son and I went down to Devon today to watch the ToB. We did the same thing last year and headed for Exmoor, which was absolutely packed, I have never seen so many people up there. This year I picked what I thought would be a quieter spot near the bottom of the climb at Mamhead, just outside Exeter.
As I know the area pretty well and often work down there, I did a quick scouting trip a couple of weeks ago and found a good place to park and then ride the last couple of miles to the bottom of the climb.
Although the peleton are only in front of you for a matter of minutes, there is a great atmosphere and it is always impressive to see the organisation both in front and behind the race itself. After the breakaway had passed, we were able to see just how imposing the Sky train is at the front of the peleton when they appeared as a long line of blue, black and gold around the hairpin bend; the rest of the peleton following in a huge bunch right behind.
The icing on the cake was being the last rider up the climb on my Concorde Astore, possibly the oldest bike on the hill today.
Anyone else been to see the ToB this year, or planning a trip?
As I know the area pretty well and often work down there, I did a quick scouting trip a couple of weeks ago and found a good place to park and then ride the last couple of miles to the bottom of the climb.
Although the peleton are only in front of you for a matter of minutes, there is a great atmosphere and it is always impressive to see the organisation both in front and behind the race itself. After the breakaway had passed, we were able to see just how imposing the Sky train is at the front of the peleton when they appeared as a long line of blue, black and gold around the hairpin bend; the rest of the peleton following in a huge bunch right behind.
The icing on the cake was being the last rider up the climb on my Concorde Astore, possibly the oldest bike on the hill today.
Anyone else been to see the ToB this year, or planning a trip?