 |
| Chateau Roquietaillad |
Today we leave Lourdes for a bus transfer heading to Bordeaux. It was another early day as we needed to leave by 8:30. We had about a 4 hour bus ride with a break to get to our picnic spot at the Chateau Roquietaillad. This is the most visited Chateau in Bordeaux and this has been in the same family for 700 years when it was first built.
 |
| Old part of Chateau |
We had a nice picnic lunch here before we headed out on a flat 45 mile ride to Bourdeaux. We rode pass wine fields and historic churches. I started out with the group, but in one of the photos, I was already near the back. I think I hung in with the main group for 10 miles. Periodically, I would ride with Jeff, but on this day, I wasn't the last rider. I did ride portions of the route by myself. Today, I felt rushed to get to the stage finish in Bourdeaux.
 |
| Our group with me towards the back |
We started our ride about 45 minutes later than planned. I was concerned that I wouldn't get to the finish on time. As I was entering into Bourdeaux, I got lost, sort of.
I found a local and he told me how to get to the stage finish which was about 5 km from where I was and I know I was heading the direction that goes against the cue sheet, but I trusted the guy that told me how to get there. I know I rode over a different bridge than what was on the cue sheet. 
As soon as I got over the bridge, I saw the stage route even though I knew I was about 2 km or less from the finish line.
 |
| My viewing spot for the stage |
I decided to take pictures at this spot as it wasn't crowded and I didn't have to worry about where I put my bike as it stayed with me.
After the stage came through, I then headed towards the finish line. I didn't plan on looking for my group as I didn't expect I would even find them in the middle of the large crowds. As I approached the finish line, I saw someone waving over to me and it was my group, minus a couple people.
We left the finish line and rode another 5 miles to get to our hotel. Total miles for the day was 45 and total climbing for the day was 900 feet. The weather was fine today. 
We knew when we got to our hotel we were told we would have two of the Tour race teams at our hotel. When we got to the hotel, we were surprised to have 4 teams at our hotel. Garmin, Astana, FDJ, and Rabobank. In the lobby, we saw some of the cyclists coming through. A couple from our group got their picture taken with the cyclists.
 |
| Lance in this group |
Some of us, including me, went outside and walked around the buses, watching them pressure wash the bikes, and we took pictures of some of the bikes. See the video at the end of this blog.
 |
| Astana bikes. First bike is Contador's |
 |
| Among the 4 Team Buses |
When I came into the hotel, I was amazed at how nice this hotel is, starting with the lobby, hallways and the room. I can say the room I had at this hotel, with a view of the river, is the nicest hotel that I have ever stayed at in France.
 |
| David & Mauricio taking pictures of Contador's bike |
The bed was extremely comfortable too. After showering, we took a shuttle to downtown Bourdeaux and had a nice dinner. Again, overall, this was a great day of riding and watching the Tour.
 |
| Hotel Lobby |
When I got back to my room, I was so fatigued and in the middle of the night, I knew I was coming down with some sort of bug. I have never been sick on any of my vacations. We will see how I feel tomorrow morning.
 |
Garmin Team room list - They are on my floor
|
 |
| Hallways |
 |
| My room |
I found a local and he told me how to get to the stage finish which was about 5 km from where I was and I know I was heading the direction that goes against the cue sheet, but I trusted the guy that told me how to get there. I know I rode over a different bridge than what was on the cue sheet. 
As soon as I got over the bridge, I saw the stage route even though I knew I was about 2 km or less from the finish line. 
After the stage came through, I then headed towards the finish line. I didn't plan on looking for my group as I didn't expect I would even find them in the middle of the large crowds. As I approached the finish line, I saw someone waving over to me and it was my group, minus a couple people. 
We left the finish line and rode another 5 miles to get to our hotel. Total miles for the day was 45 and total climbing for the day was 900 feet. The weather was fine today. 
We knew when we got to our hotel we were told we would have two of the Tour race teams at our hotel. When we got to the hotel, we were surprised to have 4 teams at our hotel. Garmin, Astana, FDJ, and Rabobank. In the lobby, we saw some of the cyclists coming through. A couple from our group got their picture taken with the cyclists. 
No comments:
Post a Comment