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A typical day at the Tour for us usually began the night before. However, first we started by packing some essentials... we brought along a special picnic blanket with us from the States as well as the soft-sided cooler we acquired last TdF, sunscreen, a cowbell (a true spectator's must) and a wine bottle opener.
When we first arrived in France, we visited a supermarché to buy two folding lawn chairs, a plastic bucket for ice and our drinks, two metal forks, a spoon and butter knife, two sturdy plastic plates, plastic wine glasses, and napkins. These items provided the base for each day's picnic. We also bought a big pack of Perrier and a big pack of Orangina.
The night before each stage (by at least 7PM when they closed), we would stop at a market to buy our supplies for the following day (we typically would be on the road before the markets opened each day and in areas where they were already scarce, so it was better to stop when we had the chance). Most evenings we would buy: two bags of ice for our bucket, a few tomatoes, lettuce, a cheese or two, bottle of wine and chips. Each night we would also take a look at the Tour map to pinpoint the area we thought would provide the best spectating.
The following morning, we would wake up anytime between 5:30AM and 8:00AM, depending on how far we needed to travel and when the roads would close. After a quick breakfast provided by our chambre d'hôte (usually consisting of coffee, juice, pain with jams, and sometimes yogurt), we would be off to the local Boulangerie to buy our daily bread -- a baguette or two and a few pain au chocolats. After that it was off to scout our location.
Traveling to find a spot took us anywhere from one to three hours. In most cases this year (as you might have read already), we were able to drive most of the Tour stage en route to our location. This proved incredibly helpful if we decided to change up our plan for the day and backtrack to a better, less crowded, shadier location with something in the area that would serve as a suitable place for "natural breaks" that we already passed. Once we settled on a spot (sometimes driving past it three or four times), we staked out our location with the lawn chairs and picnic blanket (what seems like an ideal spot at 9AM can turn into a zoo by the time they shut down the roads).
Our three- to eight-hour picnic included reading, eating, drinking, taking photos and writing entries for our blog. We would sometimes walk a kilometer to two in either direction to see what kind of place we were surrounded by.
Once the caravan started to roll by the excitement mounted quite quickly. The entire length of the caravan was 45 minutes or so, with the better swag up front and the smaller sponsors bringing up the rear. After the caravan finished, there was really only time to collect the picnic goods and repack the car (making it faster to jump in the car and drive the other was once the Fin de Course truck passed. When you heard helicopters, it meant the riders were near. The details of this will be clear if you watch the soon-to-be-posted video.
Once everything rolled by our location, we jumped in the car, turned on the A/C and began the slow roll out of there. Rinse and repeat.
When we first arrived in France, we visited a supermarché to buy two folding lawn chairs, a plastic bucket for ice and our drinks, two metal forks, a spoon and butter knife, two sturdy plastic plates, plastic wine glasses, and napkins. These items provided the base for each day's picnic. We also bought a big pack of Perrier and a big pack of Orangina.
The night before each stage (by at least 7PM when they closed), we would stop at a market to buy our supplies for the following day (we typically would be on the road before the markets opened each day and in areas where they were already scarce, so it was better to stop when we had the chance). Most evenings we would buy: two bags of ice for our bucket, a few tomatoes, lettuce, a cheese or two, bottle of wine and chips. Each night we would also take a look at the Tour map to pinpoint the area we thought would provide the best spectating.
The following morning, we would wake up anytime between 5:30AM and 8:00AM, depending on how far we needed to travel and when the roads would close. After a quick breakfast provided by our chambre d'hôte (usually consisting of coffee, juice, pain with jams, and sometimes yogurt), we would be off to the local Boulangerie to buy our daily bread -- a baguette or two and a few pain au chocolats. After that it was off to scout our location.
Traveling to find a spot took us anywhere from one to three hours. In most cases this year (as you might have read already), we were able to drive most of the Tour stage en route to our location. This proved incredibly helpful if we decided to change up our plan for the day and backtrack to a better, less crowded, shadier location with something in the area that would serve as a suitable place for "natural breaks" that we already passed. Once we settled on a spot (sometimes driving past it three or four times), we staked out our location with the lawn chairs and picnic blanket (what seems like an ideal spot at 9AM can turn into a zoo by the time they shut down the roads).
Our three- to eight-hour picnic included reading, eating, drinking, taking photos and writing entries for our blog. We would sometimes walk a kilometer to two in either direction to see what kind of place we were surrounded by.
Once the caravan started to roll by the excitement mounted quite quickly. The entire length of the caravan was 45 minutes or so, with the better swag up front and the smaller sponsors bringing up the rear. After the caravan finished, there was really only time to collect the picnic goods and repack the car (making it faster to jump in the car and drive the other was once the Fin de Course truck passed. When you heard helicopters, it meant the riders were near. The details of this will be clear if you watch the soon-to-be-posted video.
Once everything rolled by our location, we jumped in the car, turned on the A/C and began the slow roll out of there. Rinse and repeat.
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