Yesterday, my good blogging friend AGMA published a post about her love of the Tour de France cycle race. Please pop over to her blog by clicking here and check it out.
Regular blogonaughts may remember that Hogrider Dookes is also rather partial to the “Le Tour” and it is certainly one of my guilty pleasures to sit inside on a bright summer day watching the action on television. My excuse is that live Tour action simply did not exist when Dookes was a lad!
Chris Froome attacks in the mountains.
Today the weather outside is OK, but not great, so not too much guilt is involved…but today is a very special day for “Le Tour,” today the race crosses the iconic Col du Galibier!
Col du Galibier
This was a mountain that I always dreamed of climbing. The domain of Merckx, Zoetemelk, Coppi and Jiméez, it stands at 2645metres, 8678ft, above sea level and has featured in the tour since 1911.
This year “Le Tour” is crossing Galibier from the North side, 18km of climbing at an average gradient of 6.9%….that’s bloody tough! Oh yes, I nearly forgot, they also had to climb Col du Télégraph first, 11.8km at 7.3%!
Galibier is to me the home of “Le Tour” in the high Alps and also for me a place of great spiritual significance. The first time I rode up her glorious majestic slopes I had serious tears running down my cheeks and to be honest it’s not changed much since! I love the place.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go watch a cycle race!
Catch you soon.
Dookes
Hogrider Dookes 
Don’t you think cycling is making a huge comeback, not that it ever really went away, but so many people I know are cycling enthusiasts nowadays.
I’ve always loved cycling but haven’t done very much since I moved here. I need to remedy that (and not fall off this time like I did last time) 🙄
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Yes it has got very fashionable of late. I’ve never been without a push-bike, though these days I don’t ride much on account of road traffic and those thin saddles…..! I find a Harley much more comfortable!
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I have a big butt saddle on mine 😜
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😂😂😂😂
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Ah, yes, Le Tour! I too, am a fan, but I must admit, I have only been watching bits and pieces of the coverage this year. But the Tour always brings back to mind the halycon days (for me) of the Tours of the 1980’s. I was a “mid pack” Cat 2 racer back then, and i and my team mates revered the 7 Eleven team and Americans racing on Euro teams. Roll, Hampsten, Phinney, et al, the radical upstarts daring to challenge the traditions of the Tour. And who could ever forget the unbelievable duel between Greg Lemond and Laurent Fignon in the 1985 (?) Tour? Eight seconds! Never to happen again. There you go HD, you brought back those halycon days…….thanks!
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Ah, Greg Lemond…known as “Le Monster” in France and greatly respected at Dookes H.Q..
A great racer and great man of principle…and the only American to have won Le Tour!
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Thanks for the link to AGMA Dookes! I am just now getting caught up on my WP reading today and, feeling very down because the Tour is over, I got a HUGE smile on my face when I saw the graphic! It was a GREAT stage – Roglic was on one of my fantasy teams!! 🙂
But why is it such a significant place to you? Was it because it is so iconic in the Tour or is there another reason? Or a combination. Not that you have to have a reason at all really…
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Hi AGMA, my pleasure with the link.
Yes, what a stage it was totally compelling and exciting beyond just the winner!
I think that you have prodded me into writing a new post about what the Galibier means to me and why….watch this space in a few days and I’ll explain it all!
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Awesome! Enqiring minds and all that…
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😎😎😎
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