I always think of Mom when the Tour de France begins. She would often call me from California and say…”Are you watching the Tour?” She really didn’t care about the bike race itself but she just loved the aerial shots of beautiful chateaus, flower-bedecked medieval villages, and the historical spectacle of it all! This 2017 photo of her was just a year before she passed away at 98. I miss her like crazy!

This Netflix special puts you right in the race itself and is very exciting! You can watch the race on Peacock and NBC.

I road with my son-in-law during the Tour de France in 2002. We cycled the same routes as the pros earlier in the morning. They were obviously shorter distances. Totally exciting! This was my very first organized ride in Europe and I brought my own bike. Every European ride afterwards I used the tour companies’ bikes which is so much easier!

The Col du Galibier was featured early in this year’s Tour and it brought back many memories for me.

Pogacar won the stage and looks to be very strong this year! I’m hoping last year’s winner Vingegaard will rebound from injuries suffered in a terrible crash in Spain earlier in the season. He is in 3rd place at the moment.

I’ve summited the Col du Galibier twice before and it was my most difficult day cycling for sure!

I’m with my son-in-law Ray at the summit in 2007.

This year’s TDF began in Italy, featuring massive crowds as shown in Bologna above.

On July 19 the race will go over the “Cime de la Bonette” the tallest road in France and Europe’s 3rd highest. Stage 19 will be an incredibly difficult day for the riders.

On July 21 the Tour will end with a very difficult time trial from Monaco to Nice. The photo above shows La Turbie, an area of the race course. The place is important historically as Grace Kelly, former movie star then Princess of Monaco, died in a car crash off the Avenue du Cap d’Ail, another road down from La Turbie to the coast.

The exhausting race will end in Nice on July 21st.

More sports excitement will begin with the Paris Olympics, opening Friday, July 26, and running through Sunday, August 11.