We are all living in a new pandemic world which causes disruption on many personal levels. One of my favorite sporting events is the Tour de France which begins Saturday, August 29 in Brittany and finishes on the iconic Champs-Élysées in Paris on September 20th. I love the competition, the fabulous scenery, and the history of this amazing race…and believe it or not, my Mom was still watching it at 97 years old! Totally new will be fans and even cyclists pre and post-race,…wearing masks as they wore at last weeks “Critérium du Dauphiné” in the photo above.

The link above gives a good overview of past races. I’ve cycled a number of times during the Tour de France and there is no sporting event in the world like it. Because of COVID there will be many new protocols to protect the rider. Masks will be worn by riders before and after the race. Anyone not following the rules will have their credentials removed or face expulsion from the race. What race organizers cannot control is what is happening throughout France.

My Mom was an avid fan of the Tour de France, unusual for someone in her late 90’s! Her favorite part was seeing the wonderful scenery and historic buildings when the Tour was shown on TV! I used to call her on the phone to talk about the favorite things she saw each day. She really wasn’t a cycling fan but she sure loved the scenery like the countryside near Lac Annecy above.

Another favorite of hers was to see the French aerial views of “farm art.” During the Tour many regions of rural France design intricate farm art often with hundreds of people participating to advertise the unique aspects of their area. They all hope the French TV helicopters will show their creations.

We will have to see how “social distancing” works for spectators during the tour. Hopefully, almost everyone will wear masks as they did at the recent “Critérium du Dauphiné”!

I’ll be looking out for a young rider from Durango Colorado, Sepp Kuss. He will ride to support his Dutch team’s leader. He is fabulous in the high mountains and may try to win a stage or two!

This is one of the sweetest videos ever of our Twin Granddaughters watching TV and saying…”Go, Papa!” They thought I was in the race!

The first time riding during the Tour de France was a huge thrill! This is up the steep Col de la Forclaz near Lac Annecy. This has been a Tour route many times.

I traveled with my son-in-law Stan on my first Tour de France cycling tour in 2002. We are riding around beautiful Lac Annecy.

A photo-op with the famous “Didi the Devil,” an interesting character at the TDF.

My son-in-law Ray and I road on Trek Travel’s “Classic Climbs.” We experienced many of the iconic steep mountain routes made famous by the Tour de France.

We cycled up the famous Alpe d’Huez and the 21 “lacets”, or bends in the ride to the summit. Cycling Alpe d’Huez is to conquer cycling’s most famous mountain. It is not the most difficult but still pretty damn hard! I’ve summited on three different trips.

Yours truly on the climb.

There is something very special to cycle on small French roads.

I took this picture while riding through the small town of St. Jean-De -Fos in Southwestern France. You see monuments like this in almost every small town memorializing those who died during World War 1.

Col du Galibier (2645m), one of the highest climbs of Tour de France. “Hors catégorie” (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is “beyond categorization.” I’ve summited on two different trips and find it the hardest day ever on the road. We started in the hot valley far below and each time it was nearly snowing at the top. Crazy weather!

At the Col du Galibier with son-in-law Ray.

Years ago I was fortunate to ride in Paris a few hours before the Tour pro riders entered the city on the final day. It was so exciting and a day I’ll never forget!

These are old images of my favorite rider in the Tour de France history, Gino Bartali. He won the race in 1938 and in 1948. He is remembered for much more than being a champion cyclist as he risked his life helping to save almost 800 Jews during the war. Click on the link to read about his amazing story.

“Mom, I hope they have TV coverage of the Tour de France for you in heaven!”