Joining the Pentalon in Düsseldorf to tick off a bucket list event

Before I even go into my experience of the Tour de France I just want to give you all an insight to how I got there. And why this was a bucket list item of inevitability.

I've for quite some time enjoyed watching the Tour de France each year as it traverses through the French countryside. Watching the television screen as the camera would take us up close as the pentalon of riders zoom through a small French village filled with tourist, to then cut to an aerial view of some 14th century chateau that's been held in the same family since the 1600s. It always captured my interest late at night as the coverage would not start until after 10pm at night when all of the day in Australia was done and there was nothing much to do but to curl up on a couch in the middle of winter thinking of my next trip. Not thinking of work. Mindless late night television for a night owl. I watch the tour like it's a television series. I love the food segments. I am seriously starting to understand the role of the "domestique". Heck I bought a really good bike and enjoy the social event cycling is.

BMC Rider Warm up

Of course it didn't help that I knew my workloads were often high in July after a rush of adviser work in June, and the deadlines of the previous financial years had past leaving only the few who had left reporting to the last minute. I could never think of taking leave in July. Heaven forbid I ever think that possible. But times had changed. My deadlines of years past had changed. Work was more upto date, tax laws had changed to make the deadlines less pronounced. There is now no scramble of pension reporting. No financial planner screaming for answers just before July. So it was with this new perspective I looked the the calendar last November and saw the quirk of the starting point of the Tour de France being Düsseldorf. I had only been just previously advised that Lina my former flatmate was moving to there. Thoughts of going went through my mind but were dismissed.

Orica Scott rider

And then I let the idea simmer. The simmer became a boil, and I just had to ask... what's the chances I could visit next year in July when the Tour was on. Lina was puzzled. Why would anyone care about the tour. In France no one watches the tour. But I do?


And then from there I let it sit for a bit. An idea, a murmur, in the back of my head. I needed to plan leave, and I had a friend at the starting line. What do I do?

And then the stars seemed to align. The idea got in the way of my ability to focus on my exam. So I looked at the semester schedule for solace to see that it would be in the way of the next university year. Having taken leave before during a semester experiencing a created panic I had decided study would dictate my leave for now. So I looked. No it was not in the way. In fact the trimester break would finish right after. But it's July at work still rang through my head. But the stars align. The surely this is a sign argument was starting to prevail in my mind. The booking had been inevitable. Resistance had been futile. I was going to Le Tour.

So booked a flight and tour around it. I would fly in and around to avoid the crowds that would consume it. I wanted time to see it but also time with my friends without making myself a burden. But importantly I was there.

The lead up to the arrival day had been interesting for I had been excited well before my arrival. However to Lina the reality struck just days before. An email of shock came in. They were expecting half a million people to come see it. So her places of driving adventures were dashed and reality set it. Yep it's a big thing for Düsseldorf. There must of been a lot of Australians coming to the Tour that noone watches.

Arrival the day before was a little easier than expected. But for the fact the planned side trip to Kaiserwerth lacked a boat until 3pm when I arrived at the riverfront at 1pm laden with backpack. But trains still ran up that way and were easy so all worked okay.

The next day was the big one. Day 1 of Le Tour. The time trial. This was the day of seeing hours of cycling. Otherwise seeing the tour can be a bit like seeing a bunch of cars pass by once. This was to be police motorcycles, followed by camera motorcycle, bicycle, and team car... multiplied it by 198. With a minute between each of them. Lina came along as escort for the day leaving Greg and Oscar at home as it was too be too busy for a pram and too long for a baby. Made sense. We eventually planted against a fence about 3kms from the start and end seeing bicycles passing both ways. Prime position outside of the start and finish areas. The day was wet. But the cycling lived upto my expectations. I was a kid in a candy store for a day ticking off the event. I had seen the carnival pass by, all the riders, and their team cars. Lina I think was grateful that I had suggested she return home early out of the rain. It was still a long day of this was not your thing.

As you can see by this long post and number of videos and photos the day meant a lot to me.