Incredible day today and I can't wait to blog about it. I started the day in Pau (the regional capital), then mapped out a morning ride for stage 17 (more on that later), and then found an incredible day 1 ride for the Spyns Classic Tour clients. But first, some thoughts...I just knew the day would be perfect because there were eggs at breakfast. If you've never traveled to France, there are two commodities as precious here as gold and diamonds. They are respectively eggs and ice. One of my former co-guides named Doug (or "Doooooog" as he pronounced it so that the French could say it) was nicknamed "the iceman" because of his ability to procure ice in France. While most North Americans demand an ice/drink ratio of 5:1, the French are content to sip room-temperature Coke sans ice. When former Spyns clients ask for a Diet Coke with ice in France it's always the same result: the nattily-dressed server sets down your glass, expertly opens the soda, pours, pauses and (get ready) serves one anemic ice cube from a ceramic bowl. Maddeningly the bowl has other ice cubes but before you can count them it's quickly returned to the restaurant's "ice vault." Eggs at breakfast are also a rarity, but good eggs at breakfast like the serving I had this morning are unheard of. The French prefer a lighter breakfast but often eat omlettes at lunch or dinner. Today's eggs were fresh and served with perfectly-cooked bacon - two miracles on one plate. Nothing could go wrong.
I first explored Pau's chateau royal (see picture) and arranged for Spyns 2010 Tour de France clients to have guided private tours either before the stage 16 finish or later depending on their specific itinerary. This gothic masterpiece dominates the small city of Pau and I can't wait for Spyns clients to see it next July. I was then off to meet with some city officials at the Tourist Office to confirm the finish line's exact location for stage 16. I read and write French fluently so there isn't a language barrier but there can be a cultural barrier when asking for information. In Canada and perhaps in the US, we usually just walk up to someone and ask a question as I very gauchely did today. As former Spyns clients know, the French find this a bit insulting because you always have to politely say "bonjour" and then patiently wait to be acknowledged before saying, "I'm terribly sorry to bother you but I wanted to ask X." Anyhow, after the hard stare for breaking with etiquette, the woman was kind enough to let me know where exactly the Tour de France will finish this year so that we could plan our viewing spot.
After that I was back in my Spyns van to map out the spectacular ride for stage 17. The final Pyreneen ride will cover the first third of that day's stage with a viewing area on the Col de Marie Blanque. While the stage finishes on the Col du Tourmalet, having viewed previous stages there I'd prefer to actually see the riders on the first peak rather than waiting 10-deep on Aubisque or Tourmalet and then looking forward to six hours of gridlock as half of Belgium tries to navigate their RVs down the one mountain road and back to Pau for the trip north to Bordeaux. I had a hellish experience of watching the stage on Aubisque in 2007 only to be jammed in traffic for 3.5 hours before the four-hour drive to Saint Emilion (near Bordeaux) to collapse in bed at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. Not this year! We'll watch the riders go by, have a BBQ lunch, and then take comfortable motor coaches north to Bordeaux wine country.I then moved on to magical Chateau d'Escot near Sarrance about 45 minutes from Pau. I was really lucky this year to book a hotel less than a mile from the stage 17 route. I was impressed with the hotel when I first visited it but seeing it bathed in fall colours, spectacular sunshine, and surrounded by endless green fields was truly a wonderful way to end the day. There were so many herds of animals that I finally got out of the car 
to snap a picture. Hopefully there will be fewer animals for Spyns 2010 Tour de France trip. As day faded to night, I quickly mapped out the Classic Tour's day 1 ride and both new and former Spyns clients won't be disappointed!
to snap a picture. Hopefully there will be fewer animals for Spyns 2010 Tour de France trip. As day faded to night, I quickly mapped out the Classic Tour's day 1 ride and both new and former Spyns clients won't be disappointed! After the day's work, I had a wonderful dinner with Corinne and Roberto, the hotel owners. Now I'm off to bed but will have trouble sleeping because I'm too excited to share all of this with Spyns clients next July.
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