Tour Fever Grips

... almost everyone.

And best have an umbrella to hand. The rain has arrived just ahead of the Grand Depart!


I'm breathing a sigh of relief at the end of two very long weeks at work, largely down to our key frontline support person being on holiday. She's back now so life should start to get a little bit easier. I'm completely frazzled tonight - and that's without any beer. I plan to be up early in the morning to cycle up the route of the tour as far as the first big climb of the day, where I hope to secure a good vantage point. There could be hundreds of people up there on that remote road, more likely thousands, although it's possible there may be tens of thousands. It's going to be absolutely fascinating to witness the level of support.

Yorkshire seems to have totally embraced the Tour de France. There's a real buzz around at the moment. There's quite a commercial element too. Everyone is trying to grab a bit of the action. Even the local church is bedecked with a mini-grandstand and stalls and is holding a special service. The pubs are all opening their doors early for breakfast. I'm guessing that's mostly for the benefit of the vast crew of people who will be involved in erecting the barricades and locking down the roads in the morning. This whole thing is a monumental feat of organisation. There will be quite a few people having a sleepless night tonight. Rather them than me.

Fingers crossed that we can lay on a great show tomorrow. Despite the rain and heavy clouds looming about at the moment the forecast for the race tomorrow looks pretty good. I think the Dales could well be at their dazzling best. I'm more than a little excited at the prospect.