Allez, allez, allez!

Whoosh!

This is what you see of the front pack of riders. Blink and you'll miss them - what a speed! There was a great atmosphere at Victoria Embankment. I'm way too short so I stood on a bit of fence to see above the crowd. I was slightly alarmed by a couple of people behind me who were willing to risk being impaled in order to gain an even greater height. One gentleman realised he could strap himself to the fence spike with his belt, thus leaving his hands free to work the camera. Gah!

About half an hour before the peloton approached, a force of merchandise vans worked the crowd with loud music, dancing salespeople and drivers encouraging sales in French. I heard a lady beside me say, "What language is that? I couldn't understand any of it." I wondered if she knew what she was waiting to see.

After the main group of riders passed, another bout of applause started, then slowly abated and the crowd started giggling. A random bearded cyclist pedalled along the route with a big grin. I've no idea how he got in there because a few minutes later, another group of Tour de France riders whooshed by.

The short-lived excitement was lengthened by a text from a Brighton friend who'd watched an earlier Whoosh! at Tower Hill. We arranged to meet up and compare bad photographs. We roped in Fred, too, by walking up to his office just in time for him to finish work. It was fabulous to catch up over tea, cake, wine, pasta, and dessert. An excellent end to a fine day.