Seen at Le Tour de France 09

1. Generously built woman jumping up and down along the side of a road barely wearing a bikini. A small bikini. lol :)

2. People wearing various furry costumes: gorilla, pink rabbit, yellow & red something or other & chickens.

3. Fans in Barcelona waving bits of yellow paper all along the route in their region.

4. Inflatable kangaroos & flamingos wearing straw hats & sunglasses. Also small stuffed Camargue bulls.

5. Male fan wearing a knight's costume & waving a sword & shield.

6. Group of fans wearing green shorts & neon yellow wigs running alongside the cyclists & cheering.

7. Cowboy in full "old west" riding outfit, including lariat & hat, riding a western saddle & holding in his stirrup a huge flag streaming behind him.

8. Man, why is is almost always a man??? wearing a red spandex outfit-not AT ALL flattering- with a purple cape & yellow wig.

9. "The Devil", an older man with mostly white hair who wears a red and black outfit & carries a trident. This man is a tradition & has been seen at every TDF for years and years.

10. A European version of what my husband & I call 'drunken bubba syndrome', bubba being Southern American slang, click here for in depth explanation. A fat, shirtless, tanned man wearing shorts hanging off of his genitalia & exposing his butt cheeks holding a canned beverage and jumping up & down in the grass so vigorously I was afraid I was about to see all of his equipment.

11. Always amazes me how much some people can pack into tiny cars: tents, folding tables, folding chairs, tarpaulins, costume paraphenalia, flags, beverages.

12. Speaking of tents, some of my favorite tv shots are of the mini tent villages that spring up in the smallest verges along the roads. Adorable colorful tents sprout like bright mushrooms & disappear just as soon as the Tour goes by.

13. Living near & regularly traveling along one of the busiest interstate highways in the US, I thought that mostly Americans and Canadians were obsessed with recreational vehicles (RVs), aka camper vans or caravans. Images & terms found here, if you're unsure what I'm nattering on about. I'm completely out of the loop though, because apparently Europeans love them too. Complete with satellite tv dishes. LOL :) However, there are hoards of them along the TDF route.

Thursday 13 #43- Tour de France fans

Thirteen Things about Bookwormom

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This week's list originates in my obsession with the Tour de France. It's on tv here every morning for three weeks each July. My family has learned that nothing will happen until the day's stage is over. I drink coffee and eat my toast while Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin discuss the day's stage and the scenery (which never fails to be gorgeous).



1. Saw a nude man running up L'Alpe D'Huez

2. Pair of matching Elvises (Elvi?) on Col de Fer

3. An inflatable roo waved at the camera to cheer on the Aussie riders

4. Several historical reenactors dressed up in medieval costume dancing and waving banners and charging around on equally outfitted horses atop the ruin of a castle.

5. So many flags along the route it looks like you're riding through a tunnel.

6.A veritable tower of babel of languages written across the roads

7. A merry band of blue gowned wizards cheering beside the road

8. The devil is wearing yellow this year. Or maybe it's an imposter. Usually the devil wears red.

9. On the mountains the fans pour water all over the riders as they pass by

10. At the summits riders will snatch bits of newspaper to stuff inside their jerseys to keep them warm as they barrel down the mountains

11. High gas prices or not Europeans seem to be as enamored of RVs and satellite dishes as Americans if the number of RVs parked along the sides of the roads are any indication.

12. Someone dressed up in a chipmunk mascot type costume (big and furry) in one of the little villages

13. People stand on the very outside shoulder of the mountain roads, seeming not to mind the sheer drop behind them or the lack of a barrier between them and the fall.