Thinking about the Tour de France. Out and about on ‘Freedom Day’.

So the Tour de France reached its climax yesterday without my having seen any of it. I think that may be a first. There was a time when we followed every stage. We had our hero every year and followed his progress with interest. One of the TV channels used to do a round-up of the day’s action in the late afternoon, or at some convenient time when I could catch up with what was going on. That seems to have disappeared and I’ve lost track of who’s who. So it goes.

There’s been little coverage of the Tour on the news in general. For a brief while Mark Cavendish got a lot of attention because he was winning stages. Radio 4 even featured him on their Profile programme, describing his rise and fall and rise again progress. There was even hope that he might win the sprint into Paris yesterday and beat the stage wins record of Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx, better known as Eddy Merckx, the  Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is widely seen as the most successful rider in the history of competitive cycling. 

But it was not to be. He was pipped to the post

“The disappointment was plain to see. It was etched all over Mark Cavendish’s face as he crossed the finish line in third place, his hopes of one final, magical victory on the Champs-Élysées dashed. But it melted away as soon as his wife Peta, positioned just beyond the line, handed over his three children, Delilah, Frey and Casper. Nobody could stay downcast for long, faced with the unconditional love and pride of their children after what has been, when all is said and done, an extraordinary three weeks.

In the end the fairytale ending was not to be. A 35th Tour de France stage win, which would have lifted him clear of Eddy Merckx and into sole ownership of the all-time record, ultimately eluded Cavendish as he found himself boxed in on the Champs-Elysées, his Deceuninck-Quick-Step leadout for once in disarray, powerless to prevent Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) from completing his own extraordinary race. But what a month he had. What a comeback this was.”

But he was not really meant to be taking part at all this year, called on at the last minute to join his team. And he did win the Green Jersey. “I’m really happy to have eight guys get to Paris safe and after 10 years to get the green jersey again,” Cavendish said. “It would have been nice to finish it off with a win, but it is what it is.”

Today I have been out and about with my second granddaughter. She messaged me yesterday to tell me she had the day off work and asking if we could do something together. Most of her old friends from school are working and her day off this week has not coincided with theirs. Her mother is self-isolating and is unavailable for walks. So she turned to me. And caught a bus to my house for the end of the morning.

At the last moment her mother asked of we could try to find a photo booth on our travels. Granddaughter number two need photos for a provisional driving license application and for renewing her passport. Well, the sort of places we usually walk to don’t have photo booths available as a rule. They tend not to be situated on hilltops in the countryside. 

However, there is one in the Tesco supermarket in Greenfield. So we decided to take a walk along the Donkey Line and then onto the road that goes past the golf course, ending up by Greenfield railway station. 

We had a good walk, mostly in the shade, and dropped down to the supermarket. It’s the first time I have been in a supermarket since the pandemic started! It hasn’t changed much. Not too many people were celebrating their new found freedom there. We bought a few items, sorted out the necessary photos and then walked back towards Uppermill, where we treated ourselves to a celebratory icecream.   

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!