In the homestretch

Quite by accident, I ended up in Paris at the same time as the final stage of the 2010 Tour de France. Being in the City of Lights, getting swept up in “yellow fever,” and then actually seeing it in real time was an experience I will forever remember.

Certainly, the crowds were massive, especially along the Champs-Elysées. We were only a few lines back from the curb but were careful not to leave our spot, knowing it would be instantly gobbled up by others if we did. During our very long wait for the peloton (three or four hours), we made friends with those around us and were entertained by “La Caravane,” a carnivale-like parade of sponsor vehicles and floats from which goodies are thrown to the crowd.

And then the peloton arrived!  Someone shouted “Here they come” and the cameras started clicking. The best I could do was to hold mine above the heads of all those in front of me and just press the shutter. And then in seconds, they were gone. That very same person chimed in with “And there they go,” amidst the laughter that our long wait was rewarded with an incredibly short look.

That being said, the peloton does make ten laps of the Champs-Elysées, so all in all, those who stayed for all the laps had a few minute’s worth of opportunity to capture images of the bicyclists as they roared by at their amazing speed. Certainly, my above-the-heads (or sometimes between-the-heads) method of shooting was not the best way to take photos, but c’est la vie: less-than-perfect photos of this incredible event are definitely better than none at all!

See On the Move (1), On the Move (2), and all the other wonderful entries in this week’s photo challenge.