As Isla’s first birthday approaches on 7th July , I think back to last summer and the day of her birth.
On that day, the Tour de France passed through my wife’s home village, Iffendic in Ile-et-Villaine in Brittany. The video below shows the peloton passing through the bottom of the village, heading south with the bunch together, Columbia and Caisse D’Epargne on the front, and one lonely straggler stuck in the chaos of the caravan.
Monday 7th July saw Stage 3 head from the port of St Malo south through Brittany to Nantes. It was a flat stage, traditional for the first week of the tour, that was won in a bunch sprint by Gert Steegmans.
I remember getting home at midnight, with my wife staying overnight in hospital, collapsing in front of the TV with a pizza to watch the Tour de France highlights. I was disappointed to have already missed the riders pass through Iffendic, even though it would only have been visible for a few seconds.
Watch tour de france 2008 Iffendic in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
I have yet to figure out the exact significance of this, but suffice to say, in the past 12 months I have got more and more into road cycling. I have come from a complete novice, having only ever ridden a road bike twice, to an enthusiastic club rider covering 50-100 miles a week.
I hope my daughter can enjoy cycling as I do for fun, sport and transport. This week I bought a child seat and I plan to pedal her around Stirling. I even hope to drag my wife out on her hybrid. Early signs are good and the little one does not seem to be fazed.
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