[Closed] TdF viewing, worth it ?

Everything is worth doing once?

take a good book and nice picni, bottle of wine and take the time to chill out for a few hours as the bikey bit only lasts a few seconds.

We've done it a couple of times and enjoyed the theatre of it. But it's not like watching 80mins of rugby etc.

We went to see it in leeds, and then again the day after as it passed by the motorway. It's weird because it's a lot of waiting around for not that much, but it's quite exciting.

I'd say it's definitely worth doing, and I've heard it even better to watch in France than it was over here because they didn't bring the full publicity caravan.

We're planning on a TdF holiday in the next few years but focussing on the wine rather than the cycling. Nice excuse to sit around in the french countryside!

I was in the Pyrenees once mountain biking, so we rode up hill all day to see a stage in the mountains.

Very underwhelming.

Lots of waiting round while sponsor vehicles drove past - Dull.
Then a frantic 1 minute when the riders came past - very briefly interesting.
They wiz past too fast for you to see any detail, just a bunch of lycra clad blokes going fast.
Then a load of team cars - Dull.

That was it.

Not worth it, unless they are riding past your front garden where you can sit and have a BBQ.

Watch it on the telly and spend your day doing something more rewarding. Life is pretty short as it is.

I used to live on the last 5km in Paris....
Lots of waiting.... benefit of living right there was having a step ladder or I wouldn't have really "seen" anything...

So its more of an occasion (at least where I was) where you have some food/drink adsorb the buzz... etc.

Ta - its still in the 'if I can summon up the enthisiasm'. I might just take the girl swimming, have a nice lunch and watch le finale on the telly then !

Caught a stage in a tiny town whilst touring years ago. Lots of waiting, but real atmosphere as it's probably the biggest thing to ever happen in Arseendofnowheresville.
Locals go mental and seeing the bikes rail through is impressive.

You go for the atmosphere really. It helps to either find a spot with a big screen nearby or to have a good data connection for your phone.

Don't sit behind the screen of your camera 🙂

I've watched stages in France and in Yorkshire at "col de buttertubs", it is more for the atmosphere and the spectacle of it, it is definitely worth positioning yourself on a larger climb if you can, riders come through slower and field is more spread out, good as the atmosphere builds and you see the helicopters above the peleton before you see the riders.

I'd only bother if it's watching on a decent climb or maybe at a finish (although that would probably be more hassle than it's worth). As others have said, on the flat they just whiz by so fast you don't really see anything.

I did both days in 2014 and have been out to see the tour de yorkshire each year. My folks often get to see the tour in the Langedoc, usually on fast roads, but even then the villages empty out from the hills to see it fly by.
Yes they wizz by quickly unless you're on something very steep, but if you get a spot on a rise and with a lot of people the atmosphere is the best bit of it.
A few beers doesn't harm things either

always try to wrangle it to watch it on the roadside and then make it to a big screen or a bar to watch the finish on TV

I love the atmosphere of the racing and the cheesyness of the publicity caravan. A lot of locals just go for the publicity caravan, get their fill of free cheese and promotional hats then go home before the race arrives..............

No don't bother. Why would a cyclist be bothered about a load of people riding bikes?

Everything is worth doing once?

Really??
Beastiality, Incest, Necrophilia, Morris Dancing....????

For the atmosphere, event, etc. then yes. If you want to view the racing then it's better on TV especially if the commentator knows their onions and can explain the tactics going on.

No don't bother. Why would a cyclist be bothered about a load of people riding bikes?

🙄

Who says I'm a cycling fan, perhaps I just like looking at men in tight lycra or have a fetish for driving in the sun and then standing on a street corner. Thanks for your input though, i have reconsidered my whole approach to life.

Ta - its still in the 'if I can summon up the enthisiasm'.

To be fair to johndoh you are coming across a bit "to cool for school". I'd go it's something you'll remember for ever. Even if you find it a bit Meh it's a box ticked.

I took my 6 year old to watch the London-Surrey classic last year and he loved it - helped that we were on a climb that they went up 3 times and Geraint, my son's favourite rider, was trying to bridge a gap on his own so easy to spot.

Really??
Beastiality, Incest, Necrophilia, Morris Dancing....????

Ticking off things myself this year, if I had to I'd go for a nice slow big climb with the field nice and spread out but if I had one shot then yeah I'd try and be the ones on TV with about 6 bottles of red down and a nice light lunch going on

I took my 6 year old to watch the London-Surrey classic last year and he loved it

The whole cycling thing has become even more exciting to them as their teacher at school is friends with Scott Thwaites (riding in the Tour this year).

I went last year, the penultimate stage to morzine. I was at the top of the climb up the joux plane. What could have been a fun day with beers turned into a battle against hypothermia in a thunder storm.

You don't see much, and there is a lot of waiting around!

Just don't make seeing the race go by the most important part of your day as it will be underwhelming, over in seconds.

I went to see the tour of Britain go through Dunsop Bridge a couple of years ago, but I tied it into an mtb ride. Good day out with a stop in the village for half an hour eating cake and drinking tea, they whizzed by then off I went. If i'd just driven there purely for that, it would've been a bit cr@p tbh.

I watched Le Grand Depart on Cote de Grinton. Great atmosphere, enjoyed the day. Of course you don't see much (any?) racing but we got to cheer at Jensie out front on his own (just) and afterwards Stu at the Dales Bike Centre had a big screen set up to watch the finish.

Do it. You never know you might have fun.

Look, I appreciate the opinions, I asked to see if it was a 'always sounds like a good idea but in reality isnt'. Jury is split and it would be a day away from the family hence my question - if all the replies had been hell yeah ! Then it may have been less of a toss up. But as it stands I'll plan to head over and enjoy a day out, sadly wineless unless the French have relaxed their drink driving laws 🙂

Saw the stage finish in morzine last year

I have zero interest in road riding but it was a great experience. Real buzz and I'm glad we saw it

We've watched it in the Alps twice then gone to Paris to watch the finish in the Champs-Élysées, which we really enjoyed for the atmosphere despite waiting around for hours. It helped that I splashed 26 years of loyalty points from the Lagos Sheraton on two nights in a posh hotel in the Avenue George V.

NZCol - if you can get to a start or finish town the event really is good. You can still get close to the team buses etc...

If you are picking a random place roadside then I would always recommend going to where there is a hill. They go past a bit slower! The publicity caravan is a good laugh if not for the randomness of everything.

Is it something you can take the family to? We've always watched the race as a family. Two years ago we were expecting carnage, loaded the van up with bikes with the hope of getting within 10km and parking up and riding the rest of the way. We parked up in a school car park about 500m from the finish line. We used the same parking space the next day for the stage start but this time took the bikes so we could ride up the finishing climb (the race came back and skirted the town) only to be told by the gendarmes that we had to leave our bikes at the bottom 🙁

We went to see it in leeds, and then again the day after as it passed by the motorway. It's weird because it's a lot of waiting around for not that much, but it's quite exciting.

I'd say it's definitely worth doing, and I've heard it even better to watch in France than it was over here because they didn't bring the full publicity caravan.

I saw the Buttertubs stage in Yorkshire then the final stage in Paris the same year, apart from a couple of very french brands the whole caravan was in Yorkshire (and the. Yorkshire Tea van was in Paris)
Buttertubs was an amazing atmosphere, Paris more so, we got a spot in the gardens overlooking Place d Concorde so had an elevated view,deckchairs, shade from the trees, a cheap (for Paris) bar behind us (at the funfair) and saw the riders twice per lap

I suggest somewhere with a TV. Watch it on the box until the riders are a minute away and then pop outside. The caravane is worth watching from a distance. Madame was hit on the nose by a sausage and then got mugged for a key ring she picked up. It's like a country in famine when the Red Cross truck turns up - survival of nastiest.

That's what we like about it Edukator. Don't get in the way of a middle aged French woman who is after a free washing powder sample!

After Day 3 we were passing stuff that landed near us to other people. They were looking at us like we were handing out €20 notes!

I did it a few yrs ago in France.

We based ourselves around Briancon & the Tour was cris-crossing the area about 3 times in 3 days so we saw a lot of it.

The best thing is being able to ride the closed roads on the same day the Tour comes through. All the chalk on the road, the banners, the campers with their bevvied up fat Belgians roasting wurtz & slinging back cold beer. It's ace - you get to live out your own personal TDF fantasy!

You also get the full effect of the carnival coming through before hand, that takes about an hour & you get to take home more plastic crap than you can carry......