When we got our RV, we drove and drove to get to the town where the next day's Tour de France stage would be ending. At 2am, we saw a mown field where another three or four RVs were parked and we brazenly but quietly pulled in beside them. In the morning, we realized we had pretty great seats. Things started picking up about six hours before the bikers were scheduled to pedal by. The field filled up, nearby parking lots got full, and people and bicycles were everywhere. We had prime seats right at the 4k marker. The boys were interested for maybe an hour of the morning, but by the time the actual Tour was coming through, they'd completely given up and were inside the RV playing on iPods.
I, however, enjoyed watching the cars, motorcycles, and finally the cyclists themselves zip through just a meter from me.
The kids did like the daily parade that came through about an hour before the cyclists. Here, all the sponsors have floats and cars advertising their wares and many of them throw goodies into the crowd. On our first day, we filled an entire grocery sack with loot. We watched another half dozen parades, but never got nearly as much loot as that first day.
Another day we spent the night at the most minimal of rest stops. There are many of these in France. It is basically an off-ramp/on-ramp and nothing else. No buildings, no markings of any sort. Just a place to get off the road.
Again, a few other RVs spent the night nearby and it afforded us a good viewing spot the next day. Here we are eating dinner. Shawn's taking the photo on the road where the cyclists will be the next day, and you can see the vineyards in the background.
And here I am doing my daily Cloud Hands in the midst of those vineyards:
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