21 Étapes

Seven days to go A week today I’ll be in the middle of a trip of over 700km, driving from the Bordeaux area to Lens in the NE of France in preparation for the 2025 Tour de France Grand Départ. Things are falling into place. All my accommodation is booked - I’ve got a total of ten nights in Airbnbs, of which four places are double-night says; nine nights in B&B Hotels in three different places; two nights in different Ibis hotels; four nights in other hotels. Out of 25 nights on the road around the whole of France, I’ve managed seven multiple-night stays in accommodation, which feels like pretty good going. Packing is also going well - still a bit of work on the bike, still a few things to buy, but it’s largely finished, as are the jobs around the house I need to finish before leaving for nearly a month on the road.  The main development is that I’ve managed to get hold of a copy of the Tour de France 2025 Media Road Book. Only published a couple of weeks before the start of the...

The French love a countdown.  Whether it’s the sales (Les Soldes), La Retour (the start of the new school year), or a big event such as the Olympics or the Tour de France, you’ll frequently see ´J-xxx’. And today marks J-28 - just four weeks to the first stage of this year’s Tour de France.  Just 28 days - or in my case just 25 days until I head off to the Land of the Ch’ti in preparation for this year’s Grand Depart.  Preparations are well underway. There’s a little fettling needed to the bike, and shopping and packing lists to prepare. Some nights I’m in commercial hotels, but often in Airbnb apartments - so those nights I can cater for myself, and I’ve even got the luxury of a washing machine on one stay. I will have to visit supermarkets, but want to keep these to a minimum, and buying as much stuff as possible in advance will help.  But it’s all becoming very real now.