L'Etape du Tour is a race/ride that follows the route of one stage of the real Tour. This year the route was Stage 16, Mourenx-Pau, in the Pyrénées. I would say I rode it with my husband, but we were never actually together. There were, however, over 7,000 other people riding with us! You would think that things would be a bit squirrely in a big group like that, but everyone behaved rather well. Except for the constant peeing along the side of the road...any- and everywhere, even in towns. I met another American woman--I saw more anglophone women than French women--who told me that there were a whopping 227 women in the ride. The guy who won [people who win this often go on to ride in the real thing eventually] finished in about 5h22m; the pros, who rode the same route a week later, did it in under 5 (4 and a half?). Et moi? almost 10 hours! But I finished, so that was the important thing. I'm slow, but I don't quit.
Here's the site for the ride: http://www.letapedutour.com/
And here's a slide show of the ride and route--click on 'L'Etape du Tour 2005' (you need Windows Media Player 10 to view and listen): http://millie.furman.edu/strickland/photogallery.htm
