TdF questions

[Thorn]

And, now I ask a stupid spectator question....do the towns along the route "compete" for best decoration or is this just a matter of pride and a little extra television coverage?

Today has had some cute side shows. For example, there was the group of people, dressed in yellow forming a bicycle in a field. The wheels were maypoles with yellow streamers for spokes and kids running around in the "rims". Or, the stage decorated as a television screen complete with "riders" on the screen.

Or, maybe, I've spent too much time just listening to audio.

[Katiek]

The announcers said earlier in the week that in an Australian race, the Tour Down Under, the race organizers award a prize for the best town decoration, but in the TdF, it's just for fun and civic pride.

Can someone give me a "gears for dummies" summary of the difference between the "big ring" and the "little ring" and when someone uses one instead of the other?

[margo49]

The towns (well their councils) do compete for being start and finish points. Obviously it is a boost to the local economy assuming they can provide the facilities (hotels, etc).
Most of the rest of it is just the French phenomenon of "en f^ete" = on holiday or festive. Lots of fun and games along the route. Farms spelling out riders names or "Vive le Tour" in hay bales etc. I even saw a cow with a yellow cover on it today.

[Katiek]

I even saw a cow with a yellow cover on it today.

This cow is still trying to recover from the embarassment

[margo49]

Another reason to reincarnate as an Aberdeen Angus or a Hereford or a Friesian rather than a Charolais.