
Cycled up Le Col du Petit St Bernard again yesterday to see how the land (snow) was lying. As you can see from the pics there is still an awful lot to clear in time for the 4th June opening.
It was pretty chilly on the way down freewheeling into the wind but it was at least sunny – seemingly about the only decent day we’ve had this Spring, and we’re back to grotty weather again today.
The race last weekend in Avignon wasn’t a great success. I opted for the long route which only had a small field of very fit guys and I was only able to hang on for a while before dropping off the back. I didn’t fancy pedaling the major part of the course on my own so opted to switch to the short course when the first group from that race caught me up. I obviously disqualified myself by doing that but it was a bit less miserable going that way.
We spent some time at the festival in Nimes and took the kids to the bullfight which is in the old Roman amphitheatre. The setting is amazing but the spectacle is pretty awful and the kids found the going too hard to stomach, so we didn’t hang around. We did, however, have a good discussion afterwards and they now at least have an informed opinion on it.
The last time I was in the amphitheatre was as a 21 year-old, in with the bulls and other reckless young blokes, trying to snatch the tassels they tie to the horns. I did get one but also got a prong up the rear end for my troubles.
