Beginning to work backwards....Doping takes a toll

Right now I'm sitting in a beautiful old country home at a marble slab dining table about 8 feet long by 3 feet wide in Armisson - about 6K from Narbonne. We have been guests of Midge and John Jacque - thanks to Andrew's connection with a ski buddy - and it has been amazing. Dinner last night involved about 15 people around a huge dining table outside, very late, with some incredible cold soup, beef stew on pasta, assorted breads, fruit salad for desert, all followed by some of the most amazing cheeses I have EVER had. Oh, did I mention the wine - enough said.

Yesterday we did a ride to the coast, stopped for lunch in the seaside village of and then rode in to Narbonne (in all about 30K) to watch the finish. It was a long, relatively flat stage, which set up for a big sprint finish. We were not disappointed. Mark Cavendish from Team Columbia blew away the field in the last 200 meters fro his 3rd stage win - a record for a Brit. We were positioned right at the 125 meter mark, Andrew and Patrick along the barrier and Scott and I about 5 yards away watching both the street and the big screen TV that they put at every finish. Fortunately we had the shade of a temporary beer stand to aid us....The sprint was executed to perfection by the team. It is so clear that cycling is a team sport and I'm really starting to grasp some tactics.

Well it's time to head out to watch the start in Narbonne and then we're heading towards a Feed Zone for a change of pace....literally.

Au revoir!