We have just got back from the most amazing day out. We parked at my parents house on the edge of Richmond and rode up to Grinton and up the hill past the hostel.
Coffee and cake was purchased from a roadside tent set up by Herriot Hospice supporters and I was happy to support them.
At 10 a.m the verges were full and more people kept arriving on bikes or on foot, many on a bridleway that connected to one of the car parks in the valley bottom.
We spent hours waiting , cheering little kids riding up the hill and chatting to all around us .
We could see the road before Reeth, the green at Reeth and the road climbing up out of Grinton.
As the tension mounted we took up position on the tarmac.Whilst many were prepared to sit further away, we were determined to be next to the action.
We saw the caravan, and yes Deano, it did almost get stuck, there were certainly some very smelly clutches on some vehicles and they had to stop sometimes to make sure they had a clear run. Loads of motos and then it happened.
Jens Voigt was past in a flash, the crowd so close he was almost invisible.
Next the peloton stormed through not missing a beat as they went up a 14% gradient . All the team cars ,seemingly intent on putting at least one spectator in hospital, and then the voiture balai. A few more police cars and that was it,game over.
We got on our bikes and rode on to Leyburn on a traffic free road. We watched Cav's crash on the big screen and then rode back to our start point, passing a 5 mile queue of cars . the sun was shining and for once, motorists, were in the main ,cyclist friendly.
I have never seen anything like it and certainly growing up in the area ,I never ever envisaged the biggest bike race in the world passing through countryside that I know so well.
I hope everyone had a good day and I am grateful that so many people embraced the spirit of the tour .
Up here we are often viewed as dour northerners with little to say to outsiders. I think today that actions have been louder than mere words.
