Ever seen a world class cycle race whizz by? Neither had Sam so off we trotted to Thetford to watch Stage 7 of this year's Tour Of Britain.
Why Thetford? Well I did some research and one of the best places to see the race is when it passes through a feeding area, where the riders usually slow down to take on mini picnics. It's also where riders throw away team-livery water bottles, so therefore a potential great place to bag a souvenir. And guess where the first feed area of Stage 7 was? Correct! We chose this spot to be our perch.
Well, someone else was not happy with this sign being Sam & Dad's perch, and claimed it as their own roost.
500 metres further down the road was this sign. The Green Zone? What does that mean? It's simply a request for riders to dispose of any items they wish to in specific areas rather than along the whole route of each stage. The green zones start and end 500 metres before and after each Feed Zone.
An official Team Sky photographer decided to stand opposite us, and he kept us up to date with where the race was, via his team radio. He's the bloke in white trousers over the road - cheers dude! As the expected time approached, more surrounding roads were blocked by the cops, and an unsettling almost-silence fell. Spooky.
On the race schedule it gives an expected time of arrival for each location, but that can obviously change depending on whether the riders are really going for it, or maybe having a lazy day. The forecast time was bob-on today, 1252. Suddenly a flurry of police bikes and offiial cars whizzed by and we braced ourselves for the mass of bikes.
But it was a breakaway group of three riders. They were really going flat out. Hence the terrible photo. The bloke towards the top of the pic, on the right, was sitting on the car's window relaying times of how far ahead the group were, etc.
6 minutes and 45 seconds later the peloton arrived. What an impressive sight, they filled the road.
We were enjoying the whirr of the bikes and the puffing and panting of the riders.....until all hell broke loose!
Yes, we were standing right next to the Feed Finish sign, and a hail of almost full water bottles came bombarding out of the mass of cyclists. Argh! Some bounced back into the road and more bikes rode over the top of them - Team Sky Photo Man later told us that these bottles are designed to split apart from the pressure of a bike and rider, to prevent falls.
After the peloton came dozens and dozens of big estate cars with hundreds of bikes and spare wheels on their rooves. Plus more cops on motorbikes, official cars, etc.
We had a brilliant time at the Tour Of Britain and thoroughly recommend that you should go along if they ever hold a stage near you. We'll be going again next year, distance permitting.
Sam did end the day with two great souvenirs, rare Team Sky bottles, one of which hadn't been run over, thus peeing sugary water everywhere. Exciting trip out!
