AN OPEN LETTER to CHRIS PRUDHOMME

Letter to Chris Prudhomme


Swanning around in your Limousine with a variety of " notable personalities " you will rarely see the " Glitches " that the everyday visitor to " Le Tour " has to overcome ! Certainly your subordinates have done their best to see that you have a " Trouble Free Ride " each day . No doubt you have briefings with your personnel each day to keep you abreast with potential problems .

Whilst you were with France TV you were quick to pick my brains about my activities on the periphery of " Le Tour " and also whilst " understudy to JM Leblanc ", but since becoming " The Man " you rarely deem a simple "hello" as appropriate for a man of your importance . Amazing then that i get to meet some of the General Officers of the Sapeur Pompiers , Army and Gendarmerie as well as assorted Politicians whenever i find the time to be at a " Depart " or " Arrivee " ! Some i have advised of my Blogs , so it may be that their staff have been detailed to have the occasional read . Phillippe Sudre is also aware of these blogs but as to whether he deems it worth his time to read my offerings i couldn't say .

In previous " Open Letters " to you i have suggested ways to improve the security of the " Signage " but neglected to point out that many of the large Roadside Signs proclaiming " Road Closure details of route nos with dates and times " could be better . All Media receive a looseleaf book , known as the "Guidebook" and this is a very helpful tool to ALL , but it neglects to coordinate that very important issue of "Road Closures" ! Surely you want the world to know WHEN the routes of the " Le Tour " each day will close , don't you ? Many of those i speak to at the " Le Tour " tell me that each Department of France has a Web Site that offers info on these " Route Closures " but the general public are rarely aware of this , let alone the Overseas Visitor , many of whom do not understand the French Language whether written or spoken .

BY adding an additional column in the “Guidebook “ to the Caravan and the Racers anticipated passing certain points times , " ASO " will in consultation with the various authorities be able to advise the WORLD of the "Road Closure " times . Media of all persuasions will no doubt pass on to their readers this information , as they tend to copy out your pages as if it was their own work in the effort to inform their audience . Each Department has it's own branch of the Police National and Gendarmerie responsible for the "Security of the "Le Tour route" and since these signs have to be constructed to inform the public then the information should be accurate and All will see a coodinated result !

During one Etappe i had a Gendarme as he passed me in his car as i rode up the "Col" tell me that i should stop as the "Col" was closed ! This was more than an hour before the Sign Posted Closure time ! When i arrived at the " Col" there were several " touring cyclists " but none of the private cars that passed me after this rash statement was made . The " Major " then again told me that the road was closed even though there remained 35 mins until the posted time . My solution was to pick up the bike and walk off the road until i reached a point beyond the " Col "
where i could ride once again . Further down the road i found that the times posted had been extended another hour and half as is normally the case when you pass into a new area of control . As to what happened to the " touring cyclists " i could only speculate , but had they relied on the published information then they were sadly inconvenienced and carrying a "touring bike " with luggage in many cases is out of the question .

Expect to hear more points of interest from me over the next months as i know how hard it is to get action when too many issues are raised at the same time . Have your people read my " OPEN LETTER to Pat Mc Quaid “ about the " Authorised Driver Permit " that i feel is required to avoid a repeat of the incident that nearly killed two racers .

No where on page 7 of the " Guidebook " does " ASO " refer to driver conduct in relation to the Racers or even the ordinary cyclist AND since the " Le Tour " as an event is about Cycling , one wonders who was responsible for coordinating the material published ? No doubt Phillippe Sudre after our discussion took a look at that page . After publishing my blog post about the RMC Radio Stationwagon i saw the driver many times but he never again caused me any problems . Whether this was good luck or he had the matter brought to his attention is not for me to say .

Security of the "Le Tour " route is an important concern but having the Public sit on the side of the route for 5 hrs each day is asking too much particularly since the "Tour de Suisse" is able to run an event with "Private Security on motorcycles " and Army reservists causing the routes to be closed for periods ranging from 10 mins to 30 mins before the arrival of the racers unless in the mountain passes when longer periods may be required . Could be that your people need to look at the abilities they display and adopt some of their expertise !

A Bientot

ASSAULTED !

Whilst walking uphill with the bike on the shoulder after passing the 2km mark before the finish i came to a junction where there were 3 Gendarmes about 14.45hrs or about 2 1/2 HR before the racers were due ! One Gendarme called " Descend the velo " , did he mean put it down since i was carrying it ? Then his colleague with 3stripes rushed across Grabbed the front of my cycling shirt and pulled me off my feet causing the bike to drop to the road , regardless of this he dragged me like a toy in the teeth of a Bulldog off the course ! I completed the journey to the finish along the back of the barricades and when i climbed over the grass embankment there was the "Turd Brigade guy " who photoed me with the 3 star General at Cap last Wednesday . When some Belgium media people tried to give me a cup of coffee he sideswiped it out of my hands and told everyone that i was in the wrong area , they were inside the metal fencing and i was on the outside !

Eventually i found the Gendarme with the 4 bars signalling he was a " Commandant " and reported the " assault " , his deputy wearing 2 bars heard me out and wrote down details . What annoys me is that this was the FRench holiday , " Bastille Day " and to be treated in such a cavalier fashion in front of "jeering spectators " dishonours the uniform and causes his fellow officers embarassment . Could this 3 striper walk into the Gendarme Canteen or office and relate this story with any pride ?

Normally Gendarmes are easy going but firm , but this was extreme and considering the efforts i had made earlier in the day to help them with the " spivs " i feel hard done by ! Hopefully the 3striper will get a dressing down or a demotion . Considering the public attitude to " law & order , he brought the force into "disrepute " !

CONNED by SPIVS !

Each day as you travel the routes of the Tour de France you will find " spivs " stealing from the public !

YES STEALING ! What happens is this , you are cycling or driving down the TDF route and usually at a corner or " halt" sign there will be two or three guys with a box in one hand and a small french flag in the other . As you are going slowly , since there is a queue created by these mongrells they will demand you buy one of their flags and nag on at you if you are french that " you are not patriotic " if you refuse; should you be a visitor then the monies are going to a " charity ( yes their pocket ) so you are a cheapskate if you refuse ! Generally you need to rev your motor or keep moving so they get out of your face . Of course you will see them again the next day and the next !

"Georgethecyclist.blogspot " has many stories to relate from over the years about what he has seen since he gets to sit and observe occasionally . After finding him and Vince on the road today i saw a grandfather with three young children , he had been fleeced ! Mongrells stopped and gave one flag to a girl then asked if they would like "nougat ", of course the children did and so they gave the girls the nougat and DEMANDED 10 euros from the man , he wanted to give it back but they would not leave without the money but by now the children were in tears !

Operating so early in the day they surround a village and canvass the shops and homes and control the traffic and the authorities are presently " powerless " to prevent this behaviour ! George will tell you that they have swerved in front of him causing him to run off the road on occasion , whether this is deliberate or in the attempt to canvass " donations " from the unsuspecting public they stop without thought for others he is not sure ! As regards myself when i am on the bike i stand up and pedal harder thus they get the message and get clear , of course there is occasion when i have had to avoid hitting one of them since they work in gangs from a variety of station wagons or people carriers .

In past years i have gone to the nearest Gendarmerie and reported their location but there is a reluctance to act since there are more important things to be done whilst the TDF is in the area . How many more Grandfathers have to be coersed into parting with their pension monies before this pestelence is eradicated . TDF officials are aware of this problem just as they are aware of the " gangs " that prey on the cyclists careless enough to leave their bikes unattended and with removable items . Locked bikes pose no problem as they carry " bolt cutters " and these are effective at solving that nuisance !

Time marches on and more riding to be done , thanks to Laurent in Nouans les fontaines and some Aussies living in this village i was able to overcome the problem of another closed Library (biblioteke )!

Since arriving in Chateauroux i have come across one of the many " Commandant rank officers of the CRS " and in my poor french explained this situation . Should he take the time to look at this blog post after "googling " for " skippydetour " he will see that this is a blight on the " honor of FRANCE "! Just why the authorities have known the problem but not acted remains a mystery to all .

DRIVE TO WORK

Amazed this blog name was available!

Welcome to the first of many stories from the past 13years of slogging around the TDF on the pedals each and every day.

Those reading today from Fatcyclist.com will know that i enjoy and look forward to Fatty's posts and i am happy to promote him to all and sundry and encourage people to support his efforts to raise monies for ALL Cancer related activities.

My comment about stopping in Luxembourg on the way to the Cross Channel Ferry was serious but what i had not anticipated was that people in Luxenbourg would decide to throw a street party. About 10 miles from Luxenbourg there was stationary traffic heading towards France with Blue and Orange strobing lights. Seems like some of these people decided to have a get together much to the annoyance of the 20 miles of traffic that came to a stop behind them. Three lane motorway turned into a parking station because from what i could see as i passed at 60mph was an empty road then a series of broadsided cars with a few trucks in the mix. As i said people were standing around there and further up the road wondering how to get out of the party they didn't want.

Traffic was so bad i decided the open road was the best option and i was well north of the centre of Luxembourg before i saw traffic moving south normally towards the event, on my side heading north there was little traffic so all around must have been snarled up. During the drive from Innsbruck i saw few motorcycles and during today from Ulm to Dunkerque i counted three, amazing to see so few.

What all this comes down to is that in the 20 miles of traffic was a lot of single occupancy vehicles and the opening pictures highlights this fact. When i am journeying across Europe i have the road map handy to find escape routes when faced with traffic snarls. All too often people make the same journey and accept that sitting for long periods of time is the only solution . Over many years i have found myself even backtracking several miles to escape a traffic jam and don't laugh recognise a particular vehicle that i had seen in the queue when i rejoin the motorway several miles later. So occasionally patience would have paid off but then you also hear on the radio of the hardships suffered by those opting to stay put.

Flexibility has always been my way and in reading my adventures you will see that when the Gendarmes close the TDF route even to cyclists then knowing a little of the terrain has allowed me to find an alternative route to the Etappe finish most often in time to see the race leaders arrive.


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