You don’t have to be a Huge fan of the TdF specifically (although it helps) to appreciate the grueling journey that these young men endured during the 100th anniversary of ‘Le Maillot Jaune’ (Yellow Jersey). I WAS left wondering how many of today’s riders/athletes would cope with the conditions, bearing in mind this was less than 8 months after the end of the so called ‘Great War’ & on fixed wheel bikes ( i.e. no gears !).
Like Marty Mcfly, in Back to the future, Ian transports the reader back with characters like
Glass eye
Bassett hound
The Locomotive
The Italian job
& The Smoker (?)
as he describes the trials and tribulations of, not only the 1919 contest, but his own highs and lows, as he replicates the very same route by Bike, train & his own (Delorean) camper van around the borders of France.
Ian also follows his own Grandfathers steps, 4 years earlier, in what must have been a very emotional journey, retracing the 21 year old soldiers’ voyage, witnessing the atrocities of WW1 during the battles of Ypres & Passchendaele.
Can you predict who will win of the 1919 La Grand Boucle ? (I didn’t )
Can’t recommend it enough 👍🚲