July 13

We were out the door before 7:00, grabbed some breakfast and drove to Pau for today's start. As we walked around the start area looking for a place to stand, Angie noticed a Tour Boutique van parked just a few meters from the start line on the course next to the barricades. Nobody was standing next to it because you couldn't see anything but the side of a truck, but we knew it would have to move before the riders lined up - Bingo, that was our spot! We tied up our LAF/LiveSTRONG banners and shortly, the van moved and we had a great spot. A few other Americans gathered around us - a couple from San Francisco and a girl from Colorado. Two other ladies that were riding with a Trek Travel Tour slid in with us also. The airlines had lost their bags and they had been living with the clothes on their backs for several days, washing what they had on in the sink every night. They were very interested in joining the LAF Peloton Project. I think she worked with an investment company, but I gave her my card so she could email me when we got back home. The more we share our story with people, the more they want to get involved and help.

Chris Brewer and Kathy walked by and we chatted for a minute. They had to hurry off to drive to the finish so Chris could file reports and update the Paceline. He says it's the Media 500 as the press cars are nose to tail driving like crazy to get to the finish. Then they do it again as the Gerdarmes lead them away after the race is over so the teams can get away to their hotels.

The riders soon rolled up and George Hincapie stopped just in front of us. We congratulated him on his stage win and he still had a big grin and he thanked us. Our American friends yelled at Jan and he looked over and gave us a wave and a smile. They brought Lance in from the front of the group because of all the congestion. He gave a quick interview and then they all rolled off.

As we were leaving we saw our friend and fellow Peloton Project member Scott Coady. Scott put together a video documentary of his escapades following the Tour de France in 2000 called, The Tour Baby! He donates funds from the documentary and has raised close to $100,000. We chatted with Scott for a while and then were off to see the caves.

It took us a few hours to get to some lunch and drive to the southern area of France where the caves were. There are several Grottes but some of the more famous ones are in a series of books that Angie has read and they are located in Niaux. We were in Foix, which is just north of Niaux and there was another big castle there, so we figured we'd go see it while we were here. A quick check of the watch showed us that the Tour was 30 minutes from finishing for the day, so we dashed in a bar, got a beer and watched the finish. Discovery's Savoldelli was in a break that looked like it would stay away without getting caught. The break was soon down to only two riders as they came down the final stretch and Savoldelli won the day! That's two different riders winning stages for Discovery in addition to holding the best young rider white jersey with Popo and the yellow with Lance! What a team!

We left the bar and went up in the Foix castle. Looked pretty much like the Lourdes castle. Lots of steps up the mountain, really old and a great view from the top. Guess you see one castle you've seen them all.

We drove back towards the grotte area to find a hotel for the night. We found a cute town (Angie), Tarascon with a hotel for the night. These little village hotels are usually about 35 Euros per night, which includes breakfast. Not so bad as long as you just need a bed, because that's usually all you get. In this case we got a tv, as well. There was a stage being setup next to our hotel and signs around the street indicated a Latino Festival that night. As we finished dinner at the hotel, we could hear the band warming up. By the time we finished and walked over to the stage area, everything was hopping! Everybody dancing and singing. The only thing I wondered was how late they would play, since our hotel room was hardly 100 meters from the stage. However late they played we would be hearing them. Fortunately they shut down at midnight. Our reservation for the caves the next morning was 9:00 so we didn't have to get up too early. The caves had an English Tour, but to be sure we got tickets, I faxed over a reservation several weeks prior.