It’s Only A Bike Race: How Hard Can It Be?: Touring France with the world’s premier cycling endurance event

Riding a bicycle around France during July sounds like an idyllic way to spend a few weeks during the summer. Visiting different regions of the country while on a leisurely ride through vineyards and sunflower fields seems like a fun pastime in which all French gentlemen should aspire to participate at least once during their lifetime. To top off the two-wheeled vacation, there would be a small prize for the first man to return to Paris. …. This was the illinformed impression of the Tour de France that the author had gained while studying French at high school on the other side of the world. Some twenty years later he began to discover that his pre-conceived notions of the event were removed from reality by a large distance - over 3,000 kilometers in fact! Nevertheless, the author was eager to discover whether it was still possible to enjoy the Tour de France in the way he had visualized it as a youngster. Substituting a campervan for a bicycle, he decided to follow the riders for three weeks with the aim of enjoying the race while simultaneously taking in the sights, sounds and tastes of France. This book tells the story of his quest.