My first glimpse of the Tour de France was back in the late 80s when you could watch 30mins of highlights on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. As a kid, my buddy and I would plan our weekends around this 30mins of epic television. Thanks to VHS we would watch the same 30mins over and over again while riding our trainers. I attended the tour for the first time in 2004. Armed with nothing more than a Velo News course map, a tent, and some stinky French cheese, my college teammate and I chased the Tour for 12 days through the French countryside. We had to be there for Lance Armstrong’s record breaking 6th Tour win. I shot the photo below 1km from the finish of the final individual time trail where Lance secured his 6th TDF victory (full story here). Last year, in 2010, I took my pops along with a bunch of our riding buddies to witness the greatest sporting event the world has to offer. However, this time we stayed in a hotel and rode our bikes along many of the stages. Here is what we saw. For all my Tour images, click here.

I know I am stating the obvious, but it amazes me how much the internet is shaping the world of art and adventure. Sure, I still love the coverage Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett, but here we are able to share little windows into the world around us. I know that everyone out there isn’t a cycling fan, but there is something satisfying about being able to introduce you all to a world I have loved for over 20 years. I know it’s no ‘Wide World of Sports’ but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Help Support The Livestrong Foundation The movie opens and closes with the messages of hope, healing, loss, and inspiration that the Nike Chalkbot penned along the roads of France. Don’t worry, the chalk is biodegradable and Nike cleaned it all up after every stage. As we pedaled our bikes along these roads, you couldn’t help but read the stories of those who had lost a loved one or who are currently in the fight against cancer. After miles and miles of messages, you become painfully aware how devastating cancer is. At an early age I lost my cycling mentor to his battle with this disease. We can all take action by supporting the LiveStrong organization. They do nothing but focus on kicking cancer’s ass. So please take the next step in this battle and join the fight.

Music

Song: Nobody ‘Cept You
Written By: Bob Dylan
Performed By: 16 Horsepower (the best band Denver ever produced)

Get it on iTunes here.

Videographer’s Note: My movies have been evolving over the last couple of years. All my previous films have been produced solely with my Flip studio. With this movie, I used a myriad of gear. Everything from point n’ shoots duck taped to my helmet, to video enabled DSLRs. Heck, I even edited it with iMovie (a free tool that comes with all Macs). But don’t worry, it is still a lo-fi gorilla view of the Tour de France.

Capture Notes: One of my favorite scenes, the last one of Jens Voigt crushing it in super-slow-mo, was shot with this totally cool and rather inexpensive piece of gear at 240 frames per second!