Le tour de France comes to (near) Pembury!

The Tour de France started off in England this year and on 8 July the competitors left London and rode through the Kent countryside. Ray Owen, who watched the Tour whiz down the Pembury by-pass, shares the excitement of the day with us.

We had a great time at the Tour, arriving at about 12 o'clock just as the preceding entourage began to pass by with all sorts of horns blaring, lights flashing and a real assortment of vehicles to keep the waiting crowds happy. What a great success! When the riders came through at approximately 1.30pm for a few very brief seconds it was bedlam. Cyclists, support vehicles, police and gendarmes on motorcycles and all the crowds cheering plus three helicopters overhead, it was great! BUT, it was gone in the blink of an eye. I can't imagine how those guys were feeling after all those miles and still roughly half way to go on the first leg!