The Tour de France

My husband loves the Tour de France.  It’s his summer ritual to sit down and get lost in it for its three week run.  He talks about the cyclists, what they specialize in, and why he does or does not like them.  It dominates his topics of discussion for the month of July and even creeps into August.  I have to be honest, I’ve tried, but I don’t get it.  I know it’s a hard sport, and one needs to be a true athlete to bike up and down mountains for days un-end in scorching heat, but it’s just not for me.

Last week, I was forced to stay inside during a torrential downpour, and with nothing else to do, I found myself next to Christophe in front of the television.  I watched, and listened, and my enthusiasm for the sport did not change; however, I figured out it is something more than simply a sport.  It is a cultural event.  It is a tour of France, that is, there is an almost always picture perfect scenery on the TV screen from one part of the country or another.  Within the course of an hour, the countryside changed for rich pastoral lands to rocky, dry, climbing hills, and this was not an isolated moment – the countryside constantly changed.  Chateaus are passed every few minutes along with a quick history lesson on its origins. Historical commentators explain how those who built the chateaus lived and changed the land.  Looking at it from this perspective, it was actually quite engaging.  It gives insight to why certain products, like wine, are so varied.  Each micro-region produces a distinctive product, even though they are within miles of each other.  Even though I still might not get excited about the cyclists, I get a whole new appreciation of the French culture and countryside.  And, while I love football, I don’t think the Super Bowl has ever done that.