Etape 2009 – signing on

We opted to ride to Montelimar for the signing on as our legs and bikes needed a shakedown after the coach journey.

The ride took around an hour and a half, following the Rhone and into a fair head wind. It took as a while to find our destination as the directions weren’t that good.

The registration village was just round the corner. It consisted of the usual manufacturer’s tents plus some local nougat sellers. We made the rounds and collected as much free stuff as possible.

The afternoon turned into an episode of Faulty Towers. Our lunch took an age to come and we ended up leaving without eating. We had to move our bikes from the lockup. The coach got turned around half way into journey home as some guy had forgotten his bike.

We got back just in time for a dip in the pool and some basic food. I say basic because it wasn’t what I was expecting for a pre race meal.