Tour de France

Discussion in 'The Lounge Bar' started by Gage, Jul 22, 2012.

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  1. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Western and Central France has missed out of the Tour this time as regards any linkage to the two world wars.

    However the nearest the Tour was to the US Aisne -Marne (Belleau) Cemetery was Epernay,which is roughly 50 kms NE of Belleau. Paris is about 100 kms,roughly SE and the A4 Autoroute offers the fastest route from Paris.The last time I visited the area and Belleau,the A4 was being laid down.Apparently the Belleau Cemetery Chapel was slightly damaged by a German shell during the Second World War.

    About 10 kms SE of Belleau is the the large Chateau Thierry US memorial which dominates the Maine Valley and overlooks Chateau Thierry....a very impressive memorial to the US soldiers and marines who fought in the region during the summer of 1918.

    I would think that the nearest the Tour passed to a US First World War military cemetery in the area of the Marne would be the Oise-Aisne cemetery (with its forbidden access graves plot) which lies about 20 kms NE of Chateau Thierry and about 40kms from Reims and Epernay.
     
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  2. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    They did pass very close to the Hartmannswillerkopf. Maybe it was the huge cemetery near there you saw.
     
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  3. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    I agree now that they didn't ride by the Douaumont Ossuary but they did show it on TV. I had to back up my recording to get the spelling for my post.

    Killer final climb yesterday, eh? 22 percent and on gravel. Good grief.
     
  4. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    Today's No 7 stage reaches Chalon sur Saone and may show a few frames of the Burgundy vineyards....within a short distance to the west is the Morvan and the scene of SAS and Maquis intensive activity against the German occupiers in the months following the D Day landings.

    For Saturday's Stage 8.It's a pity that the Stage starts at Macon for just south of Chalon sur Saone on the old RN to Macon, now the D 906, lies Sennecy le Grand.Here there are memorials to the SAS's engagement against superior German forces in early September 1944.
     
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  5. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    How do they keep the route so pristine?

    Farm country here in the states always has some old equipment and vehicles laying around, plus a lot of manure. I haven't even seen any trash barrels or dumpsters.
     
  6. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    You need to go for a trip around France - they are [mostly] a very clean nation as regards junk & rubbish etc. It even goes to the point that if your neighbour doesnt cut their grass when it starts seeding you can you got the local Mayor who will contact the owner of the land and tell them to cut it - if they dont then the Mayor will call in contractors and charge the land owner.

    Sometimes though like our neighbours they 'hide' stuff behind hedges. They have decheteries which are open to all where you can go and drop off various types of rubbish - wood, hardcore, garden, metal, glass, cardboard etc etc and you will notice that many French cars have two balls and a high percentage of French have a trailer that they use to take their 'rubbish' to the decheterie in

    Déchèterie — Wikipédia

    - Que pouvez-vous apporter à la déchetterie ?

    Keep watching the TdF it gives you an overall view of the nation and how it looks after itself. Something else you probably wont see at least outside of major towns are bus stops - they dont exist, its why the small diesel car reigns supreme

    TD
     
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  7. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    When watching the Tdf keep an eye on the houses and see how clean & precise the gardens are especially hedges. You might also see their wood stacked for the winter, and generally its millimeter perfect length stacked like soldiers

    [​IMG]
    Its something that is passed down from father to son - each have their own precise format

    Examples
    Stock Photo - Stacks of Firewood, Beech Essence, Spring, Northern Vosges, France
    Photo libre de droit de Long Bois Pile En Français Alpes À Proximité De Chambery banque d'images et plus d'images libres de droit de {top keyword} - iStock
    Wall of firewood at Chateau de Beynac, France

    TD
     
  8. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

  9. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

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  10. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Our most distinctive breed is the Texas Longhorn

    University of Texas mascot meets University of Georgia mascot.

     
  11. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

  12. Rich Payne

    Rich Payne Rivet Counter Patron 1940 Obsessive

    ...and still going on...Are there really any normal people left in the world whose tits haven't been bored off by the whole bloody thing once again ?
     
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  13. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Who said we were normal?
     
  14. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Is there an AllyDecatur :lol::lol::lol::lol:

    TD
     
  15. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    Dicky
    You are a fountain of knowledge. Who knew that firewood stacking was an art form. Over here, we NEVER stack it against the house or any wooden structure. Termites in the wood will make short work of wooden floors, framing, fences, etc.

    You could always spot Scandinavian immigrants to Canada by their unique circular stacks.

    homesteading-round-wood-piles_1024x1024.jpg
     
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  16. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Canadian firewood stack

    upload_2019-7-24_10-26-49.png
     
  17. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    Looks more like beaver snacks.

    And don't go sending me another Leslie Neilson photo! :)
     
  18. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

  19. Tricky Dicky

    Tricky Dicky Don'tre member

    Alligator - ??? :unsure::omg: must be just my sense of humour

    Goodnight all
    TD
     
  20. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    Luke Rowe & Tony Martin being kicked out seems a bit harsh.
     

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