Yellow is for Tour

Le Tour de France.
Bonjour… Another American won the 2006 tour after the three main favourites had to withdraw due to drugs charges…however the main story is that Cadel Evans finished 5th…and Robbie the freak won the green sprinters jersey… and I was there to see it.

The trip to France was a quick decision based on passion and my love of the tour…The last day started with a good breakfast and a small warm up lap on the Champs Elysees to find a perfect spot to watch…once found all I had to do was wait…and wait…. and wait. Finally the riders completed 5 laps and finish…sounds like a lot of effort for a few men in tights but I didn’t care I loved it!

So back on the brain is a riding trip through the French countryside, a couple of cycling buddies and a car in support…I picture a 5 week trip of riding through remote towns to stop over in bed and breakfasts, enjoying the cheese and wines of the region…Sounds great.

All in all I spent 3 days in Paris, saw what I wanted to see, had a few pints and jumped on the plane back to Dublin. I was a little sneaky with my camera and managed to snap a shot of the Mona Lisa…wondering around the Louvre, got me thinking about the book The Da Vinci Code, I could image exactly what it would have felt like trying to escape in the middle of the night…very eerie.


The city itself is really beautiful, so rich in history and so many exquisite buildings; I almost thought it rated close to Melbourne…. Almost. The French as also really nice people, with my broken language skills I was surprised how much kindness was offered.

So I have cut back on the drinking to a few jars a week…as you can probably see some of the previous posts have had a beer focus… and I’m back in training…I haven’t jumped on a bike for 10 months now and I need to build my fitness up…so running is the key. Hope to be back in time for the Melbourne marathon…but whether I’ll run depends how well the motivation is to stay off the pints.

Mine's a Pint at St James's Gate Brewery

My goodness My Guinness, that’s what I was saying as I enjoyed the taste of a well-deserved pint in the gravity bar at the Guinness storehouse. The drizzle set-in in a timely fashion earlier that morning as I made my way through the back streets of Dublin in search of the home of the most famous pint around.
I finally found the St James Gate at the end of Steven street and it was not to disappoint. Made out of blue stone the brewery was originally bought in 1779 by Arthur Guinness for 20 pounds under a 9000 year lease.
From this early start, the recipe has only improved and still to this day the secret flavour essence is sent out of Dublin to all the Guinness brew houses around the world…The process is very tightly controlled and this is one of the major contributing factors of its success of the Guinness brand world wide.

To prove a point a pint is sent from every brewery from around the world to be tasted by the quality tasting team here in Dublin.

Roasted barley gives the stout its familiar taste and the slow filtering process gives it its creaminess. After a complimentary pint at the end of the tour, the taste buds are dancing, so it was off to the pub for another pint. Ireland is a beautiful country, a patchwork of meadows sprawling across the entire countryside, only to be interrupted by the occasional golf course or one of the many quaint local establishments. I don't really ever believe the press, however I believe this...Good things do come to those who wait!