The crowds for today’s Stage 2 were just overwhelming – shoulder to shoulder almost the entire length of the course – 181.5K. Yeah, there were a few stretches that were sparse on people, but overall, it was a huge crowd for a first stage. It looked more like the crowds for a mountain stage, but not rowdy or drunk…

And how cool is it that Z (Dave Zabriskie) is gonna be in yellow tomorrow! I bet his girlfriend and his parents are sooo stoked right now… There’ll be a few tears of joy tomorrow when they see him riding in the yellow jersey. A dream come true, and lots more to come for Z.

So I was late getting to the start this morning, just because I didn’t want to rush around – so I didn’t. There’s plenty of that waiting for me at later stages. So I hung out at the Village Depart and took shots there. I knew it would be so packed the DC bus that I wouldn’t be able to get close. Then, with my blue sticker, I followed the Caravane Publicitaire all the way to the finish line. Problem was, they were so slow today that we arrived only minutes before the finish, and I had to park way out in the boondocks. So I didn’t even try to get over there in time – I knew that Lance wasn’t gonna go for the win today… So no race pics and no hat pic – Sorry ‘bout that!

It was sweltering hot today, but it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the fans. People were lined up along the course when I drove by at 9 this morning. RV’s were parked in neat rows, and card tables and chairs were set up. People were either eating or playing cards, most of them right out in the sun. The French people love to greet you with big, enthusiastic waves, and when you return the wave, they are just delighted. So I waved the whole way, and was greeted with Bisou, Bisou, which means Kisses, Kisses. Big waves, big smiles – the French do love their Tour de France…