It is surprising how quiet Paris roads are on a Sunday. Even when I was here in the 90's this was the case. We are having coffee with Kate Bates. She has given us some good insights to the race. We were talking about riders that had impressed us. She is a strong supporter of the future of Peter Sagan - young sprinter who is strong in the mountains as evidenced by the support he has given Nibali. I mentioned Chris Anker Sorensen of Saxo who impressed me with his d...

This is the inside of the boat, we are cruising down the river Seine in Paris. Very spacious. That is Phil Anderson in the centre lurching toward the food and in the distance Carol's mate Rupert Guinness. We talked at length about how he evolved as a cycling journalist, of his 56 Hawaiian shirts, and how that tradition evolved - basically it was so he could be identified by riders (particularly Australian riders) when in a media scrum, and by fellow travelers in...

This picture is of Paris and the Seine at sunset. We left the hotel around 7.30 pm and had to drive across Paris to board the boat. If you could picture Melbourne at peak hour and in grid lock and then square it you would get close to imagining the traffic. It was exacerbated by couples on motor bikes zipping in and out of the traffic. It probably took 30 minutes to travel 5 or 6 K. We were driven by Annie, Phil's partner. She did a great job whilst talking non...

A heart starter for someone at lunch. The coffee cup gives you some idea of scale.

This is the view from our hotel room.