The first day we arrived in Dinan we noticed signs on the street indicating that there would be no parking allowed on the afternoon of Sunday May 24. We inquired at the Tourism Office and was told that was because of the Tour de Rance, which is a race along the Rance river for 320 riders using vintage bikes and wearing suitable outfits, i.e., before 1990. That sounded like our sort of entertainment so we obtained a brochure and checked the website, both telling us it would happen at 8am today in the Town Hall Square.
We got up early and came to the Square where we found one emergency services man talking on his mobile and nothing else at all. Was it the wrong day, wrong place? Could not be. Then we saw some marquees in the rampart pits nearby, so went to investigate. There were a few bike mechanics and bike riders and a lot of empty marquees. There were two funny little cars there that looked like the one that M. Hulot took his Holiday in. There was also a Simca Aronde from the 1960s similar to the one owned by a colleague when I was a French teacher.
Clearly we were in the right place, but only very gradually were cyclists arriving. Eventually after 9 o'clock some vintage buses and cars pulled into the square.
By 9:30 there were probably 50 or more bikes around, and the village band from Plouer Sur Rance was taking shape.
A man was speaking on the public address system continually and we heard "magnifique" many times but he hardly stopped for breath and was still going strong after the square emptied out. We presumed he was being paid by the hour. He was back again at 2pm when we returned.
Four motor bikes arrived, belonging to men who did filming of the Tour de France years ago and have kept their bikes in immaculate order.
The band started playing at 10am and kept spectators entertained. Then the four Tour de France winners were introduced and people crowded around to photograph them and talk to them. Lyn managed some good shots. There is no doubt that the favourite son of Dinan today is Bernard Hinault. His son is one of the chief organisers.
It was 10.15 and the leaders were set up at the start line, ready to ride through the square, but half of the riders were still in the square facing the start, so when the were told to line up, they had to weave their way through the other half of the riders to the back of the peleton. With no sign of any marshals, that exercise took half an hour but it gave everyone a chance to look at the bikes and the outfits. There were so many interesting people to record that we took a record number of photos.
The buzz of a thousand people chatting in French, laughing and double cheek kissing was an unforgettable experience for us. They set off at 10:45 to ride 45 km to Pleudihen, where they were expected to arrive from noon, according to the brochure. The slow ones will take 3 hours to ride that distance. They had to ride through the spectators, just like le Tour.
The Marriage Ceremony Room in the Town Hall was given over to a display of old bikes and memorabilia from the Tour de France. An excellent collection, the likes of which would never be seen in Australia.
How many songs have been written about le Tour?
The star of the ride was last to leave.
And the star of the museum was:
We wandered around the town in the afternoon and had a look at the castle.
At 5:30 we went back to the Town Hall Square to watch the finish of the tour, then at 6:30 the pro riders were paired with amateurs by lot and rode four times around the town in a time trial. The winners were the ones who timed closest to a preset target. A good time was had by all.
The star of the ride was last to leave.
And the star of the museum was:
We wandered around the town in the afternoon and had a look at the castle.
At 5:30 we went back to the Town Hall Square to watch the finish of the tour, then at 6:30 the pro riders were paired with amateurs by lot and rode four times around the town in a time trial. The winners were the ones who timed closest to a preset target. A good time was had by all.
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