A magical weekend at le Tour de Yorkshire and a bit of Fuji action!

Yorkshire had been building up to welcoming the Tour de France for a very long time and, when the weekend finally arrived, I think it would be fair to say the county did not disappoint! The weather gods were definitely on our side, but what an incredible job by all those who helped to organise the event and the crowd participation was just fabulous. The atmosphere reminded me very much of the London 2012 Olympics.

We had friends and family to stay and had worked out what we hoped would be the perfect route to enjoy the tour on the Saturday. We parked up in a small village just to the east of Leyburn and the plan was to cycle to a turning point on the route near Aysgarth and then cycle back to Leyburn to catch the cyclists there, after they had crossed over Buttertubs into Swaledale and then back over to Wensleydale. Riding through Leyburn was amazing - the road was now closed to all but cyclists and we were cycling on the route - with crowds either side - going in the wrong direction and loving it! From there it was a mix of downhill and uphill for the 7 miles to the Bishopdale turning, with a brief and unplanned stop for a lovely lunch at the Wensleydale Heifer.

We got to the Bishopdale turning with a good 10-15 minutes to spare, despite being slowed down by our rather too large lunch! Although this weekend was very much about enjoying the occasion for me, with photography a clear second, I did of course have to bring some camera gear with me. The Fuji XE-1 was the lightweight option, though I’d have loved to own the new 18-135mm lens, which would have been perfect for the occasion. The shot above was captured with the 55-200mm and I have to thank the security staff who let me crouch down in front of the barriers to get a clear view. I didn’t realise at the time that I was also photographing a cameraman filming Jens Voigt from the following motorbike!

Just behind Jens Voigt were a further two cyclists, and then we had a surprisingly long wait for the Peleton.

I think it would be fair to say the Fujifilm XE-1 is not known as an action camera but, for the most part it did surprisingly well. There was the odd lapse when it failed to lock on to the target but, as you can see from the above, this can lead to rather pleasing accidents!

Vast numbers of support vehicles followed and then it was time to dash back to Leyburn - an exhilarating experience cycling with so many others - and much less hard work than I was expecting. I had a rather hairy moment when my chain came off as I changed gears to go up a steep hill - with both my feet attached to my pedals! Somehow I managed not to crash to the ground!

Things were now very busy indeed in Leyburn and I knew it would be all but impossible to get much of a view of the cyclists so I decided to concentrate on the crowds instead. A bit of people watching is always fun!

I had to admire this chap for lasting the course in a chicken suit in such hot and sunny conditions! I envied him his high vantage point though…

For the most part, I found myself doing double exposures to capture the essence of the crowds welcoming the cyclists into Leyburn. It would have been nice to have had the option of a triple exposure but Fuji limits the multiple exposure function to just two. I wonder if this is something they will look to change in future models? It’s not an option I use often but it would be nice to extend its capabilities.

Once the tour had passed through Leyburn, the barriers were then opened to cyclists and we were able to cycle back through to our cars and return home, all thrilled by the way the day had worked out. On the Sunday, the tour was passing just a few miles down the road on the A59 from York and so we were able to go and watch the Caravan go past at Green Hammerton:

In all honesty, we were a little underwhelmed by the Caravane but it was still great fun to be part of the welcoming group. We had driven over to Green Hammerton and been able to park quite close by and it was an effortless journey there and back. An hour or so later it was time to get on the bikes again. This time we cycled to the A59/M1 junction as I was sure there would be less crowds here than at Green Hammerton and so it would be easier to get a good view of the cyclists.

Happily I was right and it was a real thrill to be quite so close to the cyclists - you could feel the rush of wind as they sped past - a real buzz!

Perhaps it was not the most scenic spot of the tour but a great place to get really close to the action and to enjoy a spot more people watching:

What a weekend! From a photographic perspective, of course there were better places to be but, as I said earlier in the blog, this was about being part of an amazing, once in a lifetime occasion - and that it most certainly was!