You Cannot Imagine What This Meant...To The Danes

 The news hit years ago...this year's Tour de France begins in Denmark. I know a little bit about the country, having lived there for a little while. Even though it's been decades (three, exactly..) since I stepped foot on Danish soil, I knew what it meant to the country to have the world's most historic cycle race begin on their roads.

In a word...epic.

It helps that the country is bicycle crazy. They pride themselves by their love of bikes. In the big cities, bicyclists have their own lanes on the road. They even have their own traffic lights. It's wild. When you drive in downtown Copenhagen, you have to look--not twice, but several times--when you're making a right-hand turn. If you're not careful, you'll take out a whole line of bike riders.

They bike for practical reasons, but I believe they'd bike if everyone had cars.

I watched the last day of racing in the country. The race ended in Sønderborg, the country's southern-most larger city. I never made it to Sønderborg, but I'm sure it's beautiful (as is the rest of Denmark...). Watching the fans line the street, the Danish Flag (Dannebrog...) flying, crowds cheering until their voices are gone. 

The Danes are proud of their country, as they should be. And when a Dane becomes famous, it's a big deal. They see themselves as a tiny country taking on the whole world. Having the Tour de France start in Denmark, well...they'll be telling their grandkids the time the best bikers in the world flew over their streets, when the whole country came out to see them ride.