I've just got home from the Arctic Circle, where Yorkshire is or thereabouts - actually, it's been mostly warm and sunny. We met up with Mads on Friday evening and went out for a carvery, where we remembered absent friends from last year and drank a toast to them.

On Saturday, the three of us went up to Leyburn to watch stage 1. I got burnt sitting on the window sill of the local police station for three hours, but I didn't see anything of the race because tall men stood in front of me. The same happened when we went to watch on the big screen in the market square; but I put up with it because I thought tomorrow, I'll be stood on the road side.

Big mistake. After helping the police to make things as safe as we could, when they then asked me to keep back, being a law abiding citizen I did as I was told, but I still just about see. Five minutes before the race came through, a huge man about six foot four and almost as wide stood right in front of me. I saw nothing nor could I take any photos. Wherever he is I hope someone bigger than him bullies him back, because he got quite aggressive with one chap who told him to move.

To cap it all, after standing and walking around for about 7 hours, my back was killing me but I struggled up to watch some of the race on the big screen tv they had near the summit of Holme Moss and the heavens opened. The one good thing, the 'Tour maker' jacket was rain proof, the rest of the outfit wasn't.

In the evening Annie and I met up with Mads again for dinner in Sheffield, Mads had fared better than I and had some reasonable photos compared to my none. Still, I had an official umbrella, they forgot to give one to Mads.

My thanks to Annie G and Mads for making it an enjoyable weekend although I didn't sleep very much and seemed to spend long hours standing, and for putting up with my puns and my IBS, which always strikes when I'm stressed.