Roadside view of the TdF

This was at a point just uphill from the switchback where Froome fell on Stage 19.

The video is awful, and I didn't catch Rui Costa leading, since I don't really like taking video of something that I'm watching (your memory then becomes one of taking the video instead of experiencing the moment). But, I did turn the phone on and point it, and managed to catch a chunk of the Caravane de Publicite followed by most of the field.

Obviously, the side of the road is no place to be if you want to actually watch the race, so it's a good idea to become friendly with the camper-car folks, be near a bar, or have good streaming.

HOWEVER, if you like to spend an afternoon having a picnic in a random picturesque spot in the Alps or the countryside with some comfy folding chairs, a couple of bottles of wine along with some bread, cheese, pate and snacks and, oh yeah eventually a crazy parade and a bike race will come by, then the TdF provides a great excuse to go do that. Plus, July is festival season in many of the towns throughout France, so there is always a party going on somewhere.

The experience is a lot like that scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, where a bunch of people gather on the side of the road for reasons they can't fully explain or understand, and then the alien ships show up.