The Tour Flashes by HQ

Anybody into cycling or local to HQ will have been aware of the hype surrounding Stage Four of the Tour of Britain. It created a real good buzz in the local community which was backed up by the huge support on the streets. The local schools and council made a big fuss of the event with the school children making banners to decorate the kerbside.

Of course, we couldn't not celebrate this.

Here at Sauce & Brown we decorated our window to be in keeping with the yellow theme, our bright Yellow Jersey taking centre stage along with the Raleigh Burner for all those fans of nostalgia. The doors opened at 8am as normal for anybody who wanted to pop in for a coffee before the pelaton shot past and plenty of you picked up your very own One of One Hundred Yellow Jersey.

Just after 11am the lead cars and Police bikes started coming up the road giving the full show of sirens and lights with plenty of waves for the patient young crowds waving their home made flags. We tried to play it cool but we were very excited to have the opportunity to see them cycle past our humble store. "Play it cool trig, play it cool"

In the distance we saw the riders start the climb up Forest road. The Riders, just inches apart seemed to be finding there rhythm after the warm up leg, not perturbed by the drizzle and greasy conditions below them.

With a couple of blasts of the horns from the crowd and the overwhelming sound of 100's of legs and tyres moving in unison the riders shot past in a matter of seconds making easy work of the roads. Followed closely by the team cars, which in itself is a spectacle, all jostling for position on the road. As the circus dissappeared into the distance the crowd slowly dispersed but every single one of them had a big smile on their face, a fantastic sight.

All that was left for us to do was go home at the end of a great day to watch the recorded live show and admire the local area in all its glory.....oh and of course pause and rewind numerous times to see S&B HQ on TV.