Saddle up for a tasty ride

THE Tour de France is an epic for observers as well as the world's top cyclists. Melanie Ball explains how to get into the spirit of it.

Miracle man ... seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. Picture: Reuters

PADDINGTON Bear introduced me to the Tour de France.

In a collection of misadventures my mother read to my sisters and I, the marmalade-loving Peruvian immigrant bear wheeled a tricycle into the cycle pack – known as the peloton – and made record time downhill into the village where Paddington's friends, the Browns, were holidaying.

His run ended in a sack of flour.

Four decades later, I've clocked many hours of watching Lycra-clad professionals ride through France.

This year's Tour comes to London for the first time and is one of the very few to have included segments in England. It starts in London on July 7 and ends on the Champs-Elysees 22 days later, and shows off 3547km of French, English and Belgian roads.

Whether you are heading to Europe this winter to watch it live, or participating from your living room, this guide will help you get into the spirit of the world's greatest bike race.

July 7-8: Kent, England

After the prologue in London, the first of the Tour's 11 flat stages takes us south-east through Kent, "the Garden of England".

We could explore green hinterland and sometimes tacky coastal towns, but our goal is Canterbury – and its cathedral.

A mix of Gothic and Romanesque styles, Canterbury Cathedral became England's primary pilgrimage site after the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, here in 1170, gaining further fame two centuries later through Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

Getting in the mood: Look out for Bramley apples, gooseberries and Dover sole. Kent hops have flavoured English ales for centuries, and oast houses (farmhouses once used for drying hops) dot the county, so our refreshment of choice is beer.

July 9: Belgium

Having landed at Dunkirk, we're off to Belgium for a taste of Flanders (a large historical region overlapping Belgium, France and the Netherlands), which includes fries with mayonnaise.

In the medieval canal town of Ghent, we can also fill up on culture, visit museums and cathedrals, the grand opera house and tiny centuries-old homes.

Getting in the mood: It's early in the race so there are plenty of opportunities ahead to work off an excess of Belgium chocolate, waffles and beer.

July 10-13: Belgium to France

After wheeling across the border into Picardie, and swashbuckling in Villers-Cotterets, birthplace of Alexandre Dumas (The Three Musketeers), some warm-up hill work brings us to the region whose name evokes more images of red liquid than any other.

Picture a canal lined with Impressionist sunflowers, add Roman ruins, walled towns, and tiled church steeples, and splash the cobblestones with wine and – voila! – you have Burgundy.

Getting in the mood: Fill a picnic basket with beef bourguignon, garlic snails, epoisses and triple-cream delice de bourgogne cheeses, a French stick, some Dijon mustard, a bottle of burgundy (pinot noir) and chablis (chardonnay).

July 14-16: Rhone Alps

Time for some crisp, clean air, inhaled deeply and exhaled at force as we climb France's spectacular eastern Alps.

Steep, snaking roads between exposed summits that winter blankets with snow, and narrow valleys scored with streams, take us from new ski resorts to villages built centuries before humanity

dreamt of swooshing down slopes on lengths of wood, let alone on carbon-fibre wheels.

Getting in the mood: The Rhone Alps and Valley give us black truffles and chestnuts, frogs' legs and nougat de Montelimar, and delightful beaujolais to add to our wine-tasting list.

July 17-20: Provence, Alpes, Cote d'Azur and Languedoc-Roussillion

While Provence is more famous, these neighbours boast picturesque Mediterranean coastlines, medieval villages, mountains, and an olive tree or three, so it's tempting to abandon the race here for a lazier holiday.

Or we could just enjoy the rest day in Briancon, a fortified mountain town dating back to Roman times. At 1326m, it's also Europe's highest town, so the views are glorious.

Getting into the mood: Now's our chance to dip into a steaming bowl of bouillabaisse (fish soup) and try cassoulet, Languedoc's signature meat-and-bean casserole, with a glass of frontignac to finish.

July 21-26: Midi-Pyrenees and Aquitaine

Reputedly home to 1001 castles, Aquitaine reaches up the Atlantic coast from the Spanish border, but the following days of racing keep us away from France's often wild ocean beaches. Instead, they pit us against the majestic Pyrenees before heading north.

A time trial in Albi, Toulouse-Lautrec's birthplace, lets us view art and visit the town's colossal Gothic cathedral.

Getting into the mood: Midi-Pyrenees is home to Emperor Charlemagne's favourite cheese, and the intoxicatingly pungent roquefort complements a fill of seafood or bayonne ham. Then there's excellent bordeaux wine.  

July 27, 28: Poitou-Charentes region

A 210km ride through the vineyards north of the hill-ringed city of Cahors, where one of France's finest medieval bridges spans the River Lot, and a 55km time-trial bring us within pedalling distance of the finish line – without once coming close to upending into a bin of flour.

Getting into the mood: The best way to appreciate coastal Poitou-Charentes' offerings is with a spread of oysters marenne d'oleron and bouchot mussels and a glass of golden cognac.  

July 29: Ile de France, Region Parisienne

Quintessential French villages and woods line our route through the Chevreuse Valley to Paris for an eight-lap circuit of the Champs-Elysees climax. Prepare for a visual feast of wheels spinning past landmark city buildings and crowds of cycling fanatics waving flags.

Getting in the mood: Any celebration in Paris is about all things French, whatever the providence, so we'll splurge on brie, croissants and brioche, pate and terrine, then ease the cork from a bottle of champagne and toast our completion of the 2007 Tour de France.

The Sunday Telegraph