Triathlon! - Watch and Strap

I was taking this photo and noticed the black band around the chest of the man on the left.  I didn't know what this was - if you are a sports person you would.

Richard, the little girl's father, explained that it works in conjunction with the special watch he is wearing and tells you your heart rate. Which, considering, how tough this race is, would seem a very good idea!

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En prenant cette photo, j'ai remarqué la bande noire autour de la poitrine de l'homme sur la gauche. Je ne savais pas ce que c'était - si vous êtes un sportif, vous devez le savoir.

Richard, le père de la fillette, m' a expliqué que cela fonctionne avec la surveillance spéciale qu'il porte et qui indique son rythme cardiaque. Et cela, compte tenu de la difficulté de cette course, semble une très bonne idée!

Triathlon! - No. 46

I bet the number didn't hurt as much as the tattoos!

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Je parie que le nombre a été moins douloureux que les tatouages!

Traithlon! - the Injuries

The triathlon is over. A 750 metres swim, 20 kilometres on the bike and a 5 kilometres run. The winner did it in 1 hour, 12 minutes, 35 seconds.

Now it's time to tend to the injuries ...

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Le triathlon est terminé.  750 mètres de natation, 20 km de vélo et de 5 kilomètres de course à pieds. Le gagnant l'a fait en 1 heure, 12 minutes, 35 secondes.

Maintenant c'est le moment de soigner les blessures ...

Triathlon! - Arrival in Gorbio

You know you've arrived in Gorbio when you see a lady outside the village shop with a baguette.

The cyclists have almost reached the end of their 20 kilometre ride and will now do a 5 kilometre run on the trails around the village.

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Vous savez que vous êtes arrivés à Gorbio quand vous voyez une femme tenant une baguette à l'extérieur du magasin d'alimentation du village.

Les cyclistes ont presque terminé leurs 20 kilomètres d 'épreuve et ils vont  maintenant effectuer 5 kilomètres de course à pieds sur les sentiers autour du village.

Triathlon! - Onto the Bikes

 

First the 750 metre swim. Next, a barefoot run to the bike, strip off the wetsuit, put on the helmet, grab the bike and off to the next stage which is a 20 kilometre bike ride, up and down the valleys with some steep climbs, taking in parts of the Moyenne and Grande Corniche and climbing eventually to Gorbio village.

There was a variation in when contestants put on their shoes - and did they wear socks or not? Some put their shoes on before running with their bikes to the main road (volunteers holding back the traffic). Others ran barefoot and put their shoes on at the moment they mounted their bikes - the shoes being fixed already to the pedals.

Every second counts ...

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D'abord la natation de 750 mètres. Ensuite, il faut courir pieds nus vers  les vélos, enlever sa combinaison de plongée,  mettre son casque sur la tête, enfourcher son vélo et s'élancer dans l'étape suivante qui est un parcours cycliste de 20 km, avec des montées et des  descentes dont certaines difficiles dans les vallées, puis sur des portions de  Moyenne et Grande Corniches et enfin avec l'ascension  vers au village de Gorbio.
 

Les candidats ont enfilé leurs chaussures de différentes façons -portaient-ils ou non des chaussettes? Certains mettent leurs chaussures avant de s'élancer avec leurs vélos sur la route principale (où des bénévoles règlent la circulation). D'autres ont couru pieds nus et ont mis leurs chaussures au moment de monter sur leurs vélos - les chaussures étant déjà fixées sur les pédales.

Chaque seconde compte ...

Triathlon! - TWICE around the bay.

The contestants have swum across the Bay of Solenzara and back again - they emerge from the sea - run a few metres and jump back in again! They have to do this swim twice to complete the required 750 metres.

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Les participants ont traversé la baie de Solenzara à la nage en aller et retour - ils bondissent hors de l'eau - courent quelques mètres et repartent à nouveau! Ils doivent  nager ainsi deux fois pour accomplir les 750 mètres requi.

 

Triathlon! - They're Off ...

Yesterday saw the 4th edition of the Roquebrune Cap Martin - Gorbio Triathlon. First, more than 100 competitors register in Gorbio village, then they ride 7 kilometres down the valley to the sea where they leave their bikes, don their wetsuits and at 09h.00 are ready for the start of the race in the bay of Solenzara.

They're off!


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Hier a eu lieu la 4e édition du Triathlon Roquebrune Cap Martin -  Gorbio. Dans un premier temps, plus de 100 concurrents se sont inscrits à Gorbio, puis ils ont descendu les 7 km de la vallée vers la mer où ils ont laissé leurs vélos, enfilé leurs combinaisons pour être prêts à 9h.00  pour le départ de la course dans la baie du Solenzara.

Ils sont partis! 

The Arabian Horse Show

Each year Menton is home to an important Arabian horse show (Championnat de pur sang Arabes) with entries from all over the world including many from the great breeders of the Middle East. These are some of the young horses.  In the last photo, it's hard to know which is more beautiful - the horse or the facade of the Old Town. (last photo)

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Chaque année Menton accueille  un Championnat de pur sang Arabes avec des participants du monde entier, dont un grand nombre d'éleveurs réputés du Moyen-Orient. Voici quelques-uns des jeunes chevaux. Dans la dernière photo, il est difficile de dire  ce qui est plus beau - le cheval ou la façade de la vieille ville. ( dernière photo )

No Boules ...

Yesterday there was supposed to be a boules competition in the village with a first prize of 800 euros. A low concrete wall runs along the edge of the boules area and players had left their boules here whilst they went to the Bar/Restaurant Les Terrasses for lunch. All day it had drizzled. A few players were practicising (here's one gentleman, slightly out of focus but the light and rain didn't help!). Later, the heavens opened and the whole thing was cancelled.  No boules and so the 800 euros prize was distributed between the teams who had entered.



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Hier,  un concours de pétanque était prévu dans le village avec un premier prix de 800 euros. Un muret en béton délimitait le bord de la zone de jeu de boules et les joueurs avaient laissé leurs boules ici alors qu'ils étaient allés aux Bar/Restaurant Les Terrasses pour le déjeuner. Toute la journée il a plu. Quelques joueurs se sont entrainés  (en voici un, légèrement flou, mais la lumière et la pluie n'étaient pas très favorables!   Le concours avait commencé, des équipes avaient été éliminées et quand on a arrêté à cause de la pluie, l'argent a été partagé entre les équipes qui devaient continuer vers la finale. 
 

Friendship

Camaraderie, conversation and a shared bottle of water. (see smaller photo)

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De la camaraderie, une conversation et une bouteille d'eau partagée. (voir petite photo )

Training for the Tour?

Everyday you see cyclists on the Côte d'Azur. The French, as everyone knows, are mad about cycling, whether they are in training for the Tour de France or simply belong to a local cycling club. And the windy steep roads to the hill villages are perfect for training. I once saw Lance Armstrong on the Route de Gorbio.

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Sur la Côte d' Azur, on voit des cyclistes tous les jours. Les Français, comme chacun sait, sont des fous de vélo, qu'ils s'entrainement pour le Tour de France ou que tout simplement ils font partie d'un club cycliste local. Et les routes sinueuses et raides qui mènent aux villages perchés sont parfaites pour l'entrainement. Une fois, j'ai même vu Lance Armstrong sur la route de Gorbio.

Early Birds: Dreaming of the Tour de France

Everyone knows the French are crazy about cycling - witness the Tour de France that is currently consuming us all. So it's no surprise to see early morning cyclists dreaming their own private Tour de France as they ride along the Promenade du Soleil.

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Tout le monde sait que les Français sont des fous de vélo - par exemple, un très nombre d'entre nous regarde actuellement le Tour de France. Il n'est donc pas surprenant de voir des cyclistes, tôt le matin qui rêvent de leur propre Tour de France tandis qu'ils longent la Promenade du Soleil.

The Trainer Skates

For the Christmas and New Year period, an ice rink had been installed in the Jardin Biovès. Alongside was a small children's training area - the surface wasn't ice but had a slippery surface.

Young children wear these skates - not ice skates, not roller blades but special training skates. I'd never seen these before. Have you?

No More Boules!

Not the most exciting photograph in the world but I want to show you Menton's Boules Club which is now no more. You see the actual boules courts (if that is the word) in the small photo - in process of being churned up by a mechanical digger.

Why? Well, in 2005 the city of Menton accepted the prestigious Severin Wunderman Collection, consisting of 1525 works by Jean Cocteau. Mr. Wunderman chose Menton because of the special relationship with the town. Cocteau was made an honorary citizen after he decorated a room for weddings at the Hotel de Ville (1956-1958) and restored the Bastion where his work is currently on display.

Menton committed itself to building a museum dedicated to the artist and this is where it will be. Of course there was a big fuss by the Boules Club but they were told they'd be given land to create a new club.

The museum is going to be fabulous and the donation is incredibly generous and will surely be of great interest, but meanwhile, where do the old men play boules? Where do they meet their friends to put the world to rights? I'll find out and let you know...

The Arabian Horses - the Plastic Bag

When a horse is being presented to the judges, there is always a handler outside the ring with a plastic bag on the end of a flexible pole. This gets whipped about to get the horse's attention and perk him up. It makes quite a noise too. Some handlers bang on the bars of the tents.

The Arabian Horses - Layan Al Khalediah

This is the filly that slipped her halter - please read yesterday's post. It took a while for her handler and others to get a halter onto her and for me to regain composure and take a photograph!

As you can see in the last photo (the first I took after she galloped to where I stood) her handler very gently - and from the side - puts a temporary halter on her. After about five minutes, when she'd settled a bit, this was changed to the gold show halter you see in the smaller photograph.

It's no surprise this filly is treated so carefully. Her name is Layan Al Khalediah and she was World Champion Filly in 2007, she won the 2007/2008 Dubai Gold Cup and is the 2009 Las Vegas World Cup Supreme Champion Filly. She is bred at the Al Khalediah Stables in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is owned by HRH Prince Khaled Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

The Arabian Horses - the Escapee!

Thirty seconds after the photo (below) was taken, this beautiful filly, who belongs to a Saudi Prince, slipped her halter. Notice, in the smaller photograph, how the handlers in the ring approach her very slowly, so as not to scare her.

But it didn't work.

I was standing in the far corner of the ring, inside the barrier, no one near me. Suddenly, she kicked up, looked me in the eye (or so it seemed) and galloped towards me.

As she galloped, I quickly moved behind the barrier. She stopped a metre in front of me and started to eat leaves from a plant that had fallen in the wind.

For what happened next, come back tomorrow.

The Tour de France starts today in Monaco. Please click on Le Tour de France at Monte Carlo Daily Photo.

The Arabian Horses - the Holding Ring

This beauty waits in the holding ring.

The Arabian Horses - the Tattoo

The Arabian horses were in Menton recently for the prestigious Mediterranean & Arab Countries Arabian Horse Championship show.

I think this lady loves Arabians, don't you?

The horses have Vaseline put around their eyes and on their muzzles to apparently emphasize their features.

In the smaller photo - taken at dusk - you see where the show is held (the stade) in relation to the beautiful Old Town of Menton. The horse you see is in the holding ring.

La Ronde des Plages - the Running Shoes

We're almost at the end of our 10 kilometre run around the beaches. Today, a tribute to the running shoes and those tired feet inside them.

And the rose? All the lady runners were given a rose at the end of the run.