and our hotel.    When we got back an hour later, Mike was aglow.    We were all keyed up after the peak experience, but Mike kept repeating, ?I can?t believe it.   He was right there, just smiling at me.?   He then settled in to tell his Lance story.    He chased down the Postal Team and suddenly found himself stopped right beside a Postal Team car, and in the open window, Lance sat four feet from him with a huge smile eating an apple.    Mike is not sure but he said something like, ?Awesome stage, a great race, Lance.?   Lance kept smiling and eating the apple and replied, ?Do you like apples??   Mike said, ?Ya, I do.?   And Lance smilingly said, ?How do you like them apples??   Then the road opened and the car sped off carrying away the smiling god and true leader of the 2003 Tour de France.

Mike must have told the story ten times that evening but we never got a bit bored.   In fact, like true acolytes, we were asking for just a bit more and expected that one more telling of the old, old story could lift us once again.   The bike titan had gotten up off the pavement, soared into the clouds and then summed it all up by turning the whole Tour de France into apple filled smiles.

Paul Rogen is working as guide for Thomson Bike Tours. Recently formed by Peter Thomson, an experienced cyclist who raced for Bernard Hinault?s prestigious Club Olympique Briochin, Thomson Bike Tours specializes in quality bike tours aimed at people who share their passion for cycling. Visit Thomson Bike Tours online at www.thomsonbiketours.com to check out their offerings.

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