Tour de France 8: Pau to Bagnères-de-Luchon - Motivation

A proper day in the mountains, beginning in Pau.

Vello: Today will be hard on the legs.

David: Yesterday was bad enough.

Marx: We ought to increase our nutrition.

Vello: Listen to you!

Marx: I've been observing the others. They eat frequently. Look at Nibali there, nibbling on something.

David: What's he got?

Vello: A dried fig or a testicle. Just imagine what Belle would have packed.

Marx: A pot of garbure? Figs with honey?

David: Why tantalise us with mere figments?

Marx: Because before today's start I went shopping in Pau. Et voilà! Three pots of garbure! Also some figs and honey.

Vello: No wine?

Marx: I expect there's wine in the garbure. There's meat and cabbage in any case.

David: We know what garbure is!

Vello: You fool Marx! How will we eat it?

Marx: With our fingers.

Vello: You expect us to ride and eat stew with our fingers!

Marx: Please yourself. I'm having mine.

He reaches behind him. Wobbles, and tips. Garbure is spilled on the road. But the peloton has passed them already.

All except Arthur and Pablo. Here they come now.

Arthur: Watch out! On the road! Looks like brown vomit!

Pablo (avoiding the vomit): Smells good, though.

Arthur: How many climbs are there meant to be today?

Pablo: Three or four. I don't remember. Do you and I lack motivation?

Arthur: We do. But Sweezus will be here tomorrow. He'll motivate us.

Pablo: He might be angry.

Arthur: Why would he be?

Pablo: Because we lost Terence.

Arthur: Oh, that.

!

Yes, that reminds me, we left Terence and his parrot yesterday being menaced by a French speaking clown, at the side of the road, (near Lac de Payolle).

The parrot had just said: Le chapeau de poèsie. En moi.

The clown had taken his hat off.

...

Terence looks wary. Without the hat, the clown looks like Saint Joseph.

This could be bad.

But hurrah for the quick-thinking parrot.

Non, non! cries the parrot. Je l'ai déjà mangé!

But which the clown understands that the parrot has already eaten the poetry hat at an earlier juncture.

He replaces his clown hat.

The situation is once again calm.

But that was yesterday.

And now?

As Chris Froome makes a surprise attack at the top of the Col de Peyresourde, thereby making a gap for himself on the downhill, he fails to notice a clown at the side of the road, a stony faced infant, and no parrot.

To be fair, no one would notice no parrot.