Millau Viaduct

Bucky said:

Any plans to incorporate the Millau Viaduct into the Tour de France?

You *just* missed the unique(?) opportunity to cross the viaduct by
bike. It happened Dec 5th: http://www.labaladedes3viaducs.fr/

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Bucky said:

Any plans to incorporate the Millau Viaduct into the Tour de France?
That would be really cool.

Nothing like turning the turns, climbs and descents of the Tarn region
into a straight flat.

"Clovis Lark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bucky said:

Any plans to incorporate the Millau Viaduct into the Tour de France?
That would be really cool.

Nothing like turning the turns, climbs and descents of the Tarn region
into a straight flat.

No kidding. Cool bridge for sure and a beautiful piece of engineering, but
US $530 million to go over THAT? And the tolls; $6.50-8.50 per car, with
$32+ per truck just to cross it. At the projected peak traffic rate that's
one vehicle per lane per 14 seconds, 24/7. More like one every 5 seconds or
less in realistic peak traffic hours. Got change, mister? On the plus
side, cycling on the old road should be more fun now!

I should talk; the local politicos in my neighborhood are all hot and
bothered about building a Maglev line. That'll make $530 million look like
coffee money...

Ewoud Dronkert said:

You *just* missed the unique(?) opportunity to cross the viaduct by
bike. It happened Dec 5th: http://www.labaladedes3viaducs.fr/

Anyone have to be taken off of the bridge?

We have a recurring problem with people that freeze up in cars on our
Bay Bridge next to Annapolis, and I've had to drive cyclists on
centuries across a smaller, but nastier bridge called Solomon Island
Bridge (you look down at the railing from a bike and can see the sea
birds flying around beneath you).

The viaduct seems like a great place for a motor official to discover
he has a problem with heights.

Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...

Steve Blankenship said:

"Clovis Lark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bucky said:

Any plans to incorporate the Millau Viaduct into the Tour de France?
That would be really cool.

Nothing like turning the turns, climbs and descents of the Tarn region
into a straight flat.

Quoted message said:

No kidding. Cool bridge for sure and a beautiful piece of engineering, but
US $530 million to go over THAT? And the tolls; $6.50-8.50 per car, with
$32+ per truck just to cross it. At the projected peak traffic rate that's
one vehicle per lane per 14 seconds, 24/7. More like one every 5 seconds or
less in realistic peak traffic hours. Got change, mister? On the plus
side, cycling on the old road should be more fun now!

Quoted message said:

I should talk; the local politicos in my neighborhood are all hot and
bothered about building a Maglev line. That'll make $530 million look like
coffee money...

What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so conspicuous
in such a beautiful area?

Clovis Lark said:

Steve Blankenship said:

And the tolls; $6.50-8.50 per car, with $32+ per truck just to cross

it.

Quoted message said:

What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so
conspicuous in such a beautiful area?

1. You been to Millau recently?
2. I'd pay $8.50 to save the 90 minutes it currently takes to cross Millau
and get back onto the A75.

"Robert Chung" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Clovis Lark said:

Steve Blankenship said:

And the tolls; $6.50-8.50 per car, with $32+ per truck just to cross

it.

Quoted message said:

What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so
conspicuous in such a beautiful area?

1. You been to Millau recently?
2. I'd pay $8.50 to save the 90 minutes it currently takes to cross Millau
and get back onto the A75.

Understand the need for a more efficient crossing, but the chosen solution
just looks a bit over-the-top. Damn cool piece of work, though.

Clovis Lark said:

Bucky said:

Any plans to incorporate the Millau Viaduct into the Tour de France?
That would be really cool.

Nothing like turning the turns, climbs and descents of the Tarn region
into a straight flat.

doesn't have to suck. They could take the bridge from one side to the
other and do some of the twisty, hilly sections on the way back to some
finishing town. They could have a flattish stage with a hard, twisty,
hilly 10k just before a sprint across the bridge. Being up that high,
the wind, the stage could play out pretty cool.

gym gravity said:

a sprint across the bridge. Being up that high,
the wind, the stage could play out pretty cool.

Perhaps not surprisingly, they did install wind screens.

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Robert Chung said:

Clovis Lark said:

Steve Blankenship said:

And the tolls; $6.50-8.50 per car, with $32+ per truck just to cross

it.

Quoted message said:

What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so
conspicuous in such a beautiful area?

Quoted message said:

1. You been to Millau recently?

20 years ago. I was in the Tarn region.

Quoted message said:

2. I'd pay $8.50 to save the 90 minutes it currently takes to cross Millau
and get back onto the A75.

Stay in your car then. For those of us who like the countryside...

Clovis Lark said:

Robert Chung said:

Clovis Lark said:

What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so
conspicuous in such a beautiful area?

Quoted message said:

1. You been to Millau recently?

20 years ago. I was in the Tarn region.

Well that explains it. Millau is in the Aveyron, not the Tarn.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

2. I'd pay $8.50 to save the 90 minutes it currently takes to cross
Millau and get back onto the A75.

Stay in your car then. For those of us who like the countryside...

I like the countryside, too, but that doesn't describe the current route
through Millau.

--
Still a proud member of the reality-based community.

Robert Chung said:

Clovis Lark said:

Robert Chung said:

Clovis Lark wrote:
>
> What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so
> conspicuous in such a beautiful area?

Quoted message said:

1. You been to Millau recently?

20 years ago. I was in the Tarn region.

Quoted message said:

Well that explains it. Millau is in the Aveyron, not the Tarn.

I was in the Tarn region and from there went to Millau, where I camped.
The drive bothered me not. So that doesn't "explain it"

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

2. I'd pay $8.50 to save the 90 minutes it currently takes to cross
Millau and get back onto the A75.

Stay in your car then. For those of us who like the countryside...

Quoted message said:

I like the countryside, too, but that doesn't describe the current route
through Millau.

Whatever...

Quoted message said:

--
Still a proud member of the reality-based community.

Sometimes ones reality is individual...

Clovis Lark said:

Robert Chung said:

Clovis Lark said:

Robert Chung <[email hidden]> wrote:
> Clovis Lark wrote:
>>
>> What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so
>> conspicuous in such a beautiful area?

> 1. You been to Millau recently?

20 years ago. I was in the Tarn region.

Quoted message said:

Well that explains it. Millau is in the Aveyron, not the Tarn.

I was in the Tarn region and from there went to Millau, where I camped.
The drive bothered me not. So that doesn't "explain it"

You drove? Those of us who like the countryside ride.

My wife has relatives in Tarn so we end up spending time there each
summer. I don't know what Millau was like twenty years ago, but I'm a bit
familiar with it and the general area as it is now. The A75 wasn't there
20 years ago, and this bridge is the last link. In the interim, the
traffic from the A75 has had to funnel through a two-lane pinchpoint just
north of the city limits, and then semi-trailer trucks and big RVs get
dumped into Millau city streets where they combine with normal city
traffic. Basically, we budget 90 minutes to travel 10 km from one side of
Millau to the other. Interestingly, the 2005 TdF traverses that area with
one of the stages going from Albi (Tarn) to Mende (Lozere), both of which
are cute towns. I don't know the specifics of the route, and it wouldn't
surprise me if they went via Millau. Nonetheless, if so, it won't be
because Millau itself or that stretch of the Tarn are such attractions.
Apparently, the Aveyronnais think this, too: several residents of the area
touted as one of its chief characteristics its proximity to places you'd
actually like to be. You wonder why someone would want to build something
so conspicuous. I've been watching the bridge under construction for three
years now, and from the ridgetop behind my wife's cousin's place I can see
the tops of each of the towers, rising above the causses like the masts of
Tall Ships entering a harbor. It's far preferable to the plain vanilla
viaducts just a few miles to the north on the A75. Incidentally, many
people wondered why anyone would wish to build something so conspicuous as
the Eiffel Tower in a place as beautiful as Paris (I am reminded of this
because I'm about to lose my view of it).

Robert Chung said:

Clovis Lark said:

Robert Chung said:

Clovis Lark wrote:
> Robert Chung <[email hidden]> wrote:
>> Clovis Lark wrote:
>>>
>>> What puzzles me is why anyone would wish to build something so
>>> conspicuous in such a beautiful area?
>
>> 1. You been to Millau recently?
>
> 20 years ago. I was in the Tarn region.

Quoted message said:

Well that explains it. Millau is in the Aveyron, not the Tarn.

I was in the Tarn region and from there went to Millau, where I camped.
The drive bothered me not. So that doesn't "explain it"

Quoted message said:

You drove? Those of us who like the countryside ride.

Those who have the time, which I remember vividly wishing I did (as well
as a bike which I lacked). Nothing worse than that, except lacking the
funds to dine properly, which was also my case...

Quoted message said:

My wife has relatives in Tarn so we end up spending time there each
summer. I don't know what Millau was like twenty years ago, but I'm a bit
familiar with it and the general area as it is now. The A75 wasn't there
20 years ago, and this bridge is the last link.

Correct, it was 2 lane highway in and out, thus no traffic bottlenecks.
At that time, Millau was simply not a "hot spot" for transitional traffic.
And that was certainly a blessing.

In the interim, the

Quoted message said:

traffic from the A75 has had to funnel through a two-lane pinchpoint just
north of the city limits, and then semi-trailer trucks and big RVs get
dumped into Millau city streets where they combine with normal city
traffic.

The horrors of the autopiste inflicted!

Basically, we budget 90 minutes to travel 10 km from one side of

Quoted message said:

Millau to the other. Interestingly, the 2005 TdF traverses that area with
one of the stages going from Albi (Tarn) to Mende (Lozere), both of which
are cute towns. I don't know the specifics of the route, and it wouldn't
surprise me if they went via Millau. Nonetheless, if so, it won't be
because Millau itself or that stretch of the Tarn are such attractions.
Apparently, the Aveyronnais think this, too: several residents of the area
touted as one of its chief characteristics its proximity to places you'd
actually like to be. You wonder why someone would want to build something
so conspicuous. I've been watching the bridge under construction for three
years now, and from the ridgetop behind my wife's cousin's place I can see
the tops of each of the towers, rising above the causses like the masts of
Tall Ships entering a harbor. It's far preferable to the plain vanilla
viaducts just a few miles to the north on the A75. Incidentally, many
people wondered why anyone would wish to build something so conspicuous as
the Eiffel Tower in a place as beautiful as Paris (I am reminded of this
because I'm about to lose my view of it).

Thanks for the response. Millau, 20 years ago, was a nondescript but
pleasant town. I arrived there after passing through Albi and Mende, more
picturesque, and en route to Autun, more historic. No matter the
archectural beauty of the bridge, and I'm not denigrating the structure
per se (photos have made it seem qquite dreamlike), I find its massiveness
somehow not concordant with the area. Perhaps there's a wee bit of the
Jose Bove in me, but I feel it's a wee bit out of place in the area, as I
remember it.

Seeing beautiful architecture in a proper setting is wonderful. As I
write this in SLC, the thought of viewing manmade structures dominating a
ridge is not appealing. I prefer my mountains uncompromised, though where
you find that these days is ever a more difficult question. Big
Cottonwood Canyon, out here in the Wasatch, has just had another trail
closed because a private landowner will not allow access to public lands
over their corporate holdings. The threat of construction at the site is
now ominously mentioned.