TDF'03 travel advice

I want to travel along with the event this year, my first time. I need some advice on how it works. I plan on renting a motorbike and staying in local hotels along the route.

I have a number of questions, can anyone offer any advice - or point me in the right direction to find some info? Has anyone here traveled the tour before that I can talk to?

I have questions such as,

1) Can I drive the same route as the riders before or after the pack, or is the road closed to motor vehicles?

2) Can I watch the riders take off in the morning and get a head of them to see them come in later that day in the next city?

that type of stuff, plus more...

any help would be great. Thanks.

 

You can drive the same route before and after the peloton - a long time before and a long time after. Signs go up about road closures several weeks in advance, telling you the hours of closure. So its not a great idea but, as the race tends to use smaller roads, you can usually get ahead of the peloton - depends a lot on the length of the stage and definitely notr recommended for mountain stages - you'll never make it. In fact the only time I've ever managed it (and will be trying it again this year) is on the time trials because they're short and it takes about 6 hours for all the riders to complete their race.
You should try and trace the route on a Michelin map - that gives you a good idea of where you can take shortcuts. Go to www.letour.fr and then look up the times for each stage (les horaires) - you'll find detailed info about the route.
Stage starts and finishes are always good - you get a good chance to see the riders relaxed, get autographs etc. The best places are what are called 'Villes d'etapes' i.e. towns that have a finish and then a start as the riders tend to be staying in the local campanile, formule 1 etc (really - they tend not to live very glamorously - i once got the entire Festina teams autographs and Cipos because I happened to see them cycling down the road to their Campanile...)
I don't know if that's any help...

 

I am going to be in Paris for the last stage of the TdF. Has anybody got any advice on the best place to go on the Champs Elyse? How early you need to get there for a good view?

Generally any advice, comments would be VERY welcome