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@bq
I wrote to Jimmy Saville asking to ride in the Tour de France. My father convinced me that he would probably say yes because he had been a cyclist and had ridden in the Tour of Britain. I had of course no concept of how hard the TdF might be, but even then I assumed, and would have been happy with, some kind of camera trickery as their means of achieving my wish.
Alas, (or thankfully) he did not in fact say yes. I didn't even get a reply.
In 2007, however, I fulfilled my long-held wish. As stage 1 of the tour rode through London on its way to Kent. I thought I'd better take the only chance I'll get and hopped on my bike and rode after the back of the peloton. A couple of other people had the same idea. Amazingly we were waved through by the gendarmes and following their lead, the British police. Across Tower Bridge, with Ken waving, people cheering. The brass band playing and the top brass saluting us. It was fucking brilliant.
We got told (in quite a nice way) to get off the course once south of the river, but that was cool. I'd just achieved an ambition I had cherished for over 25 years.
So fuck you Jim. Didn't need you and your poxy magic chair anyway.