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Thisnexciting and popular bicycle race is held in France every year, andntoday is Day 1 of the 2012 race.
Thisnexciting and popular bicycle race is held in France every year, andntoday is Day 1 of the 2012 race.n
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nRidersnand teams from around the world will race for three weeks and willnpedal 3,497 kilometers (more than 2,000 miles), including nine flatn“stages” (day-long segments) and nine mountain stages. There willnbe only two days of rest, while being transported from the end of onenstage to the beginning of another.
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nHmm…pedalingnyour bicycle as fast as you can in the Alps or Pyrenees Mountains,nand finishing a day’s race at the summit of a mountain, sounds toughnenough—to do it for three weeks sounds impossible! Yet people donit, and they love it, and they come back year after year.
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This official website shows a map of the year’s racecourse. The race willnfinish on July 22 in Paris, with riders traveling one of the mostnfamous avenues in the world, the Champs-Elysees, to the Arc denTriomphe (Arch of Triumph).
This official website shows a map of the year’s racecourse. The race willnfinish on July 22 in Paris, with riders traveling one of the mostnfamous avenues in the world, the Champs-Elysees, to the Arc denTriomphe (Arch of Triumph).n
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nCelebrate!
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Ridenyour bicycle today. (Wear a helmet, of course!) n
Ridenyour bicycle today. (Wear a helmet, of course!) nn
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nWatchnsome of the race, if you can. NBC Sports has some race coverage innthe U.S. and provides videos on its website.
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nLearnnmore about France. Kid Activities has a lot of ideas—including anSlowest-Bicycle-Wins “race” to honor the Tour de France.
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversary of the discovery of the Excelsior Diamond
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nAnniversary of the 1859 crossing of Niagara Falls on a tightrope n
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nDidnyou hear that Nik Wallenda crossed Niagara Falls two weeks agon(Friday, June 15) for the first time in history? Well, Wallenda’sncrossing was at the widest, wildest, wettest spot. This 1859 crossingn(by a guy named Gravelet) was a lot tamer because it was higher up onnthe river. (But Gravelet later crossed the Falls on a tightrope whilenblindfolded, then while pushing a wheelbarrow, then on stilts, andnthen while carrying another man!!!)
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