Project: Yellow Bicycles

July is a special month in Yorkshire this year – le Tour de France is passing though! Two of the three stages of the Grand Départ are being held here, with stage 2 passing through my village on its way from York to Sheffield. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for the famous cycle race, with Le Tour themed displays in nearly all the local shops, schools and pubs. In particular the iconic yellow bicycle is near ubiquitous.

My X-E1’s autofocus is not well suited to trying to grab snaps of the peloton as it zooms by, but recording how the community celebrates le Tour on the other hand most certainly is. So here’s a little taste of what it’s like to live somewhere that the famous race is about to peddle through. Photos are from Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd and Cragg Vale.

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The Yorkshire Soap Company has produced these wonderful bike themed soap bars which they’ve been proudly displaying in their window.

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Hebden Bridge is a creative hub so it’s not surprising to see more than a few handmade displays to compliment the plastic yellow bikes.

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Some shop owners have really gone to town creating Le Tour themed displays like this hair salon in Mytholmroyd.

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This display of ascending yellow bikes a café window caught my eye. There was very little colour in the scene apart from the bikes so I decided to try desaturating everything else.

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Some home owners along the route are really getting into the spirit too with bunting and yellow bikes galore. It really adds to the festive atmosphere.

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A slight variation on the yellow bike theme. Lots of local businesses are making the most the expected surge in visitors with sales and specials to attract customers.

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Hebden is an LGBT friendly town so it’s nice to see this bike with rainbow wheels above Nelson’s Wine Bar.

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It’s hard to escape Le Tour at the moment, even relaxing in Mooch (a lovely bar/café in Hebden Bridge) my eye is drawn to more yellow bikes across the street.

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Finally a shot of the Robin Hood Inn in Cragg Vale. Cragg Vale has been attempting to set a world record for the longest stretch of bunting. I’m sure a few of the cyclists racing on Sunday will wish they could stop for a nice cold pint here as they struggle up England’s longest continuous incline.

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