I had never heard of this before. (It has only been going on for 65
years!) Looks like a week of bicycle touring that is based in a
different town every year. I seems to be huge; close to 12,000 riders
in 2003 and I think I saw something about 18,000 in 2004.

Looks like they ride a different route everyday, but stay in the same
town all week. Looks like some days there is a choice of routes, but
from what I can make out of the 2004 routes, the first day is 100
miles, no other choices. And these being French cyclists, there will
be mountains involved.

I got onto it in a French magazine (Cyclo Passion). There was an
article about the 2003 ride. 12,000 peolpe and there were _no_ N
Americans on this ride, least wise none that signed up with a N Am
address.

http://sf2004.free.fr/

or translated if this long link works:

http://translate.google.com/translat... 26ie%3DUTF-8