I don't know if someone else has mentioned it on CR yet, but Cyclingnews has a pretty good article about the history of the Tour's Publicity Caravan. Some great photos from years gone by, most in CR time period.
If you've never seen the Caravan, it's a surreal parade of crass commercialism, but charming in its own way. My favorites from the '85 Tour were the squadron of six or so guys in rotund Michelin Man costumes standing atop their Honda 750cc motorcycles. They had some sort of throttle lock that allowed them go about 10 mph, standing on the saddle and no hands on the handlebars (!), rather like skateboarding or surfing. They did this going up steep Alpine passes, performing crazy stunts for the crowds awaiting the racers! It was a spectacular show and the crowd enthusiastically cheered them on. (I suppose if they fell, those big goofy Bib suits would have protected them?) Didn't see them in 3 subsequent visits to the Tour through 1993. I wonder, has anyone else seen them since?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/
Bill Bryant
Santa Cruz, CA