Stage 4 Summary

Stage 4 - Alpe d'Huez to Briancon.

First, sorry for the short post tonite, but we have horrible internet. The hotel's doesn't work at all, and I'm using someone in the neighborhood from Mark and Jon's room with the window open. This will be the only picture I post due to the bad connection - the view on the ride up the Col du Lautaret - not too bad for a Tuesday morning!

We got a decent start around 9am, with clear skies and bright sunshine. We started descending thru the town and thru the old road down. Very narrow alleyways and rough roads. We had some great views, and a fun run to the bottom. Cold, but nothing like the day before.

We had a nice cruise thru the valley back to the lake where we had lunch yesterday. I was feeling pretty good and led most of the climb to the lake, then backed off and enjoyed the pull from stronger bikers. We kept it pretty mellow since this was a 'rest day', until around 35 miles when a few of the big boys took off. We rode about 50 miles and climbed ONLY 5000' so it was a pretty easy day, compared to the last couple.

We had a wonderful lunch at the top of the Col du Lautaret in the restaurant there. Pasta and bread, with ice cream for dessert. Felt nice to actually relax for a mid-day lunch instead of standing outside pounding a quick meal before blasting off again. We met a wonderful woman who we saw yesterday at the top of the Col du Galibier when she rode in. I will not guess how old she is, but trust me when I say we were all VERY impressed that she rode it. You never know..

We've had incredible luck on the weather - just a stellar day. After lunch we cruised down the other side to Briancon, a much bigger town than the last couple nights, and suprisingly horrible internet! Traffic was heavy with some suprising maneuvers by the locals, but we all made it down safely.

We're a decent hotel, but much more sparse than last night - just a room. We walked town a little bit, and had a beer in an outside cafe, but headed back when we got cold. Dinner was in the attached restaurant and was pretty good. Kevin and I tried the Coutchaet Royale, or something similar, which basically translates to Plate of Pork. With sauerkraut. We will probably regret this later tonite or tomorrow, but it was tasty. I couldn't and wouldn't finish it all - self-preservation.

We're all feeling the effects of 4 days now in various ways. Tomorrow is another decent day with 60+ miles and 4000 feet of climb if I remember right. Weather should be sunny as far as we know.

Lucky that this was a day with not too much new to comment on. It's getting hard to find new ways to describe breathtaking views and sore muscles. Everyone is having a really good time, the biking is great, the weather is better than we could have hoped for. Our conversations center around biking, biking stuff, biking equipement, etc. so the wives should be happy we're getting it out of our systems. Mostly....

Thanks for the continuing comments, we appreciate them. Jen, no night-time issues, but 'pookie' and 'dear' are being thrown around, so I'm not sure.......

This is the end if you get here. Not sure how long this internet connection will last. Hopefully better luck tomorrow.

Tuesday morning

Day 4 - Alpe d'Huez to Briancon - probably around 50ish miles, and only one climb.

We have a spectacular day today. We woke up to crystal clear skies, cold, but no wind. We pushed breakfast to 8:00 and won't leave until about 9:30. We're all feeling the cumulative effect of hard riding, altitude, and all the little factors.

A few things I forgot last night - Dana was first to the top of Alpe d'Huez, with a time of about 1 hr - VERY impressive! Mark was second to the top, a few minutes behind Dana. After that it becomes jumbled, except for the end. Kevin and I rolled in last but we made it, with Bill providing great motivational support. He's an inspiration since he's a bit older than most of us, and can still cycle us into the ground.

We were commenting last night about how well the group is functioning together. The riding and coordinating is just going smooth. We took 10 guys who have only two things in common - biking and Bob and threw them together in a foreign country with high demands on our bodies. I'd go with this group just about anywhere.

Michele gave us some options last night, and we're probably going to modify our route a little bit. Les Deux Alps was a climb we were going to do this morning, but it's 9k up and 9k back down the same route, and we're told it's a very unimpressive climb and view. We will probably take an easy cruise to Briancon over the Col de Lauterat and have an easy afternoon. Our bodies deserve it.

Click here for a quick video of our descent of the Galibier yesterday. That's me in the yellow and black right in front of Mark.

The hurt of yesterday is already fading. The body feels a little better this morning, although I didn't sleep very well. And Shawn kept his distance during the night! Breakfast this morning was good - a nice spread, but no cooked food. I've been getting grief for my 'cat food' that I brought along - a little Underwood Deviled-Chicken spread. It just fills my stomach better than the European breakfast.

I feel like I need to eat more. We talked about how our bodies are eating themselves up with all this effort - I can feel it when I'm taking a shower - there is less of me. Not necessarily a bad thing, but interesting to experience.

We're off! Mostly packed, time to put away the laptop and put on the bike gear. Hope everyone has a great day, we'll be back later tonite!

Stage 3 Summary - Part 2 (Read part 1 first!)

Monday, part 2! Make sure you read part 1 if you ended up here first. Click here to jump to it, or you can pick it from the list on the right under Archives.

The tale of two rides continues as we leave the store/cafe at the top of the Col du Galibier. Looking to the southeast? is a completely different picture to the freezing clouds on the other side. It's still bloody cold, but at least the sun is out.

Yes, that windy little ribbon below is the road we'll descend. We're getting pretty good at it, but still careful. One mistake can ruin the trip pretty quick.

The wind is still vicious, so we've bundled up. I'm wearing rain pants, and two jerseys under the rain jacket. It won't be enough....

These descents are several thousand feet, miles long, and steep enough that we don't have to pedal once if we don't want to!

My picture at the sign - which proves I was still standing at that altitude.

Note the pretty booties.....

As I tell my wife, I may be a dork, but I'm YOUR dork!

I pulled off the road on the descent to get this picture. You can just see the edge of a car on the right that raced by - I was keeping him at bay most of the way down.

Stunningly clear views on this side with massive mountains and rock faces in every direction, but suprisingly little snow - maybe due to global warming. Al?

Right near the bottom. We could look back up and see the weather pushing over the top from where we came - glad we're on this side now!

Bob and Dave still bundled up - not much else to say..

The whole group at the top of the Col de Lautaret, which is at the bottom of the Col du Galibier! We're still at about 6000' so it's very cold, and we've descended over 2500'. No bare legs in this photo, except for maybe Bill's ankles....

We left here and kept descending, another 15k or so. Lot's of wind so bike handling was important. The headwinds kept the speeds down, and the gusts kept you on your toes. We had a great ride down thru several villages, and along a river, and thru multiple tunnels. Some were 100' long, while one was about a 1/4 mile or more. They're mostly dark, so they are a test of trust, that there is nothing on the road. When the cars and trucks enter behind you, the noise wave makes it sound like they are right on your back tire. We finished the cruise along a very pretty blue lake, that looked really cold. We crossed over the river, and there was Michele with the van and some much needed food. And in a sunny spot which was very welcome!

Mark and Dave at the lunch spot. Note - I wore the Tour de Bob custom jersey for this unique day - I think it helped...

One interesting thing about this stop - the bathroom. I know, another bathroom thing, but this was kinda cool. It was an automatic stainless steel restroom. You push a button to open the door. You do your business, and the hand wash, and hand dryer are automatic. You then push a button to get out. Once you're out, the door closes and it does some noisy cleaning things behind the door before the light goes green for the next person. Very high tech and pretty clean. And way the heck out in the middle of nowhere!

Cruising along with mark and Shawn after lunch, heading for L'Alpe d'Huez. Pretty windy, but a beautiful little canyon. The winds were gusty, with more tunnels, so it was not a stress-free ride, and was glad it was over. Except for what came next......

The L'Alpe D'Huez is one of the true classics for cycling. It's been in many Tour de France's and is usually a key or pivotal stage. It's very steep, especially the first 3 kilometres, has 21 tight switchbacks, averages about 8%, and goes on for about 8 miles finished about 6100'.

This is probably the Everest of bike climbs. 6 months ago I wouldn't have dreamed I would ride up it. Tonite I'll have nightmares about riding up it! It actually was doable, but slow, at least for me.

Bob in front of a tribute to Lance Armstrong in town at the bottom of the climb. I think Bob is going to try and beat Lance's best time....

The best time ever up was under 40 minutes. That's inconceivable!

A typical section of the route up L'Alpe d'Huez. The steep walls on the right do nothing to keep the cars or bikes from falling off the steep dropoffs to the left (note the very low rock wall that will really just scratch your rims, but not slow you down)

A nice place on the route. Stopped to take a picture. Didn't hurt to take a breather either.

I'm still smiling. That's the town below us, and we're not even halfway up. These people build way up the mountains!

My view of most of the climb. I can still see them, which is a plus. Once they are gone, it's just me and my ipod..

A nice old church on the route. You can see the town of Alpe d'Huez in the background at the top of the hill. A long way off yet...

I stopped to take this picture because of the beautiful woodwork and design. Didn't hurt the legs to stand for a minute either....

Alpe d'Huez is a ski area, with many large buildings perched up here. This view just teases you since I still had 6 more switchbacks to go.

I'm suffering now. The cumulation of days of hard riding, different food, energy goo and other foreign supplemental substances have given me serious stomach cramps. These horses were no help - no sympathy whatsoever. The one standing won't even look me in the eye. Thanks for nothing...

The sign for town. Something I never dreamed I would actually see.

I thought this would be a good picture. The sign above me signals the last hairpin of the 21. There was a sign at each one, with the names of a winner of the stage of the Tour de France from some year.

The sun didn't help with the reflection. The pained look on my face is from the stomach cramps. Or the knee aches. Or the quad pain. Who knows, but it's not a pretty picture. Hard to tell I'm actually having fun, huh?

The finish line. The center of town at the summit. The race actually finishes father up the hill, but this is where Michele parked, and I'm definitely not dumb enough to ride past him.

The view from our room at L'Alpe d'Huez. We're in a really nice hotel, the Hotel Pic Blanc. Had a nice drink in the bar lounge before dinner, while working on the blog.

Dinner was great - duck, with a potato pancake, and green beans, and a great berry mousse dessert. Oh, and a huge bowl of pasta. Which was good cause that little chunk of duck was NOT gonna do it. I could have eaten an entire canadian goose. Our waitress is from Northern Scotland, and since we're the ONLY people in the entire dining area, she catered to us pretty well. She was amazed that we ate every thing put on our table. She doesn't quite know what we went thru today...

I'm beat tonite. It's a bone-weary kind of tiredness that makes moving difficult. Luckily I finished a lot of the blog before dinner, cause I'm about done.

This was one of those days that I will remember on my deathbed, especially since I was so close to it today! The viscousness of the Galibier to the sunshine on the Alpe d'Huez. About 50 miles total, and almost 10,000 feet climbed. Hard to fathom now that it's done - probably won't beat that ever. Tomorrow is another ride, with another climb, but for today, we're just satisfied that we've had one of the most unique days of bike riding we could ever imagine. I'll stop talking now and go to bed.....

Make sure you look at the pictures the other guys took. I can only do so many in the blog and still get it done - they've got many more impressive pictures each day.

Click here to see Dana's pictures

Click here to see Bob's pictures

Stage 3 Summary - Part 1

EPIC! That is the only way to describe today. It's really the tale of two rides the way it went. I am going to split today into two parts, so make sure you look at both posts.

First, thanks for the comments and feedback! I appreciate it, and it keeps me typing!

A special note to Jen, as I'm rooming with Shawn again. Tonite, our beds are less than 2 inches apart, and he had a couple beers. I'm a little worried he'll try to roll over and put his arm around you in the middle of the night....

Monday morning, we woke to cloudy and slightly rainy weather. Cold. Find me extra clothes cold. A couple guys ran to the sports store to buy better gloves, and I was able to use my brand-new shoe covers for the first time.

It's a logistical nightmare to get 10 guys all together with all our gear at the same time, but this group does pretty well. We have to mix our drinks, pick out our energy gels, choose the right clothes for the ride/weather, get all the electronics set up and running, and get our luggage to the truck.

Getting going in the morning is a challenge. I've got several pieces of luggage - the bike-stuff bag, the non-bike-stuff suitcase, and the knapsack of assorted necessities, like the laptop, money, and charging cables. Everything has to be re-packed since we move hotels every day. I also have to pull the stuff I want during the ride - clothes, food, drink, accessories, and put that in the 'van' bag. One thing that many non-bikers don't know, and many not WANT to know, is how we spend this many hours on a bike seat and still be able to walk. It's a little magic potion called chamois butter, or butt-butter. Nuff said. I also have to put on the GPS watch, the Road-ID, which is a manly red (yeah, I know) bracelet with my vital info on it in case someone finds me on the road. It's red so they notice it easier.

Kevin coming up the road - note the clouds in the background. It was very cool, and we were all wearing leggings, long-fingered gloves, helmet covers, and rain coats.

The ride started up right out of the center of town, so we didn't get a warm-up section today. We'll see how it goes...

The group fractured pretty quick - the prior days of climbs are starting to wear. It's one thing to do a day of hard climbing, it's a whole 'nother thing to do three days in a row of mountains.

We rode up this valley into the Col du Galibier. It quickly turned to a bit of a moonscape with barren rocky slopes.

The Col du Galibier is one of the hardest climbs in cycling. It is rated as an HC, which means it's harder than any rated climb, and they don't have a number for it. It climbs over 17k, or 10.5 miles of steep up!

The farther up we went, the worse it got. Wind, rain, and then sleet and snow. And let's not forget the climb - steep!!!

I have a new appreciation for the patients I see as an EMT who have shortness of breath. I've never felt that deep-in-the-chest tightness that just won't quite go away because you can't get enough oxygen.

Did I mention that the climb is steep? Michele did a great job of driving up and down the hill to find all the riders and make sure we were OK and had what we needed.

These markers are on most of the big climbs. The 9% is the grade - how steep the hill is. 2-4% is easy, 5-6 % is kind of fun, 9% will turn your quads to jello. Or at least mine.

The 5km is the distance to the top, so they tease you into thinking you're almost there. Note the altitude of 2230m which is almost 7000'.

On these big climbs, you have to go your own pace. There's Dana's pace which is better than a Ferrari, and then there's my pace which is like a Yugo. Doesn't matter, we all get up there eventually. When I'm climbing alone, I like to listen to music to keep me motivated. The funny part was in this section where the air was thin, Berlin's 'Take my breath away' came on the ipod and I just had to laugh. Or maybe it was gasping.....

That is one windy road! I didn't even count how many hair pins there were. The best description of this ride was misery - this picture doesn't do justice to the biting wind, stinging sleet, and steep hills.

While it was one of the most miserable rides of my life, it was also one of the best. To be able to do this is just an incredibly lucky turn of fate - the right friend, the finances, the healthy body, and most important - the understanding wife!!! Thanks Nancy!

The Col du Galiber - 2645 metres, or about 8677 feet above sea level. It's said to be the fifth highest pass in Europe. And we rode over this sucker.

The last few miles of this climb are intimidating and daunting. You can see the road above you and it just brings cuss words to mind. Then the gust of wind hits you and you wonder what in the hell you are doing here. The temperature was below freezing, so with the wind-chill factor it was brrr-damn cold. I was chilled to the bone even with good riding gear.

The final section is only a kilometre or so, but it's into a severe wind, and you're already cold. It's steep and narrow, and was actually one of the scarier descents. Glad to get to the stopping point.

On the other side of the summit, is a nice little store. I got in after the majority of the group, and found them having Cafe au Lait's. The short stop turned into a long lunch-ish stop with tomato soup and bread. We also did some shopping. The proprietor was VERY happy to have us there, as 10 freezing riders are willing to do anything to warm up.

The affects of altitude are well known. Judgement and decision making are affected, and not for the best. The next few pictures are not pretty, and don't show the subjects in their best light, but this is what happens. I do want to say that no alcohol was consumes, and no animals were harmed.....

That's Mark behind the puffy hat. Hope he wasn't blowing his nose in it. Julie, I hate to tell you, but you've now seen your souvenir gift - try to act suprised!

Shawn found THE hat. I'm pretty sure if he could have fit his helmet on it, he would've bought it!

Todd is our fashion guru. We all look to him for new fashion ideas. I've been asked to NOT forward this to Delta, but I'm new to these computer thingys....

Bob was pretty happy after lunch. As we say on the Tour de Bob, it's ALL about Bob!

Kevin is pretty happy with his soup and bread. The funny thing over here is that butter is like gold, or something. It's like asking for ketchup for your filet mignon. We get the funniest looks, and they don't really want to bring it.

No trip blog would be complete without at least one toilet picture. This is the bathroom at the Col du Galibier. In classic French fashion, it's just a hole. A very COLD hole since it's on the outside of the building.

Don't know what else to say about this half of the day, except for it was an adventure. One I'll probably never repeat, but will remember for the rest of my life. As a good friend always says, try the left turns - they're always more interesting than the common road. Today was a left turn in life. Make sure you read Part-2 of today - it's got the other half of Stage 3 and the links to the pictures....

Stage 2 Summary

Stage 2 of the Tour de Bob. Albertville to Valloire, over the Col de Madelaine, and the Col de Telgraphe. We started our day riding around 9ish, and had a great easy cruise south of town thru villages just waking up for Sunday morning. The traffic was light, and we didn't push too hard. About 20k (12 miles) including a section of the AutoStrada which was interesting. Then we turned off, and met Michele for the pre-climb stop. Dumped off the arm and leg warmers, pounded some energy gels and talked about what was to come. About 65 miles, and roughly 9000' of climbing to come!

One request - let me (us) know what you think! It's really hard writing to an unseen audience. Is it worth the time to put this blog out there....

This is the sign for the climb. 26k (about 16 miles) of up. Up to about 6000'. This is a major climb of the Tour de Bob as it is an HC category climb.

Climbs range from Cat 1 thru Cat 5, and then the HC which is 'beyond category' (or, make my eyes bleed tough). Category is a measure of both distance and steepness.

The view on the first part of the climb. I left early, as I knew I'd be caught pretty quick. Very pretty and peaceful, except when the motorcycles blow by you at about 60. Then it's peaceful again. Sections of the road are one-laners...

Our peloton - that's Dan in the lead, and from there I can't tell, but it's all the big guns. They caught and passed me around the 10th hairpin turn.

Michele, our domestique. On the Tour, all the good riders have other riders that take care of them. On this ride, Michele makes sure we don't miss the turns, can change clothes and get food when we need, and generally makes sure we have good time. He's very good at his job, and he's a bike, so he understands.

Apparently I didn't notice that I called Michele a 'bike' when I wrote this last night - I was tired. Michele is definitely NOT a bike, but he is a fellow biker!

The views are stunning. Many of these villas are just perched on the side of the cliffs. Not sure what these people do, but their view is incredible.

About this time of the ride, I had a couple thoughts. First was that the only regret I have about this trip is that Nancy is not here to enjoy and experience it. She's WAY too smart to cycle up these mountains, but she would appreciate the views and atmosphere. Next time...

The second thought came as I listened to my favorite trop-rock artist/philosopher Jim Morris, as he sang about 'Livin till the day I die'. I couldn't say it better, and am so thankful that I am able to physically and financially do this trip. A lucky man.....

A lot more traffic on this road, including 3 groups of 4 Lotus sports cars, SCREAMING down the road. I had a good time watching them drifting around a hairpin and accelerating away. Where's the Miata?

Our food stop about halfway up. Michele met us, and we put down some more fluids, and energy stuff. Can't even figure how many calories we're burning, but this many miles of UP has got to be good for the metabolism.

Gary, Mark, and Kevin.

One constant is the flowers. Virtually every chalet/house has flower boxes, and they are all filled with beautiful blooming flowers. I can't even begin to take pictures of them all, but I do appreciate them.

Here's the group riding over some of the leftover encouragement from the Tour de France. We roll over many of these, but this one was very colorful, and I was able to shoot while I rode. Not very safe going up a steep hill.

I left early from the halfway break, since I knew I'd be caught and passed. I met up with Kevin pretty quick and we rode together for a bit, and then my legs found me. Not sure how or why, but all of a sudden I felt good on the climb. I kept a nice steady pace, one that was pretty decent. Sorry to leave Kevin behind, as we've motivated each other on a couple sections, but the moment was there. I had good tunes, great weather, and the open road, and it was all working. For about and hour, it was me and the hill. And this time, I think I won. I was able to sustain the pace, all the way to the top, and felt really good. We'll see if that catches up with me...

My celebratory cervesa at the top of the Col de Madelaine. A beer never tasted so good!

Mark in front of the sign at the top. 2000 metres = roughly 6000'. And we bicycled up that sucker...

We had sandwiches and other food at the top, but it was very cool. We all donned coats and leggings and tried to keep out of the wind. There were many other people around the summit, and some of them made me feel wimpy - folks QUITE older than me, and they climbed it on their bike. Guess I need to keep training.

Our run down the backside was another hoot. We just flat flew down with jamming brakes for the hairpins, and then tucks to catch back up. Mark had his helmet-cam on for the entire descent, and it's great stuff. We stopped in a village part-way down, and met a dog who was serious about his stick. He ran with us for a couple hundred yards, dropped the stick and kept with us until we rounded a hairpin - guess that's the limit for him. We dropped and dropped down into warmer air and just had a great time - 10 guys all running downhill. I'm getting better at judging the hairpins and how much speed to scrub off before laying the bike over to get around. The lower section was really fun as we just straightened out the corners and coasted downhill at about 30.

Gary enjoying a post-descent smoke. Don't know where he found it, or why, but it was pretty funny.

A quick rendezvous with Michele to dump the extra clothes, and then we're off for another 20k run to the bottom of the Telegraphe. We cruised at a pretty good pace for awhile, and I was thinking I'm gonna crack if they don't back off. We finally slowed down a bit and we made our way into town to meet with Michele, and get ready for the climb.

We came out of town, and headed up. First thing we noticed was the MASS of 4-wheel drive rigs coming down the hill - ATV's and every Land-Rover in Western Europe. Turns out Valloire (our destination) has a big off-road gathering this weekend. Next thing I noted was how steep it was. This was supposed to be an easier climb than the Madelaine. Yeah, right. I briefly stopped for a picture and found myself alone. As I would be for the next 6-7 miles, almost all the way to the top. Thanks to the tunes I made it up, but I was hurting. After this many miles, your butt hurts, your knees hurt, your ankles hurt, your back hurts, and a few other parts too. At least mine did. I crawled up that sucker slow and steady, and didn't see our group until almost the very top.

Only one close call - a group of motorcycles decided to pass a van as he passed me. WAY too close for comfort - didn't like that at all. Most of the vehicles were pretty considerate. Loved seeing and hearing the sports cars enjoying the twisties....

This was right near the top. Riding with Kevin and Shawn, and Kevin wants a pic but doesn't really want to stop. I'm dumb enough to do that, but then have to bust butt to catch back up. The shot was worth it though....

Made it to the top. Dumped the bike at the first thing that would hold it up, and then later realized how nice it looked next to the flowers.

We all made it. The top of the Col de Telgraphe.

One of the great things about this group is everyone is supportive of each other, regardless of ability and capability. We're all finding times where we're strong, and when we suffer, and it's nice to have support to work thru it.

Valloire from our hotel balcony. All the cars and tents are for the off-road event, and it's pretty noisy. We wander around town, and actually get a little shopping done as well as some beer and laptop time on the deck.

Gary decided that if a beer is good, and a rolled cookie is good, how bad could it be to mix the two?

Dinner in the hotel was good - chicken or fish with pasta, a salad, cheese (not for me), wine, beer, water, a cheese sampler to cleanse the palate, and this dessert. Right up my alley - a berry mouse. Can I get a couple more?

That's about it for tonite. We're beat. Tomorrow we climb over both the Col de Galibier, and the Alpe d'Huez - two MAJOR climbs. Some ibuprofen for the knee inflammation, plug in all the electronics to charge, and open the window for some fresh air. Nighty night...

Click here for Dana's pics of today.

Click here for Bob's pics of today.

Click here for our route today.

Click here for a helmet-cam video of yesterday from Mark.

Th-th-th-ats all folks!