Wow. I don't know how else to describe today. This one day of riding was probably the best ride of my life, even if it was painful. I'm not even sure how to communicate how much fun we had today, but I'll try.
Breakfast was early - about 7:30, but since it was cloudy and wet outside, we weren't in a hurry. We hit the road about 9:30, and Shawn had a flat about a block from the hotel. We had decided to re-ride the lake so that Jon and Kevin could see it, and we had a great ride - until we had a couple more flats. Took a long time to get around the bottom of the lake.
The first flat of the day. About 100 feet from the hotel...
How many guys does it take to change a tire?
Most of them! Of course this was our third flat of the morning, and we'd only gone about 10 miles.
Mark, enjoying his morning ride around the lake. This is prior to him blasting up the hills with Dana and Shawn.We cruised back up the other side of the lake and found our turnoff to the pass. Up we went. It was damp but not raining, but definitely not warm and sunny. We were not REALLY sure of where we were going, after a couple un-signed turns, and so we waited at the top for Michele. He finally arrived and confirmed we were on the correct climb, and off we went. We passed another group of about 20 riders and they eventually grabbed on the back, and we had a pace-line of over 2 dozen. Good riding. We just kept going up, thru little mountain villages, and marveling at the scenery. Almost every house/villa has tons of flowers around every window, and they all have beautiful wood-work.
See the cars? They go by us very fast. Mostly they give us lots of room, as the law says 1.5 metres. Not all of them though, and the big buses don't always have enough room....
About this area is where I blew up. I had tried to keep up with Shawn and Mark and Dana, and did well for awhile, until I pushed the heart rate over 180 and that did it. I struggled the rest of the day to get back on form. Maybe tomorrow...
It's really hard to describe the beauty of these little towns. It's like every single one of them has gone all-out for the next group of tourists, and we're lucky enough to be them! I wish we could spend more time, but the hills beckon. Or mock - I'm not sure which...
By this time I was alone - the group was out ahead, and I was riding my own pace. It was cool, damp, and lonely, but still one of the best places I've ever ridden. And I know they wait at the top for me!
Our guide Michele is great. He stops and waits for us at all the key spots - the top and bottom of the climbs, un-clear intersections, and when we might need food or clothing changes. It's really nice to not have to carry everything you MIGHT need, but just the bare minimums, knowing he'll be there when we need something.
It's a little hard to make out, but above the sign over the pass-thru is a huge bicycle left over from the Tour de France.
This was the town where we started our last big climb. The one that really hurt. Everyone stopped for a 'nature break' and I kept going. For a little while I was in front! Didn't last long though, before the big guns passed me by. Then the rest of the field. Beautiful scenery and the raw adventure of it kept me entertained.
Cycling thru and then above the villages provides a never end spectacular view.
Our food stop with Michele at the top of the Col des Saisies. It was cold, but Michele laid out a feast - bread, meat, FLAN!!!!, and little pastries. We pounded some food, and suited up for a cold descent.
I've been lucky enough in my life to do some really cool things that I won't bore anyone with, but I have to say, descending a mountain pass in the Alps with a group of great readers is something special. We're not racing, but we're really scooting down the hill at 30+, slowing way down for hairpin turns, watching for stuff on the road, making sure we don't run each other over, and just having an absolute blast. While freezing to death. I'm not sure I was this cold when I went to the Arctic last year - my teeth were actually chattering - maybe for the first time in my life.
It gradually got warmer as we descended, and we got into a great pattern of the corners and speed, with all of us, and it felt like our own Tour de France downhill. Unbelievable. I was grinning out loud the whole way down. Once we hit bottom, we had about 15k of wonderful mostly flat roads thru a canyon to Albertville, and we cooked. The strong guys pulled, and the rest of us hung on for a roller-coaster turn-filled blast into town. We met up with Michele at JUST the right spot, and he guided us to the hotel.
The end of the day in front of the Hotel Million.
A lot of tired legs today - our 'reasonably easy' day turned into 'not-so-easy' with 7200' of climbing and about 75 miles. Tomorrow promises to be even tougher with the Col de Madelaine.
I think everyone agrees that it was an incredible day, we were very lucky with the weather, and we're looking forward to tomorrow - kind of....
We had dinner at a nice little restaurant with pasta being the favorite choice. Great beer in BIG glasses, some nice red wine to go with the entree, and a fruitless search for ice cream after dinner rounded out the day. Post the blog, repack the luggage and bags, and head for bed. We hope to hit the road by 0830, so it's time to crash.
Click here for some of Bob's pictures.
Click here for some of Dan's pictures.
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