The TT course

Today was always going to be a messy day.  We spent and hour or so on the bus to the start of tomorrow's TT course. 

It was a bit of a funny day for us as we combined a number riders from different Bikestyle trips to completely fill one bus.  After two and a half weeks together our group is pretty organised and rides well together - many of the other trips have only been on the road for a few days and organised chaos is a fair description of how they ride.  Even though there was talk among some from our trip of putting together a team time trial, It all started off quite civilly.  We rolled out two abreast with one of the guides riding on the front.  There was some enthusiasm in the group to up the pace fairly early on - but the guides made it clear that if you rode off the front then you were on your own.

Then a few things happened the guide rolled off the front - and after the first 6 or 8 riders (me included) missed a turn, we saw that the route markers were already out.  It was like some one had built a little starters tent and started the countdown - one of the 14 year olds (I just like to get in the big ring and mash it) attacked the group - seriously affronting the ego of half of team NZ and it was on.  I chased hard to get back on then realised that I didn't come to France to flog myself ob the bike for 50 km so eased off to find the second group.  Unluckily for me there was only me and one of the guides either willing or able to take turns in the second group and all that came to a halt when the guide had to stop at a fork in the road to make sure that some of the intellectually challenged riders actually saw the huge green route markers and made the turn.  That left me riding effectively by myself for about 10 km until the front markers from another Bikestyle bus arrived and dragged me around the course for another 10 km or so until I popped on the final climb.  All in all it was a fun day and we thought that the course would suit Cadel - some long false flats very few technical corners - maybe 4 on the whole course.

 

We then packed the bikes into the trailer and drove to the finish of the stage.  We were quite late arriving and got near the course just as the caravan rolled through.  A quick visit to the local supermarket for supplies and then once more up and over the barriers.  Some of the other lads on the trip were determined to join me this time and I am please to say that high fives were exchanged when Grover met me at my usual vantage point to capture pictures like this ...

I'm definitely on a nodding/ usual suspect basis with the tour chief of police (aka Inspector Clouseau) as well as the head of Tour security given that they have now seen me at quite a few finishes.  After the finish we tried to get around to the front of the stage ...

..but unfortunately in our enthusiasm we somehow crossed back into the public area and it was game over. 

Back to tte bus for the 90 minute drive to our hotel and a buffet dinner (let's just say the food was good and we all gave it a red hot go) before collapsing into bed after another busy day

The day the tour was won

It dawned as a rather grey but warm day with rain and storms a potential threat later in the day.  By consensus, we had as a group decided that we needed to see up close potential Australian cycling history in the making, so our riding was reduced to 30 km (which most of us refused to do under grey skies) direct from the TT start to the TT finish.  So once again more bus time, and for me no ride time.  The TT start was interesting, we had planned to be at the finish town where our hotel was so that we could watch the last two hours of the race on a big screen if need be.  Today was the last designated riding day of the tour, so we also had to find time to clean and box our bikes for the trip home.  What all of this meant is that we only spent a few hours at the start and were gone before most of the big guns even came out of the team busses.  Once again I decided to meet some of my tour friends as well as a few stage winners...

As usual there was lots of tricked out TT machines on display - bike techno heaven...

We spent some time at the CSC bus where Scott Sunderland was giving interviews in a mix of languages.  He said that today the tour was in the balance and could go either way - either a great result or a not so great result, but still good for the team - that was the beauty of the sport. 

 

After travelling back to the finishing town - where our hotel was located, it was time to decide where to watch the race from.  We needed to see a screen to be able to understand what was happening in the race - but I was keen to see the race up close - which was why we were in France in the first place.  I left a lot of my companions at the hotel in search of the gold standard - being on the line when the race was won - as well being able to see a screen.  I think I did pretty well .......

All in all I was pretty pleased with myself I got to say hello to my old tour mates at the finish line again.  The result was a bit of a bummer, given that most Aussies started the day with high hopes.  Team CSC were very happy ....

and I walked back to the Hotel - the only good news for the day being that the wallabies had beaten the All Blacks in the rugby.

We had our farewell dinner that night and I think it's fair to say that the "temple" was well and truly desecrated.  We started on red wine at dinner and finished off in the town square across from our hotel which was in party mode to celebrate  the tour coming to town.  My annual beer quota was consumed and many of us staggered back to the hotel in the early hours of the morning feeling quite sorry for ourselves.

On the road again...

It was time to get back in the saddle and leave Alpe D'Huez.  Due to very early road closures to allow the teams to get off the mountain, we had to get our gear to the bus before breakfast, with the plan being to ride down the mountain to the bus later in the day.  The great thing about about staying on the mountain is that for the first 60 km of our ride today we got to ride all down hill...

At about the 50 km mark we were on the course just outside of Grenoble .  We regrouped here for the ride through Grenoble - hitting almost every red light through town.  By the time we were through Grenoble it was obvious that we were racing the clock and the ever enthusiastic gendarmes to get to the feed zone after around 110 km of riding. 

The course went over a Category 3 climb, with the feed zone just beyond it.  Unfortunately we were stopped at the village at the base of the climb - which meant a little detour to get back on to the course.  The detour was also up a bit of  climb in the baking hot sun - probably harder than the cat 3 but for us it's just another day at the office.

There were Bikestyle groups all over the road today - with most of them just a few days into their trips.  After almost two weeks on the road together, we're pretty organised and roll along at a pretty consistent pace.  It's pretty fair to say that the other groups were not as organised as we were.  That little climb was a killer - the first 500 m or so was very steep and quite a few people had to get off and push.  I climbed surprisingly well today - maybe all of these km are paying off!!

It was beautiful French countryside but it was very very hot.  We regrouped at the top and descended along beautiful wining country roads until we eventually rejoined the race course.  By this stage the course was well and truly closed and most of the caravan had passed by.  We found a shady spot to wait and watch the race go by.

Once the race had passed the wait was on for the road to be open.  Once again we fell into the pattern of rolling on Gendarme at a time down the road until we finally cleared the villages and got back on the course proper.  The roads were still closed to traffic so we had a relatively uneventful ride to the bus.

We loaded the bikes onto the bus and then drove for around 4 hours to Vichy - finally arriving at around 8:00.   Dinner provided in the hotel tonight - good quality food, salad, duck and sorbet.  The race goes straight by the front door of the hotel tomorrow.  There's a few options on offer - including the chance to ride the TT course.  Unfortunately that option involves perhaps 4 hrs of bus time.  I'll decide on my final plans tomorrow morning.

How do they do it?

Today the pro's made a mockery of my feeble attempt to ride a mountain stage of the tour.  They climbed more than I did  as they started from the bottom of the Galibier and they rode an extra 70 km, but they still managed to cover the course more than 2 hours faster than my ride yesterday.

What I did learn yesterday is that even the pros suffer on these stages like yesterday's .  I was at the finish line again and there were some people in a world of hurt as they approached the line.

Equally surprising was how good some of the non-GC contenders looked as they rolled through 20 minutes or so after the winner.

I managed to get on the right side of the barriers again and watched the big screen from the 25m mark. 

46 minutes after the winners crossed the line Jimmy Casper finished in tears - a suffering mess of humanity just 2 minutes after the cut off time after almost 7 hours of racing.  After the race we picked up our laundry - we wondered why there was a polka dot jersey on the counter and much excitement in the store when we finally saw who was ahead of us in the queue....

A most unsatisfying meal for dinner - as by the time we were organised most of the restaurants were packed.  In bed by around 11:00.

The day that was

It's now around lunchtime on the day after that day.  Alpe d'Huez is filling up with people and by the time the race arrives at around 5:00 p.m it should be crazy.  The road has been closed to public vehicles since 9:00 last night and will not open again until some time tomorrow morning.  More about that perhaps in my next post.

Yesterday was a hard day on the bike.  We woke to this spectacular view from our room.

After the most craptacular breakfast of the tour so far we were in the bus and off to the Col de Lautaret - which thank god is half way up the Galibier.  It was cool - probably around 10 degrees and we were already at altitude - around 2000m. I started the climb in full leg warmers, long fingered gloves and a jacket.

The 8km to the top was our warm up for the day.  Unfortunately there was no warming up - it was even colder and windier at the summit ...

...meaning that it was a very short stay before we headed down hill for almost 40 km with the Telegraphe in the middle leaving us at the base of the Croix de Fer. 

The Croix de Fer is a beast - harder than it looks.  It is so long - almost 30 km that it never seems to stop.

The worst part is that you look up and I do mean up and you can see the bloody camper vans and you know that somehow you have to drag your tired body past them all.

At the top I had lunch while waiting for the rest of our group to make it across.  Then another 20 or 30 km of fast down hill interrupted by one little lump before we were back in the valley roads for 15 km to the base of the Alpe d'Huez.

By this stage it's fair to say that I was toasted.  It was around 6:00 p.m. and I was so tired and so crampy that I could not use my left hand to get into the big ring when required.  I had to reach over with my right hand to change gears.  Luckily for me not much time is spent in the big ring around these parts. By the time we got to the climb we were well past the cut off time that the guides had set.  All day I had waited at the top and bottom of each climb asking our group's guide if we would make it in time and while I was assured we would - by the top of the second climb it was obvious that we would struggle.  I was asked to wait and did, and at the bottom only two of our group climbed the Alpe.

While I was tired, I knew that if I could get through the first 3 km then I would be alright.  I was glad that I took some photos in the bus on the way up as I did not stop on the bike.  The 21 switchbacks give you some respite from the climbing and the roads were lined with a whole pile of people in differing stages of sobriety.  I was very pleased to get to the top, quickly rug up and thankfully ride back down to the hotel where I fell into the shower.  I arrived at the top just after 8:00 at night - a very very long day in the sadle.

Pizza for dinner at the restaurant closest to the hotel - a brief trip to the internet cafe and then home to bed for a well earned rest. 

A very memorable day!!

Two words - Ouch

Too tired to provide many details.

 

9:15 elapsed time, 7:54 ride time 3655 m of vertical climbing.  Very pleased with myself but sore everywhere.  I rolled through the finish line just on 8:00 p.m.

Here's the ride data.   More stories tomorrow.

What the hell am I doing here!!

A rest day on the Tour and a rest day for us as we transferred from Ventoux over to the French Alps - all in all around 4 hours on the bus.  For the next three nights we are staying at the top of Alpe d'Huez which sounded great until we drove up it this afternoon.  It is one serious climb and the plan for tomorrow is the last 140 km of this stage the day before the race comes through....

That's some serious climbing - the Galibier, Telegraphe, Croix de Fer and then just to crawl into bed that night we need to get to the top of the Alpe d'Huez.  Here's the profile for tomorrow's climbs

 

We have done harder climbs but this is three HC climbs in one day.  The thing that scared me the most today was actually driving up Alpe d'Huez.  The first few kms are the toughest with parts at over 10%.  As we drove up today I was amazed at how scarily fast we gained altitude.

It was a very quiet bus trip to the top of the mountain - I took some photos from the bus window because I can't be confident of stopping on the way up tomorrow.

Even though the tour will not be rolling through here for another 48 hours, already most of the good vantage points along the route are taken.  People are camping out up and down the mountain in anticipation of the stage in a few days time.  And let me tell you that it is not warm. 

We are expecting temperatures to be in low single digits at the top of the Galibier tomorrow and obviously colder on the descents, while at the top of the Alpe d'Huez it should be a balmy 15 or 16 degrees.  With an expected riding time of 6 - 7 hours that means we have to carry a lot of food and lots of warm clothes - a jacket, arm warmers, leg warmers booties and full gloves will be required as well as a mountain of food. 

We've got a well located hotel with great views.  It's typical ski lodge style accommodation with small rooms that are really only designed for sleeping in at the end of a long day on the mountain.  The village at the base of the mountain - Bourg D'Oisans has cyclists everywhere at the moment with riders teeming up and down the surrounding mountains.

I'm nervously excited about tomorrow - this is a day that I have aimed to do for quite a while - a real challenge and a reward for the hard work that has gone in to get to this point.  I'm feeling well, so the plan is to ride sensibly to the base of the Alpe d'Huez and then light it up!! Hopefully there will be plenty of people on the course to cheer us on.  The record up the climb is around 37 minutes - which is just a touch longer than it took the bus to drive up this afternoon. I'll be happy to get out of the day in under 7 hrs.

As I write this it's near bed time lots of carbs consumed today in the form of magnificent french pastries as well as a great pasta dinner. 

Interestingly though, no dessert or ice cream today - a no ride day sure dulls the appetite. 

No internet access in the hotel so by the time you read this it will probably all be over.  Wish me luck!

Mt Ventoux

Lets cut to the chase......

 

It was a cloudy start to the day - a welcome relief from yesterdays scorching sun.  After breakfast we were off to Ventoux.  It really is an imposing mountain - dominating the countryside all around.  It's quite imposing knowing that you have to climb up the bloody thing.

As per usual we got lost on the way.  The good news is that it turns out the the fancy GPS units our guides are using were not configured to avoid unsealed roads.

We fell back to more traditional methods of naviagtion like following road signs and generally heading in the direction of the only big mountain that we could see. 

Ventoux is a tough climb - around 21 km of climbing most of it around 8% or more.

 

As we approached the base at Bedoin we could see that the weather was closing in.  There was rain at the top and some lightning.  I was determined to press on to the top, knowing that the minivan would be at the top to drive us down the mountain if need be.  I rode the climb with one of the girls from the trip, Lisa,  which meant that I was able to ride well within myself.

The climb is amazing - your start in the trees where we had a little bit of hail

As you climb higher the sceenery opens up and near the top it is almost a lunar landscape...

The view from the top is spectacular ....

 

... but soon after we reached the top the rain cam again and we scampered into the mini-van to be driven down the hill.  With the wet roads, I didn't need much encouragement to jump into the van.

Back at the base of the mountain the warm busses were waiting and after a brief wait we were on our way back to the hotel to catch the last climb of the race in television.

Dinner again in town - another delicious meal - three courses tartare au salmon, lasagne, creme brulee, another suspect coffee and of course, an ice cream on the walk back to the bus.  Back at the hotel at around 10:45 tired but very pleased with myself.

A scorcher!!

Today was planned to be an easy day - with a short 50km ride out to the feed zone to watch the race go by.  After a little sleep in, and a chat with home we set off  at around 11:00 in the morning.  Unfortunately though, the temperature was already high, and by the time we got to the top of the first climb it was over 40 degrees.  One of our groups cycle computers registered a max temperature of 46 with an average of 36 for the ride.   When I looked down into the valley that we were going to ride into all I could see was more time in the sun and given our huge day tomorrow I bailed out and rolled back down the hill past the hotel and into town. 

l'Isle sur la Sorgue is a market town - famous for antiques and second hand stuff.  I cruised around the small lanes on my bike soaking up a bit of French culture.  I found a shady spot for lunch (with the obligatory ice cream) before cruising back to the hotel for air-conditioning, Internet and eurosport.  Lunch was a ham and cheese baguette next to a pretty waterway just outside of town.

  

After the race was over on TV a few of us headed back into town for the obligatory Pizza entree.  We wandered through the pretty little streets and found a place to have my first almost decent coffee in France as well as some bruschetta to take the edge off the appetite.

 

For dinner we were bussed back into town and left to our own devices for a couple of hours.  Not surprisingly most seemed to stop at one of the first restaurants that we came to that served steak!.  There was some conversation about having pizza at the place next door - but I think that had more to do with the attractive waitress.  I had the all steak meal boef carpaccio for entree and steak and chips for main. Dessert was a no brainer - creme brulee followed up of course with the obligatory ice cream - this time it was lemon meringue ice cream. 

A quick walk through the town to source some more cash before heading back to the bus very satisfied with ourselves.

All in all a pretty lazy day - resting, re-hydrating and recharging before Ventoux tomorrow!