Alpe d'Huez!!

Looking down on the Bourg d'Oisans from Alpe d'Huez



The podium and the climbers' jersey at the top



Each switchback has a name...and this one has Lance Armstrong conveniently behind a fence



There were so many people climbing the mountain (and it happens every day). These are two very young boys making the trek

July 9 Alpe d’huez-La Grave

We woke up early today and set out to climb the legendary Alpe d’huez. The climb is full of relatively steep grades and 21 switch backs (each named after a famous cyclist). When we started out we were astonished to find that we were actually gaining on some cyclists and were able to pass the ones that had stopped. We actually started out early enough that no cyclists caught us on the climb. It was fun to see each switchback labeled and it gave us something to countdown. By switchback number 11, we ad been climbing for about half an hour. We then started pushing to try to make the climb in an hour. It turned out that we weren’t quite at the halfway point then, but we ended up finishing our climb in an hour and ten minutes. (We had to stop just short of the top because of a market that was in place for the day). We stopped and talked to an Aussie who had just finished the climb and he told us that there was actually a big banner and the actual finish for the Tour climb up the hill a little ways more. Nate and I decided to go up and take pictures of the podium and signs. There was also a huge downhill bike race going on too. It seems that every climb we do, there are festivities going on at the top. Anyways, settled in for our descent and headed back to pack up camp.
I think it’s safe to say that we lost all motivation for packing up camp when we got back down. It was super hot and we were trying to beat our check out time plus trying to use the free internet that we hadn’t been able to work the night before. We packed, ate lunch, and headed down towards La Grave which would be base camp for our next day of passes. The road to La Grave was a gradual uphill, but we only had about 30k more to go. The heat made the day seem to pass very slowly, but we finally made it to La Grave and stayed in the first campsite we laid eyes on. It was right next to La Romanche river which was very very nice for our legs after our many climbs. This campsite included many characters including a crew of drunk French people ogling my water filter as I was trying to get drinking water. They had no idea what it was, and I had no idea how to explain. It was quite comical…for them and me.
We went up to town for a bit to sit in a café that said they had WiFi, but the signal was short of functional. They did serve us our first crepe in France which was delicious. We also went grocery shopping and enjoyed some live music from a trio at a café catty corner to ours. All in all, it was a good night, that got us ready for the next day.
~55k
Mo

gearing up for alpe d'huez

Our second col of the day



Our first picture together on the tandem (other people were taking pictures of us too)



7-8 La Chambre-Le Bourg-d’Oisans

Today was again a another though day with plenty of climbing. In fact the climbing started right from the decent from Col de la Madeleine and went up 20k to the top of Col du Glandon at 1924m. This stretch of road is once again a historic piece of road for the tour as they have been up the above category climb several times the last one being either 2008 or 2009 (I can’t remember off the top of my head). Anyway the climb itself is actually steeper then yesterdays but 5k shorter. For much of the climb we saw gradients above 8% and sections as steep as 13%. In fact I think there were only 2 sections where the gradient fell below 5% for the entire 20k. Surprisingly we were able to do it in 2hrs and 35min ride time and about 3:40 with a lunch and water stop. That means we averaged about 7.7k/hr almost a full k/hr faster than yesterday, with an average of 7.4% gradient!! After finishing this climb we realized that there was another col or pass just 2.5k away from where we were so we decided to do the extra climbing and top Col de la Croix de Fer at 2067m. After topping that climb we then turned straight back around and headed down the south side of Col du Glandon down to the town of Le Bourg d’Oisans where we are currently camped.
Tour note- Le Bourg d’Oisans has probably played one of the largest rolls in cycling history for any small town… The reason being is this town is directly as the base of Alp d’huez which is probably the most noted climb in all of tour history. So of course tomorrow we will do this climb and see how it compares with some of the others that we have done so far.
65k
Nate

Cols!!! (passes)

Notice the campers set up...six days early for the Tour!



These signs are placed every kilometer to let you know what to expect



A friend that hitched a free ride up the col for at least 2k

7-7 Albertville –La Chambre

Today was a hard day as expected we did the Col de la Madeleine which tops out at 2000m after 25k of climbing. We spent the majority of our ride time trying to make it over this nasty climb because once we crested it came a 20k decent to La Chambre where we are camped. The climb its self took us 3hrs and 40mins of ride time and about 5hrs total once you add in our lunch stop and water filter stops… This was done with an average gradient of 5.4%. However, if I am doing my math correctly we climbed at an average of 6.8k/hr which beats our 5k/hr that I calculated on San Bernidino pass, some mild fitness improvements must be happening! Mo and I plan and hope to make it back up this pass from the other direction (south to north) to watch the tour as it comes over this climb in the direction that we did it today (north to south). Anyway, the day was filled with beautiful scenery, a handful of cyclists and not much traffic that keep us company throughout the day and what traffic we did see was mostly due to the upcoming stage of the tour. For example we saw several RV’s pass us and several more already set up along the road lying in wait for the 10 minutes of excitement they will see in a few days. Now it’s time for some rest as tomorrow is another big day up the Col du Glandon.

65k
Nate

Albertville-home of the olympics some year we can't figure out

7-6 Chamonix-Albertville

Today was a bit sad as we packed up all of our stuff to continue our trek towards Alp d’Huez. We really enjoyed our time here and even had a beautiful place to stay at camping le glace. But as the saying goes “all good things must come to an end sometime.” So we checked email one last time on the free WiFi and hit the road. Now today was our first real day of riding in France where we actually had to learn the road system and signs in order to make the turns that we needed to do. And as in every country they were slightly different here. For example if you saw a sign with a blue circle on it and a bike in the middle (without any X’s through it or nothing) one would assume these were bike friendly roads…. WRONG. That means no bikes allowed. We discovered this after riding about 12k on a highway with 7% downhill grades that allowed us to keep up with traffic and even put us in a “semi sandwich” as we had 2 semi’s in front of us and one following directly behind us and there was nowhere to pull off and no way to pass so we stayed there for about 5K when we finally came to our exit and turned off onto a bike friendly road! From here we did a bit of climbing past the beautiful town of Megeve and down to Albertville where we stayed for the night. It also just happens that the Olympics where hosted in Albertville as some point (sorry I’m not sure when but we think it was in the 90’s) and we could still see the effect it was having on the town. Tomorrow we have a big day ahead of us as we climb up the Col de la Madeleine which is an “HC” or above category climb that this years tour will go over on the 13th.
65K
Nate

Chamonix vacation

July 5

Today was a day to just relax. We woke up without an alarm from some of the best sleep we’ve had all trip. The trees overhead and the evening rain kept it cool well into the morning. With no definite plans or goals for the day other than to relax we had a late breakfast inside our tent as we looked at maps trying to determine our next couple of days. After deciding we needed better maps to make a more educated decision about our travels we headed into Chamonix. The town itself is a very beautiful ski town (its like the Aspen CO of Europe) where the 1st winter Olympics was held in 1934. Looming high above the town is Mont Blanc the highest peak in Europe at 4807m or 15,770ft. The mountain itself is covered in huge glaciers the run most of the length of the mountain. After spending lots of time looking at the mountain we went for a walk around town where we eventually came across a small out door grill where we ordered our lunch for the day. After finishing our lunch we went grocery shopping at a local supermarket to get food for dinner and breakfast tomorrow. Once we finished shopping we loaded up our panniers on our tandem and headed back to the campsite to cook up our fajitas and do some work online. Now it’s time for bed and some more rest after an already restful day.
10K (to town and back!)
Nate

Happy Birthday America

July 4 Verbier-Chamonix
Happy Birthday America! We’re sorry we missed it, but we spent the day waving a different kind of red white and blue-the French flag. Of course we started the day in Switzerland at Verbier. The day started so muggy that we had to wait two hours for our tent to dry. When we decided that it was as dry as it would get, we decided to pack up. There were quite the characters enjoying the spectacle as we packed all of our things into our trailer and panniers. There was a French-speaking man who kept coming to chat with us, there were four downhillers from the UK and Australia that we chatted with, and there were numerous other campers as well. Once we set off, we had about 25 kilometers to ride downhill into Martigny. There, we immediately started going uphill over a pass called the Col de la Forclaz. This took us up many switchbacks filled with vineyards. We had to stop many times today for lunch and water filter breaks and such. Plus, it was so hot today that we welcomed any shady spot. We were feeling much better after lunch and made it the rest of the way up the pass. There were many other cyclists headed up as well. After we chatted with some of them, ate some Toblerone chocolate, and drank a Gatorade, we were ready to hit the second pass of the day. This pass was lower and we were able to keep most of our elevation gain. It did, however, start to rain as we descended the first pass. The cool and wet weather was very welcome (especially since we ended up having to recycle clothes today since the laundry machines were broken). Our gift from France today-rain. It didn’t really stop raining for the rest of the day. At the top of the second pass, there was a nature reserve that we ducked into. It was a nice respite from the rain, plus we were able to see some stuffed wildlife and mountain images. This place also held our first squatty potty of the journey!! After the bathroom break and deciding that the rain was not going to stop, we geared up for the wet descent into Chamonix. When we came into town I was absolutely awestruck! It is so gorgeous here. Besides having some of the most rugged and craggy peaks I have ever seen, it is home to the tallest mountain in Western Europe-Mt. Blanc. The mountain is called this because it is always covered in snow and the glacier surrounding it helps pristine feel. We found a campsite and quickly changed out of our sopping clothes. The next order of business was to go into town and find a French map and some Euros (since we’ve been on the Swiss franc). The town is absolutely adorable and we think we might stay here another day.
I’ll give you a run-down on Switzerland since we have now left the country for good. Switzerland is home to wonderful things such as bread, cheese, chocolate, and cows. Everything looks and smells so fresh here. From the fresh cut grass to the freshly splayed cow pies. And the swiss people know how to get things done. It seems like there is no hill they're scared of traversing to cut grass. There is no cattle drive too harrowing that they won’t attempt. But ask any of them yourself, and they will say that it is expensive here. Even the locals claim Switzerland to be the most expensive country in Europe. We have enjoyed our time in Switzerland and have really been able to see most of the country. I mean, in two days of riding we were able to basically travel to the middle of the country from the border. The breathtaking alpine beauty found in Switzerland is unlike any other. The people are friendly and the rich foods that we Americans love are homegrown here. If you ever have a chance to come to Switzerland, you should.
~60k
Mo

Verbier!!!

The top of the climb-Contador did it a bit faster than our tandem



Our favorite sign so far

July 3rd
Today we woke up on the shores of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) and ate a nice American type breakfast; Cinnamon Toast Crunch!!! After our breakfast we packed up and tried to head out as quickly as possible which ended up being about 10:30am. From the lake we had some more nice flat easy riding to begin the day as we headed towards the Verbier (we decided to postpone going to Chamonix for a day or two). When we made it to the town of Martigny we did a bit of shopping at the grocery store to stock up before Sunday when they aren’t open at all. After the shopping trip we had to rearrange most of the contents in our BOB trailer to accommodate for the larger than normal amount of food that we carry. As soon as we finished packing we rode down the road about 1k where we found a park to eat our lunch. After lunch we hit the road again in an effort to get to le Chable. This is where our climbing began for the day. Although the climbing wasn’t really steep I could still feel every degree the road was rising. Finally we made to le Chable only to find that camping wasn’t for about another 5k uphill. However, on our way up to the campsite at Champsec we passed a great bike shop that even had the rare replacement parts for my cycling shoes and they were even cheap!!! So, we purchased a spare set and continued until finding the campground which is really more like a plot of land next to a small village that they charge you to sleep on… Once we got the tent set up and BOB disconnected from our bike we decided to head back down into town and up the Verbier. Once reaching town we found that the climb started right from the middle of town and climbed about 9K up to the ski resort town of Verbier. We were able to do the climb without the trailer in 50 minutes which was about 45 minutes faster than what we would have been with the trailer on. Once we summited the climb we turned back around to head back to the campsite where we came across a bar that was showing the prologue of Le Tour live!!! So, of course I ordered my first Swiss beer since we have been here and sat down with Mo to watch the show! It was a great showing by all the top players (Lance, Contidor, Fabian, Schlecks and even a fellow collegiate cyclist and friend Brent Bookwalter who finished 11th) This years race should be a good show down between Radio Shack and Astana and I am excited to see what happens in the following days. Anyway, after watching the Tour we continued to our campsite where we cooked ourselves some bratwursts and instant potatoes with gravy. Now it’s time for bed and some rest from a fun filled day!
(for those of you who aren’t familiar with the Verbier, it is a historic stage of Tour which was last visited in 2009 when Contidor attacked on this climb to pull away from Lance and win the stage. Of course this really upset Lance and the fireworks between Lance and Contidor began to fly, or as some might say “it hit the fan.”)
67K with the Bob trailer
28K without the trailer
Nate