Col d'Izoard and the TdF Stage 14

Firstly a shout-out to Montgenevre where we have stayed for the last few days.  A picturesque French alpine ski village, located on a mountain nestled between Briancon, France and Cesena Torinese, Italy.  Here's a pic of the early am view.

Today was quite an experience.  We climbed the historic Col d'Izoard in the am before the TdF riders arrived in the pm.  This is the 33rd time Le Tour has climbed d'Izoard.  The atmosphere along the route was something special - lots of cyclists, campers, walkers, runners, caravans, vendors, Le Tour vehicles, etc.  The stuff you see on TV, but in a more relaxed mode before Le Tour riders arrive.  It made for a unique climbing experience, and even more unique descending experience.

The climb up Col d'Izoard starts in the French city of Briancon, and ends 20km to the summit at elevation 2360m.  The climb starts relatively easy for the first 10km to the village of Cervieres (something in the 5% grade range), and then gets steep for the remainder of the climb -- upwards of 8 to 10% grades with multiple switchbacks.  If you watched TdF stage 14 on TV you will have seen the majestic alpine scenery.

After descending back to Briancon, L & I witnessed Le Tour for the first time.  Quite a spectacle -- people lining the road / streets, a long parade of vehicles for all sorts of purposes -- police, tour officials, photography, TV, radio, medical, escort, vendors giving away stuff or selling TdF memorabilia, team cars, tour VIPs, etc.  That goes on for a few hours, then the sky is suddenly filled with helicopters and the tour riders appear going at top speeds.  Quite a sight.

The above pic is of the beginning of the climb up Col d'Izoard with people lining the streets, and belowis a pic of the lead group of riders coming through Briancom before ascending the Col.

And on the way down from Col d'Izoard I met this guy, who TdF TV viewers will recognize.

Tomorrow we are off to Tallard to see the start of Stage 15, a short ride, then off to Provence to tackle the next epic climb -- Mt. Ventoux.

Ciclismo in Italia

Today's ride took us from the alpine resort town of Montgenevre, France to Susa, Italy.  Absolutely stunning scenery in the Alps.  We descended from Mongenevre into the town of Cesena Torinese, and then climbed 12km to the mountain-top ski resort on the Colle del Sestriere.  You may recall the 2006 winter Olympics where many of the apline skiing events were held at the Sestriere ski resort.

The climb to Sestriere was enjoyable in that it was less steep than Alpe d'Huez, for example, but still a challenge with an average gradient of 6% and steeps over 10% in several places.  The legs were a little tired at first, but were firing on all cylinders by the time I finished the climb.  The climb ended at about 2000m elevation, slightly less than tomorrow's climb up Col d'Izoard.

From Sestriere we descended back to Cesena Torinese, then rode a nice approx. 20 km's to the Italian village of Susa.  Mostly downhill, but with a strong headwind.  A group of 7 riders, including me, rode a fast pace thanks to Bikestyle tour guide Spencer Kearney in the lead.  Spencer is one of the better bike mechanics around, and as we observed today, is also a very strong rider.  Spencer is from Brisbane, Australia.

Tomorrow we catch up with Le Tour -- we climb from the city of Briancon, France to the top of the Col d'Izoard before the TdF riders arrive, and then watch them go by before descending back to Briancon.  Watch for L & I if watching on TV.

Historic Alpe d'Huez

The ride on Thurs 7/17 took us over historic Alpe d'Huez.  Many famous TdF stages/cyclists have conquered this climb, but not this year - we non-TdF cyclists had the Alpe all to ourselves.  And there were riders from all the world climbing, descending, picture-taking along the route, etc.  The road up to the d'Huez ski area near the top is about 14km long and has 21 famous switchbacks, each named after former TdF stage winners.  The first few s/b's are named after a couple of stage winners, e.g. the first s/b at the bottom of the climb is named for both F. Coppi ('52) and Lance A. ('01).  The climb starts in the village of Bourg d'Oisans at elev. 730m and goes to 1860m with an average grade of 8% with steeps over 12% at the beginning and end.

The record time to the top is 34 min by M. Pantani.  Lance A. did it in 37 min.  Yours truly, well let's just say I didn't set any records, but made it to the top, met lot's of cyclists along the way, and enjoyed the experience.  I find most of the climbing (and descending) here much steeper than your average climb in CO.  Here's a pic about 2/3 of the way up (@ the Gert-Jan Theunisse ('89) switchback).  It was taken by a rider from Denmark.

And of course, the proof that I was actually at the top.

The descent was also spectacular, down to the village of d'Huez and then a quick right and down the valley through the small village of Villard Reculas.  If you've watched the TdF in past years, you will recognize that descent - the scenery is unbelievable.

We are now staying at the ski resort of Montgenevre, in France and about 200m from the border with Italy.  Today (Fri, 7/18) we rode to Susa in Italy…stay tuned.

Off and ridin'

The trip from Paris to Lyon was fun and fast.  We were on a fast train, traveling about 400 km in a little under 2 hrs.  Now that is one fast train.  The ride was smooth, like skating on ice, and practically no noise.  Here's a pic in the Gare De Lyon train station in Paris.  I still wonder why two people need soooo much luggage (the bike bag gets a pass of course).

At least I'm not his guy...

Any hooo, we met up with the Bikestyle tour folks in Lyon, settled in, set-up the bike, and rode a nice 25 mile loop to loosen up the legs.  See pic below - the group stopped to take a few pics of the local sunflowers. Yeah I know, we should be hammering down the road.  We have about 20 riders and at least 3 non-riders (including Linda) on the tour, along with 5 tour guides including the bus driver.  Lots of Aussies, and a few folks from Canada and the USA.  The lead rider is Pat Jonker, a former pro cyclist who has raced in Le Tour  (Tour de France) a number of times, and won the Tour Down Under in Australia in 2004.  Yep, he can ride.  We had a couple of "warm-up" climbs today, and let's just say that yours truly probably won't win the polka dot jersey on our tour.  Another super rider is Lorian Graham, a former pro rider on the female circuit, known for fierce climbing endurance and speeds.  She must weigh about 90 lbs.  So, third place in the climbing competition is what I'm shooting for at the moment.  Tomorrow we head out early to climb historic Alpe d'Huez.  Stay tuned.

...le creme glacees et sorbet...

Lots of dessert selections in France, but a favorite of ours is gelato, sorbet, or" le creme glacees" in French (sorry Deedee, can't find the accent on the keyboard).  L & I found this nice place in St. Germain that serves, well, a darn good serving of ice cream.  A few new favorites...noisette (= hazelnut), stracciatella (= vanilla with streaks of chocolate chunks), yaourt (= sweet yogurt, like the stuff that covers raisons), pistache (= pistachio), and my new personal favorite for this week...Madagascar vanilla.  Sweet times in Paris....

A good day in Paris...

A day of sightseeing around Paris, seeing the usual suspects.  A couple of note worthies.  Champs Elysees setting up for Le Tour finish in a couple of weeks.  Riding the cobblestones at top speed will be bone-shaking fun.

I found my next car.  I wonder if it comes with a bike rack?

The sorbet/gelato over here is addictive.

And after a long day of walking, a little rest is in order.  Going with the flow...

The Trip to Paris

The trip to Paris was uneventful, 'about 7 hrs in the air from Boston Logan to C. De Gaul Paris.  Here's a pic of L and I at Logan with the bags.  I have my bike packed in a Skinz soft-shell bike case, weighing about 27 lbs fully loaded with bike frame/fork/saddle, set of wheels, pedals, tools, extra padding, etc.  I've travelled all over with this set-up and it works just fine.  One downside -- the TSA agents often open the case to inspect and seem to want to move my "custom" padding around.  The bike arrived in Paris safely.

Here's a pic of L trying to figure out all the technology on the plane.  Don't tell her I posted this....

We will spend a couple of days in Paris before heading to Lyon in southern France on Wednesday.  I won't bore you with our site-seeing agenda/pics, other than to point out that my cafe chair was waiting for me when I got here.  We are staying in St. Germain in central Paris, which is full of cafes, eclectic mix of shops, and people...lots and lots of people from all over the world.  The pic below is one of our favorite cafes found by F, D and & L on an earlier trip to Paris.