Toulouse - 18 July

After 7 days straight of riding, I decided I needed a rest day. Limited my riding to 25k recovery spin along the Midi canal in Toulouse - part of the longest canal system in Europe. Lined with people living in recycled barges of all sizes, shapes and condition! Not sure the tax man or health inspector owns this problem.

We stayed at a hotel on the edge of La Place du Capitole. This is the premiere public square in Toulouse and is rich in the history of French monarchy (XVIII siecle) and the French revolution. You could almost sense the ghosts of great public spectacles past. And some wonderful architecture surrounding the square.

Managed to fit in a big afternoon sleep for the first time. I needed it. And now on to the Pyrenees.

Mt Ventoux - 17 July

Mt Ventoux was our third 'High Category' climb of the tour in 5 days. What was I thinking? I'd never attempted a single one of these before.

Another icon of Le Tour, Mt Ventoux rises 1910m from the plains of Avignon and dominates the surrounding landscape - its summit beacon visible at a great distance. Many a tour defining moment has happened on this mountain, not the least when the British rider Tommy Simpson died of a heart attack 1.5km from the summit. The circumstances are not the best advertisement for cycling - he was dehydrated (from diarrohea and not eating), had alcohol and amphetamines in his blood, and was last seen swerving widly across the road before collapsing.

I, on the other hand, heeded the lessons of good cycling preparation and was well hydrated, with only a hint of fine French red wine from the night before, no stimulants, a tummy full of food and bowels intact. The weather was hot - again - and humid, but we got away around 8.30am near the village of Bedoin at the base of Ventoux before the temp could get to its expected high above 30 degrees.

About 2 hrs 17min later I crested the summit having covered 21.4k with 1600m of ascending, average speed of 9.3km/h, average cadence of 59rpm and an average heart rate of 144bpm. By ride's end I had chewed about 1630 calories. The first 4kms are relatively easy; followed by a gut busting 12km through 8-10 degrees of unending forest road; past Le Chalet Renard rest stop; and then up the final 6km grind to the summit - with a nice little 15% incline kicker for the last 500 metres to test out your legs.

It was a great feeling to get to the top and enjoy the sights, the high fives and wonderful soft lolly stalls which do a roaring trade up there. Then on to the half hour, 22km descent to Malaucene with a top speed of 80.3km! Wow!

The day finished with a long bus ride to our next accommodation in Toulouse and a wonderful 'al fresco' dining experience of cassaulet and St Emillion red.

For the record, the pro tour was on a different route and Vinokorouv won the stage with a solo finish in Revel.

Avignon - 16 July

While the pro riders headed for the cruel finish up the 16 degree climb to Mende aerodrome, we opted for a 3hr 15min,70km recovery spin in the Provencal countryside.

We rode from our base in Avignon to the tenth century, medieval town of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. Vaucluse means 'closed valley' and this picturesque village sits at road's end in the shadow of ragged cliffs, ancient caves and the alluring Sorgue River. This place has character, ambience and history - as well as good coffee. The Romans were here in the third century and there is plenty of evidence of early Gallic settlement.

The Galas aqueduct (1855 - not Roman) just out of town was a highlight. I could end up with a collection of these shots!

When we woke this morning, our plan was to climb Mont Ventoux but a replacement bus couldn't haul our bikes to the drop off zone (our driver had a rest day and we couldn't use his bus). So, it was a nice change to soak things up at a more leisurely pace. One the way, I learned today that Petrarch, the Italian poet, climbed Ventoux in 1355 when this was unheard of and as as a consequence is credited with establishing 'alpinism'. An indirect lineage to the tour's fascination with mountains!

Back at the tour (which we were able to see on TV for the first time today), Contador made a stunning move on Schleck on the final climb and gained 10 seconds in the challenge for the yellow jersey. The Pyrenees beckon.

Borg-de-Valence - July 15

Today's ride began in Grenoble - we said 'au revoir' to the Alps - and ended in Valence, 112 kms away.

It was a 4.5 hour hard ride with over 1000 metres of climbing, including a 10 km, 6 degree climb up the Sassenage and into the gorge country. We had coffee in the inviting village of Villard-de-Lans and then raced through the 20km windy descent of the Gorges de la Bourne. The French resistance hid out here in WWII due to the narrow and unforgiving territory of overhangs, caves and deep gorges. Our lunch stop was the delightful St Nazaire-on-Royans where we sampled the french pastries and recovered.

We then pushed on to Valence finally hitting the city's outskirts by 2.15pm. Our last 15km took us directly on to the finishing section of the TDF stage. We pushed on at mighty pace partly because the people lined up for the tour finish were yelling 'allez,allez,allez' and partly because the gendarmes were eyeing us nervously through every checkpoint. They close off the tour road 2.5 hours before the ride arrives. Sure enough, just as we got into a 40km/hr wind-up they stopped us at the 2km sign and made us walk the rest of the way.

Anyway, we saw nearly the whole peloton arrive as one and charge down the final section of Valence. It was an awesome sight of speed and seething bike mania. Cavendish won the sprint (again), but Renshaw - his lead out man - got rubbed out from the tour for head-butting a rider in the final 300m surge to the line.

Tonight we have moved to the historic town of Avivgnon to prepare for another grueling, but fun day!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Alpe D'Huez - 14 July

Alpe D'Huez - icon of the French Alps and legend of the tour! Ever since Lance Armstrong charged up the 13.9km, 1120m climb in 41 minutes, every keen cyclist has wanted to see how they fare in comparison. This is another 'High Category' climb and averages 7.7% gradient over its length (maxing at 12%).

So, while the tour riders were finding their way from Chambery to Gap in the southern alps, we chose to make an early start and try to beat the heat of the day. Didn't help as the temperature rose to over 35 degrees, was hot early and barely moderated with the altitude.

The ride has 21 switchbacks, numbered in reverse order as you climb and featuring the names of previous TDF stage champions. One picture here shows the view at turn #10 at about 6km up - where I stopped to cool down. You start in the village below and ascend a near vertical drop.
Around the 1 hr 30min mark I made the village summit and joined my ride buddies in some celebrations, a coffee, coke and a quick shop in the bike shop!

We then shovelled some lunch in after finding a restaurant a bit higher on the mountain and headed for an 'apres' climb to Col de Sarene at 1999m. This was closer to a goat track than a road and required my best mountain bike skills to stay upright. The Col gave way to a death defying descent of over 20 km. Half way down I checked my tyre rims and they were near molten. So I let the air pressure down on my tyres and found the going easier.

The final part of the ride took us on a main highway pass through tunnels, gorges and bridges back to the village of La Bourg d'Oisans - a round trip of 65km and 1800m of climbing over 3.5 hours.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Col de la Madeleine - 13 July

This is one of the big ones! Col de la Madelaine rates as a ‘High Category’ 25km, 1650m climb with an average gradient of 6.5% with parts that max out at 11.5%. The summit stands at 2000m above sea level and commands sweeping views of valleys north and south. It features lots of switchbacks, unrelenting pinches upwards and the occasional traverse. I made the summit just before 1pm after 2hrs 50 min riding. This left just enough time to descend back down the mountain before the gendarmes closed the road so we could watch the stage come through Bonneval (a tiny village 6km up the mountain).

Cadel was with the main chase group when he passed us but was in a world of hurt it seems with a fractured elbow. Having lost as many minutes today, he probably can’t get back into jersey contention. C’est Le Tour.

The atmosphere on the way up on the mountain was sensational especially the last 5 km which was packed with campervans and day trippers getting ready to cheer and party on. People helped us with water along the way because it was another hot day. Some parts of the road were totally painted over with signs and decorations; and people adding to it right up to the last minute. Madeleine was a huge grind to get there today but a great sense of achievement on my first HC climb.

Col de la Croix Fry - 12 July

It was rest day for the pros but not for us. We set off for a 100k ride to the Col de la Croiz Fry in the Alps. Our route took us along the beautiful Lake Annecy (imagine pristine blue water surrounded by jagged mountains and tree covered peaks) onto Faverges and then the climb of 1500m. The final section of 12km to the Col was 6-10 degrees. The temperature climbed too – 32 degrees. The view down the Manigod Valley was to die for, but then if you didn’t concentrate on the road ahead that was a certainty. Still acclimitasing to the heat, so it was a bit of a struggle but eventually made it to the summit. After lunching at a little restaurant on top, we descended for 30km at a fast pace through the ski town of Thornes and then Carusz. On the lower stretches we were in the big gears and holding 50-55km for long sections and racing the traffic. Lots of fun but exhausting by the time we hit the lake – 4hrs 30m later. The coffee stop in the little village of St Ferriol was a highlight. A photo would help but French bandwidth in the hotel can’t handle uploads! Fix this when we move on to Grenoble.

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