Col D'Aspin - 21 July

Woke to find fog and grey skies over the Pyrenees - and omens of rain. It was rest day for the tour riders and we were free to ride as we please.

I spent a lazy day around Bagneres-de-Bignorres and headed out mid afternoon for an 85km, 1200m climb and ride to Col D'Aspin in a circuit taking in several beautiful valleys. Spent some time in the village of Mauvezin exploring a 15th century castle and restored fort.

By the time I got to the 12km climb up the col it was getting darker and rain threatening. I lumbered up the mountain (part of yesterday's stage where Lance led a charge) until I got to the 9km marker and rested. At this point the rain came and I soon found myself climbing the last k's in thunder and lightning with thick fog and hardly any light. I finally made the summit around 7.15pm and got a photo from a passing car. In broken Swedish, the occupants offered me a lift down the mountain but I bravely (foolishly) declined to their puzzlement.

I had to get off the moutain and fast as the rain was cold and I only had a wind jacket and arm warmers to fend off the weather. It was getting dark and an endless procession of cars was heading over the col for next day's stage finish on the Tourmalet. But easier said than done. Water was streaming down the road and my brakes were next to useless. So I crept down the 15km of steep descent between 20-30k/hour trying to keep my bike on a straight line and avoid any traffic.

By the time the descent slackened and the road straightened my hands were freezing (I reached for my bottle and couldn't feel any sensation at all) and my body start to shake involuntarily. I tried pedalling but kept hitting dangerous speeds and had to slow to a safer speed, which only meant getting colder. The rain kept coming and eventually I hit St Marie de Campan on the main road to Tourmalet. Now I could accelarate and put the final 12km behind me as fast as possible.

By the time I hit the flats into Bagneres-de-Bigorre the rain finally stopped and I found a gear I didn't know I had. In my big ring, I churned along at 45km/hr as I tried to generate some heat and get back in time for dinner.

At 8.30pm I got to 'La Residence' and half staggered into the dining room, wet to the bone and looking a little worse for wear. The diners erupted in a collective cheer, half glad to see my late return (dinner was at 8.00) and half bemused to see my washed out state.

I was suffering from exposure by this stage and it took an hour of food, shower and warm clothes to get my inner core stabilised again. Then off to bed. It stormed all night, but I had nightmares of fighting bushfires! All in a day's riding in France.

Tourmalet - 20 July

And then there was Tourmalet! Giant of the Pyrnees, highest and longest climb of the tour, and 100 years since it was first attempted on Le Tour. What a brilliant day it turned out to be.

We peeled out of our guest house at 7.30am to head for the summit before the gendarmes closed the roads for Le Tour at 11.30am. Tourmalet was 32km and 1800m of climbing away - occasionally revealing its massive peak between the passing scenery. Village after village went by and the going seemed good. But I had been warned! Expect it to get harder. And after 15km, it kicked up another gear - the first 8.5% incline. And then after 22km, it was mostly about 10%. Tourmalet is a true moutain - the higher it gets, the steeper it gets and the more it hurts.

Eventually the alpine village at 5km came into reach and led on to 'the Mongine' - the final cruel switchbacks leading to the summit. Without any great authority, I decided mongine was french for mongrel because that's what the climb felt like at that stage. And at last the final crawl to the summit. Hooray! And a picture to confirm the moment.

The crowds along the way, especially the last 5km were incredible. In parts sitting cheeck to jowl along the road in front of their caravans and yelling or just watching and talking, taking in the atomosphere. Every now and then someone in the crowd would pick you out and yell something, usually in french, presumably encouraging and you try to smile and pick up the cadence a little. Only to fall back shortly thereafter near exhausted!

After recuperating at the summit, I found a great switchback view within walking distance to camp out and wait for the pro riders. From where I stood, you could look down half a dozen lazy curves and 5km of valley to see the riders approaching. Lance Armstrong chose today to launch a brave attack and lead the charge up the Tourmalet, only to get over-run in the final sprint of the day.

When the final riders passed, I joined up with a Kiwi buddy to make a super fast 30km descent down the other side of the Touramet to Anglese-Gorasz and then on to Lourdes and a final closing of the circuit back to Bagneres-de-Bigore. By the time we reached home, we had 110k on the clock and been in the saddle for around 5.5hrs. A big dinner and a few wines were the only thing between me and a good sleep.

Port de Bales - 19 July

After a self-enforced rest day, we set out for our first day in the Pyrenees. Its 100 years since Le Tour started coming here. A nice resonance with the centenary of the ATO this year - the world is a different place than back then.

The main peak, Port de Bales, is yet another ‘high category’ climb. It stands at around 1750m with a 19km climb to the top and some very steep sections reaching towards 15%.
Our ride was 4hr 40min over a distance of 88km and climbing two major cols. We began with a climb of the Cat 2 Col de Aries and then on to Port de Bales via the village of Maleon-Barosse. Unfortunately the gendarmes closed the road to cyclists around 1.30pm and I was forced to be stop 6km from the top and be a spectator for the rest of the afternoon.

After a couple of baking hours in the sun, the pro riders eventually came through around 4pm. We amused ourselves in the interim by re-hydrating and collecting the throwaways from the travelling TDF caravan. Contador and Schleck were close together again on the col in the second group but Schleck lost his chain and precious momentum on the final stages of the climb, only to see the yellow jersey pass to Contador. He will be hard pressed to get it back now.

After the stage passed, we descended back to our bus pick up point and drove to the picturesque town of Bagneres-de-Bigore, nestled in the Pyrenees. This will be our home base for the next four nights. Its a place to die for with its backdrop of mountains, rolling green hills, fascinating villages and 1930s bohemian/boarding home feel.

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!

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