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Tour de France - Day 1

As you’ve heard, Gary (my father), John (brother) and I (Gray) just returned from a cycling trip in the French Alps during the Tour de France. Gary just turned 65 and retired at the end of June, plus he’s a huge cyclist and Tour fan, so we decided this would be a great way to kick off his retirement. As an added bonus, we found out after booking the trip that Lance Armstrong would be riding his final race and goingfor a 7^th consecutive Tour win this year.

As the first day was just a warm-up ride, I thought in this first entry I’d give a little background on the trip and getting to France. I’ll go into more riding details in the entries for subsequent days (I’m only going to get to one day at a time).

First, the trip itself. As an “epic” trip and one involving the Tour de France, it was tough. We weren’t sure we should attempt this sort of trip (I had not ridden since they were called “10 speeds”), but the Backroads folks convinced us we could do it with proper training. Training involved between 1,000 and 1,500 miles for each of us between January and June. For me, that was two or three mornings a week before work, either indoors on the trainer or a 10 mile ride around the neighborhood, and usually a 40 miler with some hills on the weekend. They certainly don't make mountains in Atlanta like they have in the Alps.

All of the riding in France (one warm-up day and four full riding days) was either up or down – no flats. In all, we rode about 175 miles and climbed over 20,000 feet. That’s a lot of feet. As about half of the miles were downhill, you can get a sense for how steep the other half were. This was probably the hardest physical activity I’ve ever done in a one week period, but all three of us made all of the climbs and left with a great sense of accomplishment.

We traveled with a tour company called Backroads, and they were incredible. They did everything except ride the bikes for us, and this trip included premiere inns and incredible food. We’d all highly recommend this company for cycling, hiking or multi-sport trips all around the world.

As we were using frequent flier miles, the trip to France was a bit circuitous. John and Gary flew from Raleigh to Atlanta, then we changed in both Miami and Paris on our way to Geneva. From there, a 45 minute cab ride got us to Annecy, the meeting point for the trip. As we were two days early, we took in the sites in this beautiful town on Lake Annecy.

A boat ride on the lake and some rental bikes for a short ride along the shore helped us shake off the jet lag and start to get into adventure mode. John had his first (and only) flat tire of the week before we even started the Backroads trip.

 

On Sunday July 10 we met to the other 14 trip participants and rode by bus to our first hotel – Le Fer a Cheval in Megeve, one of many ski towns in the Alps. This was the nicest of our three hotels (although all were nice). The two Backroads leaders had bikes ready for all of us, and we spent an hour or so putting our seats, pedals and computers on, and getting them fit for a week of riding. Then it was off for a “warm-up” ride of 13 miles. The best part of this ride was discovering the beauty of the triple chain ring – these bikes had some truly low gears, which we were going to need going up all those mountains. The bad news was that the “warm-up” ride had more hills than we expected. About 1,100 feet of climbing, and a couple pretty steep parts. It was good for us though, and enough to get us into the spirit of things and make dinner taste especially good that night. Gary and I roomed together at this hotel, and John bunked with a jovial fellow named Oscar.

Cumulative stats at end of Day 1:   13 miles / 1,100 feet.

 

Tour de France - Day 2

After the typical breakfast buffet (everything you could want to fuel up for a day of cycling) at the hotel, we were ready for our first full day of riding. The Tour had one of its two rest days today, so for us the day was all about climbing some cols (passes) in the area.

Following about 6 miles of fairly tame rolling terrain from the hotel, we  reached the bottom of our first real climb – Col des Aravis. The first mile and a half wasn’t bad, with a pretty gradual grade. Then after a couple more miles, the steep part began. This was our first switchback experience, and parts were pretty steep. This final ascent was about 4 miles of switchbacks, and we could definitely feel our legs start to grumble. Fortunately the low gearing allowed us to keep a slow and steady pace, and the stunning scenery gave us an excuse to stop once in a while to take pictures. One thing you notice going up a hill like this is how quickly you ascend, even going slowly on the bike. In what seems like no time you’re looking back down to the valley you came from far below.

 

Having reached the summit of Col des Aravis (altitude 4,900 feet), a steep, curvy downhill took us to the bottom of our next challenge – Col de la Croix Fry (also about 4,900 feet). This was part of a climb that was featured in the 2004 Tour. The climb was only a little over 2 miles, but it was pretty steep. The worst part was that there was no time to warm up our legs after the descent from Col des Aravies – the uphill started immediately, and it took a while to get into a rhythm. John and Gary left me on this hill, but my excuse was stopping to help a woman in our group get her chain back on…

During the descent from Col de la Croix Fry, I learned about the importance of changing hand and foot position often on the downhills. By the time I reached the bottom, my arms and legs were almost completely asleep. Apparently I kept pressure on certain places too long, cutting off circulation. It’s not very easy to squeeze the brakes when your arms are asleep.

After one more moderate climb up Col de Marais (to about 2,800 feet), we pulled up to a small restaurant for lunch. We had put in about 30 miles and 2,200 feet of climbing, so we were hungry. The “picnic” we had been promised turned out to be a gourmet spread of every kind of local food there was. One of our leaders, Anton, laid it all out, explained each dish and invited us to dig in. The food was amazing, and we all stuffed ourselves.

With options to call it a day and ride in the van after lunch, tackle one more climb, or ride all the way back to the hotel (another 20 miles), we opted for the middle option. The climb up Col de l’Epine (to 3,300 feet) was about 4.5 miles and steeper than we expected. After reaching the top, I think we were all glad that only a descent separated us from the van ride back to the hotel. On the way down, we passed through a couple of neat (and very quiet) small towns.

That evening we went on a very good walking tour of the town of Megeve, although by the end we were aching for our dinner. The restaurant was a fancy log cabin-style place, and the food was amazing. Scallops and beef were highlights, and the dessert buffet was extraordinary. We had no trouble sleeping that night.

(Note: Photo Album from the trip is finally up.)

Day 2 Stats: 41 miles / 3,300 feet

Cumulative Stats at end of Day 2: 54 miles / 4,400 feet

Tour de France - Day 3

(Slowly getting there on the summaries. Be sure to check out the photo album on this site, and John’s pictures as well.)

Day three was our first Tour viewing day, so there was an extra level of excitement in the air as we rolled out of bed at 7:00 am. We felt good (although a little sore) having put in a full day of riding, but today we would have two big climbs before reaching our viewing spot, so we were anxious to get going. Once the Tour riders get to a certain point the roads close, even to cyclists.

Col de Saisies was our first big climb of the day, and it started about five miles from the hotel. Saisies was not terribly steep, but it was long and steady. About eight miles and 2,800 feet of climbing. John left Gary and me in what would become a pattern on the rest of the climbs during the week. We all tried to pace ourselves, knowing that the next climb would be much tougher and that on that second climb, which was part of the day’s Tour route, there would be no support vehicles to rescue us. We would have to make it up Meraillet to the viewing spot or get stuck on the side of the road somewhere. Fortunately, the slope of Saisies allowed us to climb at a reasonable pace and effort level.

A few rapid descents with sharp switchbacks and rough roads followed the climb up Col de Saisies. These took us through some quiet farmland with few cars. Then we crossed a bridge and the scene changed dramatically – we were starting up Col de Meraillet, and we were on the actual Tour route for the first time. For the mountain stages people line the entire road, and they get there early (days ahead for the best spots). So as we struggled up this six mile, 2,200 foot climb, we were cheered and encouraged by all sorts of fans. It was a bit unnerving at first, but quickly became fun and helped take our minds off the burning in our legs. This was certainly the toughest climb so far, especially since it was the second long climb of the day. As we got closer to the top, I started having the “I wonder if my legs will make it all the way up” thought for the first time on the trip. At one point, we stopped for John to take relief behind a camper, and I was suddenly famished – an indicator that I had not been eating enough. Soon though, with the help of the crowds, we made it to the top of Col de Meraillet and our viewing spot.

Our leaders had reserved a large table at the one restaurant at the top of Meraillet for lunch, and we eagerly gathered here for a huge, family-style meal. Once again, everything was fantastic, and there was lots of it. The views from this restaurant were spectacular, and Tour coverage was starting on a TV inside. Finally stuffed, we wandered back outside to assume our place along the side of the road with the thousands of other fans to await the Tour. The Caravan came first, throwing out all kinds of trinkets (keychains, hats, candy, etc.). Apparently you’re supposed to try to get as much of this stuff as possible. Then the Tour riders finally came through, which was very exciting despite the fact that you only get to see each one for a few seconds. As we were at the top of a long climb the field was spread out, so we got 20 minutes or so of viewing before it was over.

Gary decided to stay up top to ensure seeing the end of the stage on TV (they had another even bigger climb to finish the day), while John and I decided to tackle one more climb (fortunately a short one) before a long descent into town to try to catch the end on TV at a bar. Getting started on the way out was a nightmare – cars were packed on the road in all directions, not moving. We had to pick up our bikes and lift them over cars a couple times. Finally we broke the logjam, and there was some incredible scenery on this segment, including this huge reservoir. The descent was fast and a little scary given the number of cars trying to get down off the mountain. One in our group got a little aggressive on a switchback and t-boned a car, getting thrown up in the air and landing on the hood. Fortunately he was fine (not so for his bike and the hood of the car). At the bottom of the mountain we found a couple bars, but apparently a lot of other people had the same idea. We had to settle for beers outside a bar with updates from a woman sitting inside who could see the TV. This was a very exciting stage, with Lance and a handful of others dominating the field on the final climb, and Lance just losing out at the finish to a strong sprinter. He retook the yellow jersey with this performance.

The Backroads bus took us to our new hotel for the night, where our luggage was waiting. Another wonderful meal this night, although at a pace the French are not accustomed to as we had an early wake-up call the next day. Tomorrow is the big one!

Day 3 Stats: 41 miles / 5,300 feet

Cumulative Stats at end of Day 3: 95 miles / 9,700 feet

Tour de France - Day 4

6:00 am wake-up call for our longest and toughest day. We were going to tackle two major back-to-back climbs that were part of the Tour route that day, stopping near the top of the second to watch the riders come through. We had an early start so we could bus to the base of the first climb and have time to make it to our viewing spot before the Tour arrived.

The two hour bus ride to the base of Col du Telegraph turned into three hours due to (i) traffic, and (ii) severe motion sickness for one of the guys in our group. We had to stop in a small town to let him stumble out of the bus, nearly passing out on the sidewalk, and unfortunately had to leave him at a bar to be picked up later. He couldn’t get back on the bus and had to miss the ride.

Col du Telegraph was the first of our two climbs. As we bussed right to the base of this mountain, there was no warm-up riding. Combined with a steep beginning, this was a tough start. It took me several miles to get loose, so those first five were hard. Like the day before, we had good crowds cheering us on. The grade fortunately eased off a little, so the rest of the climb (7.5 miles total, 2,700 feet) was not as bad. We all took it slow and went at our own pace (which again meant John left us in the dust), knowing we needed to conserve energy for Col du Galibier. The top of Telegraph offered a brief photo op before a short, fast descent into the town of Valloire.

We fueled up on snacks in Valloire, rested for about 15 minutes, then set out for Col du Galibier. This was going to be our biggest and toughest climb of the trip – over 11 miles long and 4,000 feet up. It was our first of two “HC” (Beyond Classification) climbs for the week, Alpe d’Huez the following day being the other. Galibier was the highest altitude on this year’s tour (and one of the highest among all Tour routes) at 8,678 feet, so we would be going from 80 degrees and sun in Valloire to drizzle and 40s at the top. We heard it had snowed at the top each of the last few afternoons.

The first part of the climb was billed as “gradual,” and it looked more like a long, straight road through countryside than a mountain ascent, but it was much harder than it looked. Perhaps partly due to having done Telegraph already, and partly due to the illusion of a flat road that turned out to feel pretty steep, we were panting fairly early and had a long way to go. The crowds were really boisterous the rest of the way, and campers were parked in every possible spot along the road. This “gradual” climb continued for about six miles as we slowly made our way up the side of a valley to what really did look like an awfully big mountain.

We crossed a small bridge, legs already starting to feel weak, and the next entry our route sheet read “steep uphill begins.” As it seemed like we had already gotten to the steep part, this was not very good news. We still had five miles to go, and the map didn’t say anything else (such as “gradual”) before saying we had reached the top. This is where the switchbacks really began, and it was brutal in places – grades as high as 12%, with a chilly wind that kept getting colder as we climbed. I think everyone in our group pretty much separated from each other on this climb, which was probably good because it took a lot of concentration just to keep turning the pedals. I did catch John at one point (he had stopped to take pictures), and we stopped to take these shots on the edge of a cliff overlooking the valley we had come from. It was getting cold at this point, we were tired, and all we could see was another set of switchbacks ahead. We knew our viewing spot was somewhere among the last set of switchbacks, but weren’t sure exactly where.

A little less than two hours after we started up Galibier, I rounded a sharp corner and saw it – the most beautiful tent I had ever seen. It was nice, but the relief of having reached it made it spectacular. John and several others were waiting, and it felt mighty good to get off the bike. This climb had lived up to its billing as the toughest on our trip and one of the toughest the Tour has included. I can’t imagine doing it as the third major climb of the day as part of a 21 day race. Backroads welcomed us in style. They had sent two employees up two days ahead in a camper to stake out the spot, and had everything we could ask for – another incredible food spread (including grilled hot dogs), a camper with a bathroom, satellite TV (for watching the Tour in English), a masseuse (he has worked for several pro cycling teams) and lots of blankets. On top of all that, we had an incredible viewing spot – plenty of space along a narrow road with minimal crowds (you either had to have camped out or ridden up that day to be in this area). Together with the sense of accomplishment we had from having made it up this climb, the location and amenities made the next few hours the highlight of the trip.

The Tour riders were very spread out on this stage, having hit three big climbs (there was another “HC” climb before Telegraph) by the time they got to us. The spacing and the room we had along the road gave the crazies in our group a chance to show their stuff. Oscar (orange socks) ran along beside each rider, shouting in Spanish, and James (yellow sweatshirt) ran with his video camera. We jumped back and forth from the road to the TV, catching all the action. See the photo album for more action shots.

I barely got in my leg massage (they really hurt when done right I guess) before the stage ended and we had to set off. First up was the last two kilometers of Galibier, which you can see to the right and behind the tent in the picture above. It was tough and steep, but short and not as hard as it would have been had we continued all the way through. After reaching the top, we pulled out our cold weather gear (gloves, hats, tights, jackets) and started a long descent down the other side. Traffic again was awful, and the cyclists and motorcycles were doing lots of weaving in and out. At one point we were passing cars going down by going in the other lane of a two lane road at 40+ mph through sharp curves, and I had to tell myself I was being crazy and slow down. Gary and John were a little more aggressive and sped on ahead.

Our second crash of the trip occurred on this descent. James (different from the video camera guy) was going too fast in a hairpin turn, fishtailed, and slammed into the side of the mountain. Fortunately it was the part of the mountain that went up and not the edge of a cliff. He was pretty banged up and the bike destroyed, and he missed the next day’s ride, but he was OK. I had a less serious incident when my sunglasses fell off after going through a tunnel. I stopped on the side of the road and walked a couple hundred yards back to them, and just as I was about to dart though traffic to save them, a car veered just enough toward the center to smash them. Fortunately, that was the only cycling incident for the Flemings on this trip.

A shuttle took us from the bottom of the valley to our new hotel in Les Deux Alpes, where dinner was on our own. Eating at the hotel was on Backroads, and we were surprised that we were the only three who took advantage. We were tired, it was late, and a quick “free” meal sounded like a good way to end the day.

Day 4 Stats: 43 miles / 6,700 feet

Cumulative Stats at end of Day 4: 138 miles / 16,400 feet