Whose Idea Was This Anyways?

Squirrel, Slug, and Junk will meet up in the French Alps town of Bourg d'Oisans on June 10 for seven days of riding some of the most famous mountains in Tour de France lore. Bourg d'Oisans is nestled at the base of Alpe d'Huez and will serve as our home base for our week in the Alps. This is the starting point of a famous ride called "La Marmotte" which is held each year and in which more than 5,000 riders participate. It is a 110-mile loop with 18,000 feet of climbing that tackles four massive passes which you may have heard of: Col de la Croix de Fer (hors categorie), Col de Telegraphe (2nd category), Col de Galibier (hors categorie), and Alpe d'Huez (hors categorie).

While we won't be riding with the masses, we are going to steal their loop and use it as one of the key rides of our week. But rather than thrashing ourselves over the same mountains each day, we are on the lookout for more. Armed with a $20 French Road Atlas from Barnes & Noble, we plan to ride loops that take in Sestriere and the Colle delle Finestre in Italy, the Col de Izoard, Mont Ventoux, Col de Madeleine, Courchevel, Les Deux Alpes, and the Grand Goulets. Each ride will be between 80-110 miles. Perhaps our appetite is bigger than our stomachs, but we shall see when we get there. And if there is internet access in the Alps, you'll get to read about it right here (if that interests you in the least).

Ten days out from our trip, we're keeping a constant eye on the weather. Apparently, it hasn't warmed up much in the Alps, and many mountain passes are still covered in snow. Assuming the roads clear up in time, expect to see many pictures on this site similar to that on the right. Of course, this opens up a can of worms all by itself: what do you wear when it is 2000 feet and nice in the valley and looks like this at 8000 feet on top of the Galibier? Answer: bring your jerseys with the biggest pockets and load up on arm, knee, and leg warmers, vests, and rain jackets.

Hopefully this blog will provide some entertaining stuff, much like the emails from Pinky, Fish, and Craig during their Carmichael training camp in California. Unfortunately for us, we'll have no sag support (unless Squirrel lures an unsuspecting French maiden into that role), no world famous companions, and no soigneurs (unless Squirrel's aforementioned French maiden is a trooper). The closest thing we have to comfort is a hotel that includes breakfast and a bike store across the street if something really goes wrong with our equipment. We've taken the map, found as many famous peaks as possible, and then played connect the dots to create routes each day. So we're going into this not really knowing how far each day will be or how much climbing will be involved. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss! One thing is certain: upon our return each one of us will either be strong as an ox, or dead as a doornail. With scenery like this, who really cares which one?