We're in France...point me toward Alpe d'Huez
We had a long flight that was highlighted by a delay and a missed connection for Junk and lost baggage for both Junk and Slug. Both our bikes were late and arrived on Sunday. Undeterred, we im
mediately rented bikes when we arrived on Saturday afternoon and went straight to Alpe d'Huez (which is seen from the balcony of our hotel room in the picture to the left) and did the first 4 or 5 hairpins. So after 4 minutes of riding on rented bikes, Slug and I are climbing Alpe d'Huez. And we wouldn't have had it any other way.When we got to the hotel room, we knew Squirrel had arrived in town, but we had no idea where he was. So Slug and I went to dinner and sat outdoors at a little pizzeria on the main drag. Sure enough, at about 8:30, the Squirrel-meister comes whizzing though town, dressed in complete kit, which looked great against the mountains. He had been up the Col de Glandon and the Croix de Fer on Saturday checking out the Dauphiné. He saw the leaders crest the Glandon a
nd had a great time checking out the pro peleton. Unfortunately, he received no contract offers from any of the team cars as they went by.Fortunately, Slug's bike arrived before we rode today, Junk had to stick with the rental, but that did not keep the three of us from tackling Alpe d'Huez, the Col de Sarenne, and Les Deux Alpes. The climbs were great, and today was a perfect warmup for tomorrow's slog over 4 of the toughest climbs you can do in one loop.
Internet access is available so we expect to update daily. The important thing is that we are all here, safe, excited, and prepared to suffer. Wish us luck!
posted by Janus @ 11:48 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Mrs. Slug needs more details...
Like:
1. Were there any noteworthy comments written on the slopes of Alpe D'Huez?
2. Does Slug's trail of muck do anything funky above 6000 ft?
3. Has Squirrel had any luck finding his "soul mate" who is also willing to provide ride support?
And, you guys really should provide a few pictures as proof that you ARE really in the French Alps (and are not on some beach in the Caribbean drinking cheap rum).
Mrs. Slug needs details, Mrs Slug gets details. No noteworthy signage to speak of on Alpe d'Huez. It's been a while since the pros went up, so it's pretty clean. We expect more on the Ventoux since the Dauphiné just went there last week. Mr Slug's trail doesn't phase me any more, but there wasn't a European conversion factor of note. Unfortunately there will be no or few pics before our return, but you of all people should know that we're not smart enough to skip the suffering and sit on a beach!!!!
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