Today was a relatively short day. We rode, by bus, from Chamonix, Fr through the tunnel in the Alps to Italy. In Italy we climbed the last Cat 1 climb of today's stage. At the top of the climb, you re-enter France. The scenery was magnificent. This is one of the most remarkable places in the world I've visited. Majestic snow capped, glacier covered mountains. The mountains have sharp spires and jagged peaks. The crevasses between the peaks are marked by fast moving streams of snow and glacial melt. The Water has a distinctive, lime green hue. It looks and likely is extremely cold.
The climb today was no snoozer. For the uninitiated and for those who follow the sport, a Category 1 climb is 14 miles of an average of 5.4%. OUCH! I steamed up this hill at an average pace of 10 mph. I felt pretty good about my day, until I saw the pros make this look like a Saturday morning training ride with the fellas. What took me 1:15:00, took the leading group of pros only 0:55:00; 20 minutes faster! I guess in hind sight, that's really not that bad. But, they had nearly 120km in their legs for just today and about 2,000 km in their legs from the past 2 weeks. And the look on their faces look far more comfortable than the difficulty I am sure my face indicated. Oh well, this is why I'm here and consider this a fun, relaxing vacation. In all candor, I am extremely grateful for the chance and the health to attempt this activity. Having a great time.
Once finished riding for the day, Doug and I visited a local restaurant with two other folks with whom we've been riding, Donna and Dave. We split a huge mix of food, including: a capprizi salad, lasagna, prosciutto & cheese pizza, and a 5-cheese sampler platter. Good stuff. We then walked through the town and waited for the tour to roll through. Can't recall the name of the town, but the small Alpine village was extremely cute, a picture postcard, and the people were extremely friendly and helpful. Tomorrow is a big day in the Tour; 4 major climbs. Our plan is to tackle 120 km and three climbs, including the final Hors Category (beyond classification) climb. This is a wee bit harder than today's climb. It purports to offer 9 km of 9.5% average grades and 1 km of 12.5% average grade. Looking forward to tomorrow.
A not so frequently updated journal of people, events and experience encountered while riding my bike(s).
Welcome,
In the summer of 2008, I started my blogging experience. I wrote about the Epic Summer, my trip to the Tour de France. It was, for sure, a bucket list item for me. I liked blogging well enough that I thought I'd continue to blog about my cycling experiences. It will be an infrequently updated blog, but I hope the updates will be interesting. If nothing else, the exercise should prove useful to improving my rather weak writing and communication skills. Thanks for checking in and I hope you enjoy.
Take care,
Jim Dennedy
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