Well, I’m back from my surprise birthday trip to France.(see my earlier post). It was a trip of a lifetime for sure. Got to see 4 stages in all, 3 mountain stages (including the TT) and the final in Paris. Rode 5 days in the Alps, and one in Paris on the “Fat Tire Bike Tour”. We took our own bikes, and I was glad I did except for the fact that 39-29 is NOT a low enough gear for those climbs in the Alps! My wife did fine with her new compact (34-27) but I had some trouble because we just don’t have anything nearly as long as we were going up there. But I did get up the longest climb in the tour this year, the Col de Madiline at about 4500 vert. feet and I was able to stay within an hour of Lance’s time on Alpe du Heuz!
The most amazing things other than the race and how long those climbs are, were the rabid fans from all over the world and the Alps themselves-so beautiful. The tour we were with did a fantastic job of getting us to stages and laying out and supporting rides. If anyone in interested contact me and I’ll give you some details. If you have ever thought about going, all I can say is…Just Do It! CST