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The Ariège Pyrenees

It rained three out of five days in the Ariège Pyrenees. However, the two days that I did ride were great. I did the Col de la Core, the Col de Latrape, and the Col de Saraillé (from both directions). I enjoyed some great food and great company at Les Deux Velos, where I stayed in Biert.  If you ride in the Ariège, this is the place to stay.

The Drive to Marseille

I left Biert Tuesday morning around 8:30 am to drive to the Marseille Airport. It’s about 500 kilometers and a 5 or 6 hour trip. The first 30 kilometers took almost an hour because I had to drive over the Col de Port in the rain. The rest of the trip was on the autoroute with only two minor incidents. The first was with a tailgating driver, and the second was a 5 km traffic jam.

Normally, I think that the French are extremely polite (once you leave Paris). In fact, I think that people in rural France make the people living in east Texas look like they are New Yorkers—and people in east Texas are very polite. However, France does have a few tail-gaiters. Their modus operandi is to pull up about 10 feet from your rear bumper, if you are in the left lane. They want you to pull over so that they can pass. I can usually see these guys coming and pull over to the right lane. However, this is not a practical solution of you are behind a line of other cars going 130 km per hour speed limit (80 mph) and passing traffic on your right.

Well, one !@#$ pulled up to 10 feet off my rear bumper at autoroute speeds, so slowed down a bit and touched the brakes. The guy motioned for me to get out of the way. There was no place to go, and I decided that I had enough of this. So I gave him the one finger salute, which is something that I don’t do very often and NEVER do in France or any other foreign country. I finally had an opportunity to get back in the right lane, and the guy passed and then did the same thing to the next car up the road.

Airports

I finally made it to Marseille, returned the car, and began the long wait to checkin for my flight to Amsterdam. I got to the Marseille airport around 3 PM, but my flight to Amsterdam didn’t leave until 8:05 PM. There was a bit of confusion when I finally checked in. First, there was the bike. I finally convinced the gate agent that two bags were okay, and that the bike should fly for free. Thank you Delta Silver Medallion! He also gave me a middle seat on the flight from Amsterdam to Houston, but I decided not to argue this one thinking that I might be able to change it once I got to Amsterdam. As it turned out, the seat was in economy comfort. So I gave it a shot, and it worked.

Schipol is a rather large airport. I didn’t get here until about 10 PM last night. Once I found it, I stayed at the Mercure Schipol Hotel, which is right in the terminal. I didn’t even have to go through security again. The room was small but it was worth the 85 euros to get a reasonable night’s sleep. Wednesday was a long one. My flight to Houston left at 10:45 AM and was scheduled to arrive at 2 PM but was 30 minutes early. I made it through customs, picked up my luggage, and was at my car in under an hour. I arrived home before 5 PM.

Worse Parts of the Trip

• Tail gating French drivers.
• Airports and parent with small children on planes.  The kids are okay, but some of the parents should be locked away.
• Two flat tires on the car on the Col de la Madeleine.
• Rain in the Pyrenees.

Best Parts of the Trip

• Riding in France.
• The best rides?  Really all of them, but a few stand out.  Col du Granier, Col de l'Izoard, Col de l'Aravis, Col du Mollard, the Cévennes, and the Circle of Death in the Pyrenees.
• Staying at the Lanterne Rouge and Les Deux Velos.
• IFALPES and staying with the Caracos in Chambéry.
• Watching two stages of the Tour in the Pyrenees.

Finally, who's up for Summer 2012?

Start thinking about it now.  I will organize something this fall.

A Few Last Thoughts on the 2012 Tour de France

It's Wednesday, and I'm still going through major Tour de France withdrawal. I couldn't have written a better script for the 2011 TDF. WOW!

Thomas Voeckler defends the yellow jersey for 10 days and finishes fourth overall, Pierre Roland wins on the Alpe and goes home with the white jersey for the best young rider. Not bad for a team that almost didn't exist last October because they couldn't find sponsorship.

Cadel Evans the yellow jersey home to Australia. He won on top of the Mur Bretagne, had a fantastic time trial in Grenoble, and chased down Andy Schleck on the Galibier when no one else would or could help. And if you can ride Alberto Contador off your wheel on a climb, you can never be considered a wanker.

Garmin had a great Tour with Danielson in ninth place, a win in the team time trial, and the overall team classification. And a certain Norwegian had a great Tour. Hushovd hit 112 kilometers per hour (70 mph) on the descent of the Soulor. Who says the rainbow jersey is a curse?

Samuel Sanchez has the polka dot jersey and a win at Luz Ardiden. With Mark Cavendish in the green jersey and Tony Martin winning the time trial, I hope that HTC-Columbia gets a sponsor for next year.

Andy Schleck made a really gutsy move on the Izoard for which he should be commended, but neither of the Schlecks are going to win the TDF until they learn to time trial. Andy also needs to learn that bike races go downhill as well as uphill and to stop complaining and making excuses.

As for the losers, Radio Shack had terrible luck. I would have liked to see what Horner could have done. Katusha had the only doper...I hope. I'm not a huge Vinokourov fan, but I hate to see anyone end a career with a broken femur. I’m also not a huge Contador fan, but I have to admit that the guy went down swinging.

A lot of the favorites crashed out early.  This year it was Brajovic, Horner, Kloden, Vinokourov, and Wiggins.  Boonen, Stegmanns, Kern, Popovych, Zabriskie, and Lars Boom were among the other casualties. Last year it was Armstrong, Evans, and Schleck.  I think that things are changing in the TDF.  The speeds are higher and everyone wants to be at the front on narrow roads.  In the mountains, it really doesn’t matter because the terrain naturally thins out the peloton.  However, the early flat stages are absolutely nuts.  Conventional wisdom is that you did not do too much work during the first week if you have a podium contender.  BMC did a very smart thing by including some classics riders on the team (Hincapie, Burghardt, and Bookwalter).  These are big, strong guys who did a lot of work during the first week keeping Evans at or near the front of the race.  The result—all nine riders finished the race and the team took home the yellow jersey.

Finally, there's Johnny Hoogerland, who crashed into the barbed wire. It takes a lot of guts to get back on your bike and finish the Tour after something like that.  Chapeau Mr. Hoogerland! The photo of Hoogerland in the polka dot jersey was taken by Paddy Sweeney on Luz Ardiden a few days AFTER the crash. If you look closely, I am off to the side.

Hautacam, Cambasque, the Tourmalet and TDF developments

Hautacam and Cambasque

Monday was an epic day.  The first climb of the morning was Hautacam followed by Cambasque.  Hautacam is a winter sports area above Argelès-Gazost.  From St. Savin, the base of the climb is a short descent to the valley below.  You arrive at the base of the Hautacam in less than 20 minutes.  From there, you go uphill, and it's VERY steep.  Several epic stage finishes of the TDF have ended on Hautacam.  The climb itself is 13 km at an average grade of 8%.  However, there are at least 3 kilometers that have an average grade of 10%.  There is one kilometer where the average grade is 9%, but the first few hundred meters are downhill.  This means that the rest of the kilometer is 11-15%.  OUCH!  I actually think that Hautacam is a harder climb than the Col du Tourmalet.

Cambasque is 19 kilometers from St. Savin.  The climb up to Cauterets is not too bad, but the 3 kilometers after Cauterets are brutal 9-11%.  The TDF has finished here three times.

After Hautacam and Cauterets it was time for the compression tights and a nap.  It rained Tuesday, but I had decided to make the day a designated rest day anyway.

Col du Tourmalet

After a rest day on Tuesday, I decided to ride the Tourmalet today.  The Col du Tourmalet is a climb that goes on forever. From Saint Savin it's downhill for 3 kilometers, then another 12 kilometers to Luz Saint Sauveur at 3% The climb officially starts at Luz. It's 18 kilometers to the summit (2115 meters or 6939 feet) at 7.6%, and the climb never really backs off.  The last kilometer is 10% with some even steeper ramps.

The Col du Tourmalet has been used in the Tour de France for the past 101 years and has quite a history.  The large statue at the top of the col is of Octave Lapize, who led the TDF over the first ascent of the Tourmalet in 1910.  He is noted for yelling at the Tour officials, "Vous êtes des assassins! Oui, des assassins!' (Translation: 'You are murderers! Yes, murderers!')" Octave was a fighter pilot in World War I.  He was shot down and late died of his injuries.

You can see my bike (the Leopard) leaning against the railing.  The cafe was a great place to get a cafe au lait.  It was very cold on top.

Who is Going to Win the Tour?

WOW! The last two days of the Tour have certainly been interesting.  Voeckler is still in yellow, and France is going crazy. Contador is not dominating the race as in previous years, and Evans is looking really good. Andy needs to learn how to descend. Bike races go downhill as well as uphill.  Right now, there are still about 8 guys who can still win the race.  My pick for the podium is (1) Evans, (2) Voeckler, and (3) Contador.  This prediction could change after tomorrow's stage.

Moving on to the Ariège Tomorrow

I will certainly miss St. Savin and the Lanterne Rouge.  Paddy and Olive are wonderful hosts.  And Sean, their fifteen month old son, is a charmer.  If you are thinking of a cycling trip to France and the Pyrenees, I think that a top priority would be a stay at the Lanterne Rouge.  I am 90% certain that I will be back next year.  Anyone interested in tagging along.

TDF 2011 - Luz Ardiden, Col du Soulor, and Plateau de Beille

Luz Ardiden

Thursday was Bastille Day in France, and a good day to watch the Tour. Nine of us left St. Savin around 10 AM to ride to Luz Ardiden. We staked out our spot about 6 kilometers from the finish. We were there at noon, which meant that we had to wait until about 3:30 PM for the caravan to arrive and about another hour for the race. It was quite a spectacle. Sammy Sanchez won the day.

Getting down from a Tour finish is quite an ordeal---even on a bike. Many of those who were driving probably didn't make it down until 10 or 11 PM. We waited until the autobus passed (the last group of riders who are struggling to make the time cut for the stage). However, the broom wagon had not passed, and we didn't see it until we were almost at the bottom of the climb. A Katusha rider finished 59 minutes behind the winner of the stage.  Needless to say, he didn't make the time cut.

Col du Soulor

I watched Friday's Stage from the top of the Col du Soulor. I decided to be smart and ride up to the top of the col by first going over the Col du Spandelles and then up the north side of the Soulor. I hardly saw a soul until the last few kilometers of the ride. Of course, I did put in 6,500 feet of climbing to get there.

I arrived just after the caravan passed. All of the spectators were booing, because the caravan wasn't throwing out free souvenirs. Of course, boos changed to cheers as the riders passed. Thor Hushovd, world champion, was third over the top of the climb and ended up winning the stage. Hushovd is NOT known as a climber.

Yes, I was on TV, but it was a helicopter shot, and you have to know exactly where to look.

Plateau de Beille

Thomas Voeckler stays in yellow. Man, he is tough. Chapeau!!! And Jens Voigt!!! The man crashes twice on the descent from Port de Lers, gets back on the bike, and then sets the tempo at the bottom of the Plateau de Beille climb for Leopard-Trek, destroying all but the best climbers. There was no change in the overall standings today, which is surprising.  Basso, the Schlecks, Evans, and Contador are all still around. And Voeckler will probably hang onto the yellow jersey until the Alps now.

Les Cévennes and St-Jean-du-Gard

St-Jean-du-Gard and Les Cévennes

Although Saint-Jean-du-Gard was inhabited during the the Neolithic period, the real history of this town of about 3,000 inhabitants began in the twelfth century with the founding of a monastery by Benedictines. The town was a center for Protestants in the sixteenth century. These days St-Jean-du-Gard is a good starting point to explore the Cévennes.


The Cévennes is a range of mountains in south central France that is part of the Massif Central. The highest points are Mont Lozère (1702 meters or 5584 feet) and Mont Aigoual (1567 meters or 5141 feet). The Loire River also begins in the Cévennes. The climate and vegetation are very much like Provence.

Les Camisards

Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598 granting the Huguenots (the Calvinist Protestants of France) substantial rights in a nation that was still essentially Catholic. The Edict opened the way for secularism and tolerance offering many specific concessions to the Protestants, such as amnesty and the reinstatement of their civil rights, including the right to work in any field or for the State and to bring grievances directly to the king. The Edict marked the end of the religious wars that had afflicted France during the second half of the sixteenth century. Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes of 1685 and ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches, as well as the closing of Protestant schools.


The Camisards, Huguenots living the the Cévennes, began an insurrection against the persecutions that followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The revolt by the Camisards broke out in 1702, and the troops of Louis XIV brutally suppressed the revolt, although atrocities were committed by both sides.  The worst of the fighting continued through 1704, but scattered fighting lasted until 1710 with peace finally by 1715. The name camisard comes from the Occitan language and is attributed to a type of linen smock or shirt that the peasants wore in lieu of any sort of uniform.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Stevenson made the Cévennes famous in his Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, published in 1879. Stevenson was in his late twenties when he undertook a 12-day, 120-mile solo hiking journey traversing the Cévennes. He was accompanied by Modestine, a stubborn, manipulative donkey he could never quite get the best of. At the end of the journey, Stevenson cried when he had to sell his ass.

Riding in the Cevennes

The Cevennes are definitely not flat. Although this is not the Alps or the Pyrenees, the climbs here can be quite long—up to 20 kilometers (that's 12 miles for you metrically challenged folks). There is a lot of 5 and 6% grade and on rare occasions it does get steep (10%+). There are an incredible number of back roads often with very little traffic.

I put in two 4-5 hour days here. On Monday I rode to the top of the Col des Faisses. At the top of the climb you will find a plateau that seems to stretch form miles. Tuesday was supposed to be a day with less climbing, but I actually ended up doing more. There was last climb over the Col d'Uglas was not very much fun as I was running out of water.

A Great Day

It rained last night in Chambéry but cleared as predicted as the day wore on. I got up around 6:30, had breakfast at 7:30, then took off for IFALPES and my French class. We wrestled with prepositions for the first part of the morning. As always, I struggled a bit. During our break someone from the office came and asked me what year I was born so she could put it on my certificate. She was very sure that 1949 was some sort of mistake. Yes folks, I was actually born in the first half of the twentieth century...barely. Well, I guess that I should be thankful that I am not as old as I look.

The second half of French class was great fun. We organized into discussion groups of five and debated things like

• 20 ans est le plus bel âge de la vie.
• Internet est une drogue.
• La campagne, c'est bon pour les vaches.
• Paris est la plus belle ville du monde.
• La télévision, c'est l'école de la bêtise.

At the end of class, I received my certificate. I had lunch with some of my new-found friends, and then said my goodbyes. I think that my French is starting to come up to speed again.

After tracking down a gas station so I wouldn't have to worry about filling the tank for the long drive south in the morning, I returned to my host family's house, checked the weather forecast, and took off for an afternoon ride.

Today's route was in the Chartreuse Alps.  First up was the Col du Granier, which begins right at the edge of Chambéry.  This is a 15 km climb that tops out at 1134 meters.  It's never THAT steep, but going uphill for almost 10 miles is wearing.  The views are no less that spectacular.  Mont Granier is right there as well as a beautiful green valley on the first descent.

Then it was up the Col de la Cluse (1169 meters) and finally the Col des Égaux (958 meters).  After that it is pretty much downhill to Chambéry.

After a wonderful dinner with my adopted family, it is off to bed.  A new adventure begins in the morning.

Some final thoughts.

• If you are into cycling, you absolutely must come to France.  The riding here is phenomenal.
• The French are really nice, and the food here might just be the best on earth.
• French classes attract lots of good-looking, smart women.  If only I were under 30 again.  Those of you who are under 30, take note.

IFALPES and Enjoying Life in Chambéry

I arrived in Chambéry on Sunday and met Sylvie-Anne and Alain, the family that I am be staying with this week.  Both are librarians.  Alain at the university here and Sylvie-Anne just retired.  I have my own room with the best view in the house.

I am taking a one-week intensive course in French this week from IFALPES.  The school used to be located in a chateau in Chambéry, but they needed to find a larger space.  So I am taking classes on the first floor of an office building.  Still, it is a quality program.

Monday was a very full day with introductions and placement exams in the morning, then a tour of the city center and class assignments in the afternoon.  I was placed into Level 4 (Level 1 is for absolute beginners and Level 5 is the highest).  So far, I have been able to understand everything although it's a bit hard at times.  Yesterday, I was amazed at how much better the French of one of my classmates was. Then I learned that she is a French professor in Germany.  Now, I don't feel so bad.

I am mostly speaking French these days; however, it's relaxing to have a conversation in English every so often.  Needless to say, the level of my language skills is inversely proportional to how tired I am, and I am usually very tired at the end of the day.

I have, however, managed to sneak in a few rides.  I did a loop over the top of Mont Revard yesterday afternoon.  Mont Revard is a 20 km climb from Aix-les-Bains with lots of 8% grade.

Today's schedule: breakfast, a short recovery ride, and an afternoon of French.

More Rides in the Alps

Col du Mollard and the Col de la Croix de Fer

The are some great rides in the Alps.  On Tuesday, the weather was beautiful. I went up the Col du Mollard then down and back up to the Col de la Croix de Fer, and back to the start via the Col du Glandon.  Lot's of uphill.  The route up the Col du Mollard has over 50 switchbacks (according to the local postman), but it is a very pretty climb and avoids the tunnels on the direct route to the Col de la Croix de Fer. I am becoming more and more terrified of riding my bicycle through tunnels.  Besides the obvious danger of not being seen by a car or a truck, tunnels are dark and unfriendly.

From the top of the Col du Mollard, you descend down to join the route to the Col de la Croix de Fer. From there it is 14 km to the top. The first 7 km aren't too bad. After that, the fun is over.  From St. Sorlin-d'Arves to the top (7 km), the grade is a pretty consistent 7-9%. The descent down to the Col du Glandon and back to the valley is fantastic. Going up the Col du Glandon is harder than the Col de la Croix de Fer. This is definitely one of the harder under 50 mile rides that I have ever done.

La Toussuire

The original goal on Wednesday was the Col du Galibier, but the clouds rolled in early, and the forecast was for rain in the afternoon.  I got a kilometer or two up the Col du Télégraphe (the warmup climb), then decided that I would do something different.  So I rode back to St. Jean-de-Maurienne and up the first few kilometers of the Col de la Croix de Fer and then took the right to do the 14 km climb to La Toussuire.  The plan was to be able to get down fast if the weather turned bad.  It takes well over an hour to do the climb and only about 20 minutes for the descent.

Recovery Day

Thursday was a travel day.  I took the long way around through Grenoble from St. Jean-de-Maurienne.  After the epic of the two flat tires, I decided that I that I am not traveling over any more narrow mountain roads on this trip...at least in the car.  I stopped briefly to buy some food for lunch in Le Bourg d'Oisans.  Le Bourg d'Oisans is at the foot of Alpe d'Huez, and the town is literally overrun with cyclists.  And they think that they have the God-given-right to the entire width of whatever road they happen to be on.  I didn't really spend much time in Le Bourg d'Oisans.  Instead, I headed up the road and had a nice lunch at the top of the Col de Lautaret.  The views from there are terrific. After arriving in Briançon and checking into the Hotel de Paris, I took off for an easy 90 minute recovery ride.

Col d'Izoard

The Col d'Izoard (el. 2361 meters) connects Briançon in the north to the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the south. There are forbidding and barren scree slopes with protruding pinnacles of weathered rock on the upper south side. Known as the Casse Desert this area has formed a dramatic backdrop to some key moments in the Tour de France.

In fact, there may be some drama on the Col d'Izoard in this year's Tour.  Stage 19 (Thursday, July 21) goes over Col Angel (one of the highest passes in Europe), then Col d'Izoard, and finally finishes on top of the Col du Galibier.  The last kilometer on the Galibier is 12%.

It should be a dramatic and decisive stage.  Just getting my sorry rear-end over the Col d'Izoard was hard enough.  I might have another col in my legs but definitely not two cols.  In any case, I loved this loop.  Getting down to Guillestre and avoiding the main highway is not obvious and definitely not flat.  Study the map before you go.

Col de l'Echelle

I had never heard of the Col de l'Echelle before arriving in Briançon.  Considering the fact that I spent well over 5 hours in the saddle yesterday with 7000 feet of climbing, I wanted something less intense for today.  This route fit perfectly.  The ride was up a valley north of Briançon with a side trip over the Col de l'Echelle to the Italian border.  What a beautiful route.  It's a gentle climb up the valley at 2-4%, then you turn right for the Col de l'Echelle.  It's not very long, but there is about a kilometer of 9%.  From the top of the col you can descend down a bit to see Italy.

The rest of the climb up to Châlet de Laval isn't too bad (except for the 10% section).  The views are well worth the ride.

I'm off to Chambéry in the morning for a week of French classes starting on Monday.  The idea is to rest my legs a bit before heading to the Pyrenees for two more weeks of hard riding.

St. Jean-de-Maurienne and Briançon

St. Jean-de-Maurienne

I stayed that the Hotel Saint Georges in St. Jean-de-Maurienne.  Both the hotel and the town are a definite improvement over Moûtiers.  I would definitely stay here again.  The rooms are nice, the breakfast is good, and there is a dedicated garage for bicycles.

St. Jean-de-Maurienne was part of the Duchy of Savoy, which had been a French-speaking province under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Sardinia-PiedmontThe duchy did not permanently became part of France in 1859.

Briançon

Briançon is the highest city in the European Union at 1326 meters (4350 feet).  No, it is not as high as Denver, but we are much farther north, so it has an equivalent climate.  Briançon dates back to the Romans, when it was known as Brigantium.

Situated only 20 kilometers from Italy, Briançon had strategic value.  The historical center of the city is a strongly fortified town, built by Vauban to defend the region from Austrians in the 17th century.  The streets Vielle Ville (Old Twon) are very steep and narrow but  picturesque. Briançon lies at the foot of the descent from the Col de Montgenèvre, giving access to Turin, so a great number of other fortifications have been constructed on the heights around it, especially towards the east.