Classic Climbs of the French Alps Tour - Guest Post by Rob Beezer

Tuesday, and our first official ride of the VeloSki tour Tom is leading. 
We had a choice between a five-col day or a shakedown cruise around Lake
Annecy with a col or two.  Given Andrew's condition, we all opted for the
lake circuit.  We set off on the bike path out of Albertville, which is
very pleasant to ride.  I ended up in back, and Tom turned around short of
the lake to get the van, and follow driving support.  I caught up to the
group getting coffee at the south end of the lake.

The closer we got to central Annecy at the north end of the lake, the
crazier the bike path got.  Hard-core cyclists, vacationers, children, kid
trailers, rollerbladers, pensioners, walkers, runners, all sharing the
path and trying to have a good time.  Some close calls, but nothing
critical.  Again, I found myself behind the group.

Halfway down the east side of the lake, I found the turnoff for Col de la
Forclaz (Montmin).  Eight kilometers, six hundred meters of elevation. 
How hard can a five-mile climb be?  With a few hours in my legs and the
afternoon sun, the 12% grades took it out of me.  I've found resting every
300 meters of elevation is a good formula.  But Tom caught me taking an
unscheduled rest stop just shy of the col (as I soon discovered).  A
couple of cold drinks, and Tom made me a ham sandwich and I was ready to
go again.  The views of the lake were superb from this elevation, and many
others had driven up for that reason.

Lars found the last bit of the climb steep, and Andrew decided to stick to
the lakefront.

The descent was uneventful, but I rode my brakes quite hard on the 13%
grades to keep everything under control.  I found Tom near the bottom and
he gave me (simple) directions to the bike path.  Cruising into
Albertville, Luther and Andrew hailed me from the crepiere.  They were
showered and dressed, but I couldn't wait, so I joined them for coffee and
a caramel apple crepe.

Dinner at the hotel included an interesting dish.  A bed of lettuce, with
toast on top, then a layer of foie gras, topped by a fried egg, to which I
added pieces of fresh tomato.  I enjoyed it, but my digestive tract was
audible in its complaints about the assault.  It was a hard day of riding,
with almost 100 kilometers distance and close to 1000 meters of elevation.
But its been good and I'm enjoying it.