First Ride in France - Guest Post from Rob Beezer

(For the metrically-challenged, take two-thirds of distances in kilometers to get miles, and take elevations in meters, multiply by three, and then add ten percent to get feet.)

I got a good night's sleep, and felt like I had any sort of jet-lag whipped. Maybe it is a hidden advantage of taking two days to get here. We had a very French breakfast on the patio, in the crisp mountain air, with a great view of the valley. It took until about 2:00 PM for my bike to be delivered, so the morning was given over to chores, and attempting to wait patiently.

Once the bike was delivered, Tom reassembled my wheels and gave them air, while I got the frame together. No topological invariants were violated in attaching the rear derailer. I got my accessories and clothes organized, and off we went for a ride.

We went south towards Albertville, on a mix of roads along the canal, then south of the city center turned west to ascend the steeper side of the Col de Tamié, topping out at about 870 meters (from a low of about 350 meters). The Tour de France had gone this way yesterday, when I first arrived. Main event was 10 km at about a 6% grade. Given that it was now about 4 PM, it was quite warm. Tom asked how it compared to home and I suggested the top half of Longmire-Paradise. Steeper, but a bit shorter, and a bit lower. The descent was more gradual than the ascent, and featured the Abbey de Tamié, where they have been making cheese since about 1300. The final 20 km were a gradual downhill run on a bike path, interrupted by an espresso stop in Ugine. At 45 km and 600 meters elevation gain, it was a good warm-up, and sure to promote jet-lag recovery.

Having watched the Tour for countless hours on TV, it was a thrill to ride the same roads. Indeed, names of favorite riders and teams were freshly painted on the road. The bike path home parallels the main highway in the valley, and we could see many gaudy cars from the pre-race caravan heading down the road after today's stage. Presumably, they were headed for tomorrow's final stage in Paris.
Back home a shower and fresh clothes awaited me. I'm going to ride clean from now on. Annie recommended an especially nice restaurant in Albertville. So we had a very nice dinner at Le Bistrot Gormand. I decoded many of the menu options, but not all. The result was a few surprises - some expected, some not. Ever have roasted pineapple? Yum.