Epilogue - Airport Adventures and France 2014

I arrived back in the East Texas heat on Tuesday evening.  Monday was an 8 hour drive from the Pyrénées to Paris to return the Renault.  The original plan was to fly to Cincinnati followed by Atlanta on Tuesday, where I would spend the night, and then fly to Houston on Wednesday morning.  When I checked in at Charles de Gaulle, the Cincinnati flight was over booked and they were asking for volunteers to take a later flight.  They were offering $400 if I had a 4 hour delay and $1000 if I had to spend the night in Paris, so I signed up.  Delta managed to book me on an Air France flight to Atlanta that left 3 hours later than I was originally scheduled ($200) and I would arrive in Houston on Tuesday evening instead of Wednesday morning.  I arrived in Atlanta on time, but the bike didn't.

I have had bad experiences with Air France at the Paris airport before and should have known better.  Air France and the Paris airport do not have the capacity to transfer two bags between planes in 3 hours.  According to the Delta baggage agent, there are two Air France flights a day from Paris to Atlanta, and they manage to lose or delay 20 bags a day.

I have been on the phone with Delta several times a day since Wednesday trying to track down my missing bicycle. While everyone that I spoke with was trying their best to be helpful, the information that I received was slightly different each time and no one could tell me anything concrete. However, the person that I spoke with Friday morning was absolutely amazing. She contacted a baggage supervisor who confirmed that the bicycle was in Atlanta. She said that she would try to expedite matters and gave me a $100 credit for my trouble. My bicycle arrived on my doorstep about 4 PM Friday afternoon. I suspect that it was sitting in Atlanta since Wednesday because there was a TSA inspection ticket inside the case dated 8/7.

• Lesson learned: Avoid Air France the Paris airport unless Paris is your final destination.  If you are flying to Paris go carry-on.  If you are going to the Alps, a much better option is to fly KLM to Amsterdam and then to Geneva.  If you are going to the Pyrénées, try KLM to Amsterdam to Toulouse.

Other lessons learned.

• Honey Stinger Waffles ($1.50 each in the U.S.) can be purchased in 6-packs at the grocery stores in France for less than 3 euros.
• Many French drivers like to tailgate and pass on blind curves.
• Cycling fitness doesn't directly into hiking fitness.  Don't go hiking up mountains with 11 and 12 year-olds.
• All motocycles should be banned from the Alps.
• Watching the Tour de France up close and personal on Mont Ventoux on Bastille Day is definitely worth it, but only once.  
• Climbing Mont Ventoux from Bédoin is hard but worth doing---only once. Stay in Sault and not in Bédoin.
• If you are watching a Tour stage that ends on a mountain, don't watch from above the barriers.  It will take you an extra two hours to get down.
• You cannot gear your bike too low for climbs in the Alps and the Pyrénées.  Just ask all of those people walking up Mont Ventoux.  Check out http://www.cyclingcols.com for climb profiles.
• Guiding cycling tours in France is interesting but is also hard work.
• Recommended places to stay in the Pyrénées are the Lanterne Rouge and Les Deux Vélos.  If you are in Sault stay at the Hôtel d'Albion.  In Saint Jean de Maurienne stay Hôtel Saint-Georges.  Avoid Le Bourg d'Oisans and stay in Le Freney d'Oisans.  The best hotel in Albertville is Hotel Million, but I really enjoyed my stay at Chambres d'Hôtes Les Pierres Taillées in nearby Thénésol.  A chamber d'hôte is a French bed and breakfast.
• The Vosges in Alsace are worth exploring further.
• Get a PayPal account.  Many of the smaller lodges and chamber d'hôtes do not accept credit cards, but they may accept PayPal.  U.S. banks are not good at anything that involves a foreign transaction.  The banks in East Texas don't have a clue.
• If you are in France for more than three weeks, consider leasing a car.  Renault Eurodrive has some excellent deals.  Go for diesel instead of gasoline.  It's cheaper and the mileage is better.  All of their cars come equipped with GPS, although my GPS lied to me a few times.
• Carry plenty of cash for the tolls on the autoroutes.  One and two euro coins work well.  Do not expect your credit card to work.  European credit cards are on a chip and PIN system.  Your American card probably only has a magnetic strip.  Most merchants can handle this and they work fine in the ATMs.  However, don't expect your card to work in railways stations, at toll booths. etc.
• Get gas or diesel at the super market.  It's cheaper.  Just make sure that there is booth with someone there to take your money because your American credit card will not work.
• By a French SIM card for your unlocked phone or buy a pay-as-you-go phone in France.  Using your U.S. phone can get expensive.
• A French heat wave isn't as bad as a normal summer day in East Texas.
• Knowing some French can be useful.

I am now in planning mode for France 2014.  Rumors are already out for next years Tour de France (http://www.velopeloton.com/2014_tour_de_france_route.html).   TDF 2014 will start in Yorkshire, England and should arrive in the Pyrénées during the third week with big mountain stages on July 23 and 24.  I would like to organize a group of four to six riders for the Pyrénées for next summer, probably July 17-27 or so.  We would stay at the Lanterne Rouge in Saint Savin.  You will run out of time before you run out of new cols to explore.  Contact me if you are interested.

Epilogue - Guest Post from Rob Beezer

Despite some of the fubars, the trip was great.  Three travel days (one extra courtesy of Delta Airlines), and a day hiking in the Alps with my cousins.  But principally, eight days of great riding, with only two bad-weather incidents. And I stayed healthy throughout.  Lots of great food and coffee (will the trip be calorie-neutral?).  I rode four very famous major climbs: Alpe d'Huez, Telegraph/Galibier, Cormet de Roselend, and the Madeleine. I also discovered some other very memorable climbs, such as Col du Pre, Col de Arpettaz, Col de Cyclotouristes.  I know I will really enjoy watching the Tour go over some of these routes in future Julys.

Luther accumulated 40,000 total feet of elevation gain in his spreadsheet.  The total distance traveled is probably embarrasingly small, maybe on the order of 350 miles.  But perhaps 100 of those miles were on 8% grades or better.

Trip home is going smoothly, as I write on the Amsterdam-to-Seattle leg.  Thanks to Tom for enticing me over, and doing a great job as a novice professional guide, to say nothing of letting me guest-blog.

Thanks for reading.  As Tom is prone to say, "Keep the rubber side down."  We now return you to the regularly-scheduled blog, already in-progress.

What to do in Case of Rain - Guest Post from Rob Beezer

Awoke at  2 AM to the sound of rain on the skylight, again at 3 AM to thunder and lightning.  At 4 AM I tried to visualize six bikes in the back of the van. At 7 AM, I dressed for the van ride back to the hotel, but now in street clothes, and not my kit, as is my custom each morning.  This was meant to be a strong signal to Tom.  With a steady rain continuing, several alternatives were discussed over breakfast, such as shuttling bodies and bikes to the train station in Grenoble for a train ride back to Albertville.  Lars, however, was ready to ride, having swapped in his 25C tires at low pressure, and perhaps still contemplating the Col de Madeleine option.  We settled on Tom taking four clients and all the luggage in the van to Albertville for the first trip.  I stayed behind to hang out in the desserted Hotel Le Cassini.

The lowland route through Genoble was blocked by a washout on the main road, so Tom doubled back to take the planned cycling route over the Col du Glandon, which was quite cold at the top.  The rain stopped at the hotel for a couple hours, but started up again around noon.  I had a nice long lunch, before Tom returned about 2 PM.   We removed front wheels on all six bikes, and stood them up in the cargo area, alternating the direction of each bike.  All six fit securely, with only minimal imagination.  The wheels slipped into the spaces between the bikes.  I must have been a topologist in a former life.

I had pretty much resigned myself to being done with riding for the trip.  But I began to be intrigued by the Col des Cyclotouristes, the only unexplored option from the 5-way intersection across the river.  Tom and I unpacked the bikes, I alerted Evan in the lobby, and made exaggerated cycling motions through the window to Lars, who was outside in the plaza on the phone with his wife. By 4:30 PM, and Lars and I were panting our way up the steep base of the climb past the medieval center of the city.  (Note to self: come back some time to take in the tourist sights.)

13 kilometers, 1000 meters, heavily wooded terrain, narrow roads that deteriorated with altitude, only a few cars, very few bikes, stunning vistas of the valley, a great descent - all just two blocks from the hotel, and possible before a 7 PM dinner.  What more could you ask for?  It was a great final climb.

The VeloSki crew joined us for our final dinner at Hotel Million.  Larry Smith, the owner, his girlfriend from Bend, Marsha, and the driver Davey. Davey is a lifelong Seattle resident, usually a commercial fisherman, and was extremely helpful with getting my bike and luggage away to Geneva the next morning. After dinner, I packed up my bike, and totally reorganized my bag for the trip home in the morning.

The Alpe - Guest Post from Rob Beezer

If the Galibier is the biggest beast of a climb in the Tour, then Alpe d'Huez is the most iconic climb.  A stage of the Tour this year featured *two* ascents. It is famous for the 21 numbered switchbacks, each with a sign featuring one or two winners of Tour stages concluding at the top.

Still concerned about the heat, the 8 AM breakfast time was less desirable.  But it gave me time to adjust my front brakes, which seemed to be a big improvement.  Time would tell.  Tom and I rode down the valley, through the tunnels and onto a long flat section.  It was marred only by a motorist who wanted to pull onto the main road from our left, but had to hesitate as we swept through a downhill right-hander.  We were repaid for our insolence by the car passing us at high speed on a tight turn with tires squealing.

Hit the edge of Bourg d'Oisans, took the first exit at the roundabout, and passed the unceremonious kilometer 0 mark at the base of the climb.  On a warm Sunday morning, there was no shortage of riders.  The linear density of cyclists was on the order of that of the Seattle-to-Portland ride.  A typical day sees about 1000 cyclists.  It was the now-typical 8% grind the whole 14 kilometers to gain approximately 1000 meters.  The tight switchbacks provided slight reprieves.

I kept pace with several folks.  There was the teenage boy, whose father was driving support along with two excitable teenage girls, who were photographing and encouraging everybody.  The was the very tall and muscular Scandinavian, with no helmet, blonde crewcut, white rimmed sunglasses, and full kit, followed by his family in a car.  Towards the top he would stop every 200 meters, and then wobble past me before his next stop.  A German riding in running shorts passed me on the very first ramp, huffing and puffing. Then he sat on my wheel much of the upper portion, like a gnat I couldn't shake.  At the top, he was using the public fountain to rinse his entire body.  Disgusting.  Then he asked me to take a photograph of him on the top step of the faux podium provided for just this purpose.

But mostly it was very fit riders of all ages, passing me.  There were quite a few children (say, 10 years old) riding with parents.  One fellow was ascending on roller skis.  I made one stop at a rest area near turn 10 (joined by the gnat), then continued up through Huez Village as the church bells pealed for several minutes.  Climb took me 90 minutes, exclusive of the rest stop.  Lars missed the one-hour cut at 65 minutes, the others took about 70 minutes.  World record is 34 minutes.

The ski village is a big place, and there were numerous shops catering to cyclists (and numerous cyclists to be catered to).  The Rapha pop-up store had very nice Sky team jerseys for 60 euros, but in a concession to fashion and style they only had two back pockets, which stopped me from buying.  The Trek store had nothing to offer, except Radio Shack jerseys with a discrete Livestrong yellow band on the left sleeve, hence heavily discounted.  I found a retro Alpe d'Huez jersey at a small shop, but my size will not be restocked until next summer, so I will order over the internet then.

Tom and I waited for the others, while the clouds darkened and the wind picked up.  We never saw the rest of the group, as they were getting their front brakes adjusted in one of the shops.  Tom suggested we not get caught going over the nearby Col de Sarenne in bad weather, so we descended the way we came.  It was a great descent as I had long car-free stretches and my brakes were tuned right. The only disadvantage of this strategy is that we would need to climb back up the valley to the hotel.  The weather held all day.

I guess my fitness has improved and I made it up the short climb out of the valley alright.  Tom had not been feeling well and needed an extended break to make it.  Lars had gone over the top and over the bump that is the Col de Sarenne, and was very impressed that the Tour this year had taken this technically challenging route.  He was showered and enjoying a steak and foie gras lunch when I arrived.  Could have been the toughest 30 mile bike ride I've ever done, covering in excess of 3,300 feet of elevation.  But I can check Alpe d'Huez off my bucket list.

All showered, five of us (sans Luther) shuttled down to Bourg d'Oisans so Tom and I could get lunch (gallette complete: ham, cheese and a fried egg), Dr. Evan could prescribe himself drugs for his incipient bronchitis, and we could all hit the bike shops for souvenirs.  Dinner featured extended discussion about tomorrow's route back to Albertville, and the forecast of rain and thunderstorms.

The Galibier: Top of the World - Guest Post from Rob Beezer

Today was a big day, the Col de Telegraph and the highest point the Tour
ever takes on, the Col de Galibier.

The weather has been getting warmer every day, so I planned my departure
for just as soon as possible after the 7 AM breakfast of deli meats,
cheese, yogurt, fruit, croissants, granola and coffee.  (Yes, I had some
of each.)  My legs felt wooden on the 15 kilometer run upriver to Saint
Michelle-de-Maureinne, casting doubt on my rest-day strategy.  But maybe I
should have just let my breakfast settle.

The valley is extremely tight, with steep granite faces on either side. 
The morning sun was not yet high enough to reach down into the valley. 
The autoroute parallels the railroad, which parallels the departmental
road, which parallels the river.  Each crosses the other numerous times,
like some Gordian knot, and at times the valley is only wide enough to
contain the four.   It was a scenic, and cool, start to the day.

Right turn at the center of town, over the river, and immediately up the
12 kilometer, 1000 meter climb to the Col de Telegraph.  An overall
average 8% grade, with almost every kilometer signed at 8% or 9%.  My
strategy today was to leave it in my tallest gear (39 x 29), spinning
through the easy grades, grinding through the average grades and standing
on the steeper grades.  Sort of like a simulated fixed-gear.  After about
an hour and ten minutes, I found Tom on the top, where I had a Coke and a
yummy apple tart.  Lars and Evan were not far behind me and we took off
together.

It was a short, fast 5 kilometer descent to the unappealing ski village of
Valloire, then a long grind out of town.  The climb to the Col de Galibier
is another 17 kilometers, but with about 1200 meters gain, to a height of
2685 meters, close to 9,000 feet in old money.   At one point I had to
navigate a very large herd of sheep being streamed across the road to an
upper pasture.  Bikes could make their way through, but the cars had to
wait.   With 8 kilometers to go, you confront a wall with switchbacks cut
into the face, visibly rising several hundred meters.  I took a break
before and after.  With about 4 kilometers left, I was out of water, so I
stopped at the cheese shop.  Water, an Orangina, a nice hunk of
Beaufort cheese and spectacular scenery made for a refreshing stop.  I'll
be looking for a supplier of Beaufort cheese when I get home, along with
the "honey stinger" waffles Tom has been supplying.

Many cars used the tunnel for the final kilometer, but of course the bikes
all went to the col, and I found Tom there again.  Obligatory photos, then
down off the other side, since there is no infrastructure, save for a
parking lot.  My front brakes are grabbing, since they need to be toed-in
properly, and the hammering on the descent was annoying. Tom and I found a
very nice lunch at the junction at Col du Lautaret (omlette, green salad, fries and potato salad), while the others went futher down to La Grave for
something less touristy and ostensibly of better quality.  The final
kilometers featured several tunnels, up to 700 meters long, and often
curved.  Cars were good about letting me take the whole lane since it was
downhill, and my flashing lights (front and rear) gave me an extra measure
of security.   Waterfalls, worthy of Yosemite or the Columbia River gorge,
streamed off the cliffs on either side, without so much as a scenic
overlook or sign along the road.

We are staying above Bourg d'Oisans, a mecca for cyclists at the base of
Alpe d'Huez.  The other clients are staying at Le Cassini in Freny
d'Oisans, located in yet another tight valley.  Owing to a booking error,
Tom and I are in a private home three kilometers down the road.  The
owners, Marvin and Lisa, are Americans, who help support VeloSki tours,
Glenn Erickson tours, and climbing guides, in addition to bailing out
people who don't have a hotel room.  Their bike shed has about $60,000
worth of high-end single and tandem bicycles belonging to various folks
who leave a bike or two over here.  Tom and I will be shuttling back and
forth to the hotel for meals.

It was a good day on the bike, perhaps one of my toughest ever, with 2300
meters of climbing in 85 kilometers.  Going over the Galibier felt like a
real accomplishment, and I know I will really enjoy watching every time
the Tour goes over it.

Rest Days are Important - Guest Post from Rob Beezer

The past six days have featured one day of hiking and five days of
climbing on the bike.  With two very big climbs upcoming on the schedule,
I elected to take a rest day.  Visited the cathedral, home to dead Counts
of Savoy from the last 1000 years, if I understood correctly.  Got some
cash, visited the post office to send postcards to my sons, got caught up
on blog posts, arranged my freshly-laundered bike clothing so it would
dry, and had a long delicious lunch with a generous carafe of wine.  The
latter eliminated any thoughts of taking a short spin in the valley.

The rest of the crew (including Tom) went for a loop over the Col de
Glandon, the Col de Croix Fer and the Col du Mollard.  These are but three
of the ten cols available directly out of Saint Jean-de-Mareinne.    Lars
hopped on the wheels of a couple of pros from the Cofidis team, hung with
one of them on an ascent, and then followed in their slipstream on a
descent, passing cars as they went.  Sounded like it was a real thrill for
him, especially since the pros seemed to know the descent well.

After post-ride massages (arranged by the hotel), we made a trip in the
car to the two sport stores in search of a helmet for Lars (a success).  I
got another pair of riding gloves (with the pulls between the fingers),
some lightweight armwarmers (Mavic, bright red, on sale), and a Col de
Madeleine commemerative jersey (even though I swore I wouldn't).