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.