France 2016—Lessons Learned

I'm back in Texas.  It's nice to be home, especially after living most of the last three months out of a suitcase.  Here's how the trip went.

Living out of a suitcase is tiring.  First there was a trip to visit family at the end of May/beginning of June.  Then the Harvard summer course and then France with only three days at home in between the two.  On top of this, I made a weekend trip from Boston to Sun Valley for Margaret's and Ted's wedding.  Making the France trip as long as possible seemed like a good idea six months ago, but I was ready to come home about a week ago.  I couldn't wait to get on the plane this morning.  If I am not thinking about this when I start planning France 2017, will someone please remind me.

Ambition often exceeds ability.  I have probably done the Hautacam climb about a half dozen times now, so I know what to expect.  Of course six times over the course of several years is nothing when you compare it to Paddy Sweeney's 100 times in a single year.  Each time that I have done this climb, it has been the first climb of the day and usually the only climb of the day.  As I mentioned in the last post, Hautacam is a hard climb.  People who have done other climbs first (such as the Tourmalet), have regretted tacking on Hautacam as an extra climb.  Two people from Denver did the Tourmalet-Hautacam double this summer.  Halfway up Hautacam, Brian was ready to quit but Nancy, who is an incredibly strong climber, soldiered on.  Brian finally joined Nancy on top.  Back at the Pyrénées Cycling Lodge in Saint Savin, Nancy admitted that the Hautacam was the hardest climb that she had ever done.  Brian's comment—"I will pay anyone 100 euros if they will ride with her tomorrow."  

Never get between Rebel and the garbage truck.  I absolutely adore French dogs.  Dogs in East Texas make it their mission to chase cyclists with a vengeance, but I have yet to be chased by a dog in France.  Most lie in the middle of the road and only lift their head to make sure that you will not run over them.  This brings me to Rex and Rebel.  Olive and Paddy now have two dogs at the Pyrénées Cycling Lodge.  Rex and Rebel are rescue dogs.  Originally, I think they were supposed to be outdoor dogs, but now they sleep inside.  If they had their way, I am sure that they would be sleeping on Sean's bed.  Sean is Olive and Paddy's 6 year-old son.

These dogs are wonderful.  Sean and Rex are especially inseparable.  The dogs are great with the guests too.  In general, they don't bark at strangers or people who are passing by, including cyclists.  The exception is Rebel with either scooters or the garbage truck.  He will chase either the entire length of the yard (he generally cannot get over the fence).  We saw Rebel go after the garbage truck a few weeks ago.  He ran through one of the plastic lawn chairs shattering it into about 10 pieces.  The chair didn't slow him down a bit.  By the way, what do you do with a garbage truck once you catch it?  Below is a photo of Rex at the dining room window, which he believes is his drive-through window.  Rex has yet to get a handout, but he keeps hoping.

Avoid the Italian Alps and the Dolomites in July and August.  See my last post.  Both the Italian Alps and the Dolomites are a must visit for cyclists.  Wait until September after European vacation time is over.

Five weeks of riding in the mountains will tire you out.  Although I have learned this lesson from past summers and included plenty of rest days and recovery rides this year, five weeks is a long time to be riding in the mountains.  My last ride this summer was up Passo Pordoi in the Dolomites on Sunday.  The climb isn't too difficult from Arabba, but I realized that my legs were just shot on the way up. I am taking most of this week and next off.  The profile of Passo Pordoi is below.

Not being able to communicate is stressful and tiring.  I know enough French to get around in France, but my Italian is nonexistent.  On the drive back to Geneva from the Dolomites on Tuesday, I made the usual stop at customs on the Austrian-Swiss border.  The customs officer addressed me in French, and it was so relaxing to understand what someone was saying again.

I still hate tunnels.  I am terrified of riding in a tunnel because every car sounds like a freight train.  I don't like driving through them either if they are long, and Europe has some long tunnels.  On the way to Italy I passed through the Fréjus Tunnel (8.0 miles and the world's tenth longest road tunnel.  On the way back through Austria, it was the Alberg Tunnel (8.7 miles and the world's sixth longest tunnel).  Tunnels under 5 kilometers don't spook me, but these two tunnels are just too long to be underground.  There is too much time to think about all of the bad things that could happen.  It didn't help to see that the French army was guarding the entrance to the Fréjus tunnel—not totally unexpected considering recent events.

2016 Ride Report for France and Italy

Here are the highlights of my 2016 France and Italy cycling trip.

Most Spectacular Ride.  The most spectacular ride that I did this summer was the Lacets de Montvernier.  Lacets means shoelaces in French.  The Lacets have 18 shoelace-like hairpin turns in just 3.4km.  The climb snakes up a cliff above the Maurienne valley in the French Alps.  The pictures speak for themselves.

Most Scenic Ride.  This one goes to the Sella Ronda, a loop in the Dolomites.  According to long time friend Larry Smith, "Best scenery per kilometer. Best café per mountain pass. Best road surfaces. Best loop ride. Enjoyment every kilometer."  I think I have to agree.

Most Traffic.  The traffic in the Dolomites and the Italian Alps is horrible in August (and probably July too).  Besides an endless stream of cars and camper vans, there are large tour busses trying to navigate two-lane mountain roads—and two lanes often means a one-lane road with a center strip.  But the motorcycles are the worst.  Many think that they are on a grand prix race course instead of a windy mountain road.  It's not uncommon to see one cut the apex of a turn on blind hairpin curve.  Rumor has it that the mayors of the local towns in the Dolomites tried to get motorcycles banned, but the that was not an option under the Italian constitution.

Most Difficult Climb.  Alberto Contador says that the Hautacam is the most difficult climb of all the climbs in the Pyrénées that are regularly used in the Tour de France.  The Hautacam is 16km long with an average grade of 7.6%, but there a 6km in the middle of the climb that average 9%.  And there are quite a few sections that have a double-digit percent.  A dozen plus members of a Dutch cycling club passed me on the way up.  I passed all but 3 of them about 1.5km into the hard section, where they were stopped along side of the road.  I never saw them again until cafe at the top of the Col de Tramassel.

Quietest Roads.  The roads in the Ariège Pyrénées seem to have the least traffic.  On some roads you might only see the postman.  Below is a picture of my trusty steed on top of the Col de Port.

Hardest Day.  The Col du Tourmalet was probably my most difficult day.  The Tourmalet is just a long climb that wears you out.  On the plus side, I avoided having an epic day this summer.  An epic day usually means bonking on the wrong side of a mountain.

The Best Off-the-Beaten Track Ride.  I did a loop around Lourdes.  It's a good thing that I had my Garmin with me as it would be very easy to get lost.

Best New Ride.  This was a tie between Sella Ronda and Lacets de Montvernier.  Maljasset gets an honorable mention.  Maljasset is a dead-end climb in the southern French Alps near Barcelonnette.  The climb ends at the little hamlet of Maljasset (1915m).  The climb is long but pretty gentle except of the 1 km of 11%.  Very Alpine!