in the morning it was sunny again and so it should be for a town that says it gets 300days of sun a year.
Francois gave me an alternate route to take to lanslebourg, one with less traffic and riding thru a national park across the border to italia.
he was right, no traffic and the road was spectacular. again more climbing but i was starting to get used to it. I climbed up and over the col d'lechelle and then descended on the most breathtaking descent ive ever riden into bradonecchia Italy. The descent has recently been resurfaced and had a panoramic view of the alps. I rode the whole thing with a smile on my face taking the switchbacks as fast as i could.
once in italy i pumped it down the flats to Oulx where i stopped for a lunch of whatelse? PIZZA! this pizza was killer and was thick crust, were taking like on foccacia bread so mega carbs for fuel. talked with two japanese students who were riding as well and they were headed to Turin. i was more interested in visting smaller towns and as many mountains as i could.
set off after lunch about 1230 to susa, more flats and descending on road S24. in and out of Susa and then started to climb again. Although this wasnt the steepest climb it was the hardest. very long 43k from italy to france with no remorse. It was an epic climb with bright sun. i rolled thru town after town abandoned until the winter when it looked as if they would be bubbling with skiers.
The main point i made on this climb was this:
France and Italy are not seperated by a border. I rode past the border and it was derlict and boarded up. France and Italy are seperated by the Alps and strong winds. They are definitley there and make you work to go from country to country.
after 3 hours of climbing i needed more fuel and stopped for some more pizza. when i started out again i had a burst of energy and attacked the climb, but after only a couple minutes i had suddenly reached the top of the col du mount cenis 2083m.
another great descent past lakes and rivers passing cars on the switch backs and arriving in lanslebourg right at the bottom of the mountain. very nice place with a lot of development going on.
not the warmest place though, as even with the sun out it got below zero at night. hostel had a great dinner with lots to eat.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Stage Deux
After the lashing has subsided sun shone threw the windows into the stinky room accomodated by 6 males in teh grenoble hostel international.
large breakfast as with all stages of the tour consisted of the following staple foods:
Cereal with homo milk
beaucoup de pain avec chocolait chaud
jam honey and nutella
muslei
OJ
and i even took some coffee just cause it was free+
Set off at 830 and it didnt take long until the tours first detour. though unintended the solo rider was complexed and confused at grenobles highways at its outskirts. 30minutes of idling and i was on the right road headed to Le bourg d'Oisans or as i like to called it THE BOURG OF ASASSIANS. The road was frances D5. the D roads are sorta busy but not too bad. though this one had a lot of glass on it cause of all the truckers, tabernak! so it was only a matter of time till i got my first flat tire. it was then that i discovered that i only had one spare tube and not patch kit. i forgot it! freaking hell, one more flat and it was going to a rough start to the trip.
with relief i made it to Le Bourg without anymore mishaps. It was a gradual climb into the village but nothing stressfull. Had lunch, phoned and left a message with the next hostel and bought some tubes and patch kit at the one of many bike stores in the village. situated at the bottom of the alp du huez the place had a cycling theme to it and was crowded with yanks.
rolled up to alp du huez about 1230 and ditched the bag behind some rocks. was no way i was carry that up this monster. The climb consists of 21 switchbacks with an average grade of 8%. it was inspiring to ride it with all the history and recognizing the corners from watching the tour on tv. there was still lots of writing on the rode one of the best was in german saying Wo biest Ulrich? i think that means where is ulrich.
i rode steady up the climb until a little frenchie came up behind and passed me. ooh it was on after that cause no sooner did he pass me then he gave me the look as if sayzing "whats the matter dont got the plums". bam i got right on his wheel and sat there for some time until i felt i would leave him behind. made the push but he was right on my wheel. again and again i tried to shake him but he stayed there. we were on corner 3 when he attacked and as hard as i tried i couldnt stay with him. ahhh he was too strong for me in the end. there was a guy taking photos on the climb and 2 thirds up. when i find the website and post the link to my photo.
didnt spend long at the top although the frenchie gave me another look when i got up there. descended fast and grabbed my bag on the way. I still had 60k to go to the hostel and it was 2 oclock. shouldnt take to long i thought.
WRONG, welcome to french roads which are fu"*&ing hilly. The map i had had all the roads and mountain passes on it but no contours so i didnt really know what to expect in terms of each stage. well lets just say i climbed continously from the boourg to the top of Col du Lautaret for 2hrs 45 mins, INSANE. i couldnàt believe it. The road was in good shape but it just kept climbing and climbing. make matters worse the weather got grey and started to drizzle. then the drizzle turn to rain, rain to down pour to sleet at the top of the pass. i had no waterproof shit and was considering turning back to a little village i had just past to spend the night when i saw on the road THOR THOR THOR THOR THOR...writing from the tour...they must have come up here as well i thought. k, no way am i turning around now. reached the col at 2058m around 5 and descended like a demon pushing the biggest gear i could all out just to try and stay warm. i got to what i thought was villenuve where the hostel was around 530 but when i inquired at the info centre the lady said no, 8 more km. aint nothing worse then thinking your done and then having to get back on a cold seat drenched. i made it to the hostel around 545 and it couldnt have been sooner.
the hostel seemed deserted and i think it is during the summer. villenueve is a ski resort and not much else. Francois the man running the hostel showed me the room and told me there was only two other people stayzing tonight.
one of my roomates had been treking for 5 days and had just come down from the mountains. He laughed when i told him about the days ride and he said in a french voice, "vou know, vat road is always in zee tour. It is where the riders....(searching for the word)...manhood is tested."
well, now i know what im in for and if its manhood im here to test then so be it.
large breakfast as with all stages of the tour consisted of the following staple foods:
Cereal with homo milk
beaucoup de pain avec chocolait chaud
jam honey and nutella
muslei
OJ
and i even took some coffee just cause it was free+
Set off at 830 and it didnt take long until the tours first detour. though unintended the solo rider was complexed and confused at grenobles highways at its outskirts. 30minutes of idling and i was on the right road headed to Le bourg d'Oisans or as i like to called it THE BOURG OF ASASSIANS. The road was frances D5. the D roads are sorta busy but not too bad. though this one had a lot of glass on it cause of all the truckers, tabernak! so it was only a matter of time till i got my first flat tire. it was then that i discovered that i only had one spare tube and not patch kit. i forgot it! freaking hell, one more flat and it was going to a rough start to the trip.
with relief i made it to Le Bourg without anymore mishaps. It was a gradual climb into the village but nothing stressfull. Had lunch, phoned and left a message with the next hostel and bought some tubes and patch kit at the one of many bike stores in the village. situated at the bottom of the alp du huez the place had a cycling theme to it and was crowded with yanks.
rolled up to alp du huez about 1230 and ditched the bag behind some rocks. was no way i was carry that up this monster. The climb consists of 21 switchbacks with an average grade of 8%. it was inspiring to ride it with all the history and recognizing the corners from watching the tour on tv. there was still lots of writing on the rode one of the best was in german saying Wo biest Ulrich? i think that means where is ulrich.
i rode steady up the climb until a little frenchie came up behind and passed me. ooh it was on after that cause no sooner did he pass me then he gave me the look as if sayzing "whats the matter dont got the plums". bam i got right on his wheel and sat there for some time until i felt i would leave him behind. made the push but he was right on my wheel. again and again i tried to shake him but he stayed there. we were on corner 3 when he attacked and as hard as i tried i couldnt stay with him. ahhh he was too strong for me in the end. there was a guy taking photos on the climb and 2 thirds up. when i find the website and post the link to my photo.
didnt spend long at the top although the frenchie gave me another look when i got up there. descended fast and grabbed my bag on the way. I still had 60k to go to the hostel and it was 2 oclock. shouldnt take to long i thought.
WRONG, welcome to french roads which are fu"*&ing hilly. The map i had had all the roads and mountain passes on it but no contours so i didnt really know what to expect in terms of each stage. well lets just say i climbed continously from the boourg to the top of Col du Lautaret for 2hrs 45 mins, INSANE. i couldnàt believe it. The road was in good shape but it just kept climbing and climbing. make matters worse the weather got grey and started to drizzle. then the drizzle turn to rain, rain to down pour to sleet at the top of the pass. i had no waterproof shit and was considering turning back to a little village i had just past to spend the night when i saw on the road THOR THOR THOR THOR THOR...writing from the tour...they must have come up here as well i thought. k, no way am i turning around now. reached the col at 2058m around 5 and descended like a demon pushing the biggest gear i could all out just to try and stay warm. i got to what i thought was villenuve where the hostel was around 530 but when i inquired at the info centre the lady said no, 8 more km. aint nothing worse then thinking your done and then having to get back on a cold seat drenched. i made it to the hostel around 545 and it couldnt have been sooner.
the hostel seemed deserted and i think it is during the summer. villenueve is a ski resort and not much else. Francois the man running the hostel showed me the room and told me there was only two other people stayzing tonight.
one of my roomates had been treking for 5 days and had just come down from the mountains. He laughed when i told him about the days ride and he said in a french voice, "vou know, vat road is always in zee tour. It is where the riders....(searching for the word)...manhood is tested."
well, now i know what im in for and if its manhood im here to test then so be it.
Le Tour et le prologue
I had been planning a cycling trip between my race and the big gun elites before i came over but didnt really think about where to go until sunday night. I pitched my plan to some others on the team but they wussed out with either girlfriends coming over or wanting to relax.
so it was Hans Solo on monday morning when i made the final preparations and booked my first night at a hostel in grenoble. Got on the bike with one bag and rode on the swiss highway #1 from lausanne to geneve. no major climbs to report or sprints. perhaps a few cat 5 climbs but nothing to get excited about. this was the prologue and only the beginning...
i saw a few bike route signs that pointed off the highway and followed one of them but it lead to a dirt trial so i decided to skip on that advice.
The plan for the week was finalized on the train to grenoble. stage 1 (prologue) has just occured and totaled 70k. stage 2 would see the lone rider attack the infamous alp d'huez, known by many as the grandaddy on climbs in the tour. stage 3 and 4 would be mountainous as well finishing up with stage 5 in the picturess 1992 winter olympic village of albertville.
2hrs on the train and i arrived in grenoble around 930. no problems finding the hostel and stopped for a late night giro on the way. much cheaper here in france.
hostel fine, rained like crazy monday night and i just prayed for sun in the morning...
so it was Hans Solo on monday morning when i made the final preparations and booked my first night at a hostel in grenoble. Got on the bike with one bag and rode on the swiss highway #1 from lausanne to geneve. no major climbs to report or sprints. perhaps a few cat 5 climbs but nothing to get excited about. this was the prologue and only the beginning...
i saw a few bike route signs that pointed off the highway and followed one of them but it lead to a dirt trial so i decided to skip on that advice.
The plan for the week was finalized on the train to grenoble. stage 1 (prologue) has just occured and totaled 70k. stage 2 would see the lone rider attack the infamous alp d'huez, known by many as the grandaddy on climbs in the tour. stage 3 and 4 would be mountainous as well finishing up with stage 5 in the picturess 1992 winter olympic village of albertville.
2hrs on the train and i arrived in grenoble around 930. no problems finding the hostel and stopped for a late night giro on the way. much cheaper here in france.
hostel fine, rained like crazy monday night and i just prayed for sun in the morning...
University race report
Im writing all of these entries well after the fact but here is what im remembering. This whole trip here has gone by very quickly and it has been awesome.
lets begin with the race, the real reason i was here.
The start time was for 1230 and the weather was ideal 25 or so and no rain. 80 guys lined up on the pontoon for the gun. i was placed somewhere near the shore side of the pontoon and had a good line to the turnaround bouy. The gun went off and i got a good dive in quick surface and freakin put my head down and took 20 strokes as fast as i could before taking a breath. good start clear from getting beaten. didnt get into the front two packs but was in a group of about 6 the entire loop. Came out in the high 19s, not great but it would do. we ran up a ramp over a wood bridge they had built and into transition. Not a great transition and missed catching the wheel of two others. 4 of us hummed and hawed before the group grew to about 8 or so. The bike course was fun. one steep hill at 11 % , some crazy descents down narrow cobblestone lanes and another long hill. no crashes and once the group got going we made good time. two austrians in the group were being douche bags and yelling half the time at the japanese who werent pulling. My friend ben hoffman caught the group with a smile on his face about half way in and we then caught a teammate of mine, dave clinkard, on the last lap.
hoffman looked strong on the bike leading the group most of the way. Into T2 about 4 mins back of the front group. onto the run i felt felt. not tried but i wasnt running effortlessly and smooth like in july. the races i think and taking an effect and im ready for some rest but in the end i was 48th and ready for the afterparty.
lets begin with the race, the real reason i was here.
The start time was for 1230 and the weather was ideal 25 or so and no rain. 80 guys lined up on the pontoon for the gun. i was placed somewhere near the shore side of the pontoon and had a good line to the turnaround bouy. The gun went off and i got a good dive in quick surface and freakin put my head down and took 20 strokes as fast as i could before taking a breath. good start clear from getting beaten. didnt get into the front two packs but was in a group of about 6 the entire loop. Came out in the high 19s, not great but it would do. we ran up a ramp over a wood bridge they had built and into transition. Not a great transition and missed catching the wheel of two others. 4 of us hummed and hawed before the group grew to about 8 or so. The bike course was fun. one steep hill at 11 % , some crazy descents down narrow cobblestone lanes and another long hill. no crashes and once the group got going we made good time. two austrians in the group were being douche bags and yelling half the time at the japanese who werent pulling. My friend ben hoffman caught the group with a smile on his face about half way in and we then caught a teammate of mine, dave clinkard, on the last lap.
hoffman looked strong on the bike leading the group most of the way. Into T2 about 4 mins back of the front group. onto the run i felt felt. not tried but i wasnt running effortlessly and smooth like in july. the races i think and taking an effect and im ready for some rest but in the end i was 48th and ready for the afterparty.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
swiss
hello everyone.
have landed in switzerland and am getting used to the jacked up prices on everything yzou can imagine and also the y and z kezs being the opposite waz round here.
we had a look at the bike course today and let me tell yzou, it is knarly. one section is so sketchy, and i loooooove it. there is going to be some crashes for sure. looks like its gonna be a wetsuit swim as well which will help me.
we ran earlier this morning and did a swim as well. the pool is nice , outdoor and 50m, though reallz cold. like yzou have to wear a wetsuit cold.
the coach phillipe here is great, good ideas and very enthused.
lausanne as a city is spectacular. right on the lake with a view of the mountains. the whole city is bustling with anticipation of the elite world championships, yzou should see the stuff the carpenters and making. will take some photos but wont be able to post them until i return unfortunatlez.
this y and z kezs are driving me crayz.
all for now
A big thanks goes out to all the sponsors that have made this trip possible
have landed in switzerland and am getting used to the jacked up prices on everything yzou can imagine and also the y and z kezs being the opposite waz round here.
we had a look at the bike course today and let me tell yzou, it is knarly. one section is so sketchy, and i loooooove it. there is going to be some crashes for sure. looks like its gonna be a wetsuit swim as well which will help me.
we ran earlier this morning and did a swim as well. the pool is nice , outdoor and 50m, though reallz cold. like yzou have to wear a wetsuit cold.
the coach phillipe here is great, good ideas and very enthused.
lausanne as a city is spectacular. right on the lake with a view of the mountains. the whole city is bustling with anticipation of the elite world championships, yzou should see the stuff the carpenters and making. will take some photos but wont be able to post them until i return unfortunatlez.
this y and z kezs are driving me crayz.
all for now
A big thanks goes out to all the sponsors that have made this trip possible
Thursday, August 03, 2006
berries and dung
took it easy today in the pool wasn't feeling strong. usual warmup then some drills and kick and a whopping main set of 8x75 spin I.M. Haven't done that set in a while and the butterfly sure showed.
finished off the plans for the allards in the afternoon and then went for run.
10min WU
20min steady from airport to robinsons up to ski hill road turnoff. 20:50 a little slower than last time but felt fine on the hills
then 5mins easy followed by 6 1min hill repeats on 2min rest. feet felt heavy on these and was evident with 2-5 seconds off usual pace.
cooled down with 5 strides then hit the hub trail. Fresh bear poop on the trail had me hollering a few HEY-OH's on the cooldizzle home.
pretty pumped for the hill climb tomorrow, see if i can knock off some cat 2's or 1's.
adios, be back here monday.
finished off the plans for the allards in the afternoon and then went for run.
10min WU
20min steady from airport to robinsons up to ski hill road turnoff. 20:50 a little slower than last time but felt fine on the hills
then 5mins easy followed by 6 1min hill repeats on 2min rest. feet felt heavy on these and was evident with 2-5 seconds off usual pace.
cooled down with 5 strides then hit the hub trail. Fresh bear poop on the trail had me hollering a few HEY-OH's on the cooldizzle home.
pretty pumped for the hill climb tomorrow, see if i can knock off some cat 2's or 1's.
adios, be back here monday.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
ramping it up
Training has picked up again after having an easy couple days. Sunday did a beautifull hike on keystone pass just north of revelstoke, very nice, all in the alpine. Took monday off and had a massage.
Tuesday got back at it:
Swim
1000WU
8x50 (4catchup/4fist)
3x400 pull paddles on 6min
8x100 on 1:35 (held 1:15)
400 focus with snorkle
200 CD
In the late afternoon ran quite hard and felt pretty good:
10wU with stretch
6xstrides
Fartlek (1,3,5,7,3hard,5,3,1,3 fast fast) with half recovery.
3x strength
4xstrides
5 min CD
followed by ice bath
I've added another strength to the repitoir, it's now high kness, donkey kicks, lunges, and 10 squat jumps (man those are hard)
I finished off the strength at my old elementary school and tried doing some chin ups on the jungle gym, could only muster 6. I remember doing 2 sets of 15 a year and a half ago. funny how the body gets rid of strength in areas if not being worked. Also tried the monkey swing handles and ya i couldn't do them...geez.
Today was again a solid 4km swim of:
1000WU
4x100 drill w fins (one arm and 8kip)
100 focus
8x50 with band on 1min
800 pull paddles
400 pull paddles (5:30)
2x200 swim (2:35)
100 easy
300 kick with fins
200 WD
Late afternoon rode 1:45 out above the dam with a strong head wind turned around and headed down south to the 10mile TT. Rode well considering the head wind. 23:30 is solid and was only at 160bpm or so.
tomorrow looks like swimming in the am and some sort of run (maybe hills) in the pm
all for now
Tuesday got back at it:
Swim
1000WU
8x50 (4catchup/4fist)
3x400 pull paddles on 6min
8x100 on 1:35 (held 1:15)
400 focus with snorkle
200 CD
In the late afternoon ran quite hard and felt pretty good:
10wU with stretch
6xstrides
Fartlek (1,3,5,7,3hard,5,3,1,3 fast fast) with half recovery.
3x strength
4xstrides
5 min CD
followed by ice bath
I've added another strength to the repitoir, it's now high kness, donkey kicks, lunges, and 10 squat jumps (man those are hard)
I finished off the strength at my old elementary school and tried doing some chin ups on the jungle gym, could only muster 6. I remember doing 2 sets of 15 a year and a half ago. funny how the body gets rid of strength in areas if not being worked. Also tried the monkey swing handles and ya i couldn't do them...geez.
Today was again a solid 4km swim of:
1000WU
4x100 drill w fins (one arm and 8kip)
100 focus
8x50 with band on 1min
800 pull paddles
400 pull paddles (5:30)
2x200 swim (2:35)
100 easy
300 kick with fins
200 WD
Late afternoon rode 1:45 out above the dam with a strong head wind turned around and headed down south to the 10mile TT. Rode well considering the head wind. 23:30 is solid and was only at 160bpm or so.
tomorrow looks like swimming in the am and some sort of run (maybe hills) in the pm
all for now
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