Alp 'd Huez

I'd Lance and co blasting up the Alp 'd Huez on many occassions. I've ridden in every single Epic over Groenland Berg and many others. Getting over hilly terrain had never been a problem for me.

But nothing could have prepared me for the hiding that the Alp 'd Huez was about to dish out.

We chatted happily as we coasted up to the foot of the climb. I noted the time on my watch as we passed the sign indicating the start of the legendary climb. The road turned gently to our left and then there she was. The road stretched out at a 12% gradient. I geared down to my 39/25 combination and immediately felt a little concerned. I'd run out of gears and I wasn't a 100m into the climb.

Standing up out of the saddle I tried to maintain my customary higher cadence. (I'm not a power rider - so to get up hills I rely on turning a light gear fairly quickly). This immediately put my HR up over 85%. I quickly sat down and tried to keep my cadence up, but the combination of gradient and gear ratio made this very difficult. I was in deep shit here.

I reached the first hairpin bend. They're all numbered and each one is named after a famous rider that was good enough to have won a bike race that finished up on the Alp 'd Huez. I glanced at the number and briefly saw Lance's name but what really shocked me was how the road kicked up from the bend. I was seriously doubting my ability to get up this hill. The next 3 bends did little to ease my feelings of self doubt. I just had to keep going. I had long since forgotten about maintaining a nice rhythm. I was just struggling to turn the pedal. Leaning into each stroke with my full weight, it couldn't have been pretty.

The climb flattens slightly in the middle but I was already in so much oxygen debt that I only vaguely noticed the easing of the tension on my thighs. At 10k's to go I passed a small church where I convinced my self to stop for divine intervention. The brief stop did me good and I was able to keep it going from there on up. The next 10k's passed in a haze of discomfort but by now we were down into single figure and I could see the small town ahead of me.

The last 2 k's had lots of cows grazing next to the road. The sound of the cowbells round there necks helped to maintain a reasonable rhythm and I could pick up the pace into town looking not too haggard. 1hr12 later.

We happily spent R120 on 4 cokes.