Col de Ornon

Well it was decided to prepare for the Mont Ventoux by doing another popular ride close to home. The ride included the Col de Ornon and a very sceninc ride through a protected nature area and then up the Col de Morte.

We had lunch there where our waitress was a French chick who had been living in the States (Florida). Got a bit sunburnt sitting in the sun. The descent off the top was quite fun with some nice sweeping corners. Brett nearly got thrown thou when he had a blow out. Did well to keep it upright. Finished with a not so nice bit along the main road into Bourg.

Col de la Madeleine

Following on the advice of another Canadian, Chris, we drove out to, to ride the Col de la Madeleine. This would be the first ride with my compact cranks and I had 21km to try them out. WHAT A PLEASURE! It felt as though I breezed up the climb. Admittedly the gradient is not that severe (avg 6%) but 21km is a long way. Met a few Dutch riders along the way and met up with them at the top again for some of the world’s most expensive cokes.

Afterwards Paul and Matt decided to do the Col de Glandon. Looking back on it I’m sorry I didn’t join them. But I was under the impression that we would do the Mont Ventoux the next day, so thought of saving myself for that. We ended up going back home via the Telegraph and the Galibier.

New Cranks

Today I was buggered. We decided to ride to a small town and take one of the ski lifts to the top of the ADH and then cycle down with the Canadians. It looked like a fairly easy ride and the ski lift sounded like fun. Brett's book had given this ride a 2 dot rating. With 1 being really easy and 4 dots being really tough.

We started quite late in the day and rode into the heat of hell. Again I really suffered going up to the ski station. Only to find that the bloody lift had been closed for the summer. Eventhough our guide book had assured us otherwise.

After this disappointment we rode back into town for a cheeseburger and a rest.

I decided then and there to bin the 53/39 and opt for the compact crank set. The bike shop in town is really well stocked and obviously does a good trade out of idiots who think they can tackle the Alps like they would there local hilly course. The cranks set me back 150 euros but with the Mont Ventoux, amongst others, still looming I had to make a plan.

The La Marmotte

Each year a race, open to amatuers, is held over some of the classic Alpine climbs. It starts in Bourg 'd Oisan and runs over the Croix de Fer, Col de Telegraph, The Col de Galibier and finishes at the top of the Alp d Huez. Its a total of over 4500m of vertical ascent over 180km. A suffer fest of note that attracts over 7000 riders.

The Canadians had arrived last night. Matt had brought a very useful guide to the rides in our area. One of the rides that was described was the La Marmotte. Alcohol induced bravado had us committing ourselves to this route. However to our credit we felt that finishing on the Alp d Huez night be asking a bit much. Especially considering the caning we'd just been given. We decided to leave it out and shorten the ride to 160km. Any doubts we had were dispelled with "we can take things slowly - it only gets dark here at 10. We've got all day".

Personally I started the day really slowly. And got to the top of the Croix de Fer in reasonably good shape. The descent off the top into St Jean de Morienne is 30km long. But by this stage it was starting to get quite hot. By the time we got to town we were confronted by this peculiar French habit of shutting up shop from 12pm till mid afternoon. We were hungry, thirsty and I think the enormity of what we were attempting was starting to sink in. The guys were quiet and there was niggle just below the surface.

The only shop we found to be open was one of these garage one-stop shops on the highway. Unfortunately we we're on the wrong side of a fence. So there we were climbing the fence and passing on the bikes.

Getting the guys moving again proved to be quite a job. Especially considering that we had most of the climbing still to do.

The Col de Telegraph started soon after our pit stop. We were climbing in the heat of the day. This hill really kicked my ass. My gearing once again had me in the red from the first km. And it stayed there all the way to the top. The heat was also causing my HR to drift out a bit. We all suffered like dogs up this climb. Fortunately there was a nice coffee shop at the top where we stopped for a coke and waited while our group reformed.

We were there for almost an hour after the last guy had summited which meant that some of us had been there for almost 90 minutes.

A short descent took us to the start of the Galibier. This climb starts quite tamely with an average grade of around 6%, but then with 8km to go it kicks up savagely. This is one nasty, bad ass, mother fkcing climb. But the views are SPECTACULAR, as they are on all the climbs. And something else that I thought was quite cool was that we got to climb up to part of the mountain where the snow had not yet melted. I stopped (I had to - I've never been in snow before)and grabbed handsful of snow to stick under the legs of my shorts. Great for sore legs!





The top of the climb is at over 2600m. Again we waited for the guys to catch up. Unfortunately it was starting to get a bit late so we made the decision that 4 of us would TT the last 35km home and fetch the car. Coming back to pick up the stragglers.

I'll be honest I slept well that night.

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.

Bourg ' d Oisan

Arrived at our house just after lunch today. Some 24 hours after leaving Upington travelling from JHB to Lyon via Frankfurt. In Lyon we rented a car and then drove the final 150 odd km to Bourg 'd Oisan. A fairly uneventful trip except for the airline losing Nicky's suitcase. (A taxi brought the case down from Lyon and he had it before Supper !!!)

Our accommodation is fantastic. Its built over 4 levels with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a comfy lounge and kitchen and dining room. very comfy and very conveniently situated 2 min walk from town.

They guys keen on making the ride up Alp 'd Huez this evening at 5 to break the ice.I'm feeling a bit woozy from lack of sleep so am wondering how good an idea this will be. But its only 12k's So how hard can it be?

Mark's boet and his 2 mates will be arriving from Canada later this afternoon

Equipment on the Bike

A question I often get asked is what do you take along on the bike during each stage. Please remember that this is my opinion and is based around my abilities (how long I expect to take on each stage) and experiences gained over 5 years riding the epic.

I know that a popular theory is that "if you can fit a chainsaw into your camelback - take it". However considering the waterpoints and neutral service stations, I subscribe to the minimalist theory. Take as little as possible, without being "reckless".

For starters, I don't take a camelback. I have 2 bottle cages on my bike, so I take 1 bottle with water and another with powerade/energade. I then make sure I never leave a water table without full bottles. However if you know you're going to taking a really long time between water points or your bike only has one bottle cage take a camelback.

As far as spares are concerned, Mark and I decide on a list and then share the load between the 2 of us. We carry 1 x Spare tube, 1 x tyre lever set, 1 x tube of superglue, 1 x seatbolt (very NB), 1 x small square of sandpaper (lekka rough), 2 x car tyre patches, 1 x gator set for tubeless tyres (You know - those things you stick into the tyre with a big needle), 2 x bombs, 1 x bomb adaptor, 1 x small carbon pump (ours is stupidly light), a chainbreaker/multitool and a superlink. Looks like quite a long list but my share of the stuff I fit into a small "specialized" tubby bag. Mark carries the rest in his camelbak. Oh, yes we also take along a cellphone, credit card and R100 - for beers in the chillzone aftewards - which I carry in one of those waterproof pouches that I can hang around my neck.

This leaves my pockets open for food! I'll estimate how long a stage will take me and then take enough vooma's so that I can have 1evry 2 hrs. I also take a sandwich/roll (white bread with ham and butter, an apple danish (if I can find one) and then a few handfuls of raisins.

I'm a bit lazy right now so I'll post something later that contains a bit more about my nutrition. What I eat before, during and after each stage and WHY. Suffice it say at this stage that I'm a disciple of "The Paleo Diet for Athletes" by Joe Friel and Loren Cordain.