Homeward Bound

Monday 7/26

Got up early to have breafast with the rest of the group and make sure my bike would make the flight back to the US with my friends. One last breakfast of croissants, proscuitto and cheese, runny eggs and almost raw bacon. The hotel itself was nice with no complaints there. After seeing my sleepy compatriots off I went back to the room and took a leisurely time getting showered and my stuff packed for the flight home. The final bus to the airport left at 11am. I thought about maybe taking a cab or the train and discussed it with the girl at the desk. It would be a long train ride and after my experience the night before didn't sound so appealing and the cab ride was like 60 euros ($80 or so). I saw Stan and Patty in the lobby and we all decided to go ahead and go to the airport early and hang out there until our 3pm flight. Fortunately that was the right call. First, the bus driver dropped us off at the wrong terminal so we had to take the tram to the correct terminal. Then the line to the ticket counters and check-in was pretty long. The good thing for me, I only had my one rolling duffel since my bike was with the earlier group and flight. I would help Patty with her bike and we finally made it through to the counter and got our boarding passes. We had a few hours to kill so we decided to get something to eat for lunch and look for some last minute souvenirs. We met up with a few others who were on our flight. Everyone was upset that Delta was charging them 200 euros ($240 approx.) up front for their bikes. At this point everyone kind of resigned themselves to fighting it out with Delta once they returned home. We had a decent lunch and did some shopping. I bought a map, a Tour du France program, some t-shirts and a few other things then headed to the gate and the flight home. The flight itself was uneventful and arrived pretty much on time. The customs check-in at Atlanta Airport is messed up but I finally made it through and my son Matt and I made our connection and I headed back to the house. It would be 10pm or so before I got home. A fantastic trip in all. A trip of a lifetime.

Here endeth the blog.

Bordeaux to Paris (final stage)

Sunday 7/25 - Had to get up about 5am to pack all the stuff up, eat breakfast, load our luggage (except what we would wear and need for the day) and our bikes onto the bus and bike trailer. At 7:30 or so we boarded yet another set of buses who would drop us off at the Bordeaux train station for us to catch our private TVG (Bullet Train) back to Paris. Our tour buses would make the drive back with our stuff and eventually meet us at the hotel in the Port of Versailles area of Paris. The train was chartered by Graham Watson Cycling Tours for all the different groups in addition to ours that did similar tours. There was plenty of room and many including myself slept part of the 3hr+ ride to Paris. One of our group who had a GPS clocked the train at 188mph during our ride. Despite the speed, the ride was smooth and quiet. When we arrived in Paris we boarded another set of buses chartered by the tour group and headed to the Champs Elysee where the final stage and award ceremonies would take place. Even though we spent very little free time in Paris outside of this afternoon, this was certainly the place to be on this day. The Champs Elysee is like the Times Square of New York, the showcase downtown area of the city. It is surrounded by huge beautiful museums, the Arche de Triumphe along with high end designer retail stores. Intermixed in this are lots of great little sidewalk cafes priceless statuary and fountains and beautiful buildings that were built hundreds of years ago. That was probably the most striking thing about Paris, the mix of 14th, 15th maybe older architecture side by side to post modern. On this day, the final day of the Tour du France, there would be over one million people along the Champs Elysee. The boulevard that makes up the Champs Elysee is several miles long and probably about 4 lanes wide in each direction. It is bordered by trees then stores and restaurants. The Arche de Triumphe is much bigger than it appears in pictures and on most days (not during the tour finale) you can go to the roof top for a great view of downtown Paris. For those thinking of a trip to France and/or Paris, plan a good week in Paris to really enjoy the museums and sights. I would get no closer than about 2 miles to the Eiffel Tower. As soon as we got off the buses everyone kind of split up into different groups to do different things. Tommy and I started out with some other folks but we got separated not too far into our walk. Most people were going to get something to eat and maybe try to find a good location to watch the final Criterium stage. A Criterium is a short race course, typically of no more than a few miles, with most being pretty flat. The final stage would see the riders do ten laps around a 6+ mile course mostly on the Champs Elysee. The Champs Elysee rises at about a 2%-3% grade for 2-2.5 miles then descends down the other side. The riders would reach speeds of 20-25mph going up the grade and 45+ going down the other side. Although this stage typically is mostly ceremonial (the overall Tour winner is usually decided) there are other prestigious awards that can be determined during the final stage. In addition to the Yellow Jersey (overall TDF winner), there is a Green Jersey (best sprinter), Polka Dot Jersey (King of the Moutains) and White Jersey (Best young rider under 25). All had been decided with the exception of the Green Jersey which was being hotly contested by about 4 different riders all within striking distance. For the most part, we spent much of the afternoon, people watching, sightseeing, eating and souvenir shopping. I wanted to get a couple t-shirts and stuff for my kids, etc., so we spent a good while surveying what was available. We watched the progress of the riders who were heading to Paris from some distance away at a leisurely pace. This is where they normally drink their champagne and do their riding photos for the press, prior to the final to the final criterium. When they reached Paris and the Champs Elysee, the excitment in the crown rose exponentially. The first couple of laps were fairly tame and then there was the usual breakaway group who took off from the peleton, vying for press time, pushing the pace and hoping to have enough strenght at the end for a stage victory. Cycling has become so technical that the teams know exactly how much rope to give the breakaway before they start reeling them in. In most cases, not all, the breakaway will be caught before the end of the stage. The endurance of these athletes not withstanding, the team managers and leaders know how much is left in everyones tank and when to make their move for the final push to the finish. I heard Lance compare pro cycling to Nascar racing. Tommy and I did not find a good vantage point early on as we wandered around so some of our earlier pictures were taken from 20 people deep along the sidelines. After the finish, things eased up and we were able to get pretty close to take pictures of the parade of teams, a casual procession of each team, the riders, managers and support personel usually without helmets. Some of the teams like Saxobank which had a great following throughout the Tour took the time to mingle with their fans on the sidelines, pose or pictures, sign autographs etc. Because Saxobank is a team based in Holland, some of their fans wore Viking like helmets which a few of the riders took and wore for their final spin. One of the intriquing things about the Tour du France is the close access you have to the riders. On some of the mountain stages, the riders literally have to ride through crowds of screaming cycling fans a little over a bikes width apart. You would think that in this day and time the security of the riders would be threatened but thank God nothing crazy has happened to alter that access. I think it's one of the coolest things about professional cycling is it's close relationship with fans. I remember going to Brasstown Bald to watch the Tour du Georgia riders ascend to the top of Georgias highest mountain peak, a brutal three mile stretch with grades in excess of 20% near the top. This would be the mountain top finish after 100+ miles of racing over several other mountains and steep rolling terrain. I took pictures of some of the riders from just a couple feet away. Some of the riders who were trying just to finish the stage would get help with people pushing their bikes in some stretches. I think for the most part, cycling has a pretty astute following. Most people who ride more than just casually understand and admire the fitness, endurance and long term commitment required to reach this level of proficiency. Most of the pro riders have been involved in competetive cycling since they were teens. It takes years to build up the stamina and endurance to ride at this level day after day. I was able to get a few good pictures of some of the key riders and shortly after that we decided to try and make the bus back to the hotel. The buses back to the hotel were to leave at 7pm and we were pushing it with only 20 minutes or so to go. We figured they might move that time back since the riders arrived in Paris about an hour after originally predicted. After a few wrong turns and about a mile of walking we reached the place where the buses were to be but they had already left. We were told to take the Metro (subway system) back to the Port of Versailles and our hotel if we missed the bus. No big deal, right? After another mile of walking and communicating with French people speaking broken English we found the Metro station. When we went to buy our ticket through a machine, all the information was in French with no English subtitles. Luckily a young french guy noticing our indecision came to our aid and helped us purchase our ticket. We proceeded through the turnstile with what we thought were validated tickets. After looking at a map for maybe 15 minutes we finally found the Port of Versailles stop. It was clear across the map with no direct route as far as we could determine. We would have to board one train then get off at a station to board another train and then possibly another train before we would get on the train to our destination stop. Thank God for color coding or we might still be in a tunnel somewhere trying to find our stop. It probably took us a good hour maybe longer to get on the final train. The Port of Versailles would be like the 15th stop of 17 stops from where we boarded but at least we were on the right train. It was probably 9:30-10pm at this point. About 3 stops from our stop, 4 guys and 1 girl wearing these green sportcoats borded the train and started asking the passengers for their tickets which the checked with a handheld electronic deal. No problem, here's our tickets. Then the guy who checked my ticket said "not valid" only in French, but clear enough to know that they had a problem with our ticket. In a matter of seconds three or four of them kind of surrounded us and told us that we were riding illegally and that the fine would be 25 euros (about $32 in my estimation). We showed them our receipt for the tickets and proceeded to claim innocence which quickly turned into "were just dumb Americans, not criminals, leave us alone" talk. None of these people could speak English very well so we were at a stalemate. Two stops before our stop they literally forced us to exit the train. One of the guys used a cell phone to call what we determined to be the police. A visit to a Paris jail was not on my itinerary but it seemed it might be on theirs. As luck would have it, our dumb American act prevailed and apparently the police told them to let us go. We proceeded to our destination stop and after maybe another 45 minutes, a few wrong turns and broken english directions later arrived at our hotel. Out of 75 people, we were probably two of the last 5 to reach the hotel and we would have to dismantle and pack our bikes in our boxes, try to get something to eat, check into our hotel and get our stuff ready to fly out in the morning. Since I had someone taking my bike back on the Air France flight which was early in the morning, I would have to coordinate that as well. Eventually we met a big group of our comrades in the bar. Apparently they got in pretty late and missed the hotel dining hours and sent a few out and about to buy pizzas. We would buy into the whole pizza thing and drink wine that we purchased at the hotel bar. It was a fun time nonetheless sharing stories of our day in France. Some people didn't even stick around the Champs Elysee and decided to rent bikes and tour the city. One group bought cheese, bread and wine and had a little impromtu picnic in the moonlight under the Eiffel Tower. Our Metro story probably claimed top prize however. I don't think anyone came close to getting arrested. It was probably after midnite before the group broke up. The Air France group had to leave at like 6:30 in the morning to make their flight which I believe was at 10:30. My Delta flight was at 3pm so I would have time to kill, a good thing after a very eventful last day in France.

Time Trial Day in Bordeaux

Saturday 7/24 - Went to breakfast at 6:30 with the intent to do an early ride along the time trial course and maybe all the way to the wine country and finish in Paulliac. Rode with Ann, Dane, Jim and a few of the guys who came from Mobile, Alabama. I guess we got a little late start because they would not allow us on the time trial course which started just down from the hotel. We decided to find a road the paralelled the course and possibly get on the course a little further out of town. Our ride took us through some industrial areas of Bordeaux which were not very scenic. The roads were still pretty good and there was a bike lane similar to the Silver Comet trail in Atlanta that would pretty much follow the canal which paralelled the early part of the time trial course. We kind of went a little astray at some point and wound up in a residential area that kind of looked like it could have been in Florida somewhere. We checked one of the guys GPS's and headed back towards the course which we intersected maybe 8-10 miles outside of Bordeaux proper. The crowds were already gathering and we came upon a bend in the road where some bleachers were set up and a large group of people were congregating. We were kind of hemmed in and decided to just wait it out for a little while. Suddenly a group of cyclists, mostly older guys and girls wearing what was a charity group cycling kit came by. Apparently, they were a fundraising group that had been allowed to ride the course to promote the charity they were supporting. There may have been 50 or so in the group and after the last of them rode by we jumped out on the course and rode as well. I guess we were about two miles or so into our course ride when we were kindly directed off the course by some Gendarmeres. While on the course we were cheered by the on lookers and even had a few take our pictures. That would be the closest we would get to the course. Some of the other people in our tour group headed out a little earlier and were able to ride most of the 57km course. We decided to split up shortly thereafter, with my plan to go back towards the start gate to check out the riders and festivities. In all we probably rode about 30miles out and back. When Jim and I finally reached the time trial start area, we saw Fabian Cancellara (would win the TT by a whopping 5 minutes) was warming up in a turnaround and then proceeded to the start house. I was able to get a few pictures before he took off but it was pretty crowded close to the start house. The start was in the green space between the canal and the downtown business district, the perfect setting for this event. I wound up going back to the hotel, showering and meeting up with Tommy and Doug and we walked over to where the team buses were parked. With a time trial, each rider races against the clock and they depart the start gate every two minutes. In order to be ready to give it their all, the riders will will warm up on a trainer for half and hour, hour etc. to make sure their muscles are good and warm. Even though you are looking at a 30+ mile ride, you have to carefully time your effort so that you basically finish with nothing left in the tank. The riders ride in reverse order of their overall standings in the General Classification with the leaders riding last. The fastest riders would finish in maybe an hour fifteen minutes which means they would be averaging close to 30mph over that time and distance. I can tell you, riding for an extended period at any pace over 20mph even on a flat course with no wind at all is very difficult. Just because it's flat doesn't mean it's easy. You still have to pedal and the cadence and effort is still very taxing. Reducing wind resistance, bike handling and effort management are the keys to being a good time trialer. We got some great photos of some of the guys and the time trial bikes including Lance and tour winner Alberto Contador. Wound up losing Doug but hung out with Tommyand took some great photos. Headed back to the hotel for shower and nap before heading out for dinner. This would be the last night in Bordeaux and all our luggage would need to be packed up before a 6:30am transport to the Train station. We would ride the TVG (bullet train) to Paris for our final day and night before flying back to the USA. Some of the people were going back to the same restaurant we had gone to the night before but Tommy and I decided to find a new place a little less pricey. We walked down to the waterfront and stopped at sidewalk cafe that specialized in Italian food. I think we spent about 25euros each for dinner and a beer a far cry from the 65euros ($90) we had spent the night before. The food wasn't as good and we didn't have the stunning French girl next to us but we did have a really cute french waitress. She really took the time to try and explain some food items to us in broken French/English and just had that cute lighthearted lilt in her voice and manor. When we tried to tip her additional money at the end, she got confused what we were trying to do, so we just paid the regular bill. Don't want to offend anyone by paying more than was the custom. We took a walk through part of the town and went over by the Opera House which kind of looks like Grand Central Station ony smaller and cleaner. It was lit up beautifully but none of my photos turned out very well so you'll just have to take my word for it. We headed back to the hotel around 10 and called it a night.

Pardon the interruption

Okay, sorry about the delay folks, but I have a doctors excuse. I was doing a Gaps ride (see earlier posts) last Sunday 8/22 and on the final descent and yes the final switchback before the bottom I took a bad spill. All things considered I consider myself extremely fortunate to have only suffered a separated shoulder, deep laceration requiring 8 stitches on my knee, bruised ribs and an assortment of mild to medium grade road rash along my left side. I say fortunate because if you go down on the road at 30+ mph you are probably in for a couple broken bones, more severe road rash and possibly much worse. As I headed into the last turn feeling great having climbed three mountains and two descents, I had finally found a rhythm on the last and longest of descents. Descending is a bike skill that doesn't get mentioned much in lieu of sprinting and climbing skill but is something that you have to learn. It takes bike handling skill but also a little bravado to lean into a turn while doing 30mph stradling a piece of carbon fiber that weighs maybe 17lbs. on tires that are maybe 1.5" wide. Needless to say, I dove into the corner with the correct form and line and just as I reached the apex of the turn there stood two pools of gravel, one more towards the center of the road the other near the outside edge. In approaching the turn I saw two state troopers had pulled over two cars maybe 75yds from the turn. They did not have their big lights on so I figured that it was probably just two guys playing fast and furious on the turns and the troopers pulled them over. What I didn't realize at the time was that another car probably in front of them had hit this gravel and careened off the road into the woods dead center into a tree about 20-30 feet off the road. The car was obviously totaled with the front bumper pushed up a foot or so into the engine and both front wheels pointing in like a pigeon toed 13yr old. As I reached the apex and saw the gravel I knew that something bad was about to happen. A split second survey of options revealed that I had to try and hold my line through the outside gravel and hope that the bike would somehow hold to the road. Needless to say, the bike slid out immediately upon contact with the gravel with yours truly attached to it. I don't really exactly remember the immediate sequence that followed but I know I tumbled over two or three times before coming to a stop on the shoulder of the road in some dirt. If you have ever been in a physically traumatic situation like this, adrenaline seems to take over. I initially did not feel too bad. I could see the blood running down my leg and arm but my hands, face, head etc., would all escape unscathed. As I took a quick physical inventory I realized I had a pretty good lump on my shoulder which I immediately thought was a broken collarbone. That is one of the most common cycling injuries. Jason who was behind me saw everything and rode back up the 50yds or so to tell the troopers who were on the other side of the curve out of view. One of the troopers came down and then called for an ambulance. The other guys, Dale who although a great climber is a very slow descender came up shortly thereafter and both Doug and Keith who were ahead of me came back up within a minute or two after Jason went to get his car. Doug is an Antithesiologist and after checking me out figured I suffered a third degree shoulder separation but was most concerned about my left knee which took the brunt of the impact. He knew the Orthopedic on call at Kennestone Hospital about an hours drive back into Atlanta but I would have to forgo any immediate aid other than what the EMT's could offer. Here again, other than not being able to lift my arm and being banged up I wasn't in excessive pain. We decided to drive back to Atlanta for treatment. Fast forward to today, Saturday 8/28, seven days later, a three and a half hour emergency room visit, two Orthopedic oppinions later and here I am, on the road to recovery. I actually worked all week full days and went to the gym from Wednesday on to do cardio and leg work. I am feeling better every day and hope to be back on the bike in a couple three weeks. I will always have a knot on my shoulder from the injury and it may never be 100% again but I should be able to resume most of my activities. If after three months I still have alot of soreness or pain then I may have to look at a surgical remedy. In conclusion; cycling can be dangerous but so can pretty much everything else in life. My passion for cycling is not diminished and my faith in God is even stronger. I'll be back, God willing.

Bordeaux

Friday 7/23 (cont'd) - I believe I wound up falling asleep on the bus because I woke up when we stopped at a toll booth with a big traffic jam. That was the first really big traffic jam we encountered during the whole trip. It probably took about a half hour to clear and then not too long after we arrived in Bordeaux (about 6:30pm). Bordeaux is a beautiful city, second largest city after Paris. What we saw of it in our two day stay was a city of 12th, 13th and 14th century architecture intermixed with modern buildings and rail transportation. Where we stayed was just off the main boulevard that ran along the canal. I think it was probably Bordeaux's version of 5th Avenue and Times Square. There were restaurants and hotels pretty much all around us intermixed with an old opera house and just across from green space area complete with skate park and other retail that ran along the canal/river. The Individual Time Trial scheduled the next day would start within easy walking distance of our hotel. When we crossed the canal into Bordeaux we were stopped because they had closed the main road to set up the time trial barriers and start area. After about a half hour of sitting on the bus about half of us got out a walked the mile or so to the hotel. It was a beautiful early evening and Bordeaux is a really interesting and pretty city. After checking into the hotel and to my surprise my own room with no roomate, we were free to explore the city and restaurants for the evening. The Hotel Normandie was very nice, pretty modern with balcony windows straight out of Romeo and Juliet and the much appreciated AC. It wasn't that hot in France but I like sleeping when it's cool to moderately cold in the room. I hooked up with three other guys and we headed out to find a place for dinner. Just a little over a block away on the square we found a nice sidewalk cafe where we ate outside. The food and wine were great and the scenery (ahem) was great as well. There was a french girl with her boyfriend we presume sitting just behind me and thankfully so. I say thankfully because she was a classic stunning french beauty and it probably would have been difficult for me not to stare. As it was, John who sat across from me developed quite the crush. We wound up spending three hours or so at the restaurant, drank three bottles of wine and our bill came to with tip about 260 Euro's. I didn't really sit down and calculate it out but I think we were looking at about $320 or so American. This was going to be my big splurge meal so I didn't mind and the food was terrific. When the young french girl (probably late 20's) go up to leave, she waved to us; What a sweetheart. After settling up with the waiter and he was excellent we headed out for a quick lap around the square and then back to the hotel for the night. The next day we planned to do a ride, hopefully on the time trial course, watch some of the riders and do more exploring. I mentioned the waiter because the tab as far as I could tell in pretty much everywhere we went included a 10% gratuity. This was not the first time that we would try and leave a tip in excess of the pre-determined amount which was understood and met with confusion. I think the french think that great service is just a part of a good meal and don't look at it as anything special. Imagine that.

So long to Lourdes

Friday 2/23 - Left Lourdes in two buses headed to the feed station in Sabres. The feed station is a point on a stage ride where the riders receive their food and hydration rations in excess of what they carry on their person. Typically, riders are handed a shoulder bag called a musset bag that they sling over their shoulder and root through various food stuffs, cans of coke, etc. It's usually a pretty good place to observe the riders in that they slow down (do not stop) during the approach and handoff, kind of like a moving pit stop. There are usually a lot of fans around the feed stations because riders often throw their water bottles and stuff they don't want tot he crowds before they start racing again. We arrived in Sabres about 11:30 with the anticpated arrival of the riders around 2pm. We unloaded the bikes (we had prepared our riding gear in advance) and started out pretty much as one group for a ride. The group quickly broke into a couple of groups which ended up going different directions and for various lengths. Because of the inclement weather the last couple days, one of the buses and 36 or so select riders decided to ride the Tourmalet instead of meeting at the feed station. From the Tourmalet, the riders would descend back to the bus which would then head directly to Bordeaux. I chose to ride with a group from the feed station area that included our tour guide Tom. About midway through the 25+ miles that we rode we stopped in a small town and had lunch. There were at least two other groups, one that chose to ride a longer ride at a more brisk pace and the other a more moderate pace and in a different direction. I think I chose the right group because we encountered alot of traffic on the way to Bordeaux and our trip wound up being a good deal longer than originally anticipated. After heading back to the bus from lunch we timed it about right to see the riders coming through the feed zone. Not long after seeing the riders pass through we headed back to the bus, changed and after taking a head count, loaded the bikes and headed to Bordeaux.

Tour Trip (Chapter 6)

Thursday 7/22. Expected to rain all day. Mountains were socked in with clouds and fog. The plan was to take the bus to the start of the second run up the Tourmalet with a mountain top finish. This would be probably be the last and decisive stage between Contador and Schleck to determine the overall winner of the general classification of the Tour de France. Andy Schleck needed to put some time between he and Alberto Contador since Contador was highly favored in the individual time trial discipline that would essentially be the last racing stage of the tour on Saturday. Plan was to go see the start, hang out at the team buses, etc., take in a little of the sights at Pau and return to the hotel in Lourdes to either watch the finale of the stage or weather permitting, take a ride. When the bus arrived in Pau, everyone exited and kind of went their separate ways. I wound up hanging with Patty as a group of us would head towards the starting area. Somehow, Patty and I along with Ann found ourselves on the inside of the pedestrian fence, the side where the team buses would pull up and prepare the riders bikes for the start. We kind of lucked up as we headed towards the Radio Shack bus. Right when we got there, some of the team support guys came out and roped off the immediate area and started unloading the bikes. Our timing was just right and we found ourselves right in front of the front door of the bus and within minutes the crowd behind us was about 5 people deep. The Radio Shack guys were real nice and talkative. They came out with a supply of cycling caps and gave them out. Not sure of each guys specific duties but some were mechanics and one guy was Lances nutritionist. We could see activity inside the bus (probably the team meeting) but that was about it. Shortly thereafter the guys from Velo News (cycling newspaper) and Versus TV came up with their cameras and microphones. A young woman pushing a baby carriage came out from some where and I was told that she was Lances girlfriend and mother of his newest child. The bus door opened and a guy stepped out and started talking with Frankie Andreau with Versus. He was the CEO of Trek Bicycles, Radio Shacks sponsor. There was a second door about half way down the bus that opened and several of the other team riders came out. Levi Leipheimer, Andres Kloden, Rast, and a few others. There was a little confusion when a long curly haired guy entered the mix. I didn't know who he was but supposedly he was some big time surfer dude. They interviewed him on Versus. I guess he was a friend or guest of someone on the team. Finally Lance came out the front door by us and immediately was interviewed by Versus. We were only about 4' away but I certainly couldn't hear anything. Since Lance was unsuccessful in Tuesdays attempt to win the stage, speculation was that he might try again going up the Tourmalet for the second time. Unfortunately, he had kind of blew it out on Tuesday and just didn't have the legs or recovered enough for the effort. I understand completely. Although he's just 39 or close to it, recovering from such a hard effort just two days before is something that is much easier for the young twenty somethings. Before we went to the Radio Shack bus we did get to go see a couple other team buses and riders bikes. Mark Cavendish's bike (Columbia/HTC team) had a stem about 4" wide. The stem is what holds the handlebars onto the steerer tube of the front wheel. Most stems are just tubes maybe 1-1/4" or so in diameter. As the premier sprinter in the world he must put so much torque on the handle bars when he sprints all out that he needs the additional support and stiffness for both safety and to transfer all the power to the pedals. Funny thing cycling, you would think that sprinters with their large quadriceps (thigh muscles) and strenght would be strong climbers, but that typically is not the case. I guess it has to do with fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers along with overall endurance conditioning. That's why guys who are strong climbers typically win the Tour de France. As with all stages, the publicity caravan would come through and with the riders signed in, the start would begin around 1pm. The start area was cordoned off so we could not get close enough to see anything, so we headed back to the bus then back to the hotel. We arrived back in time to go get something for lunch. It had basically stopped raining but everything was very wet so riding did not seem to be a good option at least at that point. The dinners at the hotel in Lourdes were adequate but I was longing for a salad (we didn't have any green veggies in our meals for like 3 days). I went with some other folks who I had not been hanging with and we eventually settled on a small cafe down one of the side streets. Food was actually pretty good and reasonable and a welcome change from the banquet style dinners we had been getting at the hotel. We stopped at a pastry shop I had eyed along the way and got some treats to take back to the hotel and watch the remainder of the stage which was a beauty. The hotel had a small room off the lobby that had a big screen and there were probably 20+ there, mostly of our group but also some other cycling guests. Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador after breaking away from the rest of the riders would basically ride side by side the whole way up. Andy would try and attack but Contador just had to make sure that Andy didn't put 30 seconds to a minute on him. At one point Contador attacked sprinting up ahead about 10yds ahead but Andy would fight his way back. The weather on the Tourmalet was wet, cold and foggy. They would finish almost together at the top with Andy winning the stage by a few inches. At the end of the stage, Andy would be 39 seconds behind Contador. It is amazing to me that riders can race 2,400 miles over three weeks of mountain climbs, downhills, flat stages, etc. and the difference between 1st and 2nd place be a mere 39 seconds. Having witnessed another classic battle in the mountains, some of us decided to try and go for a spin before dinner. We wound up having about 10-12 of us do a 20+ mile out and back ride towards Pau. About half way into the ride I noticed dark clouds looming ahead and a couple of us decided to turn around and head back before the bottom fell out. It turned out to be the right decision as it started raining just about the time we reached the hotel. I would go get cleaned up for dinner at the hotel and then went to a internet cafe with Don and Stan for desert. It was a good day. Tomorrow would be a travel day to Bordeaux.

Tour Trip (Chapter 5)

Woke up Wednesday the 21st to a rainy drizzly day in Lourdes. Having done the Tourmalet the day before I decided that today would be a good day for shopping and exploring Lourdes. After breakfast a group decided to walk to the local bike shop. The direct route would be about 2k-3k but some took an undetermined long route and wound up with about 6k through some of the less scenic residential areas. I had the concierge draw me a map and point me in the right direction and we intersected our wayward friends along the way. The bike shop was Hubert Abares Cycles. It was a really nice shop that carried better cycling goods and numerous brands of high end bikes. Don was on a mission to buy a floor pump since the two we had were not in good shape and inadequate for our whole group. I wanted to find a local bike kit (cycling outfit) that you couldn't find on line or anywhere else. As luck would have it we arrived at the shop just before the big rush and I was able to find a really cool kit. The lady that helped me pointed out that Tourmalet was misspelled on the back (left out the T) and that she would give me 30% off. Besides being very friendly and helpful, the French people I encountered were also very honest. I wound up buying the kit for probably less than a nice one in the states would cost so I was very pleased. Now I had my souvenirs, a Tourmalet jersey that you can only get at the top of the Tourmalet and the local French bike shop kit. Don was successful in getting what we determined to be the last bike floor pump in all of southwest France. After paying for our goods we walked back to our hotel while a standing room only crowd waited outside for their turn to enter the store. Funny thing about the French, good or bad they do not seem to be so hung up on the money side of things. Despite the hoards of people waiting to enter the shop and a sure fire windfall of sales, the shop would be closed the next two days during the TDF. I found out after we left that Hubert Abares was a Tour stage winner probably back in the late 80's and he was actually at the shop. I guess I could have gotten him to sign it, but oh well. My shopping was not finished for the day. I had not been in contact with anyone, family, friends or office since the Friday afternoon of my departure and thought it best that I invest in a cheap GSM phone and make a few calls. I found the French version of a Verison/ATT store called Orange and purchased a phone. Had I known what I do now, I would have asked ATT to unlock my Blackberry and just bought a phone card there. The phone came with 10 minutes of prepaid talk time which I used up in short order for a call to the office and a couple texts to my kids. I would purchase another phone card to add minutes but found out after a frustrating couple of days, it was only good with landlines. Other activities this wet Wednesday included lunch with Don (Atl Cycling owner) and Tom (our tour guide). Don has been riding for 30+ years and Tom who is 68 still races in England. There were a lot of good stories, cycling lore and a wealth of information about bike stuff I never knew. We talked about riding to the Hautacom, a remote mountain climb where Lance Armstrong as a new Tour rider first got national attention as a potential Tour contender back in the early 90's. Tom and I wanted to ride it but Don did not want to with it so wet and after a beer or two at lunch we let it slide. Today was a rest day for the Tour riders and some of our group had ridden to Pau to check out the team hotels and local scenery. We would take the bus there in the morning to see the start. It would be the second climb up the Tourmalet and the last and decisive mountain stage. Andy Schleck would have to put some time between he and Contador if he was going to have any chance of winning the Tour de France. Friday would be a flat stage that would be for the sprinters and probably not affect the overall general classification riders. Saturday would be the 57K individual time trial (rider against the clock) that would be the last chance for a change. The final stage to Paris and the ensuing criterium (race around the Champs Elysee) would only decide the green jersey winner for the sprinters. It is Tour de France cycling custom for the final ride into Paris to be more of a processional for the GC winner, sipping champagne and riding at a very slow parade like pace. The Tour purposely had the riders take the TGV train (bullet train) from the end of the time trial stage in Pauliac to the outskirts of Paris to shorten the overall ride. I decided to go out with a few others for dinner and then head back to the hotel to hang out with others. See you in the morning.

Tour Trip (Chapter 4 continued)

Here are more photos from the top of the Tourmalet

Tour Trip (Chapter 4)

Tuesday 7/20

Woke up to a beautiful day in southwest France. Had breakfast and the scheduled ride today was either the Tourmalet or the Col du Soulor and the Col Du d'Aubisque. We would ride from the hotel in Lourdes down a bike path for the 10-15 miles to the base of Pyrennes then head whichever route we chose to ride. The tour riders with a rest day the next day, Wednesday, were facing their toughest day in the mountains yet, the 200km Bagneres de Luchon to Pau stage. In this stage they would climb 4 mountains including the beyond category Tourmalet climb from the east side, descend down the west side and finish with a 25km-30km race to the finish in Pau (pronouced Poe). Not sure what everyone had planned but a group of about 35 or so headed out from the hotel and within a relatively short time split into a couple different groups. The group that I latched on to consisted of about 15 or so. One of the riders, a cycling friend and Christian Pastor, Barry McCardy had been on several of the Tour de France trips before and said he planned to ride the Tourmalet. The rest of the group were planning on riding to the base of the Solour, eating lunch then either doing the climb or watching the stage from there. I told Barry that if I did no other climb I wanted to do the Tourmalet, the most storied climb of the Pyrennes. This year was actually the 100th anniversary of the Tourmalet as part of the Tour de France so it added special significance. He told me he would be slow but that I was welcome to join him. We split off from the group at the appropriate point (he had a GPS with the French maps) and proceeded towards the base of the Tourmalet. I am not sure where the actual start of the climb starts but the ride there and to the eventual top was breathtaking in more ways then one. We stopped a small town just up from the base of the climb called Luz St Sauveur, a really neat little town built on the side of the mountain with cobblestone streets buildings that could have dated back to the 1600's. We stopped at a convenience store (sorta) and bought provisions for the day. Later that afternoon the tour riders would descend down this side of the mountain and we were bound to get stuck somewhere in between and needed to make sure we had enough food and water. It was a hot day and even at my best, it would take at least 2hrs or so to reach the top. Shortly after leaving St Sauveur we hooked up with a real friendly guy Dave Hughes from North Wales. He was very talkative and had ridden the east side of the Tourmalet the previous day. He as a strong rider in addition to being a nurse and landscaper in the UK, quite the resume. We talked about pretty much anything and everything and the next thing I know Barry is about 100yds behind us. Barry just recently returned to Atlanta from a seven year stint in Dallas, Texas and admitted that he had let himself get way out of shape. He had pared his weight down and gotten himself in reasonable shape but these are difficult climbs even for seasoned riders in excellent shape. He yelled for us to go on, so we kept on trucking, pedal stroke by pedal stroke. The grades according to the information I have average about 10% for the first third, 8% for the second third and 10% for the last third. The total climb is 19km or just under 12 miles and I can tell you there wasn't even 100yds on the whole climb where it leveled out to allow me to catch my breath. It's just up, up and up. I'm guessing, but about 6k-8k (5miles or so) into the climb there is another small town. Dave and I stopped at a store and he bought some more water, each of us a coke. This would be the last opportunity for water or food until the summit. We knew we were cutting it close because they close the roads about 2hrs before the riders arrive for the publicity caravan to pass through. We might and as it turned out, did get stopped 5k (3.1miles) from the summit. There was no shade except the shade offered by a portable dumpster. When we arrived we were greeted by another guy Marc from Amsterdam. The sides of the roads were pretty full of spectators almost from the start of the climb earlier in the day. There were campers, small RV's and people lining the route pretty much the whole way. Some of these people had been there for a few days and would only see the riders for maybe 20 minutes or so as the whole group would descend. The atmosphere surrounding the Tour de France is a pop festival type atmosphere. It's an amazing logistical accomplishment moving nearly 2400 miles over three weeks with only two rest days. In addition to the riders, you have the publicity caravan, security in the form of motorcycle police before and after the riders, team support vehicles carrying mechanics, additional bikes and the team managers and support personel, Tour de France referees and officials and the press in the form of camera men on motorcycles and of course 3 or 4 helicopters hovering over the whole 190 or so riders. It is quite the spectacle. After the publicity caravan comes through and the initial security and tour officials there is an anticipation that builds the excitement to a fevered pitch. Because the riders were ascending the Tourmalet from the east and then descending down the west slope (where we were), you were constantly looking up at that top of the mountain. The first indication being the sound of the helicopters just on the other side of the summit and then their appearance at the top of the mountain followed by more security, tour officials and press. You could barely make out the cars let alone the riders as they crested the summit and headed down the swithbacks leading to our place on the descent. On this day there was a small breakaway group of about six riders including Lance Armstrong who having been eliminated from contention for the overall tour was trying desperately to win a stage. The Tour de France general classification (overall winner) is almost always won by a strong climber. Although there are points and rewards for the best sprinter (green jersey), king of the mountain (polka dot jersey) and best young rider (under 25) the white jersey, the overall tour winner, the rider with the total lowest elapsed time over all the 21 stages plus the prologue wins the general classification and the storied Yellow Jersey. There are many races within the RACE and just to win a stage is a very lucrative and sought after accomplishment. Actually, just to finish the most grueling endurance race in sports is a tremendous accomplishment. This race would eventually wind up with approximately 170 of the almost 200 riders finishing. Most of the 30 or so who did not finish withdrew due to injury, some of them pretty serious. The early stages of this tour witnessed an onslaught of crashes that eliminated some of the favorites after just a few stages. These guys are really tough. Cadell Evans one of the earlier favorites, crashed on the cobblestones of I believe stage 3 with a cracked elbow. Lance Armstrong flatted three different times on the cobbles and was involved in two minor crashes and one major crash when his pedal struck the curb going around a roundabout. He was traveling in excess of 25mph, flew over the handlebars and skidded on his back for 20 or 30 feet. He suffered no broken bones but alot of road rash. He retrieved his bike and finished the stage but along with the other earlier mishaps saw his chances of winning the yellow jersey disappear. In all the TDF's that he had competed in some 13 or 14 he never was really involved in any serious crashes or injuries. His luck would run out in 2010.

The riders would descend past us over about a 20-30 minute period, then the sweep vehicle would mark the end of the procession and we were allowed to resume our climb. Well, looking at the summit from 5k's was very intimidating. Had it not been for Dave and Marc egging me on I may have been inclined to stop and head back down. A lot of climbing comes down to mind over matter. With my heart racing at about 165 beats per minute I'd pedal away. I would have to stop about 3 times during the last 5k to let my heart rate drop. I finally made it to the last swithback and an older french mad sitting in a lawn chair at the side told me that the top was just beyond the next turn and that I was just about there. I stood up out of the saddle and powered my way to the top finishing strongly, actually kind of surprising Dave, Marc and myself. At the summit there is a restaurant on one-side, a gift shop on the other side and a metal sculpture of a cyclist just above the roadway on the side with the Tourmalet summit sign. We hung out at the top for about an hour or maybe a little longer, taking pictures, watching the stage finish on TV from inside the restaurant and having a beer. I would go to the gift shop and purchase the coveted Tourmalet cycling jersey. We exchanged email and phone info then Dave and I headed back to Lourdes descending down the east side. Marc was camped at a campsite off the base of the west side so he headed back down the side we ascended from. The descent was unbelievable, 16k of all out screaming down the mountain passing RV's and cars who probably were probably in lower gears. Dave was pretty impressed by my descending. For whatever reason, I enjoy the exhileration and danger of flying almost silently down a steep grade at 35+ mph for miles on end. A lot of people fear the descents. Yes if you crash, it could be very, very ugly. Just don't crash. Well, from the top of the Tourmalet back to Lourdes was 35miles. It took Dave and I just about 1-1/2hrs to go that distance including about a 10minute stop under a fruit stand awning to get out of a short lived rain shower. Mission accomplished!

Tour Trip (Chapter 3 continued)

Here are some additional photos from the Port de Balles stage and climb.

Tour Trip (Chapter 3)

Monday 7/19 - A scramble to eat breakfast, load our bikes and get our riding gear and provisions for the day for our first real mountain climbing of the trip. The buses would drop us off at an area close to the town of St. Martory. There were two ride options; 85km over two climbs and then the very difficult and steep Port of Balles and a longer but flatter 95km that also included the Port of Balles climb and descent. I went with a group of guys who I new who had done this tour in years past, one who spoke fluent French. I figured if we got lost at least we would have someone with us who could help us ask for directions, I know, a non-manly thing, but riding a 100 miles or so back to the hotel if we missed the bus pick-up didn't sound so good. Anyway, as luck would have it we made a turn which we thought would take us to our key roadway number but after about 10miles discovered we had essentially made a large loop and were close to where we were dropped off. After a meeting of the minds, we resumed our journey across southwest France. We rode through a few small charming French villages that all looked like something out of the movie Sound of Music until we came to a town and what appeared to be an impasse to our destination. Our French speaking member, Jim, went into a bakery that was open in the town and within minutes, Jim, the proprietor, his wife and a customer were all standing out in front of the store speaking french and pointing here and there. Ultimately, we had to ride up this street about 2k and make a left at the statue of St. John, go around a roundabout and take the 3rd road which would put us on road 936 or whatever the number was to our destination. The customer even followed us in her car to make sure we made the correct turn. Contrary to what you may have heard, French people are very friendly and helpful. I did not find one rude person on our trip not even in Paris where I had heard they tend to be rude to Americans who don't speak French. I am sure you have your idiots just like any other place but I did not meet anyone who was not extremely patient and gracious.

After about another hour of riding we came to a hilly area that I thought might be a climb. As it turned out it was just a short climb to the town at the base of the Port de Balles climb all decked out with banners and full of tour patrons awaiting the arrival of the riders. The hill up to the town square was not very long maybe 200-300yds then it turned right through the town square and headed straight up the mountain between homes and businesses. I had hoped to do that climb but everyone I was with was a little spent from our 40+ mile ride to get there. Not 10minutes after we arrived they closed the road to riders in anticipation of the Publicity Caravan that preceeds the arrival of the tour riders. I had a chance to walk my bike through and then after a ways ride up the climb but decided against doing it myself which eventually would prove out to be a wise decision. The buses were parked back down the hill in a little parking area and we rode back there, changed our shoes, stored our bikes and walked back up to the square for some lunch and to secure a good vantage point to view the riders as they started the ascent up the Port de Balles. Some of our people from the other groups actually made it up the Port de Balles but told of how steep and hard it was. There was no access to water along the way except from a spring from a rock on the side of the road and almost everyone who rode it was near heat exhaustion if they made it to the top. The climb was a little over 6miles long but had parts that went from the average of 6.5% to over 14% slope. At that grade, just keeping enough momentum going to keep from tipping over is difficult over even very short distances and the tour riders race up them, maybe not at 20mph but probably 8-10 anyway. Having ridden some beyond category climbs before has given me a new appreciation to the fitness level these guys. They may be the fittest endurance athletes in the world.

I wound up climbing on foot about 1-2km from the base with a few others from our group and took pictures while the rider came through. Thomas Voleker of BBox who was leading the breakaway and was the first one up the climb would wind up winning the stage. The total stage length was 187.5km or roughly 116miles long.

After the stage went through we headed back to the bus who would take us back to the hotel in Toulouse for the night.

Tour Trip (Chapter 2)

Left the hotel in Chatereaux around 9 heading to Toulouse. There was some misinformation on the itinerary, the trip to Toulouse would be a 5hr drive not 3 as stated. We had two buses, for simplicity, one was white the other pink. I was on the white bus. About halfway into our ride to Toulouse the pink bus started having transmission problems. The driver attempted to override the automatic tansmission computer to drive it manually but apparently it was overheating and giving off a burning fluid odor. We decided to stop at the next rest stop and reprogram the computer and look at potential alternatives if that didn't work. It was Sunday, and nobody in France works on Sunday pretty much. It was a beautiful day and apparently vacation season for the French as well because the rest stop was jammed. We went into the rest area and there was a line to both the men's and women's rest rooms. In France whether riding a bike or visiting a crowded rest stop a minimal amount of modesty is sufficient. The door to the men's room was wide open with clear view of the occupied urinals while the women used the stalls in both facilities. No need to go behind a building or go into the woods if doing #1. Find a tree, bush or just turn your back and let fly. Actually, I'm okay with that, although the bathrooms are a different story. In this particular rest stop facility, the toilet was pretty much just a hole in the floor, and this was a modern facility. Oh well, enough of this crap (ha!).

About an hour later after the bus transmission had cooled and the driver felt confident that he had reprogrammed the computer to use the transmission manually we boarded and made our way towards Toulouse. We actually arrived in Toulouse late afternoon and since dinner wasn't until 8 were able to get in a little ride along the canal of about 30 miles. Toulouse is a really pretty city but we really didn't have much time to explore the city since we were leaving the next morning. The ride along the canal was on a bike path. We had to ride a few miles through the city before reaching the canal path but as seems to be the case wherever we went, the roads were great, the drivers very courteous and the scenery beautiful.