14 juin – Rode for 3.25 hours

Awoke to the sounds of a roaring river and a speeding train. L’Equipe, café noir, et croissants, and then began preparations for our assault on the Telegraph and the Galibier. Ric (the candy-ass) returned to the hotel to change into his cycling kit. Chris and I took one of our last opportunities to change clothes in a rather crowded parking lot (a Champion marche, if memory serves). As an aside, the TdM does most of its business in parking lots – eating, drinking, bathing, dressing, and occasionally sleeping. Marci drove ahead and secured a spot on the Galibier for us to watch the race. Our ride commenced at 9:54am. The nicely shaded 12 km climb to the col de la Telegraphe took me 45 minutes. After a 5km descent into Valloires, I began the 18 km ascent up the Galibier with an average grade of 6.9%. The initial kilometers out of Valloire were unrelentingly steep. The road soon began to level, but then at about 8km the gradient jumped to 10%. The last several kilometers were brutal. Ultimately, the ride from St. Maurene to the summit of the Galibier took me 2:08. We all met at the summit for a few Kodak moments and the met Marci at about 100 meters from the tunnel. Marci had chosen a perfect spot – and had the foresight to stash several beers in the snow. The view of the race below was phenomenal. We strategically hung the banner in the inside of the last lacet before the tunnel, and then placed ourselves for optimal photographs. The racers did not disappoint, and were scattered all over the side of the Galibier. After the broom wagon passed through, Ric and Marci waited for traffic to thin before driving down the other side of the Galibier and into Borg d’Oisans. Chris and I had to ride back to St. Maurene to retrieve our car. The initial descent down the Galibier was hectic due to traffic – but the traffic soon thinned and we had a blast. A few beers and 12% grades make for optimal descending conditions. We hit speeds greater than 50 mph – and yes we were wearing our helmets. Stopped in Valloire to pass the remnants of earlier beers, and then chased to catch up with Chris. I caught Chris and a group of three French riders. As I passed, one of the guys hopped on my wheel – and we were soon speaking the international language of competition. We traded hard pulls, each trying to shake the other. After a kilometer, we began to work together to hold a hard pace up the 5 km climb up the Telegraph. There is rather steep sting in the tail of this climb, the road kicks with 500 metres to the summit. I took a hard pull with 1 km to go, and then attacked as the road kicked. I figured the fellow would either get dropped or come by me like I was standing still. He dropped, and I cruised across the summit. We regrouped, and had a basic conversation as we waited for our ‘compains’. Chris led a group up the summit, and then we began the descent. This was probably the most intense descent that I have ever done. Oodles of switchback, steep gradient, and a few too many cars. I followed the same guy down, along with a French Woman. I assumed that these two knew the descent, and followed their lines as we descended at ridiculous speeds, all while swerving around timid automobiles. We made it back to town safely, and then packed the bikes and headed for Borg d’Oisans. We elected to drive across la Croix de la Fer en route to the Borg. It’s amazing how hard it was to find such a famous climb. We wasted a good half hour trying to find the damn road out of -----. When we ultimately found the climb, it was absolutely epic. This road is absolutely medieval. As we approached the summit, the road narrowed to less than one lane. The TdM will have to include this climb in future years. After descending into Borg d’Oisans, we met with Ric and Marci and had dinner. A few beers, reviewed pics, and then off to bed.