Tour de France 1
Well, I’ve had a tiring but relatively uneventful series of flights to France. Soon after arriving at the hotel I set about re-assembling my bike (which arrived unscathed) and headed out for a ride. I took a fairly short spin (8 km) to Col du Tanneron (about 490m elevation) and hadn’t realised it was like a short version of Mt Hotham so had a false flat the middle, which I presumed was the top. That was pretty easy I thought as I headed back down only to discover on my return that I’d made it halfway. Bugger !! That of course meant that I had to immediately go back and do it properly (to save face). This time however I had the benefit of a map and some local knowledge. It was about 30 degree Celcius so slogging up a mountain (again) (and without the benefit of sleep) was unexpected and unwanted challenge. What helped me was the burden of the challenge that waits for me later in the week……Cameron’s One hour to the top of the Col du Tourmalet… Tanneron is a 5-9 % Col with several switchbacks and very steep drops off the side. Anyhow, I made it ok but not in the form that would equate to the Hour Tourmalet challenge. Read the rest »