poor alex is too small for the Sulkys (and doesn't pedal very well)

oh la la!

Maserati GT. 400+ HP, Ferrari motor. Yours for only 140,000 USD. I have become less interested in fast cars recently; may be a combination of the cycling and the fact that I can't drive recklessly anymore (not that I ever did, Mom!) now that I have kids, but this thing is pretty sweet. Even going 20 mph the engine sounds utterly outrageous.

Yay, Chloe!!

Chloe's big trail race was today. I dragged the kids up a big hill (no parking near the village!) to watch her finish and give her flowers

Alpages

the new Blogger interface

really, really sucks. It used to be that everything the Great Google released was perfect, but I guess those times are over.

Alpe d'Huez

Despite living less than an hour's drive from Alpe d'Huez, I had somehow managed NOT to do the climb before today. I've driven up it quite a few times, and rode up the first four or so switchbacks to watch the Dauphine, but never did the whole thing. One of my season's goals was to get off my a$$ and finally do it. Today was the day. I got to Bourg a little before lunch, parked the car, warmed up on the departmental and then started pedaling. It was a bit warm, but overall a good day to ride. The views of the mountains are spectacular, and of course there is something pretty special about doing such an iconic climb. The first bit is steeper than the rest, and is generally a fairly long climb. I think most people know that there are signs at each turn, counting down from 21 which can be demoralizing. For me though, the demoralizing part was seeing the road switchbacking waaaaay up the side of the mountain ahead of me. After hitting the Vielle Alpe tunnel, I managed to make a wrong turn but ended up at or near the TdF finish eventually.



Also, there was a cool car at the top: a Peugeot 504 coupé

The electron beam is on strike!

Notre Dame de la Salette

Today we went to the Sanctuary of Notre Dame de la Salette, near (in?) the Trieves with the Aussies. Chloe and I had actually been planning on going here for a long time, so we were excited when they called us to say that they were planning a drive out there. It's a really beautiful drive, and I have to admit that I was pining heavily for my road bike on the last part, which climbs out of Corps for ~850 meters to the sanctuary and looks extremely fun. Also, you can see a spectacular cliff to the West, which I think might be Devoluy. Happily, it was raining, which lessened the torture. Corps looks like it has some nice restaurants, but we instead ate at the somewhat institutional cafeteria at the Sanctuary. I was a little annoyed at being shuttled around by the maitre d'cafeteria, but it all worked out in the end because the kids got French fries. After fueling up, we walked outside a bit and then into the church. The sanctuary is still very much active and welcomes pilgrims from all over the world, apparently.

wooo!

A night alone, with DINNER! and no kids!!! Thank you Stephanie!!!!!



We stayed in Uriage-les-bains, which is beautiful: picturesque limestone studded lanes under horse chestnut trees in full bloom.

Cirque de St Même

We went to the Cirque de St Même today for a bit of walking with the kids. It's a lot closer than I thought it was and very beautiful. Our kids were not so willing to walk however. We have some work to do if we plan to do any camping or hiking with them

We saw one of the lower waterfalls, at least!

Mens

We took a little trip to Mens, in the Trieves today where we met Vanessa and the girls. The area and roads approaching the town are stunning, with soaring snow capped mountains to the West and East over freshly planted fields. Along the way you get a very cool perspective on the Mont Aiguille from it's thinnest aspect, which makes it look… like a needle.

As we passed over the col du Fau all I could think about was how cool it would be on a bike; must make it back there sometime soon en velo. My first impression of Mens from the outskirts was not favorable -- it looked like any number of smallish villages. However, after parking and walking around it became clear that it was actually a very beautiful little town. The Aussies soon arrived and we commenced our anglophone invasion of the town.





There were bits of detritus everywhere from the intense winds we have been having, and there was even a fire truck pulling loose roof tiles out of gutters.
(taken later on, when we about to leave)
I guess that's the down side of picturesque roofs! I saw the contents of a planter in one of the alleyways too. Getting planter-ed in the head would be an inglorious way to die, I think. Anyway, we went to the Cafe des Arts, which was pleasant and very pretty on the inside. Even better: the kids were at a separate table! I had the deep fried ravioli salad, which was excellent, and perfect comfort food after yesterdays epic ride. From the cafe, we went to the museum (also well worth a stop) and on to the small church. The churchyard had one critical feature, which was a lawn carpeted with dandelions, which are utterly irresistible to kids. Indeed, we spend the next half an hour cultivating them and at Chloe's initiative, weaving them into primitive pollen bombing necklaces.


Unfortunately, Erin had a close encounter of the Stinging Nettle kind, which are pretty painful for adults, let alone a little girl. After a little mommie time and some cool fountain water, she was okay though.



Soon after, we all headed back home and Chloe, Lolo and I did a Mont Saint Martin session. I was on my mountain bike and they were on foot. The trail descent utterly kicked my ass, as neither my brakes nor my shock was working very well, so my palms were bruised by the end of it.

Epic ride

I did an Epic (for me) ride today… Bike path to Cognin, up Mont Noir (had to turn around short of the col because of snow), down past Presles, back through the gorges and then to the plateau and home. There was brutal wind for most of it and I was really suffering and dehydrated by the end. So dehydrated, in fact that I had some of the worst hamstring and quad cramps of my life afterwards! Gotta look into some post ride nutrient mixes, I guess. 122 km, 1970 vert meters, 5:22 in the saddle

Sarcenas

Proveysieux, Gua, Sarcenas, Quaix




Still slow, but faster on Sarcenas and Quaix! The descent was cooold and a little wet.

Ride

the road to Charmette is *almost* clear

Laiterie Bayard

cool

Aix

In all our time in France, over two sejours, we had still somehow never made it to Aix-les-Bains. We figured with Stephanie here, it would be a nice chance for us to all see something new, so we packed everyone up and did some autoroute time. When we got to town, we saw barriers and banners up, as if they were setting up for a bike race! I also noticed a lot of guys puttering around on high zoot race bikes with fancy carbon wheels. Since it was almost lunchtime, we found a pizzeria and installed ourself on the patio, even though it was a bit cold. I asked the proprietor what was going on and it turned out that there was indeed about to be a race: a very old criterium: technical, short and lots of laps. In my very brief college racing experience, the crit was probably my most unfavorite discipline. However, it is pretty fun to watch. This one was called the GP de Paques (Easter) and was in its 108th edition. We watched a few laps go by, which was entertaining, but my favorite part was how a few of the riders brought their families. As they passed by, you could see the suffering faces light up slightly at the chorus of "A-LLEZ paPA A-LLEZ-paPA!". It's almost worth trying to race again just for that.

Clmbin!

St Egreve + the newish crag above Petit desert (Chez Roger). Was not so excited about the latter.