2009 Louisiana MS150 - Day 1

The 2009 Louisiana MS150 Ride took place this past weekend, my fifth MS150, and second time riding in the Louisiana edition. Like last year, I rode on the Waters Parkerson team, organized once again by our able captain, Scott Crabtree. I think there were 26 riders on the team this year, all from the New Orleans area, plus three friends who came down for the ride from Chicago and one from Minneapolis. We managed to get most of the team together for a quick photo before the start.

As always, the ride starts on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University, north of Lake Pontchartrain in Hammond, which is about an hour's drive from New Orleans. On the first day, we ride 75 miles north, staying on the east side of I-55, through Independence, Kentwood (now famous as the hometown of Britney Spears), across the state line into Mississippi and finally ending at Percy Quin State Park just south of McComb.

The map and ride data from my Garmin GPS show the course for the ride on Saturday. Surprisingly, although there were no big hills (and certainly no mountains), there was a respectable 3,119 feet of climbing over the 73-mile course.

We all met at the starting area, loaded our overnight bags into a van that Scott provided, which went ahead and met us at the finish later in the day. This was a great idea, and saved us having to wait and then search through mountains of bags after the finish. After a few admonishments about riding safely, the playing of the national anthem and the LSU fight song (or was that today?), we set off just a few minutes before 8:00.

Shortly after the start, under a dreary grey sky, the bulk of the WP team worked our way out of the main crowd, and by mile 3 we were riding on open roads. I pulled the paceline for an incredible 15 miles before pulling off about 4 miles before our first rest stop (which was actually Stop #2). It had rained hard just before we left, so the roads were really wet, with standing water in spots. Riding out in front for such a long stretch helped to keep me a bit drier.

By the the first stop the sun had come out and it had turned into a really beautiful day. Lunch was at a school at Mile 39, and we made one more quick stop for water just a few miles before the end.

We reached Percy Quin at around 12:30 p.m., had massages and lunch before riding down to the "cabins" by a big lake. Our team had two cabins, a smaller one that slept 5 and the other slept the remaining 20 or so. After showers and a short rest, we all headed back to the main area for supper - every kind of cream-laden high calorie food imaginable, but good and satisfying. Finally, back to the cabins and - at least in the small cabin - were were all asleep by 9:00.

Here are some more photos, and a couple of videos of the ride on Saturday. Turn down your speakers on the videos. The videos that I took for Sunday's ride are better quality, so stay tuned.

2009 Louisiana MS150 - Day 2

After waking up, packing up the van and riding back to the main campground area this morning, we filled up on a big breakfast - good fuel including grits, eggs and plenty of bacon - before gathering the team together for the day's start. The ride organizers were very serious about people not starting early, which seems reasonable since they needed to get all of the rest stops set up, state troopers organized to patrol the route, etc. The patrols must have helped, because even though we rode on open highways, there was very little traffic either day, and the few cars we saw were courteous and gave us a very wide berth when passing. No honking, nor a single epithet (or anything else for that matter) was hurled from passing pickup trucks.

The weather Sunday morning was a worry; although it was overcast things were still dry, but it was chilly and I was glad for my arm warmers. The sun peeked out about midway along the route, but it was mostly overcast all day. Here's the map and ride data for Sunday, as recorded on the Garmin.

After turning out of the main gate of the state park, the Waters Parkerson team moved gradually past the other riders and eventually I took the head of the line after a couple of miles and pulled us into the first town of Magnolia, where a large group of riders from the "Green Team" swarmed us right at the turn onto Hwy 51. I stayed in the front part of their group, and for about a mile it was as close to riding in a real peleton as I've ever experienced - there were dozens of them it seemed, and they were riding really fast. Yet, with a draft coming from every directly it was nearly effortless to stay in the group at that fast pace. It was pretty exhilarating. Eventually, they resolved themselves into two parallel pacelines (not rotating, but parallel) and I was about six riders back in the line closest to the side of the road. For a while, we were cruising in the mid-to-high 20s but the Greens were protective of their paceline and didn't seem to want any non-team members to move into the rotation. Eventually, I got to the front and just at that moment there was a lot of yelling off to left that one of the Greens had snapped a chain, so they all pulled up!


The remainder of the peloton sailed into the 2nd rest stop (having ridden past the first) after an hour of riding at an average of 22 mph (which included the slower start and warmup as we left the park). We never did see the whole Green Team all organized like that again for the rest of the day.

Lunch was at Stop #4, and just about the whole team finally arrived so we regrouped before setting off again. Here I am on the left with Rodney Steiner just before we left the lunch stop. The next stretch of road was nice and we kept a fairly relaxed pace - relaxed enough for me to take a couple more videos and some photos of the whole Waters Parkerson paceline (my apologies to those whose photos came out too blurry to post - taking videos and photos while riding at 20 mph alongside a paceline is a bit hit-or-miss).

As we neared Independence, with about 15 miles to go, the skies started getting considerably darker, and at the final stop the wind was gusting and we thought that we'd better try to get back to the finish before the weather got really bad. By this time, we were facing a stiff south wind for the last leg, which slowed us down quite a bit. David, Larry, Brooks & Chris had gone ahead, skipping the final rest, so it was just Scott, Marc and I for the final leg, plus a couple of other riders who picked us up.  After taking turns leading into the wind, I took the final pull of about 3 or 4 miles and cranked it up to about 21.5 mph for the last push before we turned onto University Ave. for the last few blocks before crossing the finish line.

We weren't the absolute leaders by any means, but certainly we were among the earliest to finish, averaging about 19.5 mph on the day - not bad, but not as fast as last year's Day 2, which we finished (without the headwind) with a blazing 20.5 mph average ("Blazing" is relative - remember we're a group of mostly 50-ish men). Just as we finished changing out of our riding clothes into dry shorts and; t-shirts, the skies opened up and we dashed over to where they were serving jambalaya and beer for lunch, huddling under the tents to stay dry. The hundreds of riders still out on the roads must have had a miserable time because it had really turned into a deluge by then.

We waited around long enough to see most of the team finish, and then Rodney, Marc and I headed back to New Orleans in a driving rain.

It was another really fun ride, well organized, lots of good road time and terrain that was more challenging (and  interesting) than the levee.   The team was really fun this year - bigger and better than last. Many, many thanks to Scott Crabtree for organizing and motivating the team, handling all the details from the jerseys, to beer and snacks waiting at the cabins, to air mattresses so nobody had to sleep on the floor, and for generally making everything work so smoothly for us!

July 26 - Arrival in Paris; End of the Tour

We were all very sorry to leave our hotel in Joucas, especially on such a beautiful cool summer morning in Provence, but we were headed for Paris for the final stage of the Tour de France, and had to get an early start. A short bus ride to Avignon, then a 2-1/2 hour train ride on the TGV (train a grand vitesse) up to Paris. We learned that a couple of years ago the TGV set a train speed record of 575 kph. Ours went a bit slower overall (!), but based on the distance from Avignon to Paris (over 700 km), and the time (2:35) that the trip took, we must have averaged about 275 kph (that's 170 mph). All I know is that I never saw scenery flash by so quickly before. When we arrived in Paris, we all transfered to the much more pedestrian Metro to go to our hotel on the Etoile. About an hour later, we again boarded the Metro to go down to the Place de la Concorde, to our viewing position at the Hotel Crillon. We had a mirrored reception room, with a bar, buffet and big TV inside, and a beautiful gallery outside under a big striped awning, looking over the Team Bus parking area and the course that the riders would take through the Place de la Concorde. We waited for a long time for the peleton to come, but there was plenty to eat and drink, and we were able to watch the approach on the television inside. When they finally arrived, the peleton streamed by over and over as they completed their 7 laps around the Louvre and up to the Arc de Triomphe, first disappearing into the Champs Elysees, and then reappearing going the opposite direction a few minutes later. The gap between the breakaway group and the peleton got smaller & smaller each lap, until finally they were all together. After the bunch went by for the last time, we all dashed inside to see Cavendish's thrilling finish on the big TV. Almost immediately after the finish, the riders started coming back to the team bus area, right under our gallery, which was very soon a complete mob scene. We gathered our things and went down, wading into the bus area ourselves, and although it was nearly impossible to get close to any of the riders like we had before, I was able to get right next to George Hincapie near the Columbia bus and got this nice photo of him giving an interview. So, our tour, like The Tour, finally came to an end. We all enjoyed a supper cruise on one of the bateaux mouches, cruising up and down the Seine, and then back to the hotel for a round of final goodbyes. As good as the trip was last year, this year's tour was many times better, not only because there was more riding and more close contact with the riders, but in larger part because we had such a compatible group. 22 people from six countries, and we all got along just great. Not a disagreeable person among the bunch. And from the sound of it, much of the group may be back next summer (there were six returnees, including me, this time). Today (Monday), I spent the day sightseeing in Paris, the gory details of which I will reserve for my family. When I get home in a couple of days, I'll post some of the more interesting photos that I didn't have time for on the trip, so feel free to check back for those. Thanks for following my blog; I hope that it gave a flavor for the thrills, challenges and excitement of the last week. It was quite a ride!!

July 25 - To the summit of Mt. Ventoux, almost

Starting out at 8:30, we had the option of either riding from the hotel near Gordes all the way to Bedoin at the base of Mt. Ventoux, a distance of about 40 km, or taking the bus there and riding just the climb. Naturally, I chose the 40k warmup ride, since it had been promised as a beautiful mostly flat ride. That was instantly debunked as we faced a 5k climb at about 8% grade right off the bat. But the scenery was truly beautiful, first hilly, then through another ruggged gorge, over the Col de Mur, and finally into gently rolling vinyard country. There were a number of nice climbs and beautiful winding descents, before finally joining the Tour de France course a few km before Mormoiron, then another 7 or 8 km into Bedoin and the beginning of the climb of Mt. Ventoux. I was a little worried by the end that the hard "warmup" ride might impact my legs on the steeper slopes of Ventoux but in the end there was nothing to worry about.



Starting in Bedoin, the little village at the base of the mountain, there were thousands upon thousands of vehicles, bikers and walkers all headed up the mountain. It took a lot of concentation to avoid colliding with all of the traffic. This short video gives an idea of how congested it was at the beginning of the climb. Mind you, we're already going up at 5-6% grade here.



The road eventually entered a forest and gradually steepened to what seemed like a steady grade of around 9 or 10%. I had decided to display only speed and time on my GPS, so I didn't really have any idea of the grade at a given moment, but it was always, always incredibly steep. As the climb continued through the woods, the crowds got thicker and thicker. There were campers and tents everywhere, tables of families eating lunch and passing the time before the riders came, music, laughter, cheering and encouragement from the crowds. There was so much going on around me that I actually almost could forget about the difficulty of the climb. It was like Mardi Gras, but on a mountainside.


Somewhere on the ascent of Mt. Ventoux, all the thousands of miles of riding on the levee, all the hundreds of spinning classes, the MS150 rides, the encouragement of my friends and family, the thought of my riding pals in New Orleans even then rolling out of bed and getting ready for the Saturday morning levee ride - all of it seemed to circle around me and (to paraphrase Nabokov) then it converged into a concentrated pinpoint of sweat, pain and determination that, miraculously, vanished as I simply enjoyed the spectacle of the day and the physical joy of riding strongly and smoothly up one of the hardest and most famous mountains in France during the actual Tour de France, nothing but me and my bike. It was absolutely exquisite.

The first time I checked the distance that I had ridden from the base, I had already gone nearly 2/3 of the way up and was feeling great. Finally, emerging from the trees, the desolate white summit of Mt. Ventoux literally loomed overhead. Up and up I continued, until finally I reached a huge sweeping left turn and the biggest crowd of bikes, pedestrians and vehicles that I had ever seen.

We all came to a halt and the bikers pushed forward slowly, shoulder to shoulder, handlebars interlocked, until we reached a row of gendarmes who said that the rest of the climb had been closed due to high winds. We found out later that the winds had actually blown the barricades off of the last couple of km of the course, as well as all of the VIP tents at the summit. Of our group, only one somehow made it past the gendarmes and rode all the way to the summit and he said that the wind and cold were unbearable. Although disappointed I know from the way I had ridden to that point that I could have made the summit, only 6 or 7 km more, without difficulty. So, a return trip will have to take place sometime.

Heading back down to our tents about 8k below was actually worse than the climb up. There were still thousands of bikers and pedestrians heading up, so it was difficult to wind through all of that traffic, plus avoid the slower downhill riders as well as the faster ones whipping by without warning. And constantly squeezing the brakes until both hands felt as if they would cramp. Any short open stretch was a relief because I could release the brakes, shake out my hands and let the bike run for a bit.

Arriving at our tents, I quickly changed clothes, had lunch and waited with the others for the arrival of the Publicity Caravan and then the main event - the riders. Two big TVs were set up under one tent so we could watch the live coverage of the race taking place, but it was more fun to visit with the others and enjoy the crowd. Several other tours being run by the same company were also using the same area, and we had reunions with some of our friends from last year who were in different groups this time.

The Publicity Caravan came by, and then the anticipation built until finally at about 3:15 lines of official cars and motorcycles started passing. The distant buzz of a helicopter announced that the riders were close. The crowd pressed into the middle of the road, parting for each group of vehicles, which passed at some speed just inches away, and then instantly converging back into the middle of the road. Finally the sound of police whistles from down the hill told us that the leading riders were here.

The first three passed right in front of us, and then a few minutes later this larger group, including the leaders, Contador, the Schlecks and Armstrong, came by just a few feet away.



It's hard to describe how exciting this was to witness. The crowds screaming, the sirens of the official cars and cycles, the helicopters buzzing overhead, these amazing athletes streaming by after having already ridden more in one day than I could probably ride in three. There I was on Mt. Ventoux, on the most exciting day of this year's Tour de France, on the most beautiful summer day imaginable, witnessing a battle that millions around the world were watching at the very same time.

As soon as the broomwagon - indicating the final rider - had passed, we quickly changed back into our riding gear and started down the mountain to our bus about 20 km away. I can't begin to describe how thick the crowds were and how slow-going it was. At first, I rode mostly standing on my right pedal, left foot unclipped and ready to touch the pavement to stop or give myself a little push forward through the crowd. Again, hands cramping on the brakes in order to prevent myself from plowing into a bike or walker in front of me. Lower down, vehicles entered the mix and we passed them, or they passed us sometimes, just inches from my elbow. Someone said there were a half million people on the mountain today, and they were all walking or riding down one one steep, narrow and winding road. Eventually things thinned out as the faster riders outpaced most of the walkers, and our group of 5 ended up getting some advice from a gendarme about a shortcut back to Mormoiron, where the bus was parked, so we ended up having a nice spirited ride for a number of kilometers along a beautiful smooth open road through vinyards and fields.

First order of business once at the bus was to call someone at home to find out what had happened at the finish. Hard to believe, but having witnessed the riders passing right in front of us, we had no idea what the final results of the day were.

A bus ride back to the hotel, and when we arrived the bike boxes came out and we got down to the very sad task of packing up our bikes for the trip home. When mine comes out of the box in New Orleans, it'll still be covered in the dust of Mt. Ventoux, and it may be a long time before I wash it!

Tomorrow, the plan is to drive to Avignon in the morning and take the TGV to Paris, arriving around midday. Our hotel is at the Etoile, but we will walk down to the Hotel Crillon on the Place de la Concorde, where we have a viewing suite to watch the final circuits of the Champs Elysees. It should be another fantastic day.

Leaving for Mt. Ventoux

It's a spectacular Saturday morning: cool, brilliantly sunny and not a cloud in the sky. It should be a really beautiful day for the Tour de France, and for us. We are leaving shortly, and will ride about 40km to the base of the climb in Bedoin, then about 22km of constant climbing from there. The profile looks pretty challenging. And so, off we go....

July 24 - Into Provence

Today we left the hotel in Grenoble and drove a few miles out of town to a supermarket parking lot, where the riders unloaded the bikes from the bus and set off on a 66 km ride out of the Alps, through the Vercors region of France and eventually into Provence. The ride started with a climb of about 15 km at a steady grade of only 6-8%. I was pleased after a few km to notice that I was pretty comfortable in the lowest possible gear, so I switched to a harder gear, and then another, and still was able to continue climbing at a steady cadence of about 75 rpms and around 12 kph. Although I know that Mt. Ventoux tomorrow will be humbling, it was good to see some tangible improvement in my mountain-climbing speed and stamina. It was very hot, sunny and dry, but after a bit of descending we rode into a deep, rocky and cool gorge. It was explained that here thousands of the French Resistance were trapped by the Nazis during World War II and slaughtered. We passed several memorials, and the scenery in the gorge was unique and truly spectacular. We rode through several tunnels carved roughly from the stone, and the right lane of the road itself was often covered by a rocky overhang. Eventually the landscape opened up and we continued descending into the countryside, sweeping around big, wide, easy curves. Finally, we reached a flat section, and had a fast long paceline going for a while through fields of wheat, corn and sunflowers. At about 1:00 p.m. we rode across an old one-lane suspension bridge, and on the opposite side we ended our ride and had lunch outside at a delightful restaurant overlooking the river. And what a lunch! Five courses, plus beer, wine, more wine and finally even more wine. About 3-1/2 hours later we climbed into the vans for the long drive to Gordes. A massive traffic jam on the expressway caused us to get off the main road and continue on back roads the rest of the way into Provence. Finally we saw Mt. Ventoux in the distance, its white crown and tower on the peak clearly visible. We drove through numerous little towns that the Tour riders will ride through tomorrow on their way to Mt. Ventoux. Eventually we reached Gordes and stopped to photograph the town from across the valley, a sight which (I'm told) is the 2nd most photographed spot in France after the Eiffel Tower. From the photograph, you can see why. Finally at 8:00 we reached the hotel and after a quick shower and change we gathered for yet another lavish supper on the patio. The temperature had cooled considerably, and the sound of the wind, still blowing strongly, in the pines and olive trees, was unlike anything I've ever heard. The hotel and its surroundings are indescribably beautiful. It's everything that you could possibly imagine that the South of France would be like. So, tomorrow is the highlight of the trip - the ride up Mt. Ventoux. We've done a lot of mountain climbing, and although we're all a bit anxious about it, we're also very excited about the day. There will be masses of people lining the route, much like last summer when we rode up Alpe D'Huez. Our plans have changed a little too. Having been warned that if we watch the finish at the top of the mountain it may be early Sunday morning before we can get back to the hotel, they have decided to set up catered tents only about 4 km from the base of the climb. We will ride up to the summit (or as far as we can get given the crowds and wind), and then ride back down to the tents where there will be satellite TV to watch the stage, food, drink, and of course the passage of the riders right in front of us. Then we should have a much easier exit.

July 23 - To Grenoble

We had two alternatives for Thursday. The first was to ride from the hotel to a site along the time trial route, but that meant leaving very early and being there all day from before the arrival of the publicity caravan until after the last rider had passed. So, I decided on the option of going straight to Grenoble on the bus and spending the day there. About half of the group were on the bus, and our bikes, as the photo shows, travelled with us in the rear. Once here, four of us set out to explore the old city, taking a gondola up to the old bastille on a bluff high across the Isere River from the city. After having filled in the word "Isere" in countless crossword puzzles, I was happy to actually see the river and to know where it is. The view from the bastille was pretty spectacular, and there were maps explaining the geology and naming all of the mountain peaks. It was too hazy to see Mt. Blanc, but on a clear day it's visible from here too. No riding today, but after 4 hard days, it was good to have a rest. Tomorrow it's back on the bike for a 75 km ride, and then on Saturday....Mt. Ventoux.

July 22 - A tough climb and the finish line

After a lavish breakfast consisting of lots of good bread, cheeses, and strange muesli mixes, we set off at 8:30 for the long descent from Mont D'Arbois, back through Megeve, and down to Sallanches and Cluses, along the same road that the Tour would be taking later in the day. The first part of the ride was all downhill, on a fairly busy road, but we were going as fast as the traffic, and coursed smoothly down around big sweeping curves until we reached the bottom and then rode several miles along a flat stretch.

Because of the difficulty of the climbs today, some of our riders branched off at Cluses to ride only the Col de la Colombiere, and others (including me), turned off to the Cote de Romme first, which was to be followed by Colimbiere, both Category 1 climbs. The Cote de Romme began almost immediately after a gentle curve to the right that revealed a vertical wall of asphalt rising into the trees. All conversation ceased, there was a cacophony of downshifing gears, and the ordeal began. And on it went for 8 brutal kilometers, an hour and 20 minutes of pain, at a fairly steady 10-12% grade all the way up except for a brief respite about halfway up of only 6-7% for perhaps 1/2 km, which felt almost flat in comparison. I looked down at the GPS on one switchback and read a 17% grade.

A couple of km from the top, I heard thunder, and then the skies opened up and a steady cold rain began. Just over the crest, there was a short downhill stretch and then another slight uphill, at which point one of our vans pulled up alongside me and they all sang "Happy Birthday," which was a great encouragement at that point.

The descent began, cold, wet, on slippery roads, with brakes that barely slowed the bike's progress. By the time I reached the bottom of the descent, soaking wet and shivering, I looked up at the rain still coming down and decided that it was time to pack it in. One of the vans was parked in the village at the base of the climb to Colombiere, and I took the opportunity to stow my bike, and squeeze in the back to try to warm up. We drove up the Col de la Colombiere, passing some of the others in our group on the way. We later learned that some of them had even encountered hail during the climb. The map and charts of today's ride include the Cote de Romme, but at mile 30 it looks funny because that's where I got into the van and rode to the top of the Col de la Colombiere.

Our next stop was about 10 km from the finish in Le Grand-Bornand, where we all ducked into a bar and had some lunch and watched the coverage of the tour on TV. Finally, about 10 of us set off on our bikes for the final descent to the finish, by now in nothing more than a light rain. The roads were slick, though, so it was still a pretty nervous descent.

About 2 km before the finish line, we were met by an official who escorted our group (and only our group) along the final stretch, finally crossing the finish line after quite an adventuresome day. We learned that because the President of France had announced a surprise visit to the finish (we saw him arrive, very discreetly in a black Citroen with no fanfare whatsoever, at the finish line as we were waiting there later), we would not be allowed to have our photos taken on the official podium, but we took some photos in front of it instead, and then walked back to the vans to get out of our sodden clothes. On the way, we passed the Versus booth right at the finish line and Phil Liggett waved at us.

Next, another Tour official came to show us the media area, and we spent a long time at the Versus booth watching the live coverage in glorious English. At that point, we were free to walk around and eventually take our places at the finish line in the press area. I found (and held onto) a spot on the barricade about 20 feet short of the finish, right next to the official french broadcast booth. In fact, only a handful of people were closer to the finish line than I. The excitement built, and then finally we saw, way up on the switchbacks coming down the mountain on the opposite side of the valley, the three tiny leading riders and their cars. Down and down they came, helicopters buzzing overhead, the French announcer's voice becoming more and more frenetic. The following video, which was taken as the Schleck's and Contador approached and then crossed the finish line gives a good idea of just how close I was, and of the excitement of the finish.

A couple of minutes later, Lance Armstrong finished, and then the riders arrived in two and threes for a long time. After the finish, we walked about a half mile to a big field, where two helicopters arrived to ferry us out of the valley, over the Alps in spectacular fashion, and back to our hotel in about 10 minutes flying time. At dinner just a while ago, we heard that others who had been driving back from Le Grand-Bornand were still barely on their way due to the traffic. As if this all wasn't enough of a celebration, a big fuss was made over my birthday at dinner (which I thoroughly enjoyed), so all in all it was a very successful July 22.

July 21 - Finally, into France

After spending the first several days in Switzerland, today we finally arrived in France. But first, we were at the starting village in Martigny. The main street was barricaded off and had been converted into a parking lot several blocks long where all of the team buses were lined up, with the team cars and other support vehicles alongside. Only the press (and apparently our group) were allowed inside the barricades, so we had about an hour to wander around checking out the bikes, cars and eventually the riders when they started emerging from the buses. When the riders appeared they were very accessible for photos, and were busy giving interviews to the press and others. Some people chatted with Dave Zabriskie, who was sitting on the bottom step of the team bus visiting with whomever walked by. I had my photo taken with George Hincapie, Mark Cavendish and Rinaldo Nocentini, but they are all on other cameras so it may be a few days before I can post them. About an hour before the start (which was scheduled to take place at 1:00 p.m., the riders began riding down the street to the sign-in. We saw them all pass, then caught most of them a second time returning to the team buses and then even a third time riding back for the actual start. Here are a few of the recognizable stars that rode by within arm's length. After the stage started, we went back to the bus and the plan was to ride all the way from Martigny to our next hotel on the Mont D'Arbois, outside Megeve. Because of the time, they decided to skip the initial climb out of Martigny, and so we rode up on the bus and began at the top of that climb. The map and profile from my GPS shows that there was a nice fast descent first, followed by a steep climb, more descending and then finally an interminable climb into Megeve at a steady 7-9% grade, before the final, cruel road up to the hotel, a few km more at 10-12% grade. Altogether, the final mountain was about 10 miles, with only a brief respite in the town itself. We're all sobered at the thought of climbing Mt. Ventoux on Saturday, which is about 50% longer, and steeper too. Because I really pushed on the first climb, by the end I was really exhausted. Two of us rode up the entire last climb together, trading time at the front, stopping once when our van came by and we took the opportunity to refill our water bottles (OK, and take a rest). If you watched the Tour coverage on TV today, you know that it was another spectacular day on the Alps - sunny, dry and hot. Tomorrow, we'll ride on the TdF course from Megeve over two Category 1 mountains, before arriving at the finish line in mid-afternoon.

July 20 - Riding with the Pros

All we knew last night was that the tour leaders were going to try to arrange for us to meet one of the teams today, which is the 2nd rest

day. This morning we learned that we would not only meet Team Agritubel, but would get to ride with them as well. After breakfast, we piled into the big bus, our bikes all lined up at the back, and headed to Martigny, about a 45 minute drive from Montreux. Arriving at the team's hotel, we met Brice Feillu, who was sitting on the

terrace and graciously allowed many of the women to have their photo taken with him.

Then were were shown the maintenance truck, filled with spare bikes, wheels, tires, and most interestingly, dozens of sparkling cassettes stacked on poles (look on the right of the above photo inside the van). The team bikes were leaning against the bus and we were able to ogle them and even sneak a quick weight test. Very light indeed. One of the team told us in broken Enlish/Italian that we would ride for about 2 hours, fairly flat course, and that the pace would be "piano," which was nice to hear. Before we left, they gave us team water bottles filled with some very nice-tasting concoction. Off we went, and I managed to settle in right behind the team. Here's video of us riding out of Martigny, before hitting a busy road that paralled an even busier freeway. Aside from the fact that we were riding with a pro team during the Tour de France, we were surrounded by spectacular mountains, under a clear, brilliant sky, temperature in the 70s. Before long I realized that I was ON THE WHEEL of Brice Feillu, riding along at a nice clip. Me. From New Orleans. Drafting a stage winner of this year's TdF. Incroyable! (I promised myself not to overuse exclamation points in the blog, but this seems a worthy place for one). Later on I also rode behind Christophe Moreau, and at one point found myself between two former French national champions. Except for one mild climb where the team didn't let up on speed (nor did I, but it was a mighty effort to hang on), I had no trouble staying with them at the front the whole way. I kept trying to wave some of the others ahead for a chance to ride right behind the team, but very few came forward. After about 40k of riding, we sailed back into Martigny with a nice tailwind.

We had been warned that the pro riders were nervous about riding with strangers, and that we should stay behind them, but eventually some of them drifted back and chatted with us during the ride. All in all, they were a very congenial bunch. Back in Martigny, we saw the Cervelo team ride by on their training ride, with nobody in tow except two team cars, and then shortly thereafter the Silence-Lotto team rode by as well. Since tomorrow's stage begins in Martigny, a lot of the teams are staying in that area today. Returning to Montreux by about 2:00, we went off to enjoy about the most beautiful day imaginable, finding some lunch along the lakeshore, and taking in all of the beautiful views. Everything looked like a postcard. Tomorrow we return to Martigny to visit the starting village, see the rider sign-in and start of the stage, and then we'll ride across the French border to our next hotel in the ski village of Megeve.

July 19 - Col des Mosses

After starting the day with a huge breakfast, we gathered behind the hotel and set off at 8:30 for the Col des Mosses. A tough climb out of Montreux, at 8-10% grade for about 10 km, was followed by a stretch through beautiful Swiss countryside, complete with Chalets, herds of cattle (and the sound, really, of cowbells everywhere) and the Alps as a breathtaking backdrop. The sun was out, it was approaching 70 degrees and it was turning into a really beautiful day. After about 35 km of riding, we joined the actual Tour course in Bulle, and rode another 40 km on course and up the Cat. 2 climb of the Col des Mosses. Not a particularly hard climb, steeper at the bottom, but never much more than 6-8% grade ever. Our support vans were passing us checking to see if we needed water, food or a pickup, and finally after 75 km of riding we reached our tents and vans about 1.5 km from the top of the Col. I rode up to cross the Col, and then turned around to ride back to the tents, where we spent about 3 hours having a big picnic lunch, sitting in the sun beside the road, and enjoying the spectacle. The publicity caravan came by, and it went on and on for nearly an hour. We had no idea what was going on with the riders until after 3:00 when an official car drove by, loudspeakers blaring, and I could make out that there was an escape of 8 riders that was less than 5 km behind, and a few names of who was in the break. The excitement built as we peered down the road and waited. Finally the riders appeared, impossibly small and riding impossibly fast. They were by in a flash, followed by a line of team cars. It was all over in less than a minute.

About 4 or 5 minutes later, another huge group of motorcycles and cars appeared, followed by the entire peloton. They also rode by in a flash (although a longer flash), quiet and intense. The only sounds were clapping and the whir of pedals. A much longer line of team cars, double-file, followed and then it was all over. Not long after than another official car came by announcing that three riders were still to come, but by then spectators were already streaming down the mountain on bikes. Eventually 2 riders passed, and a very long time after that a lone Skil-Shimano rider followed by the broomwagon. We left almost immediately to follow the peloton over the Col des Mosses and then down the thrilling descent to Aigle. At first, our guide, one of the young riders and I outpaced everyone else, and three of us tore down the mountain ahead of everybody, zooming around the big sweeping turns, and slowing to bank hard into the hairpins. Here's a map & route data from the Garmin of today's ride. I forgot to turn in back on after the peleton passed, so it didn't record the long descent of the Col des Mosses. Eventually, the whole group had to stop briefly where the police had a roadblock, so the rest of the descent was somewhat slower and in much heavier traffic. The Tour continued to Verbier but we turned towards Montreaux, finishing the last hour or more in a fast paceline on a beautiful bikepath that wound along rivers, past fields of corn and wheat and through cool, dark woods. Altogether we clocked about 110 km. I had some issues with my GPS so I didn't record the whole ride, but did get the climbs. Will try to post a link to that later. 8 of us met for drinks and then walked along the lake to a nice Italian restaurant, where we feasted and relived the events of the day, as the sun set (at 9:30!) over Lake Geneva. It was altogther a perfect day.

July 18 - Arrival in Montreux

The trip over was long but not too hard. The flight from Newark from Geneva was delayed and delayed and finally we took off about two hours late, which only meant that I had 5 hours to kill in Geneva instead of 7. The train from the airport to downtown Geneva took about 6 minutes, and I spent a couple of hours just walking around, along the lake in particular. Geneva has some of the architectural interest of Paris on a much smaller scale, but I thought it was commercial and dreary for the most part. Finally, back to the airport to meet the group, and then an hour's bus ride to Montreux. After checking in, we gathered to reassemble all the bikes, and then about 7 of us took a short, 45 minute, warmup ride along the lake and out into the country for perhaps 15 miles altogether. Not very hilly, but it was good to stretch the legs. The scenery is magnificent - long vistas across the lake, snow-peaked Alps in the distance, and beautiful old castles perched way up above the city. The hotel is right on the lake too. Tomorrow (Sunday) we will ride out of Montreux at 8:30 am, finally arriving at our viewing spot about 400 meters before the summit of the Col des Mosses, where we'll be when the tour comes by. They said we'd be on the left side of the road under some yellow canopies, so perhaps you'll see us when the riders go by. We had a great dinner this evening - five others are back from the tour last year, and 3 of the guides as well, so we all had a nice reunion before starting to meet some of the others. It seems like a much more congenial crowd this time, but more non-riders than before. One of the returning couples from last year has been with the Tour since Monaco, and have already climbed Mt. Ventoux once, reporting that it was really brutal. The American South is well-represented - aside from New Orleans there are also Knoxville, Dallas, Rome, GA and Jacksonville. We're all tired, but excited to see the Tour de France live starting tomorrow. Pictures and videos to start tomorrow too.

One More Post before Leaving

One question that almost everyone asks after learning about my trip is "Do you take your own bike with you?" Although I could rent one from the tour company, it's so much more fun to ride my own, so I pack it and it goes across the ocean with me as checked baggage. Surprisingly, there's no extra charge to check the bike case. Last year, nearly all of the riders brought their own bikes with them. The cases all spend the week stowed in the back of one of the vans, so we never have to deal with them again until it's time to repack the bikes before Paris. Aside from that, the case is pretty roomy, so I also pack my helmet, shoes and a few tools along with the bike. On the return trip I stuff it full of souvenirs, dirty clothes and anything else that I don't need for the last couple of days. I had a nervous few moments in Marseille last summer when my bike didn't arrive with the rest of the baggage, but I finally found some guys who located it down in the basement. It was my first attempt to speak French in a long time, and they must have gotten quite a chuckle when I asked them to look for the "bicyclette" instead of "velo." I get to Geneva on Saturday morning, and look forward to being somewhere along the Tour route on Sunday afternoon. After that, it's Tour de France to the max, for a whole week.