Today’s ride started with about a 25 mile climb up to the top of the Galibier. Spectacular scenery greeted us on the ride up. After a similar length downhill we ended up in a valley that took us between all the big mountains of this area. We decided to do one more and went up the 12 mile climb of the Col du Glandon which was our sixth “Hors Categorie” (above category) climb in this part of the Alps. The climb proved to be just as tough as the others especially the last 3 miles where the grades ranged from 10-13 percent! Ouch! After 115 miles and 8 hours in the saddle our tired bodies arrived in Albertville.
What was planned was our most epic ride but this changed drastically because of the weather. Even a shorter route to the top of the climb to Sestriere, Italy needed a bailout. With the weather on top of the mountains still cold and windy I got a call to come get some riders who didn’t want to face the return trip with 2 long and cold descents in it. Other people enjoyed the city of Briancon, especially the old town at the top of a long hill.
On Sunday, August 15th we left Gap under cloudy skies for a 70 mile ride to Briancon. The route gave us the most spectacular scenery we’ve seen so far. To make things interesting we first ran into a large Ironman triathlon in Embrun which had us scrambling for a detour until a policeman told us to go back the way we came. Once we arrived at the foot of the Col d’Izoard the weather was very nice so we shed our extra clothes for the climb not realizing a storm was brewing. By the time we got close to the top the temperature was down to the low thirties and wet snow was falling. Needless to say we pulled out all the clothes we had and put them back on! The ride down the mountain was very shivering and a hot shower has never felt better!
Starting in Carpentras, gave us a real understanding of the tougness of the Mont Ventoux. From this direction it’s 25 miles uphill, the first 10 gradual and after that it’s relentless. All said and done, by the top we had a whopping 6000 ft. of climbing. For the people at home that know Jonestown mountain, the Ventoux is like stringing together 10 of those in a row!!!!!! Conquering the beast of the Provence gave us a specilal feeling. After a long decent we we headed back towards Gap, where we had to deal with our first showers and a bunch of traffic entering the city. Mission accomplished!!!!!!!
Some went for a bike ride and others went to the market in town
