happy birthday mom!
(sorry we couldn't share the cake with you but we found it a good home here)
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Ride On
Ride #2: Col du Galibier
Ellen: 11 miles, 1,928 feet climbed
Chris: 24 miles, 5,685 feet climbed
After our ride over Col de Sarenne we took a day off to regroup. The next day we drove a short distance from La Grave to the base of Col du Galibier. My ride for the day would be relatively short, just over 5 miles up to the top. Chris wanted to tackle it from both sides of the pass so when we reached the top he descended the other side then climbed back up.
The more popular cols have lots of cyclists, lots of motorbikes, and lots car-siteseers milling about. There are also plenty of non-cycling friends and family providing moral support for their cycling counterparts, so hanging around the top of some cols is a little like being part of an event. While I waited for Chris, a family of (Italians? I could not pick out the language) were anxiously awaiting a rider. When he made it to the top there was a great deal of cheering. Then the wait set in while they watched for one more rider. In the distance, there he was, a mere spec walking his bike uphill. Much peering through binoculars and murmurs of (what sounded liked) concern from the family. Eventually he got back on his bike (queue the murmurs of relief) and finished his ride, arriving at the top to lots of clapping and celebration.
If we didn't do it at least once it wouldn't be a vacation. "It" being leaving the camera at the hotel, or discovering that the battery was dead, or some combination thereof. On this day, we had a camera but no battery. We'd charged the battery the night before but forgot to put it in the camera. So there aren't any pictures of this ride, except for the village we started from. How did we manage that? When we finished the ride we remembered that we'd brought the iPad with us (always, for GPS directions), and the iPad takes pictures. So this is our one snap for the day:
It takes all kinds to be a Border Collie.
Ellen: 11 miles, 1,928 feet climbed
Chris: 24 miles, 5,685 feet climbed
After our ride over Col de Sarenne we took a day off to regroup. The next day we drove a short distance from La Grave to the base of Col du Galibier. My ride for the day would be relatively short, just over 5 miles up to the top. Chris wanted to tackle it from both sides of the pass so when we reached the top he descended the other side then climbed back up.
The more popular cols have lots of cyclists, lots of motorbikes, and lots car-siteseers milling about. There are also plenty of non-cycling friends and family providing moral support for their cycling counterparts, so hanging around the top of some cols is a little like being part of an event. While I waited for Chris, a family of (Italians? I could not pick out the language) were anxiously awaiting a rider. When he made it to the top there was a great deal of cheering. Then the wait set in while they watched for one more rider. In the distance, there he was, a mere spec walking his bike uphill. Much peering through binoculars and murmurs of (what sounded liked) concern from the family. Eventually he got back on his bike (queue the murmurs of relief) and finished his ride, arriving at the top to lots of clapping and celebration.
Ride #3: Col de Croix de Fer / Col du Glandon
Ellen: 24 miles, 4,086 feet climbed
Chris: 31 miles, 5,564 feet climbed
If we didn't do it at least once it wouldn't be a vacation. "It" being leaving the camera at the hotel, or discovering that the battery was dead, or some combination thereof. On this day, we had a camera but no battery. We'd charged the battery the night before but forgot to put it in the camera. So there aren't any pictures of this ride, except for the village we started from. How did we manage that? When we finished the ride we remembered that we'd brought the iPad with us (always, for GPS directions), and the iPad takes pictures. So this is our one snap for the day:
Our ride today was a two-for-one special. One ride up the main route, two cols within easy reach of each other at the top. Near the top, the road branched and we first took the fork toward Col de Croix de Fer, just a few hundred feet off the main route. Not to sound repetitious, but Chris wanted to ride down the other side so that he could climb back up. I was happy to oblige and waited in the sun at the top of the pass where I could watch him making his way up the switchbacks.
Next, we returned to the main route and went on another mile to Col du Glandon. A quick look around before riding back to the car.
Dogs of a Feather
It was a beautiful route and unfortunate that we didn't have a camera. The one picture I really would have liked was of a Border Collie guarding his sheep. As we were riding up the road, in the field to our right, there was a flock of sheep grazing at the edge of the road. Near them was a woman reading a book, who was likely the sheep herder, paying not the least bit of attention to her charges. She didn't have to because standing in the middle of the road, head and tail down and with laser-like focus on the sheep, was a Border Collie, practically shaking in anticipation of a sheep stepping foot (or is it hoof?) on the road. The roads are narrow and we came up behind and within a few feet of him, so I expected to see at least a nose or ear twitch in acknowledgment of our presence. Nada. That was one tough Border Collie. He must have read this poster, which explains proper human etiquette around sheep and sheep dogs. You're supposed to keep a wide berth around the sheep, don't look the dog in the eye, and don't raise your hiking stick to it. It was a funny poster.
Back in the town of La Grave there was a Border Collie who was the antithesis of his coworker in the fields. He was more than happy to have someone pet him. He kept glancing around furtively so I got the impression he's really not supposed to 'let himself go' like that. Probably brings shame on his fellow Collies.
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| "who's a good dog?" |
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| "who's a good dog?" |
Then there was this happy fellow at the top of Petit du St. Bernard. Sure, he did his job, but I also saw him slacking off and mingling with civilian dogs when his sheep herder wasn't looking. Here, he's taking his cows across the road to another field.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
French Alps: The Journey Begins
Take-Off
You can't tell, but that there is Business Class. Oh, so sweet. Roomy. Airy. Seats go almost all the way down. Hot towels, eye shades, socks to keep your toes warm, toothbrushes, lotion, fine meals, movies to keep you occupied. Then, when you get to the next airport, you get to hang in the private lounge: showers, an endless supply of free food and drinks, newspapers, computers provided for your joy and comfort. A respite from the throngs of glassy-eyed common people roaming the airport. But I digress....
....we came to ride.
After adjusting for the 9 hour time change, we arrived at the Lyon airport a mere 24 hours after leaving Portland. Yes, it took us 24 hours of actual travel time to get there. The tickets were free, but they surely weren't fast. After picking up our rental car we drove 10 miles to a hotel that had agreed to store our bike boxes while we traveled. Arrived there around 9pm, had dinner, and dropped into bed. The next morning Chris assembled the bikes, we handed our bike boxes over to the hotel, loaded our car, and drove off toward the town of La Grave. This 1 hour 45 minute drive nearly doubled in time after we made a critical error and ended up paying 40 euros to go through a tunnel into Italy. I knew something was wrong when all of the city names on our iPad's GPS started appearing in Italian. But our brains were too addled from flying to recognize our mistake soon enough to do anything about it. We backtracked to La Grave, arriving there around 3pm.
La Grave
La Grave is a very small mountain town that attracts skiers and cyclists. It looks cold and onerous, but actually we had good weather the entire trip. Almost entirely sunny, with just one rainy (and cold) day. It looks like most of the pictures of La Grave were taken on the rainy day. Because what else was there to do but walk around town.
We checked into the Edelweiss, a small cycling-friendly hotel run by a Danish/British couple.
Mom had e-mailed that we should rest the first day. So, naturally, we went on a bike ride. After checking into the Edelweiss, the first thing Chris asked the staff was whether we had time for a ride. Apparently, we did.
Ride #1: Col de Sarenne
Ellen: 36 miles, climbed 5,963 feet
Chris: 32 miles, climbed 6,021 feet
I won't go into detail because I don't want to scare somebody's parents, but the reason for the difference is my miles (above) and Chris's is that I got a little lost on our first ride in the Alps. Let's just say our first ride ended at 10:30 pm. Well, my ride ended at 10:30. Chris finished about 8:30. It took the remaining two hours for us to figure out where each other was. While I was doing what Chris likes to call 'hill repeats' in the upper mountain he was driving around and flashing his lights and honking his horn in the valley trying to find me. I could see him down below honking and flashing, I just couldn't figure out how to intersect with him on unfamiliar roads. Eventually I determined that I'd just have to go into one of the little towns and knock on a door and get someone to drive me back to our hotel, which was one or two valleys over. I rolled into a town in the dark and there he was coming out of a hotel. He'd gotten the proprietor to call the police (or, gendarmes.... it sounds so much better in french) to help look for me. A few minutes later the gendarmes rolled up. They said to me, 'What, you didn't know where you were?'. Clearly not.
All's well that ends well. Back at the Edelweiss we'd missed our dinner but they gave us soup and bread and let us eat breakfast late the next morning.
So that was Day 1.
You can't tell, but that there is Business Class. Oh, so sweet. Roomy. Airy. Seats go almost all the way down. Hot towels, eye shades, socks to keep your toes warm, toothbrushes, lotion, fine meals, movies to keep you occupied. Then, when you get to the next airport, you get to hang in the private lounge: showers, an endless supply of free food and drinks, newspapers, computers provided for your joy and comfort. A respite from the throngs of glassy-eyed common people roaming the airport. But I digress....
....we came to ride.
After adjusting for the 9 hour time change, we arrived at the Lyon airport a mere 24 hours after leaving Portland. Yes, it took us 24 hours of actual travel time to get there. The tickets were free, but they surely weren't fast. After picking up our rental car we drove 10 miles to a hotel that had agreed to store our bike boxes while we traveled. Arrived there around 9pm, had dinner, and dropped into bed. The next morning Chris assembled the bikes, we handed our bike boxes over to the hotel, loaded our car, and drove off toward the town of La Grave. This 1 hour 45 minute drive nearly doubled in time after we made a critical error and ended up paying 40 euros to go through a tunnel into Italy. I knew something was wrong when all of the city names on our iPad's GPS started appearing in Italian. But our brains were too addled from flying to recognize our mistake soon enough to do anything about it. We backtracked to La Grave, arriving there around 3pm.
La Grave
La Grave is a very small mountain town that attracts skiers and cyclists. It looks cold and onerous, but actually we had good weather the entire trip. Almost entirely sunny, with just one rainy (and cold) day. It looks like most of the pictures of La Grave were taken on the rainy day. Because what else was there to do but walk around town.
We checked into the Edelweiss, a small cycling-friendly hotel run by a Danish/British couple.
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main street, La Grave
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| view from our window |
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| patio |
Mom had e-mailed that we should rest the first day. So, naturally, we went on a bike ride. After checking into the Edelweiss, the first thing Chris asked the staff was whether we had time for a ride. Apparently, we did.
Ride #1: Col de Sarenne
Ellen: 36 miles, climbed 5,963 feet
Chris: 32 miles, climbed 6,021 feet
I won't go into detail because I don't want to scare somebody's parents, but the reason for the difference is my miles (above) and Chris's is that I got a little lost on our first ride in the Alps. Let's just say our first ride ended at 10:30 pm. Well, my ride ended at 10:30. Chris finished about 8:30. It took the remaining two hours for us to figure out where each other was. While I was doing what Chris likes to call 'hill repeats' in the upper mountain he was driving around and flashing his lights and honking his horn in the valley trying to find me. I could see him down below honking and flashing, I just couldn't figure out how to intersect with him on unfamiliar roads. Eventually I determined that I'd just have to go into one of the little towns and knock on a door and get someone to drive me back to our hotel, which was one or two valleys over. I rolled into a town in the dark and there he was coming out of a hotel. He'd gotten the proprietor to call the police (or, gendarmes.... it sounds so much better in french) to help look for me. A few minutes later the gendarmes rolled up. They said to me, 'What, you didn't know where you were?'. Clearly not.
All's well that ends well. Back at the Edelweiss we'd missed our dinner but they gave us soup and bread and let us eat breakfast late the next morning.
So that was Day 1.
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| Col de Sarenne. Many roads have markers all along the route for cyclists, indicating the distance, elevation, and average climbing grade to the 'col' (mountain pass). This sign shows a 7% average grade and 5 kilometers remaining to the top. |
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| At the top |
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| This was the only ride we did that was a loop. All of our other rides were up to the top and back down the same way. Here, we've crested the Col de Sarenne and are heading across the top, later to descend much more famous L'Alp d'Huez route, then loop around to the start. |
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| Riding back along a 'balcony' road, so called because it is cut into a steep mountainside. |
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