July 2009
I spent 10 days in France with Deanne’s brother in law (Matt) and a couple of his buddies (Mark & Frank). The goal for the trip was to fit in as much riding and Tour watching as possible. I was organiser in chief for the trip as none of the guys had ridden in Europe before, I was aprehensive about whether I would be up to the task but in the end (even if I say so myself) I think I nailed it.
Pre Alpe D'Huez (first Col of the trip) go BIG! We rode a LOT, we rode the Alps, the Pyrenees AND Ventoux in the same trip and guys all had a great time. The experience I gained from other trips came into play and everyone played their part by providing great company and lots of laughs. They followed my lead pretty much without question which lifted the pressure I piled on myself to ensure everyone had a great trip. After a couple of days I realised everyone was happy to follow my lead so I stopped asking whether we should do this or that and led, everyone followed and it worked a treat. A future as a tour guide beckons!
Matt & Mark at Plan Lachet / Galibier
Thanks to my sponsorship deal (sic) with Nikon I had an SLR with me record some of the sights. My skills are pretty limited and I missed more good good shots than I captured but when I did get it right I think the results are pretty good. Below are some of the shots of how the PRO's brought it on the Columbiere.
The only down side of the trip for me personally was getting injured about a week in. My left knee started hurting four days in and got progressively worse, I rode on in the vain hope of improvement determined to get to the Ventoux to see the Tour. The day of truth arrived and I pulled the pin after 6k of the Ventoux when I conceeded going further may mean not making it home that night. The guys pushed on to the summit and experienced the race day atmosphere on the whole climb.
I was gutted as we rode Ventoux from Mauculene the day before and despite riding on one leg I was flying! One of those ‘no chain’ days. It would have been great to take that form to the Pyrenees and have some fun on the climbs that kicked my a** in 2006. I consoled myself with the thought that if one of the guys had been injured they may have been confined to the hotel and since I was the trip’s driver I could still join the guys on the road. Armed with the SLR I had the opportunity to take some pictures of the guys riding the Pyrenees and really soak up the great views in the Pyrenees, never going to tire of that.
