Picture Gallery ...

The new JLF Tour team outfit!

Big John & Little John cooling off
... glad I'm not downstream! >

Not so delicate Derrierre!

Rugged up for the descent from Col du Lautertet
Day off on the luge ... Alpe d'Huez

Last full day in Paris

For our last day in Paris Steve and I decided to do a ride in the morning along the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe but we had to be out early as the Tour was finishing today in Paris and as usual the roads would be closed early. We headed out and followed the Sienne river (if you're not careful you will go in-sane)somewhat through relatively empty streets and cute laneways. When we hit the Champs-Elysees near Place de la Concorde it was closed so we worked our way up parallel to find an entry spot not blocked by the Gendamerie and ended up at the Arc de Triumph thrilled to bits. We rode round the Arc 3 times on the cobbled stone road with vibrations coursing through our bodies and bikes but it was such a thrill to ride around this famous landmark knowing the riders would be coming through 8-10 hours later. We then rode along the Champs-Elysees as far as we could (the part that was closed ended up being the finish line later in the day) then headed back home past the famed Notre-Dame back to Bercy.

We met everyone at 1pm to take the bus into central Paris to watch the final race. We all had tickets to get seats to watch in comfort but you had to be early to get decent seats. The race was quite interesting as they came into Paris we could see the riders on the huge screen not far from us. Upon their arrival they did 8 laps of the Champs-Elysees before the sprint to the finish. It was a foregone conclusion that Cadel Evans would finish the Tour in 2nd place behind they yellow jersey winner Carlos Sastre (barring any accidents) given he was 58 seconds behind but it was great to see him on the podium with Sastre.

John M, Steve & I went back to the Bercy Village for dinner, drinks and some relaxation watching the talent wander by. The other boys and girls went out for dinner, drinks and a night spot on the Champs-Elysees.

Ahhh... Gay Paris...

A night on the Eiffel

Having not been to Paris before I was pleasantly surprised at the architecture and culture that this city has to offer. There is so much to see. The 3 of us visited the Louvre Museum but we didn't have time to go inside. It really is a full-day outing or more. This trip has given me a taste for coming back next year with my wife Ann.

The dinner outing to the Eiffel Tower has to be one of the highlights of the trip. The structure is amazing to see during the day but at night it comes alive with a wonderful light show. I am told that the golden stars (European Union symbol) has been added in the last couple of years.

Alpe d' Huez Race Day

I was determined to ride Alpe d' Huez one more time and the only opportunity to do so was this morning before the organisers closed the road for todays race which finishes at the top of Huez after 2 other Cols and 200 odd kms.

By the time I got going it was just before 9am. The road was already busy with lots of people riding or walking up the 21 switchbacks. It seemed like a pilgrimage to Mecca. It only took 20 to descend but I had to warm up at the bottom in the sunshine as the cold mountain air chills the bones. My ride up whilst not exactly easy was not as hard as it was 2 days ago. It only took 1hr 17mins and 20 secs to climb the beast (15 mins faster this time) but unlike 2 days ago when we had ridden 100+kms before ascending I was rather fresh in the legs today.

The rest of the day was spent enjoying the carnival atmosphere, the procession of cars and finally the race itself. There were a few of us watching the race on TV and as the riders ascended Huez we were on the balcony watching the riders fly by.

Dinner out and plenty of beer and wine ensured a great day was had. Here's some pics of the day.

A day off on Alpe d' Huez

After yesterday's mammoth day climbing 2 cols (mountains) it was nice to have a day off to enjoy the mountain scenery and to soak up the atmosphere of living in the Mecca of cycling locations Alpe d' Huez.

Talking about the Mecca of cycling I have never seen so many cyclists all converge at one location than have here. Even when climbing Huez yesterday arvo there were hundreds of cyclists of all shapes and sizes climbing the mount and many hundreds cheering us on the sidelines. The atmosphere is building for the race that climbs up Alpe d' Huez tomorrow. People everywhere are speculating whether Cadel Evans can wrestle back the yellow jersey from Frank Schleck.

The 3 most handsome guys in the group took a cable car ride up Pic Blanc (3300 mtrs) and enjoyed some wonderful scenery, a few snow fights (James was slipping and sliding in the snow with his thongs and shorts on) whilst John and I were reasonably dressed for the conditions. Some of the others went for another ride up Col Sarenne and down into the village of Borg d'Oisan for lunch then back up Huez.

Guillestre - Alpe d' Huez

Refreshed from a day off the bikes we set off on a 110km ride from Guillestre to Alpe d' Huez. We travelled along the beautiful valley of the river Durance past many farming villages and winter ski resorts.

The first major climb was after we went through the town of Briancon which was the start of the le Tour stage into Italy. The climb known as the Col du Lauteret was certainly long and steady rising from the valley floor over 36.5kms and into a 30km/hr head wind. A welcomed lunch of Steak Frites with a hot chocolate and we were off in rapidly cooling conditions.

The first downhill sections were really fast with speeds up to 60+ and lots of long/dark tunnels which were really scary coming from bright sunlight and with the sunnies on the tunnels were really narrow. Not much room for error with an on-coming truck! The descent continued 40kms into the village of Bourg d'Oisans at the foot of the imposing Alpe d' Huez.

After such a taxing 100+kms only 5 of us (Fitzy, Ray, Jason, Steve and I) decided to climb the monolith. Alpe d' Huez is famous for its 21 switchbacks (tirages) over over 14kms with an ascent of 1130mtrs at an average gradient of over 8%. Slowly but surely we climbed up and up and up.... With the le Tour stage up this mountain in 2 days time it was amazing the number of people riding up and down, the caravans parked bumper to bumper on the roadside, the people sitting on their deckchairs on the roadsides cheering the riders up. The carnival atmosphere with the loud music was really building up the higher up we got.

Each of the 21 switchbacks were signposted with the corner number and a famous rider from the past and as you climbed you mentally counted down the number of switchbacks to go until finally tirage 1 at 1713mtrs and then another 300 odd meters to the top.

At the end of such a long day the climb was massive both physically and mentally but such a satisfaction of achievement. It took me 1hr 19mins to conquer the beast, delicate derierre and all.

With a small mess up with accomodation we were treated to a lovely authentic French mountain meal thanks to Lawrie and Bikestyletours.

Au Revoir & Bon Appetit

Nimes - Dignes Le Bains

Another hot day in the 30's. We enjoyed a very pleasant ride through the valley flanked by crops of sunflowers, orchards and rolling green pastures. We rode at a solid pace peaking in the mid 40kms/hr. I was in a group of 4 riders, 2 of which were la femmes who produced very strong rides and kept both the boys on our toes.

The scenery was beyond description and has to be witnessed to be really appreciated. Our ride entailed a total of 60kms with some reasonable solid climbs finishing at Dignes Le Bains. The other 13 riders rode 100kms and we all re-grouped and rested 5kms out from the township and enjoyed some bagettes and a most welcome drink.

From this point the 16 riders in our group progressed into the township under VIP escort to the finishing line on what was an official leg of the Tour de France. We were welcomed at the finishing line by the crowds that were already assembled to greet the official Tour de France riders which were following behind us by 3 hours.

As part of the Bikestyletours arrangements we were then treated to official photographs on the podium following which we were given the opportunity to see the technical operations that support the Tour de France TV and radio coverages thanks to Dave McKenzie and his SBS crew. It was an amazing sight to see the technology that supports this event including kms of cabling on the ground.

When the riders finally came through we were very fortunate to have the opportunity to view and photograph both the yellow jersey winner (Cadel Evans, Australian) and the green, polka dot jersey winners from close proximity.

A memorable and enjoyable day that we will never forget.

Narrated by Sexy John, typed by Southern Hack (Steve))