Alpe d’Huez

With maps in hand and feeling a little more confident and not so tired, I decided I would go find Alpe d’Huez. After getting out of bed at around 10am, having bread and jam for breakfast (strawberry-rhubarb - They actually have lots of rhubarb flavored things, which I think is great as I love rhubarb) I kitted up, filled my water bottles, stuffed my jersey pockets full of food, arm warmers, vest, ipod, money, etc (the necessities) I set out to fine Alpe d’Huez. I rode south, but a different route than I went yesterday as I can’t seem to follow the streets very well, and after about 30 minutes of riding found the route to get out of town, D5. This took my through Vizille, Brie (where the cheese originated???) and out to le Bourg-d’Ojsans. That was about 30 miles and 2:10 ride time, so a little further than I thought. I’ve posted some pictures enroute. As I was riding out, I came across two legit looking riders in full Milram kits (not wearing helmets) and though, hmmm…. Could be, but I’m not sure. Once in le Bourg-d’Ojsans, I made a left hand turn at a sign that said Alpe d’Huez, rode for a few hundred meters and then started climbing a stretch of road that I thought was ridiculously steep. I vaguely recall hearing that Alpe d’Huez was ~6% and figured it would level out a little soon. Yeah, no such luck. The whole thing was really steep and I was really wishing for a compact crank. The next few pictures are going up the climb. They have these nice signs at the switch backs to let you know how much suffering you have left. (There were 21 signs and I wanted to die by the 10th).

I stopped to take a few pictures and these two older guys passed me. They were really hammering along and I though, shit, am I that out of shape? After snapping a couple shots, I started riding again and caught them a little ways up the road. Unfortunately, the slow cadence took a toll on my legs and I had to stop again and took a few more pics, ate a bar, and drank the rest of my water. Those two guys again passed me, and I never saw them again, so maybe I am that out of shape. The last few k’s were pretty mentally challenging, but I had a few rabbits in front of me. Actually, they were no extra motivation, I just couldn’t pedal any slower than I already was. But, I came across some Belgians (who I only learned were Belgian once I was at the top) and had a brief exchange (in French) with them. That was about 500 m from the summit. I hit the summit and was happy to stop pedaling. You can see some pics of me at the top.

In case any of you are considering doing this climb, there is actually a public watering trough with potable water. When I read the sign, I couldn’t tell if it read “Yes, Potable” or “Not Potable”, but once a French speaking person used the fountain, I hit that up. It was surprisingly cold and refreshing. I also bought a coke and a snickers bar at the café. I wanted a coffee, but also didn’t want a coffee. The Belgians were nice enough to take my picture (I only asked once I had established that they spoke English, as a French kid asked them in English to take his picture). Definitely cool for nostalgia purposes, but not something I would want to ride daily. I would much rather ride GMR, which isn’t nearly as pretty, but definitely more doable with a standard crank. The descent was fast and fun, and by the bottom I bet I had seen 100-150 cyclists climbing, descending, at the top, or riding to Alpe d’Huez. That was very cool. There were also many leftover writings on the rode from previous tours in a bunch of different languages. The only one I fully understood said “Go Cadel, C’mon Aussies” Pretty cool none the less. I don’t know how those guys can go so hard all day and then go even harder up something so steep with standard gearing. My numbers (which weren’t that impressive) were avg. power – 250 watts, avg. cadence 55, avg heart rate 175 (ridiculously high), total time – 1:10. It was hot and humid out (85 or 90 F near the bottom) but I’m clearly not in race shape. Sorry, Michael. There was a photographer on one of the switch backs near the top and he took a few shots. I haven’t looked at the pics online yet, but web address is http://www.photobreton.com/, and my web code is FG7B3385 if anyone cares to see them. I may buy one if they look good. After the descent, I had 30 miles back to Grenoble, most of which weren’t too bad. There was one climb that was steep and probably 1.5 miles long (more 55 cadence) but it fortunately didn’t take that long. After getting back into tow, the route I took back to my dorm was far different than the one I had taken on the way out. Not that I did this on purpose, it’s just hard to pick out the road names. But, I did see five legit looking riders in full CSC kit upon Zipp clad Cervelo’s. I gave them the nod, and got nods in return I thought, “wow, this is interesting. What the heck is going on? Are they all doing recon for the tour already?”. Nope, and that leads my into my next post.