Monthly Archives: July 2018

Just for fun, Training Rides, Travel and food

Final France wrap up

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I’m traveling home today with a very long layover in Detroit, so it was a good time to post a wrap up of the France trip. I rode 7 days straight, and climbed over 37,000 feet during that time. Total mileage was just under 200 miles.

I had 2 days during the week that I felt awful. But I pushed through and on Thursday, when I climbed over 5,000 feet, I finally started to feel like I had before pneumonia and my Achilles injury. It feels so good not to gasp for air at the slightest physical activity!

Friday was a fun day watching the Tour de France riders pass by our village. We rode down the super steep driveway and watched the Tour caravan, then waited for the cyclists to come by. We then rode into town for a beer to watch the rest of the race at a bar in town. It is hard to describe how fun and interesting it is to watch the race in France with cycling fans from all over the world.

Here is a link to video I took of the “Sky Train” passing by on the road below the village we were staying in: Video of Tour cyclists passing by

While I did not stick to a strict ketogenic diet this week (the bread in France is just too good to pass up), I look forward to getting home and getting back on track with it. The nice thing about being fat-adapted is your body will go back to fat burning once you get back to a ketogenic diet. It will hurt for a few days, but I’ll get there…

 

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A few more big rides

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Yesterday we rode up to the Pont d’Espagne, which translates to Spanish Bridge. We left from the gite and climbed 4500 feet on the day, with about 3000 of those up to the bridge. We drove the night before and got some beautiful pictures of the bridge and surrounding waterfalls:The ride was definitely challenging. I did not feel great after, but a nap and some good food (and wine) helped.

Today we did an even bigger ride, up to the Col du Soulor, and the guys went further up to the Col d’Abisque, where the Tour de France will finish tomorrow. I asked a Brit to take a picture of me at the summit:

There were a lot of people on the roads and in campers, preparing for the Tour to go through there tomorrow. I took one picture at the top of some of the campers, but it does not begin to accurately represent what it was like riding up – got lots of cheers (and sympathetic looks) from fans along the road. And as you can see, the view around it is incredibly beautiful.

I took a wrong turn and ended up with more miles than I intended to get home, so for the day I climbed just over 5,000 feet and my total mileage was 48. I felt much better today – perhaps I’m finally getting a level of fitness back after pneumonia.

Tomorrow we are going to watch the stage of the Tour de France, so it probably won’t be a big riding day, but will be an exciting one.

Training Rides, Travel and food, Uncategorized

Beautiful ride – Cirque de Gavernie

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Today we rode up to the Cirque de Gavernie – a fairly easy climb up to about 2800 feet with views that will take your breath away. We had lunch there, and unfortunately got caught in a torrential downpour while descending. I have not been that wet in a while and this time it was not very enjoyable. Total climbing by the time we got back to the gite was around 3600 feet and 33 miles.

However, the ride up and our lunch view was amazing. The internet is not cooperating so I can’t upload a picture but will try again tomorrow.

Tonight we drove to Cauteret and up to Pont d’Espagne, also known as The Spanish Bridge. It was a crossing point for exchanges with Spain from the mid-19th century. The bridge and waterfalls surrounding it are two of the more incredible sights I’ve seen. We plan to ride it tomorrow and will gain about 4500 feet in elevation, and our total ride will be around 38 miles. I hope to post pictures tomorrow!

 

Training Rides, Travel and food

No rest day after all

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I decided to go for a ride before leaving to pick the guys up in Saint Laury Salon. I headed up the Tourmalet and went about halfway before turning around at the ski resort. The road was absolutely packed with cars and cyclists, I’m sure because the Tour de France will be coming through this area in a few days. The pictures below are halfway up the climb – the top part is really beautiful with switchbacks, green grass and lots of cows!

With the lovely steep climb back to the gite, I ended up with 3400 feet of climbing with just under 21 miles of riding.

I then headed out for Saint Laury Salon, a beautiful town at the base of the Lac de Cap-de-long, a lake at 2160 m, which makes for a great climb. I climbed it in 2016 but it was very foggy that day, but this link show some beautiful pictures of it: http://www.lacsdespyrenees.com/lac-191-Barrage%20de%20Cap%20de%20Long.html

Even though I was driving a stick shift on roads I’ve never driven on (with white knuckles), the drive to Saint Laury Salon was beautiful. The town itself is quaint, and the nougat there is magical. I may have gone overboard when buying some caramel nougat (spent 34 euro). I’m just pretending it’s not full of sugar…

 

Training Rides, Travel and food

Second big ride in the Pyrenees – painful but beautiful

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Today we left the gite in Viscos and rode about 10 miles to the base of Hautacam, then climbed this beast of a mountain. It was beautiful, but very steep, and painful! After 40 miles of riding with about 5000 feet of climbing we were treated to a ridiculously steep climb back up to the gite – just over a mile with 800 feet of elevation gain and sustained grades of 13 and 11%. It hurt. But it gave me a lot of time to think  so I spent the time thinking about as many pleasurable memories as possible to help take my mind off of the torture I was inflicting on my legs.

As usual, the scenery helped make up for the brutally steep roads. I was so tired by the time I reached the top of Hautacam that I didn’t take pictures, but you can see from this site what it looks like: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hautacam

I also promised pictures of  the adorable town we are staying in.  A few of the stairs down the gite and the beautiful mountains in the background.

A few of the town with mountains in the background: 

Tomorrow is a rest day for me – I’ll be driving the car for the guys as they do a big day of climbing. I’ve already done 2 of the 3 climbs so I’m happy to take the day off and help them out as we need a vehicle to get everyone back.

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First Ride in France

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We arrived Thursday morning and spent 2 days in Pau sightseeing and trying to get acclimated. Friday we drove up to the border of Spain and had lunch at the top of a beautiful mountain pass in the Pyrenees.

Today we checked into our gite in Viscos, a tiny mountain town with beautiful views. It was quite foggy today so I couldn’t get any decent pictures of the view but will definitely post those later.

We did our first ride of the trip, up to Luz Ardiden. I went the back way from the gite, and Jonathan, Matt and Tim rode into town and rode up a different way. It was incredibly foggy for the last 3 km. I could hear cow bells all over (cows roam freely here) but I couldn’t see them until I was right next to them. Needless to say it made descending very tricky.

I felt good, except for an issue with my derailleur which kept me in one gear only, and of course it wasn’t my easiest one! I couldn’t downshift to stand because it wouldn’t go back into the easier gear so I sat and had to grind away the entire climb. It felt like I was being punished, yet it was enjoyable because I was riding a beautiful road in France.

Here’s a picture at the summit from today, and the one below is from 2 years ago. Quite a difference!

Tomorrow will be a little tougher ride, up Hautacam, another ski resort with super steep roads. Guess I should put the wine glass down and get some rest!!

Training Rides

Celebrating a return to health with 3 big rides

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I found out earlier this week that I am officially over pneumonia. Woo hoo! And what better way to celebrate than getting on the bike and pushing myself! I have been doing some small rides and doing interval work on the trainer trying to build up my endurance, but I had no idea how I’d do on a long ride with lots of climbing, much less multiple days with lots of climbing.

Jonathan has wanted to ride Independence Pass for a long time. It is a bucket list item for him. So we decided to make a weekend of it and we set out early Friday morning to ride Independence Pass from the Leadville side, and Jonathan and our friend Matt rode from Leadville, and I set out from Twin Lakes (a very cute, quaint town near the base of the pass). I rode 34.5 miles (about half of that to the top) and climbed 3200 feet. My total ride was 2 hours, 45 min, and was by far my longest ride since injuring my achilles in April.

The ride on that side was absolutely beautiful. We climbed up to just over 12,000 feet and the only downside was a nasty headwind. Below is a picture of the three of us at the summit:

After dropping Matt back off in Leadville, we drove to Aspen/SnowMass where we stayed the night. The next morning we tackled Independence Pass from the Aspen side. It was a little longer climb, about 19 miles, and more climbing, 4250 feet, but it was even more beautiful than the ride the previous day.  I took my time, kept my heart rate under control, and felt pretty good by the time I made it to the top (where Jonathan had been waiting for quite a while – good husband).

And because 2 hard days of riding for me wasn’t enough, Jonathan, who knows my competitive spirit, put the idea in my head that we should do another big ride today.  So of course I said yes. We started in Breckenridge, rode over Swan Mountain, into Keystone, and we both started up Loveland Pass. I went a few miles, then decided the high speed traffic and lack of a shoulder was enough for me (and I’ve ridden this pass before). So I went down and climbed a much more scenic pass, Montezuma Mountain, just outside of Keystone. I climbed 3000 feet and total riding time was 3 hours.

While I have been unable to ride much since April, when I hurt my achilles, and then getting pneumonia 4 weeks ago, I haven’t lost my love for riding. In fact, being unable to ride for so long has definitely made me appreciate it much more. I wasn’t out to set any land speed records, and was just riding for me. It certainly helped that the scenery was spectacular!

Tomorrow will definitely involve a recovery ride, then back to training hard Tuesday. I have a lot of ground to make up!