A long, hot, and demanding ride prior to a day off saw us all get in rather late, so this entry will likely only be posted on Saturday (especially since France is playing another World Cup match tonight, and I feel obligated to watch. You know - out of respect for our hosts). Always a glutton for punishment (well, at least until my next birthday, at which point I may decide to start making some concessions), I opted to do the 'full' climb of Mont Ventoux, which first took me through the Gorges de la Nesque. Although this necessitated giving back much of yesterday's hard-earned elevation, it was well worth it as the views through the Gorge were exceptionally pleasant. Surprisingly, the road through it has a high mid-point, so I ended up giving back even ... read more

Having dutifully studied all available weather data, I left my room cautiously optimistic that I might be able to repeat yesterday's feat of dodging the droplets: the forecast called for a partly cloudy morning followed by afternoon showers and thunderstorms, and I felt I just might be able to make it to Gap before the heavens opened. Alas, the morning started slowly, with the low-hanging clouds and lingering spits of rain in the air no doubt dampening everyone's mood (get it?). Whatever the reason, we set off almost a full hour after I had planned, which of course set me fretting, but I was determined to ride with the group rather than be a recluse. As we pedaled slowly out of town I recalculated my arrival time and hoped the predicted precipitation wouldn't be punctual. Fortunately ... read more

It's funny how quickly one adapts to eventful days: last night at dinner I noted we've had only one riding day and yet already it feels like we've been on tour for a while - probably due to yesterday's unanticipated extreme climb, or perhaps because I am having a hard time finding time to catch up on much-needed sleep. Regardless, it's not a bad life (although gruelling at times). At any rate, I awoke this morning feeling tired and sluggish, with last night's meal still feeling heavy in my gut. Rather than spend almost 10 Euros on the hotel breakfast I walked up the block to the bakery and improvised. I am sad to report the croissant was not up to the standard I expected - must be a big city vs. small town thing. Then ... read more

It has been one very long day and I am barely maintaining consciousness as I type this, but we have successfully installed ourselves in Lyon (really St. Priest, a suburb), ready for tomorrow's inaugural day of cycling. Our flight left even later than advertised (and then we got stuck behind another plane on the taxiway that had mechanical trouble), but was otherwise uneventful. When we landed at 10:10AM local time, passengers dutifully stayed in their seats so that a couple in the back could deplane quickly and have a hope of making it to their daughter's wedding at 11:00. Once I got through customs ("how long will you be staying?" being the sole question asked, almost as an afterthought) the luggage carousel discharged only a handful of bags before coming to a dead stop for a ... read more

The day did not start well, as our hotel proprietor - who had cheerily encouraged pre-paying for both rooms and breakfast yesterday afternoon - proved both grouchy and stingy in providing anything approaching sustenance for today's relatively brief journey; he positively bristled when we deigned to ask for refills on orange juice (this was the first non-buffet breakfast we encountered), and rebuked an inquiry about the availability of cheese by retorting 'there is no cheese - this is a Frenchbreakfast!' Definitely not worth the 7 euros he had extorted. But this was our final riding day and we were not to be swayed from enjoying ourselves. There were several options for getting to Ni... read more