L'Alpe d'Huez - Parts Un et Deux

While it was a rest day for the Tour, Monday was the big riding day for Chuck and me, as we would be riding the legendary Alpe d'Huez. As has often been stated, Alpe d'Huez is not the longest, highest, steepest, or hardest of the climbs in professional racing, but the history and legends surrounding it make it arguably the most epic. In short, it did not disappoint. In fact, we liked it so much we decided to climb it for a second time two days later.

As the climb begins and at the first switchback, cyclists and motorists are greeted with this sign. Pantani's record time was safe, as I would not be able to use the full road to take the best line up the mountain. :-) Actually, there was a fair amount of traffic on Monday morning, especially on the descent. On Wednesday, which was Bastille Day, we pretty much had the mountain to ourselves at 7:00am and that was quite nice.

While you are climbing, you have a lot of time to think to yourself. Sounds of Phil and Paul kept going through my head. Yes, this was a classic Walter Mitty moment! Was that where "The Look" took place? Where did Guerini get knocked over in 99? Visions of the old photos of LeMond and Hinault, Fignon and Hinault, Coppi, Menchov's drooling, Fränk Schleck's tongue hanging out, McEwin's wheely at the finish line, Pantani flying up the mountain, the 04 TT where Lance passed Basso, etc, etc, etc... All legendary stuff. As I passed the 5th switchback, I just happened to lookup and see the sign dedicated to Hampsten's win in 92. It gave me goosebumps, as I thought about what a true pioneer he was to American cycling. It's too bad most Americans have never heard of him - at least he is recognized and appreciated in Europe. I decided to stop on the descent and take this picture.


After reaching the top for the first time on Monday, I waited a couple of minutes for Chuck to finish. When he didn't appear, I decided to descend a little ways to try to find him. He was nowhere to be found, so while waiting, I took these pictures a couple of kms from the top. Well, it turned out that Chuck was enjoying the climb so much, he inadvertently decided to take an alternative side road that takes you to the summit from a different direction than is normally used in the race. Evidently it was steep, full of delivery trucks, and devoid of cyclists other than himself. Upon realizing something was amiss, he eventually turned around, got back on the main path, and summited the climb for a second time that day.

So what was the climb like? Honestly, I had underestimated it given that it is generally not considered the longest, steepest, or highest of the well-known climbs. Nonetheless, it is deemed "Hors categorie", which in laymen's terms means it is darn hard no matter how strong you are. The steepest part seemed to be right at the base of the climb. The first couple of switchbacks are pretty tough then it seemed to level a bit. However, Chuck and I both discussed afterwards that we never did locate that false flat that Phil always talks about. As well, there was no time where we felt the need to get into our big rings.

In many ways, Chuck and I both felt that the descent gave us a better appreciation for the magnitude of the mountain than the ascent. Given the speed at which I descended as compared to Chuck's, I gained quite a lot of appreciation! For me, at least, it generally took me close to 20 minutes to fully descend from top to bottom. The constant accelerating out of and braking before each switchback never seemed to end.

Here I am on Wednesday after finishing the climb for the second time that week. Monday's climb was mainly recreational riding, but Wednesday was for time. I treated it like a Friday TT at the oval, and it did indeed hurt. However, it again reinforced that I had better not quit my day job to pursue cycling for income and that professional cyclists are truly physical freaks of nature. Although I was personally pleased with my time, Pantani's record ascent remained intact and at no time was even remotely in jeopardy.

Here is Chuck celebrating what was effectively his third summit of the week. As there were no detours on this day, his ascending time had much improved over what he had done two days prior.

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