Traditional breakfast with a few boiled eggs.
Then we were packing up our stuff to go up to the famous climb.
We had discussed how to see the Tour that day with a LOT of people.
What would be the best location. How could we see as much as
possible? We decided to get as close to the top as we could and find
a clear area where we could see several turns.
The Chef made us some lunches. And they were Awesome. However, later
we found that the price was AWESOME, too.
We rode out toward Bourg d'Oisans - which is the town at the base of
D'Huez. It would be the starting town the next day.
The traffic was pretty heavy, but we were able to ride through the
crowds and cars and start our ride up the climb. All of us were
really looking forward to the experience. We couldn't have gone up
too fast even if it were possible because of the crowds. It was like
riding through the games area at the Texas State Fair on Dallas Public
School Fair day for 14 K. Except this was fun. The crowds were a
lot of fun - the highlight was probably the Dutch corner - which is at
about switchback 10 or so. It is about 200 yards of nothing but
orange outfits and people who have been partying for hours (and the
Tour was still 5 hours away). At some point there was a set of blue
wizards that gave me a good long push - I guess I looked kinda tired.
After switchback 4 - very close to the top - we were forced to get off
of our bikes and walk - the road was closed to all but official
vehicles. We decided to lock up our bikes and walk to a big open area
at turn 3 and wait. We ate the food that was packed for us - so
good. I fell asleep on the grass and we just waited. About two hours
passed and finally the caravan started to come by. What a show. Then
another long wait before the motorcycles started to roll by preceding
the racers.
We had heard there was a break at some point at the bottom of the
climb, but didn't know more than that. Eventually we heard the sound
of the helicopters climbing the mountain - that really gets things
exciting - and soon 3 or 4 were swirling around above us with
cameras. Then after hours of waiting we could see the lead group of
motos and the red car of the Tour officials. Soon a lone rider came
into view and we heard it was Sastre on his second attack on the lead
group. The crowd roared as he came towards us - we were standing on
the apex of the 3rd corner and as he went around we could see and hear
his intensity - impressive. Several minutes later the other leaders
came by with Andy Schleck looking fresh as ever. Yves took a bunch of
pics with his SLR and we just waited as the rest of the riders came
by. It took at least an hour for everyone to pass. Seeing all the
pros working that hard was cool - we were all ready to ride as soon as
the road was cleared.
We hurried back down to our bikes and happened to meet up with our
friends from the UK - Philip and Paul. The 7 of us rode up to the top
Huez and cruised through the finishing straight. Our main goal at
that point was to look for the team trucks and mechanics and see some
of the cool gear that the pros were riding. Soon, though, it was time
to return so that we wouldn't miss that dinner thing at the Gite. The
meal that night was supposed to be a home run.
It took quite a long time to ride down the mountain. There were
thousands of people going down - including the entire Caravan which
seems to be an innumerable quantity of vehicles. We zipped in and out
to get down as fast as possible. David had two flats on the way.
Probably cause he was using Italian tubes on french soil or
something. We regrouped at the bottom and made our way through the
people and cars and worked our way back up to La Danchere.
All 7 of us regrouped at dinner and shared our stories - we also met
up with a couple of guys staying at the Gite from the Chech Republic
who could speak a little english. After another incredible dinner -
shrimp, steak, and chicken that we grilled at the table - we loaded
our pictures, Yves pics, and the pics the English guys had and watched
a long slide show on Dave's mac at the dinner table. It was fun to
see in stills what we had only glimpsed as the riders passed us during
the day.
By ten or eleven we were all whipped and headed for bed. A great day.
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