This was a good day, but a difficult one. Woke up really early and read for a while then went back to sleep. I woke up again a little after 7:00 (<!>) and then got ready for the L'Alpes d'Huez ride. I looked at where Cycle Huez was located, and they were in the village at the top for the climb. Minor shock for me, major one for Pat. He didn't believe it at first, but the evidence was clear. We left about 8:50, it was a pretty drive into the Rhone Alps and up to Alpe d'Huez village. The shop was open and ready for us when we got there. They set up the bikes (Wilier Filante with Shimano DI2, 50-34 crankset and 11-34 cassette) pretty quickly, and we got ready to descend into Bourg d'Oisans. Weather was cloudy but definitely cool, about 50 deg at the start. I was worried about getting chilled on the descent, so I put my long-sleeved shirt on over my jersey and then my windbreaker. It wasn't so bad, probably because the 21 switchbacks didn't allow up to build up a lot of speed. The descent was thrilling, strong braking needed when coming into the sharp turns. I was able to stay with Pat, catching up to him at the turns. We rode down into the village and rode around a bit. It's quite picturesque, there was a Saturday market going on. Then we rode over to the start of the climb, which is a 10% grade for a while before the switchbacks started. I jumped out in front right away, sure I wasn't going to be satisfied with his pace. The turns were relatively flat, while the straights were consistently steep, particularly at the beginning. Not really my preferred gradient profile, and I didn't feel as strong as the previous ride. I stopped several times, the first to take a picture, take off my overshirt, and start my music. The other stops were for pictures, including Dutch corner and a pretty good shot of the switchbacks coming up the mountain. I was definitely feeling it in my legs from the high output needed to climb between the turns. Didn't pass as many people, the weather might have kept the big crowds away. I got to the top village and kept going, looking for an identified summit but not really finding one. Rode back to the cycle shop and waited for Pat to show up, ate a banana while I waited. We continued up the way I had gone but turned at a different point, looking for the finish point in the Tour de France. Eventually we found it took some photos there and the rode back to the shop. It had started sprinkling by then, so we timed the ride just right. Legs weren't as tired at the end as the previous ride, but my glutes were more sore. Not much writing on the road since this climb wasn't included in the Tour this year
Avg speed =10.5 mph. Total mileage =23.5 mi
Avg power =140 W. Weighted avg power =178 W
Total elevation gain = 4110'
Avg heartrate = 136 bpm (Coospo)
Relative Effort = 139
Training Load = 159
Intensity = 81%
On the climb, I finished in the top 16% (top 34% for men) in my age group, was pretty happy with that since I stopped several times along the way. We dropped the bikes off and then drove back to the Airbnb in steady light rain, both glad that we had gotten our ride in before this happened. Drive back was tough because I was tired and starting to feel hungry. But we made it back okay, and I had a celebratory beer when we got into the flat (then another one after that). Ate a very light lunch of crackers and St Agur Bleu Cheese. The rest of the afternoon and evening were quiet, as we stayed around the Airbnb. Pat couldn't get a bottle of wine open, so Ann went out and bought a corkscrew. Then we enjoyed the bottle of wine from the second place we'd stopped at. It was indeed tasty. Ann made, with Pat's help, curry potatoes, pork chops, and veggie chik'n patties (they were fairly tasteless) for dinner, and I cleaned up. Read some more and updated my blog about the ride, then went to bed early.
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