Dana and I returned Sunday a.m. from a Team goodwill tour of the French Alpes. Highlighted climbs include The Telegraph, Galibier and Alpe d' Huez.While our group consisted of mostly fit club riders we did have an incredible 74 year old woman from Miami who has been racing all her life. Her name is Joan Paul and she knows more about domestic and international racing than anybody I've met.
Dana and I were the only group members that race ( except for a mtn. biker from Latvia) so we ended up off the front on most rides, particularly the classic climbs. The roads were incredibly beautiful and challenging but I know most of you motorheads are more interested in the statistics - so here they are:
(Disclaimer: We rode these climbs sight unseen for the first time after several hours of cycling to get to them so we are SURE we could have done better- yada, yada, yada - coulda, woulda, shoulda.)
The Telegraph - 12 k long - average grade 7.3 up to 9.8.
Time K-Dogg 55 minutes. Dana 65 minutes.
The Galibier - 18 k long - average grade 6.9 up to 10.5 This thing kicked our azs because of wind gusts of 40 mph.
Time K-Dogg 1.5 hours. Dana 2.0 hours.
Alpe d' Huez - 14 k long (plus or minus depending who you believe) Average grade 7.9 up to 10.5.
Time K-Dogg 58 minutes. Dana 68 minutes.
Pantani's time 37 minutes. Dude.
Side note: Dana's goal was to beat Sheryl Crow's time of 1hour 37 minutes. All the women in our group beat her except for Joan. Sheryl was no althlete it turns out.
Kerry
**click on images to view larger
1 comment:
It looks like you two had a great time! Those are some beautiful roads...hopefully Roger and I will get the chance to race each other on Alpe d'Huez one day!!
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