Everyone arrived in to Lyon on different days and enjoyed getting to know each other over drinks, good meals, and short rides to get the jet lag out and he riding legs in.
On Sunday the adventure began to Ornon, where we'll be spending the week at a converted school house that is now run as a cycling oasis by a British couple called King of the Mountains.
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| Discussing the Wimbledon win the town folk at King of the Mountains |
On the way home we climbed up the Col D'Ornon, a beautiful climb 11 km in length with an average grades of 5.5%. The good news is we get to ride 8 km of this climb at the end of almost every ride to get back to our accommodations!
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| Tanya and Chris at the top of the Col d'Ornon |
On day 2 we set off for a 100 km ride full of ups and downs on a route called the Morte - believe that translates in to "death ride" in some languages!
The group took a wrong turn, but what kind of adventurous trip would this be without a wrong turn or two! The signs in France are so great and plentiful though that it was easy to follow the route back to Col d'Ornon.
The group is separating in to climbers and descenders, with the climbers being more controlled on the descents, but by the end of the week the descenders will be stronger climbers and the climbers will have mastered some descending skills.
There was some spitting today and what looked like rain, but we've been lucky so far with the wet weather holding off until we're back in shelter enjoying delicious food made by our hosts.
Tomorrow we will do the town time trial. Apparently on Wednesday you sign up at the tourist office pay 5 euros and get a time chip. It's a neutral start from the Bike shop out to the bottom of Alp d'Huez and then it's a race. Guy and Helyn, our hosts, say it's a blast. You will have all kinds show up. There is a podium at the top for the first 3 places, Diane has her eyes set on the prize!
All is good, food, chatting, fatigue level.
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