Killing Another Layover

Just me, the iPhone, and a beer.

Now that I don't have to worry about an outragously expensive
international data plan, I'm catching up on some internetting.

My wife and daughter are going to meet me at the airport when I get in
at midnight... I CAN NOT WAIT!

Tomorrow I'll sleep off some jetlag, spend some QT with my baby girl,
mow the lawn and prepare for the real world to smack me square in the
face on Wednesday morning...until then mmmmmmm beer.

Bon Voyage

On the plane waiting to take off.

Twenty hours from now, I'll be back in Gaines-Vegas!

Petite Snack

On the Champs Elysees in Paris, having some pate, formage, bier and
baguettes. The race caravan just rolled through so the peloton ought
to by within the hour.

What I See

Looking out over Paris from the lower level of the Eiffel Tower.

I have to Oui Oui.

Where we are parked

Headed to Eiffel Tower, parked on random street...we tagged the GPS
cooridinates and photographed the street so maybe we'll be able to
find our car tonight.

Eiffel Tower?

I think I see it...not as impressive as I thought it would be.

Pit Stop

After talking with a few of the guys from the Garmin-Slipstream team,
we left the start town of Montelimar.

We're on our way to Beaune, France. On the way we stopped in a town
called Vienne to watch the Tour stage at a bar. It'll be interesting
to watch as the pro peloton ascends the same slopes that we climbed
yesterday.

Next stop...Beaune...then Paris in the morning.

At the Startline

Montelimar, France...hoping to get some autographs...French people are
very pushy and have NO respect for "personal space"

Bikes are Packed

We've completed our last ride in Europe. Mont Ventoux was incredable.

Now we're at a nice patio cafe in Bedoin at the base of the mountain.
When we're done here we'll head over to our hotel in Avignon.

What I See

Prevonce, France from the top of Mont Ventoux.

3:00pm, Friday, July 24, 2009

Laverie

We've been hunting for a laundromat for a couple of days now. We got
close yesterday in Chambery, a nice French kid gave us directions to a
Laverie, but the language barrier was proving too much to overcome so
he had us follow him in our car as he drove us to one...it was closed!
Good try though, and we did our part to keep up foreign relations.

Here we are back in Grenoble and the front desk girl at the hotel gave
us a map to the laundromat pictured here. We arrived at 8:00pm and it
was closing at 8:00 pm...nobody is here to lock up, so we're still
washing.

Tomorrow, we climb Mont Vontoux!

Made it

Made it to the top of the Galibier and back. Windy? That would be an
understatement! I was getting blown sideways near the top, and there
aren't any gaurd rails (and the drops are HUGE!

Stopped in Valloir for a beer on the way back.

By far our biggest single day if climbing so far.

Galibier

It's 11:00am here in St. Michel Maurienne, France. We're heading out
to climb the Col du Telegraph and the Col du Galibier...we'll be
riding to almost 10,000 feet and it doesn't look like the nicest
day...major wind gusts here in town so I can only imagine what the top
will be like.

I've packed everything I think I'll need, so I should be ready for
anything.

Fingers crossed...

Riccola Dudes

They were on the top of the mountain blowin' their horns...pretty cool.

Right now I'm...

FREEZING!!!

In a liitle village, standing in a doorway out of the wind.

Just climbed a STEEP 8.8 K to today's stage's 2nd to last catagory 1
climb.