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@clintsmoker
today is a rest day. much needed after yesterday.
woke up on day 2 with plans to do the col du lautaret and then turn right into the galibier. rode out and up the laut which was pleasant and easy going for a col. the galibier is closed so we decided to go back home and hire the car and drive to alp d'huez. this is when we realise that the otherside of the lautaret is what makes this a respected climb. the descent in the car started to scare the bejesus out of us. arrived at huez at 5pm, got out of the car into a furnace. it had been 25 degrees all day but had now reached a peak of 30 degrees. jon had forgotten to put his water bottle on board so i gave him one of mine. we set off and fuck me sideways...the hardest day of cycling began. those opening few hairpins were a nightmare. my head was literally pulsating with heat, breathing was difficult and the urge to panic was hard to control. Huez can not be underestimated as just a famous climb. this was 9 miles of unrelenting hell. i was determined not to stop, god knows why because that meant stretching a litre of water all the way but after several dark moments i arrived at the top.
my immediate words to jonny were " that is a piece of shit climb, i hated every mile of it" and to be honest huez is ugly, busy with traffic and has seemingly little to recommend it as a climb other than it is historical. on reflection, there are spectacular views which i appreciated on the descent. the climb is a severe challenge. jon called it 'honest' which is jonny speak for tough. the heat and water situation meant sacrificing time for reaching the top without stopping. i made 9 miles in 1 hr 27 minutes at an average of 6.2mph. do i want to return to beat that in better conditions? No i don't but i probably will one day in the future. i'd like to offer the whole place to the skiiers but it actually belongs to us.
oh yeah...the sign posting is shit and those markers on the hairpins? could i give a shit? i was in too much of a world of pain to be able to focus on them.
rest day today ...we took the car out over montgenevre to sestriere in italy. if we can we will do there and back on saturday. that's three cols and 50 miles. wish us luck because tomorrow is mont ventoux.