Jonny & Tim ride the Alps

Arrived at 08:30 on a sleeper train. Got settled into the Hotel Edelweiss, had a nap and then decided to give the col d'Izoard a blast. 2361 m in 12 miles at an average of 7.77mph.
Simply amazing scenery which helps when you are turning the pedals. The summit is now my favourite place in the world. Great weather, rode above the snow line and at one point the wind actually pushed us up hill!

tomorrow we aim to ride the col du lautaret and the Galibier. wish us luck

chapeau chaps, bon chance tomorrow and climb like pirates

looking forward to pics, i am jealous

i climbed winterfold hill today. it made my legs hurt. i guess i need to HTFU.

drool over these bad boys

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I think you're missing the point of the alps when there's snow about...

Good luck, good job, looks amazing.

but take care, when we were out summer training in the alps (near 2alpes) two cyclists were killed on the road 5 mins ahead of us.

nice photos dudes + nice tash j man

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Makes the Col du Box Hill look a bit tame , even though by the talk of some people there on a sunday morning you could be mistaken that you are at the top of a major alpine pass....

Good luck with todays climbs.

drool over these bad boys

http://static.londonfgss.com/attachments/10385d1243202799-dsc00855.jpg

drools

Well done chaps. That said, you've done the Izoard from the easier side and, by the sound of things, are doing the Galibier from the easy side too.

Time for a dose of HTFU? ;-)

In classic fashion, you don't even mention the descent, Tim.

You hillmountain-climbers are just mad. ;)

Looks brilliant, hope it was also warm and pleasant!

Have lots of fun on the other ascents!

This has got me excited about my little jaunt down to climb Ventoux in July. Can't wait now.

Wicked!

You need to work on your self-portrait expressions though :)

Looks fantastic lads, great skills... now is time to work on that "blue steel" pose yeah....

Absolutely 531 awesome guys. Good luck with the Galibier today, I'm sure it'll be a bit one. It looks pretty cold old there.. do you have some copies of l'Equipe to stuff down your jersey on the descent? I'm looking forward to seeing some more pictures of these great climbs.

well done guys

Fantastic.
Making me jealous 2361m is some serious climbing.
I'm climbing this, fixed, in a couple of weeks.
Nibberittet:

and this fantastic road is only a couple of hours drive from were I live. Am planning on either driving there and doing it fixed or (more likely) going geared and cycling from home with my boss.
Trollstigen:

Etchingham conquers the Alps! Good job, men!

nice one

http://static.londonfgss.com/attachments/10385d1243202799-dsc00855.jpg

Hahahaha! Great job guys, makes my knees tremble thinking about a climb like that... Stay safe and bring back more pix... :]

WOW - Trollstigen - looks breath taking...i'd love to do that! Right its going in the diary to do next year!

http://static.londonfgss.com/attachments/10385d1243202799-dsc00855.jpg

Hahahaha! Great job guys, makes my knees tremble thinking about a climb like that... Stay safe and bring back more pix... :]

i just keep thinking

WOW - Trollstigen - looks breath taking...i'd love to do that! Right its going in the diary to do next year!

I live only 115 km from trollstigen (why have'nt I already done it?). So if your serious about doing it, let us know.

Good work!
Looks incredible...
Have fun on those descents. Gotta be breaking the 50 mark.
And please... more stats!
Gunniess consumed to metres climbed.
Guess you heard Newcastle went down Tim - hee hee

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.