Today saw me complete another milestone on the "rides-I-must-do" list. Given that the start of Alpe d'Huez is literally at the end of our street, there was also no chance it was not going to get ridden immediately upon our arrival in the Alps, and this 14km climb is easily the most famous Tour de France climb. We had watched the time trail up here back in 2004 with the million or so other spectators that were estimated to be on the hill that day. Today was very different as I started off early and had the road pretty much to myself. There were no polite introductions with the first 2-3km starting at about 13-14%. I was glad I had done my research and I could be assured that it calmed down later in the climb, otherwise it would have a very rude shock. As I ascended the morning mist and clouds lifted and the scenery became ever more stunning and motivating, providing ample inspiration to keep pedals turning. Many of the climb's 21 hairpins were very familiar from watching the Tour, for example I smiled when I passed the church at around turn 7 which is infamously known as "Dutch Corner". It is where the Dutch camp out for three days before, during and after the Tour comes through and they party, party, party. I also had a grin when I rode past the ski chalet we stayed in back in 2004 and from where we cheered on the Tour riders. Far from the raucous chaotic circus that it was that day, it was deadly quiet being closed for summer.
At the top I turned the famous left turn round the roundabout and rode the final 300 metres with a big smirk on my face. It was awesome to complete another of my four climbs. The descent was very chilly so there was the occasional stop to get feeling back into the fingers and enjoy the view. The view from turn 9 was simply jaw dropping and reminded me why I wanted to be here riding in these magnificent mountains.
Tomorrow is planned to be another big day in the Alps. The support crew will be dropping me off at the top of the Galibier before I descend 35km down the other side to promptly turn around and climb back up again! From there I hope to descend and ride the road back to Bourg d'Osian. It will be a long day of riding but I wanted to do this last section (as well as the preceding climbs) as this was where Cadel Evans caught Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador in 2011 tour having lost them earlier that day on the Col du Telegraphe due to mechanical problems. It was an awesome moment that helped him win the tour that year and it had me on the edge of the sofa screaming at the television back in Australia. Wish me luck!
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