Return from France

We returned from France after about a month there leading two groups to see the Tour de France. We started in the Alsace region in Strabourg and Obernai, and we ended up in the alps at Les Deux Alps. The Tour was exciting, although it is disappointing for everyone to watch the aftermath and doping allegations regarding Floyd Landis.

On both tours we met with former Tour rider Frankie Andreu (9 times completed the Tour de France). We had dinner with Frankie in the Alsace, and we met with him at a cafe in St. Jean de Maurienne at the start of the day that Landis made the great comback ride and got back into contention. Frankie had spoken to Floyd after his horrible day the day before when he lost about 10 minutes. He said that Floyd's comment was that he simply had a bad day. We speculated about whether or not Floyd had bonked, and Frankie explained this was not something a professional would easily admit, as he should know his body and how to react if he is reaching his limits. In general the opportunity to speak with Frankie during the Tour de France was a great addition to our program, and I'm sure everyone enjoyed it a lot. Of course he was there as a commentator for OLN every day, so I'm sure many of you saw him on the Tour telecasts.

Our guests had the opportunity in the alps to ride some of the famous climbs, such as the Alpe d'Huez and the Col du Galibier, which is nothing short of awesome. Of course we also did the climb up to our hotel at Les Deux Alpes, which also hosted the finish of a stage in 2002. There are 10 marked switchbacks on that road, compared to 21 on Alpe d'Huez, but the climb is nothing to sneeze at. It took me about an hour, and Jay did it in 45 min. We had some very strong riders in the alps, including a couple from Calgary, Canada, Barb and Rich. Rich used to race bikes, and he took off on his own one day and also did the Col de Glandon and the Col de la Croix de Fer, which are really the same mountain. He must have ridden close to 100 miles that day, which would be difficult for most mere mortals, but he handled it without problem. Barb was also a very strong rider- I couldn't keep up with her. She did the Alpe d'Huez the day after the race there in 1hr 17 minutes, as I recall. She hung in there with Jimmy Musto, who is from New Jersey, until the very end. Both are strong riders.

We take off again in a few weeks to lead our tours in the Loire. We're looking forward to that and will report on how it went!