All Down Hill . . . Not

On paper, this one was supposed to be all down-hill, with about 30K proper climbing and 100K of downhill. 11 hours later, we rolled into the next hotel. Since it is really late tonight, just a little intro with captions along the way. Suffice it to say, the climbs were really hard on the 3rd day of riding. Not hard climbs generally speaking, but since it is hard to walk up and down stairs these days, rolling out of a driveway has become an epic effort. But, despite how distinctly not strong people feel, it is good times all along the way!

Simple pleasures, like an completely coincidental smile under your cafe.

Today's first climb - the Galibier . . . one that has Tour legend all over it.

B going up the lower slopes.

An idea of how high we are headed.

Classic alpine setting. Stream, grassy fields, sheep, cattle bells, little farmer huts. The hills are alive with the sound of muuuuuussssssiiiiiic.

This doesn't do it justice, capturing only the last mile or so of switchbacks.

B and Mark at the top! 2,642 meters. Multiply by 3.3 for feet. Yep, that is high.

 B and Su at the top.

C'est moi.

Some of my favorite views, ever, come from atop this mountain.

And at the little coffee bar on the other side of the pass, is a stuffed Chamois, of course. The little sign warns - "No touching the Chamois!"

After a quick stop at the monument for the founder of the Tour de France, a massive, twisty descent. Something like a thousand feet in about 5 miles. My metric to standard may be a bit off.

Thomas expressing joy after that descent.

And, then off to the L'Izoard, or "The Lizard" coined by Mark, "The Lizard B!*@#" coined by Thomas.

Wasn't hard enough for Thomas - he did it all on one wheel.

 Some sweets for us at the top.

Then a long ride to the hotel along the river.

Good night.