Two days ago, while on a ride with friends who came to visit from CONUS, I took a fall while descending a local mountain. After a day's rest, and sporting a few bruises, a sore neck (from landing on my head at some point, I think), and a big hematoma on my left hip, we went out again today. The three of us climbed l'Alpe d'Huez!

I have never been in such a beautiful place on my bike (and we have a lot of them around here). I will post a new Web page with pictures in a few days, but with the temp at about 32 degrees, the slightest of breezes, and clear air, we made the climb. It is typical Alpine from what I remember of Bavaria and the Dolomites, but that was a long time ago. There is one point, at turn nine, where you can see four or five of the turns, and below them, Bourg d'Oisans. Just spectacular.

The climb itself was a little testing. It is a good thing that most of the hardest stuff (10%) is near the bottom, though there is a bit around turn four as well. Pacing is the secret, for me anyway, and it turned out to be a very nice day out on the bike. The only relief is on the corners - all 21 of them - and it was just enough to see me through.

There were a lot of people out doing the same thing - I guess around forty or fifty - while we were there. Many of the smarter ones probably finished before nine o'clock, when it was cooler. But it is a two plus hour drive from here, so we only got started at about nine. Lots of French and Dutch, several Brits, and a couple of Germans. I did not run across one other American.

Lastly, I have only seen this venue on TV and in films, when there are people on every square centimeter of ground. It was a completely different sight today, much more beautiful, and well worth the trip.