L'Alpe d'Huez -- I Suffered
 

If you've ever considered going to Alpe d'Huez, but just haven't managed it, find a way to make it happen. Whether you're trying to climb it in under an hour, or just trying to climb it, you will suffer. You will probably have doubts. You may even want to quit. I watched countless people come into town -- some of them were ecstatic, some relieved, some in tears -- yet we all shared the suffering with the countless riders before us -- the pros, the hard-core, and the little old man on his city bike.

My goal was to break 1.18, twice my age, which I did with time to spare, though i still came in over an hour. But it didn't matter; when I first got to the finish, I zipped up and raised my arms in triumph, though there were no cameras, no fans, no prizes. There weren't even any witnesses that day, only the creation of an indelible memory.

</sappiness>

You can see pictures, and read a little about it here:

http://www.mip.sdu.dk/~glewin/alpedhuez.html

A little preview:

http://www.mip.sdu.dk/~glewin/alpedh.../image5391.jpg

Great pics & an amazing ride report! Congrats!

Wow. I hope I get a chance. Neat ride, I'm sure.

looks awesome mate, great pictures and great achievement!

Incredible! Way to go!

Great story...

Epic ride...

I hope to have that experience...

What kind of shape were you in for those climbs. Had you been doing any training before (for my future reference)...

Heh. I'm currently living in Denmark, where the most feared hill, the mighty Munkebjergbakke, is a towering 1km at 10% -- which equals almost exactly ride to the first hairpin on Alpe d'Huez! So the only way to get hill training is to turn into the wind and sit up (seriously, I did this).

But I have ridden the mountains of Virginia (Reed's Gap, Wintergreen, Vesuvius), so I had an idea what I was in for, and I ride a fairly consistent 2-300km / week. But La Marmotte was a whole different story. I can't imagine how the pros go out and ride that in under six hours or whatever...and then do it again the next day. I can't wait to watch the Tour this year when they go over Galibier. "Hey! I've been there!" (We also road some of the same roads where Floyd lost, and then regained, so much time last year. Mostly the losing part.)

Different genetic species....

Someday, I hope to say I suffered up those same climbs....

I would love to be able to climb some of those mountains someday....

I "heard" that in Bourg d'Oisans you can stop by the Post Office and get certificate and they time stamp it and when you get to the top they will time stamp it there at that post office....to record your assent...

That is what I have "heard" I am sure someone will verify...

I suspect it's a myth. Someone in our group insisted there was a stamping machine at the bottom and the top, for the same purpose, even after he had ridden the climb without seeing one.

Sound like a variation of what you've "heard".

Plus, the 'official' start is over a km away from the post office in Bourg d'Oisans.

Cool! Nicely done! ;)

Very nice!

Good job! That's a tough climb at any speed.

Beautiful. Well done.

does anyone have gps tracks of the alpe d'huez?

On one hand, you want to go fast to compare your time and get a feel for what the pros are doing.
On the other hand, you want to savor the trip up.

Once you go up it, you can never watch the stage on TV without giving your own play-by-play of your ride. So it's a gift that keeps on giving.

I know I would be giving people 'the look' all the way up.

And getting my ass handed to me shortly thereafter, of course.

+1

trying not to hate you for having such a terrific trip, great ride, living in europe, etc...

quoted from ride report: ´... energy bars, o.s.v. in my jersey pockets...´

o.s.v.? other sundry victuals?

Awesome.

Incredible story, thanks for sharing.

King of the Mountains!

This ones for you :beer:

http://www.thehortoncollection.com/p.../1978_4722.jpg

Great pics, great story. I'm very jealous

I like that!

But really it's an abbreviation for 'og så videre', which is Danish for 'et cetera'.*

I'm an American expat living in Denmark, so I often put a smattering of Danish in my web chronicles just for the fun of it. Normally, I put in the translation, but I let this one slip -- mostly to confuse my mother.

*I went to a christening a few months after I got here. The sermon, given by a man high on a pulpit with a frilly, white whatchamacallit around his neck, went something like: <long list of unintelligible, but obviously deep and meaningful, words> followed by "og så videre." Then the cycle would repeat. It was very Monty Python.

fantastic. what a dream.

thanks for the report and the inspiration.

congrats on such a great ride!