Tandem Boy and Girl

Northern Italy- Lake Como

2011-08-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

8/7- Sunday- After and uneventful flight we arrived right on time at Malpensa airport in northwest Milan. It was a 35 minute drive to the lakeside paradise of Cernobbio just north of Como. It was a little rainy but who cares when its day one on your vacation.

8/8 Monday- Building the bike the day before I ran into the owner of Lake Como Cycling, Pietro, who was the one that actually planned our daily routes. His spent some time with us reviewing each of the upcoming days. He recommended a nice ride up the Valle di Muggio which we tackled. A good introduction to the steep mountains that we would encounter in days to come. All in all 35 miles and 3,087 feet climbed.

8/8- Tuesday- This was the official day one of the tour as we headed out for our first ride around Lake Lugano. The first 10 miles were over 1,000 feet of climbing and we weren't even to the lake. Once there we experienced beautiful lakeside roads with minimal traffic. Don't think it was flat just because there was a lake nearby. Cernobbio - Lake Lugano loop by willshtb at Garmin Connect - Details

Nice shot of the Italian alps in the background

One of our favorite lunch spots

Lake Como Adventure Training

2011-07-17T21:26:00.001-07:00

In just a few weeks we will be embarking on our latest cycling adventure to Lake Como in Northern Italy. Our training has intensified now that Maria's shoulder Is near normal. We hope to get in at least 100 miles week and 3-5,000 feet of climbing in. So far so good.

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A day of climbing

2011-06-11T23:37:00.001-07:00

Good day for climbing here in So. Ca. I got a wild hair and decided to take the Scott road bike off-road on the 10 mile loop around El Morro.

Corsica Cycling Adventure- Sep 2-18, 2010

2010-09-19T11:23:00.000-07:00

SEPTEMBER 2- The flight to Corsica

It was a long flight to Corsica; LAX, Chicago, Newark, Paris, then finally Ajaccio, Corsica. I couldn't help but have one of those delicious french baguette sandwiches in the Paris Orly airport even though it was only 10am! We were anxious to get to our hotel and get the bike built and enjoy the Sofitel.

I could eat these all day!

First beer in Ajaccio waiting for the van

SEPTEMBER 3- Hotel Sofitel- Porticcio (Ajaccio)

This hotel defined the word paradise. It sat on a point across the bay from the capital city, Ajaccio. They had comfy couches and chairs on the lawn facing the water with swoopy umbrellas for shade. Toss in an infiniti pool and as they say in France, whala, you've got magic! Once the bike was built it was time to relax...

Time to chill before we bust our butts on the bike

Shot from our room looking to the "Med"

Lunch doesn't get much better than this

Our general route for the next 14 days

SEPTEMBER 4- Porticcio>Tassinca>Col de Gradello
Today we headed out for our first look on the roads of Corsica. Heading south on coastal Hwy D55 passing beach after beach of crystal blue water. It's the clearest I've ever seen anywhere in the world. As we climbed from small villages on the coast the views up above were gorgeous. The terrain reminded us a lot of southern CA or even Mexico.

Acqua Doria lookout with Ajaccio in the background

A welcome lunch spot at the summit of the Col de Gradello after climbing over 3,000 feet

Plat de jour- stuffed squash and tomato with sausage on "riz"

SEPTEMBER 5- Porticcio to Zicavo
Today is the official first day of the tour. Our group numbers 26 riders, three of which are tandems. We leave the picturesque coast for the inland mountains. We climbed the other side of the col de grandello across more scub like mountain ranges to St. Marie Sicche. Here we began to see pines and a real mountain feel. The final climb to the small village of Zicavo (famous for its salami and sausage) was really steep and we were ready for a rest after 51 miles and 5174 feet climbed.

A forest of cork/oak trees. They are only found in Corsica in the south.

Potty stop views don't get much better than this, up the col de Cortone

The two Marks and Jenny taking a "col" break

The village of Zicavo, a welcome sight after a day of climbing

SEPTEMBER 6- Zicavo to Corte

There's nothing like starting out of the gate on a big climb to get you in the "suffering" mood for the day. The only saving grace was the idyllic small mountain villages that dotted the mountains as we rode. This day saw plenty of pine filled forests before riding the main hwy from Venaco to Corte. Corte (pronounced CORT) is set at the base of the Gorges de Tavignanno. This gorge winds its way 9 miles up a rocky canyon and 3,000 additional feet of elevation. It's quite spectacular as was our hotel. Today's stats- 51 miles and 5108 feet climbed.

Rest stop above the village of Cozzano

Foret de San Antoine, St. Pietro e Verde

One of the most dramatic descents of the trip

More mountain ranges as we head east

Corte

Hotel video in Corte

SEPTEMBER 7- Corte to Porto

We decided not to ride the gorge since it would put this day's total climbing close to 7000 feet. The climb out of Corte was nice, not too steep and we enjoyed maybe the best descent of the trip from Castrilla. We then tackled scala di St. Regina, a long rocky, dry gorge that seemed as though it would never end. Once at the summit we moved into another forest. I think this is what makes Corsica such a dramatic place to visit and ride. Porto is a beautiful little town right on the Med with it's own "mini" harbor. A bit touristy but still worth the visit.

Midway up the col d' Ominanda looking back to Corte

Climbing away on the Scala di St. Regina

Foret de Valdu Niellu- lots of pigs in here!

The captain in Porto

Porto looking back to the mountains that we descended coming to town

Our first pizza in Porto

SEPTEMBER 8- Porto to Calvi

One look outside today with big dark clouds rolling in from the west, and I knew we would be in for some inclement weather. The coastal road from Porto to Calvi was one of the best of the trip. After an hour of climbing we got hit hard with rain and wind in gale force proportions. We holed up in the small village of Partinello hoping to wait out the storm but learned that would not happen. We pressed on riding through literal rivers coming off of the mountains. Within an hour the sky was as blue as ever and we enjoyed a truly spectacular ride into Calvi. Daily stats, 58 miles, 3600 feet climbed.

Dramatic coastline and a storm on its way

A little video on the storm upon us

Incredible view and water on the road to Galeria

Calvi harbor

SEPTEMBER 9- Calvi to St. Florent
Another picture perfect day leaving Calvi. This would be a day of incredible varied terrain from ocean roads to the "desert". We quickly began climbing to the small village of Montegrosso. It was steeper than we thought, close to 15% in some sections. We proceeded to work our way northeast through tiny inland roads to Belgodere then decided to take the long route through Novella. Our tandem partners Alan and Lisa joined us. The area around Novella was something out of the AZ desert. Not much but cows and scrub trees. This big "U" turn took us back to the main hwy D81. Our last climb, the Bocca di Vezzu was our strongest effort of the trip. It was a beautiful ridge road that wound its way to the final 40 mph descent into St. Florent and a two day rest for us. We were ready. Daily stats- 71 miles, 4725 feet climbed.

Montegrosso looking back to Calvi

An interesting sight at 40 mph

Ridge road on the final leg to St. Florent

Our beach front hotel in St. Florent

SEPTEMBER 10-11- St. Florent
We decided to actually take a rest day on the 10th. St. Florent was a bustling little town full of restaurants and toursity things to do. We walked to town from our hotel which turned out to be quite a little jaunt. I think it did our legs good to do something other than cycling. I sampled the mussels for lunch and was happy.That night we found a cool restaurant right on the water below the Citadel. Their specialty was "feu de bois", "wood fired" grilled fish.

Octopus salad, really good.

The wood fired grill. Check out the size of the logs.

One of the favorites, chevre chaud, warm goat cheese salad

A fun little store with some great salami, coppa, and proscuito

The next day was the planned "rest day" ride around Cape Corse, the top of the island. We passed and did the lovely 35 mile ride to the east of town on roads that wound the hillsides and small villages. We had a great lunch at what we Americans would call a "pool club". All in all a very delightful day and perfect weather.

Col de Teghime, beautiful climb

Summit looking back to St. Florent

Tomato and mozzarella salad, one of the best on the trip

Prosciutto salad. Not bad for a pool club!

SEPTEMBER 12- St. Florent to Piedicroce
Today we head back inland through more narrow roads (no guard rails here for the weak at heart) with some outrageous descents (Col de Bigorno) as you will see from the pictures below. This day was very much the essence of "wild" Corsica and confirmed this was no ordinary bike trip. Today's stats, 57 miles, 5892 feet climbed.

All smiles before we take off in St. Florent

Wicked descent. The crazy tandem descenders
taking a break to wait for the others

Rough road but what a blast

My favorite descent shot just passing the "sisters"

Looking out from the deck of our hotel in Piedcrocce

SEPTEMBER 13- Piedicroce to Corte
Today we would circle back to Corte. It was only 13 miles as the crow flies but our route took us 48 miles and 4416 feet climbed. We are still kicking ourselves for not stopping in to visit Orezza where they make the refreshing sparkling water we drank EVERYDAY. Make sure you never ask for Perrier in Corsica, it must be Orezza. We crossed a number of mountains to find ourselves back in familiar territory in Corte. After a great lunch in town we made our way to the hotel where I had new found energy and took our friend Jenny's single bike solo up the Gorge du Tavignano, 8.8 miles and 2,936 feet. A great ride on Jenny's new DeSalvo Ti S&S bike. This was one of the biggest day's I have ever done totaling 57 miles and over 7,000 feet climbed.

Just down the road from our hotel, the oldest structure in Corsica dating to the 1400's

The mothership as we would be named with her child before lunch

Carbo and rose loading for the upcoming ride up the gorge

SEPTEMBER 14- Corte to Solenzara
Today we would ride to the east cost town of Solenzara. We decided to take the long route to avoid to big highway and soak in as much mountain scenery as possible knowing we are nearing the end of the trip. These roads were really off the beaten path as we slowly made our way down to sea level. The east coast terrain was vastly different than the west. It was much flatter and no real mountains near by. Quite boring. It was a long day and we were the last to arrive in. Today's stats, 73 miles, 5,536 feet climbed.

Hotel in Solenzara. We didn't see much of this town.

Long gradual climb up the Col de San Cervone

Not as many fountains in Corsica as mainland France

Chain got wedged sideways behind the cassette. Master Hayes came to the rescue.

A welcome lunch spot with some locals

Beware of the boar!

The ultimate refreshment on a hot day

SEPTEMBER 15- Solenzara to Propriano
There was a lot of hype for today's ride. We would ascend the Col de Bavella, Corsica's biggest climb and a VERY popular tourist attraction. We climbed 4,000 vertical feet from the ocean to the top in 20 miles. The last five miles was an 8-12% grade, really tough. We compared this climb to our ascent up the col de Bonette, the highest paved pass in Europe, in 2008. We think this was harder. Once at the top we assumed it would be downhill all the way to the west coast town of Propriano. NOT!!! Glenn wound us around more mountains including a few dirt roads. A great adventure but we were beat at the end of the day. Thank goodness we would be staying at this hotel on beach for two nights. Today's stats, 56 miles and 6,594 feet climbed.

Stunning mountains that lead to the summit of the Bavella

It was hard to believe there would be some 12% grades after riding this for miles

SEPTEMBER 16-17- Propriano and the beach
We did nothing for the next two days but lay around the beach, eat and drink. It was well deserved. We did partake in a bit of culture by visiting Filitosa, the 8,000 year old stone structures. It was worth the trip just to say we had been there.

A great deck right next to the ocean provided some great serenity

Maria and Master Mark at the Filitosa museum

One of the mysterious stone carvings

Just chillin

SEPTEMBER 18- Propriano to Porticcio- the last leg
Our last day riding was over some familiar ground as we retraced our steps in reverse from the very first warm-up day ride. It was only 30 miles and a sprint to the finish. That evening we enjoyed our last night at the beautiful Sofitel. The sunset tells the story. All in all a fabulous trip, 660 miles and 58,000 feet climbed. We discovered a country that had it all for the cyclist; mountains, oceans, climbs, descents, and perfect weather.

Cool Breeze Century 8/21/10

2010-08-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

Our first century of the year proved to be one of our best in this year's Cool Breeze, Ventura to Santa Barbara and back. We had a great meal the night before at Capprico's in Ventura with our good friends Patrick and Adrian Henry. Nice thin crust pizza and a magnificent shrimp pasta, not to mention the two bottles of Laetitia Pinot Noir.

We were welcomed at 7:45am with a nice tailwind as we headed up up 101 towards our first climb just outside of Carpenteria. We climbed steadily into the Montecito foothills and followed a sweet road along the mountain ridge for miles, reminding us a lot of our Provence trip, before dropping back down into N. Santa Barbara. The lunch stop was out in Goleta near UCSB. A quick buffet sandwich lunch and we were back on the road heading west of the freeway into Hope Ranch and Cabrillo Drive down to the Harbor. This was a gorgeous section of riding. We flew all the way home down 101 dragging almost every able single bike rider that could sustain a 25-30 mph pace. All in all one of our better efforts; 104 miles, 16.7 mph average and 4,300 feet of climbing.

Lunch stop, sporting the Surf City Cycle jerseys, hellva couple

Hope Ranch and a sweet golf course

Looking back to the mtns above Santa Barbara

Cabrillo Dr. heading to the harbor and looking to Ventura

The ascent of Mt. Baldy 5/30/10

2010-06-03T12:36:00.000-07:00

It was high time to get out of "Dodge" and ride some new terrain. We took a scouting trip on the BMW Saturday up the Glendora Mtn Rd. the back way up to Mt. Baldy. What road, it had to be ridden on the tandem.

Picture break at mile 14+ with a view of Mt. Baldy

Sunday we departed at 6:45am and drove to the start of our ride in Glendora. A perfect day for cycling; crystal blue skies, temps in the mid 60's that would warm up to the high 80's by the time we were done. The ride starts in a lovely suburban neighborhood and immediately puts you into the "hurt locker" with an 8% grade leveling to 5-7%. It winds up the mountain for 10 miles. All the rain we had received in prior months paid off with more greenery than I've seen in years. The views were spectacular in every direction; the mighty San Gabriels to the north, downtown Los Angeles to the west, Mt. Saddleback to the south, and snow capped Mt. Baldy to the east.

This yellow "sweet broom" was everywhere and the

aroma was like gardenias

This was looking back towards the ocean and Mt. Saddleback

Traffic is very light on this road with just a few "Ricky Racers" on motorcycles, a few other cyclists and the crazy guys on downhill skateboards! The first half of the 22 miles and 4300 feet total of climbing was slow and steady. The second half proved about the same but a BROKEN CHAIN at mile 17 tried to take us out. Luckily I had a chain tool and was able to repair it. Once at the summit we had a fast 7 mile descent at 45-50 mph. The total loop was 40 miles. Here's the mapmyride link, http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ca/glendora/485127499053152964

May 14-17, 2010- Portland, OR Weekend Riding

2010-05-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

On a midweek fluke we decided to fly the tandem to Portland, OR and ride with our good pal Mark Hayes. We arrived in Portland at 10:45pm on Friday night and proceed directly to a great local brew pub minutes from Mark's house. After a beer and a salad it was time to build the "beast". We finally hit the sack at 1:45am hoping to catch a few hours sleep before our departure to Mt. Adams for riding on Sat.

After a 2 hour car trip we started just north of BZ Corners, WA. Mark chose a fabulous 50+ mile loop and 2500 feet of climbing. We could not have timed it better for weather; mid 70's to 80, clear, and light wind. We essentially rode the base of Mr. Adams admiring the 14,000 foot snow cap peak from a number of vistas. We bought a 3 lb. piece of fresh Chinook salmon from some local Indians for only $7! What a feast.

We hooked up on day two with another friend from our first trip, Ron, a 73 year old that would put most people in their 30's to shame with his strength. Ron lives on Sauvie Island just 20 minutes north of Portland. Another 50+ mile day, but of course more climbing, about 3,300 feet worth. The views were spectacular. We were all pretty spent but managed a 20 mph average around the island and back for a cool one.

The Final Day- the ride to Ferney- 8/9

2009-09-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

It was our last day so we decided to take the long route back to Ferney Voltaire. What a great decision even though it was 68 miles and 4500 feet of climbing. We climbed for "cols" in what proved to be a magnificent day. Only 6 of the 20 rode the long route. The biggest challenge of the day was navigating through Geneva and the thousands of people out for a big festival. Fortunately Les knew the ins and outs and got us safely back.

A beautiful French mountain chalet

The road down the valley. Finally some longer descents....fun!

Four of the six final day "long route" riders

Our lunch stop, a make shift patisserie, but good

My stoker, "stoking up" on some after lunch desert!

One final shot of the Jet d'eaux in Geneva as we blasted by

Switzerland will be a great memory. We learned to suffer on this trip with all the steep climbing but we wouldn't have it any other way. All in all 770 miles and 55,000 vertical feet climbed. Another Williams milestone. Many thanks to Glenn Erickson for his magnificent route and hotel planning.

Chatel, the return to France- 8/8

2009-09-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

Today we would ride back into France. Boy, what a difference in the roads; not as steep, more water fountains, and better food. We almost felt like we were home. What wasn't like home was another day of rain. We climbed the col du Pillon in the pourng rain, then descended the Col de la Croix. This was a wicked, winding descent full of turns filled wtih cars and massive buses. They were doing road work so we got right in the lane with the cars. It was over 13 miles down. Thank God for disc brakes!!!

Being soaking wet we made a mad dash for Monthey and lunch. It was probably the best tasting pasta I have ever had given the conditions. After lunch we climbed again into Corbeau then a rapid descent to Chatel.

The "captains" drying out and waiting for lunch

Chatel is a ski resort town on one of the many "smaller" mountains at the base of famous Mt. Blanc. We were wet, tired, hungry, and thirsty; 13 days down and only one more to go.

I took this shot for my dad, a Bultaco trials bike. Pretty rare to find one of these in the USA

Looking out our hotel room in Chatel. Over those mountains looms Lake Geneva.

Saanen- 8/7

2009-09-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

One of the many beautiful valleys we rode that day

We had done a little more whining on this trip due to all the climbing but as we rolled into the last few days we were feeling quite sad it would be over soon. We were slowly making our way back to the south eastern shore of Lake Geneva. We managed to get quite lost in the middle of a gorgeous forest only to be bailed out by Megan, one of our group, who pieced together some French to find out we were only one "hill" away from where we needed to be.

Do you think we were lost? Megan, top left bailed us out with her superb French

This was beautiful country and we could see the famous Gruyere (the cheese) castle from miles away perched atop a small mountain. The views were much better from the road though. We lunched there and it was a GIANT tourist trap. We ate and rode on to Saanen.

The castle in Gruyere

In we stayed in a "sports hotel" complete with a Mac computer in every room. The food here was fabulous. They even had an Italian winery giving a free tasting.

Fribourg Rest Day- 8/6

2009-09-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to actually rest and check out the town of Fribourg. It was almost as much work as riding since we were down in a bowl and had to climb out to get to the main part of the city. Lots of history, pretty church, and of course a nice Italian pizza lunch.

The climb to the main part of town

The fountain at the "Hotel DeVille"- city hall

The "funiculaire" a giant size tram/escalator to the main part of town

Maria was in charge of wine for dinner back at our hotel so we met with the chef and picked out some great ones, and of course got to taste them (one of the small benefits). This small boutique hotel had some of the best food on the trip.

An evening meal at the Au Sauvage- very cool private dining room

Fribourg- 8/5

2009-09-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Glenn convinced all of us that we must ride to Lauterbrunnen to see the beautiful granite cliffs before heading back to Thun and ultimately Fribourg for a two day stay. Lauterbrunnen is a very popular tourist destination and as a result had a ton of traffic on the only road there. No question the village in this valley surrounded by giant rugged granite cliffs was impressive.

Now it was time to head away from the big mountains back along side the Thunder See. This was a beautiful ride along this classic lake shore road.

We headed northwest through a picturesque valley with glimpses of the big mountain peaks we had come from. The area was filled with lovely small farms and orchards; great riding, and a nice restful lunch stop.

Navigating Fribourg was a challenge as our hotel, Au Sauvage, sat in the bottom of a bowl with the city above it. It ended up being a long day, 71 miles and 4300 feet of climbing.

Grindelwald a real rest day- 8/4

2009-09-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

I had never been to Grindelwald and had still not seen the "big" mountains, the Eiger, the Jungfrau, the Monch. But once morning arrived those awe inspiring peaks came to life and they were spectacular.

Our hotel in Grindelwald.....

The view...

We planned to actually take the day off and ride the train to the "top of Europe" as they call it on the cog train. You ascend from Grindelwald at 3,300 feet to the Jungfraujoch (top of Europe) at 11,300 feet. This is the highest train station in Europe. It was a spectacular day and the trip up was great. There were hundreds of hikers and mountain bikers traversing there way up through the few small villages between the bottom and the top.

First views beginning the ascent up the mountain

Once there, we lucked out and got some spectacular views of the mountain tops and the ice fields. The altitude just about killed us and we could hardly walk. After a nice lunch at one of the cafes at the top we headed down. A great experience that has to be done if you are in the area. Just ignore all the tourists and focus on the mountains.

Views at the top including the ice fields

The final afternoon sunset to die for!

Kemmeriboden to Grindelwald- 8/3

2009-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately it was time to leave the magical spot of Kemmeriboden and head to the "big mountains" of Grindelwald. This was a journey we had been looking forward to the entire trip. Today's route would take us through the towns of Thun and Interlaken. We were hoping to ride by the hotel where our daughter was conceived 22 years ago, but the weather would prove otherwise! At he top of the major climb at Schallenberg Strasse we hit a major rain storm. This was unfortunate because the descent was magnificent all the way to Thun at the edge of the Thunder See. We were beyond soaked after descending at nearly 40 mph. Thank goodness for disc brakes.

We decided enough was enough, and after a short conference with our tandem pals Les and Sue, we headed straight for the train station. Finally shelter and the opportunity to dry out. We weren't there 30 minutes when the "posse" rolled in, wet and cold as well. They were so happy to see us there. After coffee and hot chocolate we had a blast on the hour train ride to Grindelwald. What we thought would be a terrible day turned out to be one of our most fun!

Two wet souls happy to be at the train station...love those new helmet hoods!

On the train, loving life!

The "posse", Mike, "Mr. Short Sleeves" on the left was border line hypothermic but coming back to life quickly

Dr. Bob and yours truly reliving the rainy descent stories coming into town....

The weather in Grindelwald wasn't much better, but cycling a mile to the hotel was a piece of cake!

Burgdorf to Kemmeriboden- 8/2

2009-09-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

After struggling to sleep that night due to all the fireworks celebrating Swiss independence, (Glenn thought would be so great to experience), we were welcomed with RAIN! Today we would ride 43 miles and 3100 feet of climbing to Kemmeriboden. We were definitely in more mountainous terrain now as we slowly made our way into higher alpine mountains. For the first time Maria and I learned what it was like to really ride in the rain and be wet. Fortunately it was not cold but being wet most of the day wasn't our idea a a great time. But, the scenery got prettier and prettier. Like our friends Meagan and Leann told us from Portland, "it's not about keeping dry, it's about keeping warm..."

Our riding partners Les and Sue blazing the trail in the rain

Our first real mountains in the distance

Looking out our hotel room while "drying" out....

This hotel was s small lodge in the middle of nowhere but very popular with their desserts, a vanilla ice cream on top of homemade meringue. An incredible afternoon snack.

The hotel.....

The dessert....

This place was quite magical and one of the best spots on the trip!

Burgdorf- Rest Day 8/1

2009-09-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

We had high hopes for resting today but there was too much pretty scenery to be viewed so we ventured out with Les and Sue for a morning jaunt. We experienced more rolling farmland and ended up for lunch at a working cheese farm.

Typical Swiss farm road---yes, it was a climb!

Innovative vending machine at a farm loaded with fresh bread, honey, and fruit

This was "nome" country and Maria was crazy about these little dudes on nearly yard.

We still ended up with 40 miles and over 3,000 feet of climbing....so much for the rest day.

Delmont to Burgdorf- 7/31

2009-08-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

We were anxious to get to Burgdorf because we had two nights there and a chance to relax a little more and not have to rush and get up so early in the morning. We chose the "long" route for today which took us up a beautiful valley where there were virtually no cars to the village of Movelier.

Up the valley to Movelier

Les & Sue on the climb to Movelier

My little Swiss Miss enjoying the countryside

It was worth it. We then made our way through Laufen (famous city that is one of the major european makers of toilets in all commercial places, named after the city), on our way to climb the famous Passwang.

It was a beautiful ascent winding up the valley to the really steep part of the climb with its "wedding cake" switchbacks (imagine the different layers on a wedding cake, then picture a mountain road with it's winding turns). This was a very steep climb but really gorgeous and worth every percent of the gradient.

Where things started to get steep up the Passwang

Near the summit of Passwang

Every tough climb deserves a great descent and if the time of day is right, a great lunch. The descent lead us to the town of Balsthal. We were clearly in the German speaking part of Switzerland now. Just before entering the main part of town I saw a great looking restaurant so we swung in. What a great surprise. The place was owned by a woman from Kenya and she made us one of their specials, a spicy shrimp dish with some very interesting spices. Very cool.

The restaurant in Balsthal

Our African inspired shrimp dish

Lunchtime map review by the "captains"..."Where the "F" are we??"

After lunch we made haste to Burgdorf through many tiny farming villages. We even got lost on a dirt road in the woods. Quite an adventure, but we finally made it to Burgdorf, 70 miles and 4,100 feet of climbing. Tomorrow would be the Swiss independence day.

Looking back at Balsthal and the Passwang

Typical post-ride cocktail session, in the lobby of the Hotel Berchtold

Mike (front), Chris (back left), and Bob (back right), the "posse" holding court at their usual spot. Three of the best guys you'll ever meet!

Couvet to Delemont- 7/30

2009-08-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Dehydration or not I was told by my ace stoker to "buck it up, get on the bike and ride. I reluctantly obliged and we were off. We had some spectacular forest scenery as we left town and followed the Areuse river to our first climb out of the small village of les Gratte.

A beautiful cycling path that went for miles along the Areuse River

Further along the bike path, fun descent in the woods

Always a climb after a descent, the scenery kept your mind off of the gradient!

Further up the climb

About half way to our destination we stopped for our first pizza lunch in St. Imier. The Swiss do a nice pizza!!

Ahhh the aubergines (eggplant) and onion pizza, quite good...

Probably the craziest fountain we saw on the trip. This village was loaded with them.

More Swiss fountains always adorned with the Swiss flag...

Some beautiful wooded canyons and the our final destination in Delemont. A fairly long day at 62 miles and 4,500 feet of climbing.

LePont to Couvet- 7/29

2009-08-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

With our biggest day ever under our belt we figured the rest of the trip would be "downhill". I don't think so!!! We were now officially in Switzerland. Many people think this country is all "alps", but actually at least a third of it is the farm country and what we came to know as "Swiss Rollers" (those brutally steep up and downs 7-10% grades at about 3000-5000 feet altitude).

Typical Swiss pasture

One of the many impeccable Swiss country houses

One of Maria's great fountain shots- these were all over Switzerland

Roads were great and wew teamed up with our Canadian tandem friends from last trip Les and Sue. We realy have a nice time with them.

Les and Sue the Canadian dynamic duo

Today's ride was shorter, abut 45 miles and only 4500 feet of climbing. We had a short climb out of the hotel up the col de Mollendruz, then a beautiful descent down to la Praz. We then headed inland ridding the mountain ridges above Lac de Neuchantel.

A happy couple prior to the ball-busting climb ahead

This was one of the toughest climbs of the trip with relentless 9-10% grade for 6 miles. This taxed us more than we thought. The evening proved to be my worst as the dehydration caught up with me from the prior day. I had no appetite and actually skipped dinner. Fortunately we had a few doctors on the trip and one of them gave me a few pills that he said would slow my system down and allow me to recover through the night.

Maria and the "posse" as they would become to be known. She was re-hydrating while I was dehydrating

Official Day One- Geneva to LePont, 7/28

2009-08-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

We were more than ready to leave Geneva. We'd seen enough of the itscountryside and really wanted to move on the the "real" Switzerland, whatever that was. Today our goal was to ride over 7,000 vertical feet our most ever, and cover over 70 miles. The night's hotel was in Le Pont at the north end of the lac de Joux, in the valley of the jewel. This is where many of the finest swiss watches are made including Audemar Piquet and Jaeger le Coultre.

On the way to Col de la Faucille

We ride two major passes and many valleys. The route took us over the highest pass in the Jura mtn range, col de la Facuille, about a 3,000 foot climb.

On the Col de la Faucille, looking back at Geneva and Mt. Blanc

Our first "Swiss" salad at the French/Swiss border in la Cure

Once at the top we descended down into the next valley, then climbed back up (a routine we'd become VERY familiar with in Switzerland). We took the long way around and made the final 2,000 plus foot climb climb up the Col du Marchairuz, a real bun buster! But the views were spectacular looking down to the "Vallee de Joux".

On the descent looking at the vallee de Joux and lac Joux

Once at the bottom we rode around the west side of this pristine lake to our hotel in Le Pont. Great spot and one hell of an accomplishment for tandem boy and girl! (short video below of the hotel and lake in LePont).

Five Days in Geneva-7/23-7/27

2009-08-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

A little miscalculation in when the trip was supposed to start ended up in our favor. We arrived several days earlier than necessary. We got a jump start and put the bike together right away leaving us time for a quick ride on Friday leaving Saturday to check out Geneva which we missed on our last visit here three years ago.

The bridge over the Rhone with the Jet d'Eau in the background

We be-lined it for Geneva the next day via the airport (free hotel shuttle) then a $6 train ride to the center of town. Geneva let us down.... It was Saturday and absolutely dead. There were nothing but watch stores and banks. After a quick lunch we "abandoned" and headed back to the hotel to rest up for our first ride the next day.

At this point the weather was working in our favor; blue skies, views of Mt. Blanc, and warm temps in the high 80's. Just about perfect.

View from the hotel of snow capped Mt. Blanc

After the disappointing day in Geneva we knew it was time to ride. We reviewed the map and chose to ride north up Lake Geneva past the beautiful port Nyon and climb to Aubonne and make our way back to Ferney Volitare through the mountains. This turned out to be one heck of a ride with beautiful rolling pastures and yes plenty of climbing about 4,000 feet worth! What the heck were we thinking. This was two days before the "official" start of the ride and we were already busting our buns. I guess it's the damn French countryside...lures you in.

Just when we thought we had our fill of Geneva, Glenn, tour leader and owner took all the recent arrivals out for a warm up ride the day before our start on Tuesday. We headed back up the western shore of lake Geneva and cut inland through some beautiful vineyards. Maria and I opted for a nice lunch in Divonne while the others rode back. A little carpaccio and seafood salad. We would need the extra nourishment for the days to come!

Switzerland Here We Come!

2009-08-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

After months of training and a small set back with the dislocated shoulder a/c we are off on a plane to Geneva. There is a lot of anticipation for this trip. The alps can be a little intimidating. But there were more important things to enjoy on the flight over. Cocktails anyone....

Fortunately there were no hitches in the connections, though flying through London is a pain. We landed in Geneva at 2pm and were ready to settle into our digs at the Novotel just outside of the airport.

Solvang Century 2009

2009-05-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

We had another great ride in Solvang this year. We had the regulars, Tom from Seattle, Mark from Portland, Jenny from Reno, and Diane from HTB. This year we invited Kurt and Joanne, some wine drinking buddies to join us as well.

Lunch stop mid-way....

This year's ride was one of our fastest thanks to the beautiful westerly winds once we hit Vandenburg! Tom was incredibly strong this year having rid his system completely of last year's Thai food poisoning. He was the man!

Tom, Jenny, Maria and I enjoyed a great little spin on Sunday towards Lake Cuchuma, then round about to Los Olivos and a nice lunch at our favorite spot. The ride home was a dream...slight downhill and 20 mph tailwinds!!!

Borrego Blast- Borrego Springs, CA- 1/30-2/1/09

2009-02-07T15:07:00.001-08:00

All 25 tandem teams (thanks Sam for the shot)

After two years we finally hooked up again with the San Diego Tandem Club for their annual Borrego Blast in Borrego Springs, CA. Each year they are able to attract 25+ tandem teams to ride the desert.

After a three hour drive from Huntington Beach we were ready for dinner. After some quick research on the internet we decided on the Krazy Coyote Cafe. This place was in the middle of no where! The meal was excellent, rack of lamb and a great bottle of Erath Pinot from Oregon. Our only bitch was the $6 split charge, a little outrageous. The next morning we hightailed it to the French Corner restaurant for breakfast. Kirk and Trudie from the club arranged to have the owner come in early to serve about 20 of us. Nice touch.

Day 1- heading out from the resort

Conditions were really optimum this year. We were welcomed with open arms not knowing a soul. Day one took us 60 miles round trip from our hotel, the Borrego Springs Resort, to the Salton Sea and back. Most riders opted for the 40 miler that went to the look out and back. Four teams trudged on the Salton Sea. Nice gradual climbs and good conversation was had on the way back. We felt reasonably strong but needed to save some energy for day two and the 4500 feet of climbing over 10 miles that we would face.

We had a nice meal with our new found friends Frank and Debby from Huntington Harbor, right down the street from us at home. They sported a beautiful Calfee full carbon tandem. The only place we could find for dinner was a decent Mexican place, where the margaritas and chili verde were excellent, not to mention our dinner mates.

From talking around it looked like most would not ride the 50 miler with 4500 feet of climbing, aptly named, Montezuma's revenge (named after the road we climbed Montezuma Valley). We were determined to ride it whether or not anyone would join us. Sure enough we were on our own. The first 10 miles climb up out of the valley with about a 3500 foot elevation gain. It was slow going, 6-8% grade, but the scenery more than made up for the pain. This mountainous desert area had Ocotillo cactus growing everywhere on the hillside. At one point we had a huge bird flying over us and we could actually hear his wings propelling himself along. Magnificent. After 10 fairly grueling miles we descended to our rest stop in Ranchita. This was a VERY rural area. Thanks God the small store had a few Cup-O-Noodles to warm and nourish us for the next 35 miles.

Day 2- Half way up Montezuma's Revenge

What we thought would be all downhill home was not. After a blazing decent at 40 mph to San Felipe Rd., we were again climbing, this time into a 15 mph headwind. NICE. It was short lived and we rode a series of slight downhill rollers to Hwy 78 then one more climb over Yaci Pass then back to the resort.

All in all a fantastic week. Many thanks to Kirk and Trudie for the organization and Sam for the photos!

Day 11, 12- Rest then Barcelonnette to Valberg

2008-08-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

We were long overdue for a day off, so day 11 was it. Two of our group members rented a car and

we cruised the mountains south of Barcelonnette. What a nice break, especially for our rear ends

which were not fairing well this trip. Tomorrow we would ride to Valberg a nice little ski resort on

the outskirts of our home turf in Vence.

Barcelonnette to Valberg-Just when we thought the tough climbing was over Valberg proved us wrong. We were introduced to the col de la Cayolle. Though not as steep as Bonnette, it was as long. This climb was clear;y more scenic than Bonnette and a lot more enjoyable with a better engineered gradient. We rode up with Les and Sue and Glenn got some great shots of us cresting the summit. A long decent after the climb to our lunch stop in Guillaumes then a grind with mixed climbing into Valberg.....ahh a cold beer awaited us at the local ski resort tavern!

Day 10- Barcelonette- The great Col de la Bonnette

2008-08-16T17:22:00.000-07:00

We had planned a rest day but the weather did not look like it would be good the next day so we made an impromptu decision to ride the “Bonette”. We charged off at 11:30am with two sandwiches in our bag and four bottles of water. This would be the toughest climb that we have ever attempted. It was over 14 miles long and would climb to over 9,000 feet, about 5,000 feet of vertical. Gulp. The climb started at the base in Jausiers. From there it was all up. The beauty of this climb were the array of landscapes that you experience from beautiful meadows with grazing sheep to rocky granite cliffs, and then barren, above tree line mountain tops. All in all it took us three hours to climb. Most of the climb average 6-7% with an occasional 10%+. What made this climb tough was the length. Conditions at the top were rapidly changing and a thunderstorm was brewing. We quickly donned our rain coats and headed down. It took only 30 minutes to get to the bottom. What an experience. This was truly the greatest alpine climb we had ever done.

The beginning of the climb looking back down to Jausiers

About two-thirds the way to the top....

Where the hell is the top.....

The top and the oncoming thundershower!

Day 9- Digne-les-bains to Barcelonnette

2008-07-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

We started the day looking very forward to our arrival in Barcelonnette and a few days of rest. Digne les Bains was the last true Provencal city we would be in for days. We were now entering into mountains with more of an alpine feel. The mountains are bigger, steeper, more pines, and more rivers. It was tougher but the temperatures were cooler and there was less humidity making the riding more enjoyable. While I thought I loved the Provencal terrain and feel, the alpine terrain was more than welcome. We followed the Bes river up a 3% average grade and a gorgeous canyon to Barles with the col de Fanger in our sights, and lunch in Seyne on our mind. Climbing was gentle and actually enjoyable as the scenery got greener and greener and again more alpine like.

The river "Clues de Barles", gorgeous canyon

Market in Seyne...love that cheese

Lac de Serre-Poncon

Our lunch stop in Seyne was short but we did manage a nice pizza “vegetrien”. After lunch we climbed col St. Jean then descended the back side with picturesque views of Lac de Serre-Poncon. We then followed the Ubaye valley to our final destination. Barcelonnette proved to be a great base camp for the next few days. We felt like we were in a ski resort, which is what it is in the winter. The tour will stop at the next town north, Jausiers this year so there was a buzz in the air especially at the local shops.

Day 8- Opierre to Digne les Bains

2008-07-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today we made our way to Sisteron a mostly downhill run from Opierre. We rode through an area laden with orchards of apricots, peaches, and nuts. Once at Sisteron we stopped to visit the famous Citadel on atop the hillside overlooking the city below. It was built in the 12^th century and has a lot of history. After a delightful lunch of pizza and salad in the old part of town we pressed on.

The Citadel, atop the city of Sisteron

Queen of the Citadel

East side of the river in Sisteron

Quick snack outside of Sisteron--giant meringue

This was one of the hottest days we had ridden yet and really took us into a remote area. We rode most of the day on our own. Tough climbing along a steep mountain side and at one point we ran out of water but were able to refill at a “parc animalier”, a remote mountain zoo. After reaching our first summit at Authon we descended into the “foret de melan” and climbed to the top of the col de font belle”. This climb seemed much easier and rewarded us with a beautiful vista and descent to the valley below and village of Thoard.

One more climb over the pass de Bonnet and our final descent to Digne les Bains. This was the largest town we had seen in over a week. It reminded us of Paris with tree lined streets and more hustle and bustle than we were used to. We made a bee line to the first bar in sight and spotted our tour leaders Glenn and Nancy, a welcome sight. With a few beers and patis in us we were ready to take on the world! This ended up being one of our toughest and most lonely days of the trip.

Day 7- Vaison la Romaine to Opierre

2008-07-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Now that we had conquered Mt. Ventoux we figured the rest would be “downhill”…NOT! Today’s ride would take us over three tough cols in sweltering heat. We took on our first “eboulment”; a fairly major rock slide that required some sweat and strength to get over. After a well deserved picnic lunch at the top of col de Soubeyrand we pressed on to our final destination in les Begues, outside of Opierre. We were really in a remote area with virtually no cars. Our hotel was a true country inn. Basically there was our group, another group of cyclists from Holland and three guys on BMW motorcycles. They served a very hearty meal of salad, pasta, pork roast, cheese, and dessert. We got our first thunder shower but we were safely snuggled in our rooms. All in all a nice quiet spot and one of our better nights rest.

Day 6- Vaison la Romaine to Gigondas, Vacqueyras

2008-07-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a scheduled rest day but we were anxious to ride through the great wine towns of Gigondas and Vacqueyras. Les and Sue were happy to join us. The ride from Vaison was a beautiful descent through the vineyards. This again reminded us of the Napa Valley but dotted with more wineries than we could stop at.

The first stop was Seguret, a quaint village perched on the hillside above the vineyards below. There was a small wine store that offered “deguestion” or tastings. We had several reds, predominately Grenache and Mouvedre and some excellent Roses as well. Les bought a bottle of the rose and we rode on to Gigondas.

The next stop was a true winery and a little more attitude but still excellent. After one more stop we made our way to Baumes de Venise for an “unscheduled” lunch. How could we pass of the “bois” or wood fired grill on the street corner serving a true French “ BBQ lunch. But before that, we stopped in at a winery down the street and tasted some of the famous Muscat grown in this area. Generally served in the USA as a dessert wine, they offered a drier yet still fruity version. Both were excellent. They also had a great rose that we purchased.

On the way out of the winery Maria noticed a beautiful water color of the area with Mt. Venotoux in it. The sales person gave us the name of the artist and said his studio was just up the road in Suzette. So after a fabulous lunch, we made haste to Suzette. The bun busting climb resulted in one was our best experiences of the trip. The artist and his wife, also and artist, invited us in their house to show us their work. I think she was actually the more accomplished and had an upcoming exhibition in Paris of her modern “orchestral” sketches. His work was beautiful and he actually told us the picture in the winery was his favorite. We told him we would like to purchase it so he drove back to Baumes de Venise and brought it back to us. Les and Sue also purchased a picture as well. This spontaneous episode was what we had hoped to experience; small French village, great food, fantastic new friends and art that captured the essence of the region. We could not have asked for more.

Day 5- The climb- Mt. Ventoux: Sault to Vaison la Romaine

2008-07-14T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day; the assault of Mt. Ventoux. After a tough prior day we decided to attack Ventoux from the east and forego scenic gorge de la nesque and the brutal 10% climb from Bedoin to the actual base of Ventoux at Chalet Reyard where the east road meets.

Our climb was beautiful. The 5-6% grade was very manageable and the cool temperature and picturesque pines took our minds off of the hard part of the climb to come. At Chalet Reynard we actually felt refreshed and ready to take on what many call the toughest climb in France. We had virtually perfect conditions; crystal clear with an interesting warm “mistral” wind reminicent of our Santa Ana's in southern California that would blow into our faces while climbing NE but give us a slight push on the long switchbacks headed NW. No doubt about it, a tough, steep, desolate climb. The only scenery were the other cyclists around you, and there weren't too many. About 75% up we stopped at the Tommy Simpson memorial. This was the British cyclist that died while climbing the mountain in the 80’s.

We finally made it to the summit; about 6K of real steepness 9-11% range. The descent to Malaucene was the best of our trip with a top speed of 50 mph. The road surface was near perfect and plenty of room to maneuver. We had fabulous celebratory lunch in Malaucene then pushed on about 6 miles to our hotel in old part of town of Vaison La Romaine where we would spend the next two nights. The hotel was literally an old castle that had been updated slightly with great views of the main city and the rolling Provencal mountains behind it.

Day 4- La Fuste to Sault

2008-07-13T18:28:00.000-07:00

Seldom are there days on this trip that are uneventful, but this was one. Hot, hot and more hot as we made our way to launching pad to Mt. Ventoux. We took no pictures this day. The hotel was perched on the top of a hill looking out to the ominous white Mt. Ventoux in the distance.

Many of us had to share a room here. Fortunately we were bunked up with Les and Sue. The pull out chair “sleepers” weren’t the best but after this day we really didn’t care. Dinner was excellent but we cooked from heat of the sunset. Most of our thoughts were focused on the next day’s ride up Mt. Ventoux.

Day 3- Moissac Bellevue to La Fuste (Manosque)

2008-07-13T16:58:00.000-07:00

We started last with the other tandem couple which as great to ride with them again. This was the day we were to see plenty of lavender fields which we did but not fully I bloom yet but there were poppies everywhere. The French version is much more red than ours in California.

For once, we had less climbing. This was a fairly “non eventful” day, but we did have a great lunch in Riez; beautiful salads, "exotique", nicose, and a deep fried stuffed pastry sheel with pommes and chevre.

The last descent was not steep but 35-40 mph for almost five miles; a tandem team delight! La Fuste reminded me a lot of the Napa Valley; dry, hot, gently rolling hills with small mountains around and lots of vineyards. The hotel was quite nice, with a small “castle” like feel and beautiful marble floors that were so cool you wanted to sleep on them with the hot weather that we had experienced. This was appeared to be a gourmet food resort with a magnificent kitchen. The meal was quite heavy; scrambled egg appetizer with truffles and a lamb osso buco all served on a lovely patio.

Day Two- Castellane to Moissac Bellevue

2008-07-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

This was a day that I was really looking forward to since it traversed the famous canyon du Verdon, France’s version of our Grand Canyon. Getting there was feat in itself. Our new motto, “ a climbing we will go…”

Once you hit the quaint hillside village of Trigance (above), we climbed to the top of the mountain and descended down to Balcons de las Mescula for an awesone view of the canyon. This was a tourist stop complete with giant tour buses and the triket store.

We loaded up on water, had some food, and started climbing the south canyon loop. Views were spectaclular but a tough climb, with narrow roads and a fair amount of traffic. Once we reached the summit we made a bee-line for our lunch stop in Auguines.

This was a great spot and our first pizza of the trip. We also come to learn a new French food term and Provencal favorite; "assiette" provencal, “provence plate” with whatever is local. In this case assiette povire, salad of local roasted peppers. Yum! More climbing heading south through Aups, then a nice descent to Moissac Bellevue. This hotel was sweet. We had a beautiful dinner of fish, foie grais, chilled celery soup, and great local white wine with grapes I have never heard of. It was a special celebration for our tandem friends Les and Sue, their 20th anniversary.

Official Day One- Vence to Castellane

2008-07-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

Today was the official first day of the tour. Our route would re-trace rides we had done the previous two days from Vence east following the river up “gorges du Loup” to the first of many hiillside villages, Gourdon. From here the climbing started through rocky, fairly desolate canyons to a plateau area that felt like a moonscape with small scrub brush trees.

Still heading east after a roadside catered picnic we decided to join the only other tandem couple on a special route that they had ridden before and would avoid some steep climbing and reward us with a beautiful winding descent down to lac Chaudanne just outside of Castelle. It was worth every ounce of climbing.

Castallane proved to be an great town nestled in the middle of a river. The dinner was spectacular, five course including the local “pistou” soup of fresh beans, vegetables, and a pesto mixture that was out of this world.

Vence Pre Rides

2008-07-13T15:30:00.000-07:00

Since we arrived two days early we had the opportunity to get in two days of "warm up" riding. Getting warm was not a problem as the temperatures were in the high 80's to low 90's. Our first pre-ride took us up the Gorges du Loup with close up views of the cascade (waterfall) de courmes.

This was a beautiful ride with a steady climb of about 5% but nicely shaded. We lunched at Greolieres and pushed

on to the col de Vence, a relatively easy climb with one of the best descents of the trip. A very nice day ride.

Day two of the pre-rides took us up the same gorge but we climbed further to the very old village of Gourdon. This had to be the quintessential hillside Provencal village. It had views all the way to the Mediterranean.

We had our first of many salad nicose lunches!

We landed- Nice, (Vence), France

2008-06-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

After 12 hours of flying we made it to France. Connecting through London was tight and we sprinted for 2 miles to get to our gate only to find that they closed the flight. With a little work we finally got on the flight.

Our first night is here in Vence just 15 minutes from Nice. The town reminds us a lot of Laguna Beach with a more dramatic mountain backdrop. It took 3 hours to assemble the new beast. Today we will give it a test.

First meal in Vence was great....

New Bike....12 days to departure

2008-06-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

We made the commitment and bought a "coupled" tandem for our upcoming trip. The new custom Erickson is awesone. We've only ridden it 100 miles but they proved that Glenn knows his stuff when it comes to tandem buliding. The ride is incredibly smooth and extremely efficent! Here's the bike and a shot overlooking Dana Pt. harbor mid way through a 70 mile 4400 ft. day.

Day 13- The final stage back to Geneva

2006-09-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

Day 13 was our last ride from Tallories back to Ferney-Volitare. We really hated to leave L'Abbaye, the lake, the hotel food, the "upper crust" vacation lifestyle had finally come to an end. The ride back to Geneva (Ferney) was pretty uneventful and extremely hot. In fact it was so hot at one point about 15 miles from the hotel that we had to stop for our favorite "Perrier" break in a small Swiss village right on the border of France. We did see one geat looking chateau in the middle of nowhere on a climb but the rest was history in what was probably the greatest vacation we have ever taken.

Day 12- Col de la Forclaz, paragliding

2006-08-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today we had the option to ride 2 hours and then wait 3 hours to watch the 17th stage of the Tour. Given our idylic lakeside accomodations, we opted out and took a shorter ride up the Col de la Forclaz. This climb was only 7 km but at a 15% grade! The views at the top were magnificant.

After the descent back to the hotel it was lunch time so we did it up with our pal Mark from OR. It was a 3 hour affair complete with two bottles of wine and lake views. Things don't get much better than this.

This was our last day on the road so we wanted to get the most out of it so after lunch we decided to try paragliding off of the mountains! Wow unreal.

L'Abbaye was one of the coolest places we have ever stayed. It is definitely worth a return visit.

Day 11- The ride to Annecy/Talloires

2006-08-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

We had relatively short climb to begin today's moderate distance ride. From the top of col de Lascauhx we would have an epic descent into the town of Annecy. An epic descent it was. Glenn had told us this would be the best road for descenidng on the trip. He was right; at least 6-7 miles, banked turns, very smooth road surface. We hit our fastest speed averaging at least 40-45 mph, with burst of 50+.

Annecy proved to be a beautiful city set at the north end of a Lac Annecy with mountains on both sides. The city was complete with great restaurtants off of the canal from the lake. We stopped with a group for another pizza and salad lunch. This was a much bigger town than we were used to. While we thought a bigger town would be nice, we couldn't wait to leave and head to our only 4 star hotel of the trip, L'Abbaye, in Tallories.

This place was a dream come true; a beautiful, swimable lake, gorgeous rooms, lounge chairs next to the lake with drink service, and fine gourment dining. We had the good fortune to stay here two nights....we wish it would have been a week!!!!

Day 10- Ride to Beaufort on Glenn's Custom Tandem

2006-08-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

Today was a special treat. We decided to ride Glenn Erickson's beautiful custom tandem from Albertville to the small village of Beaufort to visit the cheese factory. Theoritically this was a rest day, but we couldn't pass up a chance to ride this bike. I was anxious to ride a bike with disk brakes on the front and back...wow what a difference in stopping power!

Beaufort was a charming village and home of the Beaufort regional cheese factory. We took the 5 minute self guided tour...so much for the cheese factory.

After the "big tour" we were famished as usual so decided to settle in for lunch at one of the cute little local hotels.

This was one of the best lunches of our entire trip. Check out the fresh lake trout!

Day 9- Road to Albertville

2006-08-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Today's ride took us slong the valley with the first major climb of the day to the top of the Col du Cucheron. By this time in the trip the climbs seemed easier. I guess we were expecting the worse every day. The most memorable part of this day was the fabulous lunch in the small village of Raden next to a booming river. We sat down to a four course lunch for three with wine for under 40 euro; pork roast, veggies, salad and desert, along with our standard "pichet" of rose.
The ride from lunch was a bunch of fun rollers where we took advantage of Glen's wheel dragging us into our hotel next to the freeway in Albertville.

Day 8- The confused road to Allevard/Pinsot

2006-08-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a little different strategy this morning; skip breakfast and leave early with a plan to eat at the first major town we hit, Vizille. So we rolled out at 7:30am and had a beautiful 40 km descent into Vizille. So far so good. We found the local grocery store and patiserie, at breakfast and then found the rest of our group had caught up. Great..... From here we turned north and road through many hillside villages, climbing on and off. We came upon a "road closed ahead" sign. In the past we continued on since bicycles are usually able to pass. Not this time. The local bridge gapping the river was out and fenced off. We turned around, climbing back up to the beginning of the descent and for the first time we were LOST. Using our very lame broken French we were able to find our way to the "other" suggested route. This was an easy ride through some larger cities finally ending up at the quaint village of Allevard. It was a VERY HOT day and beers and Perrier were in order.

Once again we had a climb to the lovely hillside hotel in Pinsot. What a crazy day.

Day 7- Alpe d'Huez---The Climb of a Lifetime

2006-08-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

Most cycling enthusiasts only dream about riding up the great Alp d'Huez, we actually got to do it, and on a tandem. The mountain was buzzing with the tour only two days away. There were hundreds of cyclists climbing the mountain with us along with campers, vans, and other vehicles at EVERY turn. I have to hand it to the Dutch and the Germans; they were out in force and were already in party mode. Check out these two guys at turn 8, about 2/3 of the way to the top, complete with chairs, table, beers and party cranks, cheering us on "allez"!

The climb starts off at over 10% for the first few kms then settles down to around 8-9%. Each turn is marked with a number starting at 21 with the last turn as 1. On the signs are past winners of this stage. The views were spectacular. We actually rode up with a young 13 year old Belgium boy. What a stud. Who says you have to have a fancy bike, the right pedals and shoes. Needless to say he went by us about 2/3 of the way up. I don't think it was fair that his mother brought him fruit and water at every turn!

The views were stunning with mountains all around you. One can only imagine what this place is like in the winter. It took us 1 hour and 38 minutes to reach the top, only about an hour slower than Lance! What a memorable day!

Day 6- Chichillane to Vensoc

2006-08-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

Today's ride would take us up two cols, San Sabestian and Ornon and a wicked good descent into the town of Bourg D,Osians at the base of Alpe d'Huez. The first climb was a breeze. We had determined that anything under 8 km was relatively easy. We seperated from the group for a snack along the way in one of the villages; a patisserie and a big beautiful home grown tomato and some fruit.

On the way to our lunch stop we couldn't pass up a shot of this road side greasy spoon in honor of our daughter Kelly:

After a luch of meats, cheese and fruit from the local "Casino" store we began the long gradual ascent up to the summit of the col d'Ornon.

But the descent to Bourg d'Oisan was worth it!

Bourg d'Oisan is the cycling mecca in France, especially two days before the tour arrives to climb Alp d'Huez. They have all kinds of wild things going on. Check out this 10 foot diameter frying pan perched over a real log fire. We never made it back to see the results but it smelled good!

Our hotel was 10 miles out of town but we figured it would be an easy ride....not so...a major 10% grade landed us on the doorsteps of our hotel. We had a spectacular view from our hotel room complete with a waterfall and local vegtable garden.

Day 5- Rencurel to Chichilianne

2006-08-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

This day would prove to be one of our toughest with two major climbs; Col de Rousset and the Col de Menee. We continued our ride through the Vercor region wtih it's stunning rock cliffs. The first climb Col de Rousset was more gradual than many of the other climbs we had done and we finally got our climbing "rythum" down making the ascent seem almost easy for once. At the top we were treated to one of the grandest descents of the trip.

A long winding 2800 foot descent was a gas and put us on the northern edge of Provence as we observed the beautiful lavender fields. The temperature climbed at least 10 degrees on the way down putting temps in the low 90's....summer was here in Southern France. We had a typical Williams lunch in the town of Die...check out the local produce on these salads; a nicoisce and chevre (goat)...Yummm!

Thinking all would be easy after lunch it seemed like we climbed the remainder of the afternoon amidst a background of thunder and about 10 minutes of refreshing rain showers before eclipsing the summit of the Col de Menee. The descent to Chichilianne was fast and easy and with the thunder clouds above and the famous Mt. Aiguille in the distance, all quite dramatic. All in all a 70 mile + day with 6,000 feet of vertical climbing!

Day 4- Rencurel---Old Tour de France Route

2006-08-10T17:01:00.000-07:00

Day four was an "official" day off. But, did we relax, NO WAY! We decided to ride the suggested "day off" ride that was part of the 2000 TDF. This was a spectacular ride up the rock walled roads and into the pine trees. The roads with "etched" with tour rider names in white paint, "Jan Ulrich, Tom Booden, etc...". The climb topped out at the famous Calvaire de Valchevriere--a memorial to those who died serving the "Resistance". The views were spectacular.

From the summit of the climb we descended down a step grade then back up slighty to the beautiful ski village of Villard de Lans. There were partook in a great pizza lunch.

After lunch we rode the dramatic rock canyons that followed the river west to our turn off before heading back UP to our hotel in Rencurel.

Day 3- July 11- Champagneux to Rencurel

2006-08-09T21:58:00.000-07:00

The day started off nice and easy along rolling farmland until we made a wrong turn and found ourselves climbing 15% grades in the countryside just north of lake Paladru. Our goal today was the infamous Col de Romeyere in the beautiful Vercors National Park.
The climb was the toughest on the entire trip; almost 9 miles at 8-10% with hot, humid conditions. But, the scenry was aboslutely spectacular. The high pass road was literally carved out of the rock cliffs. The pictures tell the story.

July10th- Day 2- Eloise to Champagneux

2006-08-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

This was a big day, 74 miles and 6,000 feet of climbing. From the hotel our first stop was in Seyssel for "farmer's market" day. Wow, check out the giant rotisserie trailer and my favorite Frenchman grilling. He spoke perfect English and gave Maria and I some delicious samples of smoked chicken wings!
From here we rode south along the Rhone and climbed to one of the best vistas of the trip complete with a rock tunnel! Our lunch stop was in Chanaz at the bottom of the mountain on a beauftiful canal. From the lunch stop we climbed again this time wtih views of a beautiful vineyard valley, similar to Napa but much more expansive. The remainder of the way to the hotel brought us through lush farmland laden with corn to sunflowers.

July 9- Day 1- Ferney to Eloise

2006-08-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

All the anticipation and waiting was over the first "official" riding began. With yesterday's warm up climb under our belt the first "COL"of many on this trip, col de faucille was not too bad. It felt like quite an accomplishment and we had only gone 20 miles! The rest of the day's ride went through beautiful pastures complete with the cows and their bells.

July 8- Geneva/Ferney- Pre-tour warm up ride

2006-08-03T21:18:00.000-07:00

After flying for 12 hours and trying to sleep we knew it was time to ride. Glenn, the tour leader, announced that there would be a "leg-stretcher" for those who arrived early. His leg-stretcher became a 50 mile jaunt with 2500 feet of climbing. Ugggggg. But, the scenery was gorgeous riding along the west shore of Lake Geneva. We climbed from there to St. Cergue, a quanit village, patissere included! The decent won us "most aggressive riders of the day"!

The adventure begins- The flight to Geneva

2006-07-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

The alarm went off at 4am which meant the adventure had really begun. Our riding partner Diane showed up at 5am to pick us up and shuttle us to LAX. We arrived in plenty of time. All our anxieties about shipping the bike were put to rest when the hospitable American Airlines counter person asked us to roll the bag down the hall to be whisked away…it was that easy!

So much for 9 hour flights with two stops. Business class was nice with good food and some nice wines. See for yourself. We landed on time in Geneva and were pleased to see our bike waiting for us when we arrived at the baggage claim area. We were greeted with on and off rain showers but warm temps. Hopefully this is not what we will have for next 15 days.

Bike assembly was easy until I found out that my derailleur was not working properly so I asked Glenn Erickson, the frame builder, tour leader and owner to help me out. Come to find out my packing skills were a bit shall I say sloppy and the adjuster was broken for derailleur adjustments. Glenn had another one but also noticed my drop out was bent (way to go million dollar Bike Pro bag). Glenn being a custom framer builder had brought with him his frame tools and was able to align the drop out resulting in perfect shifting. That’s why you go with the pros.

We did a group dinner at a local pizza place, not bad. It was a wake up call warm, humid and indoor smoky restaurant conditions.

Tomorrow will bring a “tune up” 30-40 mile 3,000 foot climb. More to come….

Final Prep

2006-07-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

After two 50 milers this weekend and several thousand feet of climbing, we've finally called it quits on the pre-France training. There comes a point when cycling burn-out replaces enthusiasm and none of us wants to start the greatest physical adventure of our lives in that mental and physical state.

We had a surprise bon voyage dinner with Herb and Karen Niles last night. What a great time sharing adventures and many glasses of first class southern hemisphere wines. Well done Herb and Karen!

After 3 hours of sweat and one delicous Oranjeboom beer the tandem is packed. Boy, am I glad that we only have to do that one more time. Eveyone keep your fingers crossed that we can get our "bad boy" checked on the plane with no hassles Thursday.

Tandem Time Ride- Hammerfest

2006-06-24T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hats off to Henry and Kathy Pilcher of the Orange County Wheelmen for organizing a great ride. So much for the "moderate" pace as explained in the invitation. This group should be called "Hammer Time" as the pace was just short of RACE! Good fun though and great training.

We added an additional 20 miles to take the total for the day to just shy of 60 with 1100 feet of climbing (ah, an easy weekend for once, HA). There were some beautiful bikes and one could of concluded the ride was sponsored by CoMotion. We ambled along on the "stock" Trek but managed to barely hang on with the lead group.

Only a week and half from departure, can't wait!

Malibu Climb Training Ride

2006-06-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

After trying to torture good friends Brad and Michael last weekend down the Orange County Coast with 3,500 feet of climing and 60 miles Maria and I decided to give Brad's Malibu mountains a shot (picutre above is the top of Saddle Peak overlooking the beautiful Pacfic ocean). Brad and Michael insisted we would have no problem and that they would not let us down.

Needless to say it was a rugged 70 miles with almost 4,ooo feet of climbing. We suffered: Mark with three bee stings on the first 45 mph descent and Maria's legs broke out with somekind of hives, we think related to the "latex" grippers on the shorts. But, hats off to Brad and Michael; you tortured us, but we didn't go down. Check out those thighs on Brad (click on picture below)---do you think he can climb????

French Apls Route and Mileage Chart

2006-06-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

For those who were wondering (and I know that is many) I've included a chart with our daily route, mileage and the most important statistic, feet that will be climbed. If you add up the total feet that will be climbed in the yellow shaded area you get close to 30,000. Isn't that about like climbing Mt. Everest??? As you will see we do have options but don't expect the far right column each day. We'll just have to take it as it comes. To get a bigger view of the chart, just click on it.

Century #3- The Epic Solvang Century 2006

2006-05-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

The imfamous Solvang Century had been long anticiapted and discussed amongst our cycling compartriots. The weather that entire week was really ugly but we pushed forward committed to not throw away our months of training for a little rain. Did I say a little rain, I should have said HAIL. At the first rest stop, mile 23, it HAILED like a "muther". We and 400 others scrambled for shelter in the old tin roofed building hoping it would pass. It did, but the rain did not. Needless to say it was one tough ride. Temperatures averaged in the mid 30's. If it wasn't for my favorite Long Beach weatherman, internet guru and wine expert we probably would have stopped and rode the 50 miler. Near the end of the day it cleared and what started out as the ride from hell turned into this team's most epic to date.

We did enjoy some "post" ride meals and fine wine at the time share condo just two blocks from the start (how lucky was that).

Centruy #2- Tour de Palm Springs

2006-05-31T12:47:00.000-07:00

The next century was the "first" of the year, Tour de Palm Spirngs in February. What a hammer fest! And, don't believe folks when they say there is no climbing; at least 1500 feet from the "base" of the bowl (downtown Palm Springs) out to Dillion Rd. northwest of town. It was 100 miles of no rest; like riding a trainer for 6 hours. And, to top it off the temps were in the mid 90's. So much for Palm Springs, you can have it.

Tandem Riding- In training for the big France trip

2006-05-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

The training started in November of 2005, our first century, Poway, CA. Sore butts, arms, and legs we finished the 104 mile ride with 4,000 feet of climbing. Little did we know this will be the start of our trek to the Alps....