Taper Tourist Wednesday

Bloody oath. A day off to rest and taper.... well, could have done a wee SBR but actually by today, I just couldn't be bothered and felt a day off was in order as hadn't had a total rest day for 12 days .... and 40 hours of training later...... Main goal was to keep moving and stretch today so a bit of walking......also must avoid putting my body into some acute shock with the abrupt halt to training. Not much of interest to waffle on about today ( no need to report on the minutiae of triathlon race prep........yawn). so this will be mainly made up of photos- post lunch , a group of us took the telecabine-lift-stairs- to get the cable car up to the top of the mountain - well, not strictly the top but up to Dome des Rousses at 2800m. The actual top is at 3300m and required a walk across to get another cable car.Amazing views, some perma snow and the odd little Alpine flower.

VAUJANY.

Will hang mid air for views. Best ice cream ever. Dinner at the big chalet and a wee glass of red to help relax and alleviate my heightening anxieties about ( wetsuit) swimming in a lake with 1800 other people. It's been too long then bed time....luckily found a plunger and some coffee in our chalet given I was housed with some non coffee drinkers. Some choices I will never understand :-)

Tuesday- La Grave>lost>lake> Bourg d'Oisans. > Vaujany

I think I had a good sleep here, benefits of being higher up in the mountains is that it cools down extensively at night. Yay. I'm at the point in my life however where I 'm not sure if it is actually summer heat or hormones .... likely both I'd say. Woke early so had a wee walk round the village. Very pretty. Gutted we weren't going to be there long enough to take the cable car visible opposite.

Bags down, brekky then off on the 30 km descent to Bourg d"oisans. Of course the group splintered by the time we got to the Bourg and somehow, following what Garmin was directing us, Dave, Steph, Tanya and myself ended up at. the other end of town realising we were not anywhere near the lake! We checked the Life 360 app which showed everyone else at the opposite end of town.... thanks to some actual navigating, Tanya got us back om course and we finally arrived at the car park to see the vans which were all locked up and no support crew there.........the lake was 1km down a path/ gravelly road so Dave volunteered to go down and grab the key while we decided that by the time we got there, the others would be finished swimming so no point. Have to confess was slightly cranky at this point.........anyhoo, we made it down then was time for a scenic team photo in our Epic camp kit ... and a group excursion by bike to the Intermarche ( supermarket) to stock up on any goodies needed for race and snacks....then was time to have coffee in Bourg, check out the bike shop before heading to Vaujany which was 21 km away but a 5km climb ( 900m up from Bd'O). So excited just couldn't hide it :-)

Cool bunch of peeps.

Bourg d"Oisans, coffee.....shopping for TdF + bike propaganda....... Once caffeinated we set off for Vaujany, winding through town on a bike path which took us almost all the way to the Lac du Vernay ( swim location for Thurs. Its a hydro lake, not for general public use) then the climb up to Vaujany. Jeezus!! Beautiful ride on a narrow, winding road through little villages but steep. I was starving having not eaten since brekky apart from half a nutella filled crepe....it was baking hot by this time too.......lots of groaning and moaning from the group and we finally made it..... to the main chalet anyway where lunch had been waiting, already devoured by the others...

Extra chamois time for sweaty and hungry humans Post lunch then had to navigate my way to my chalet, a room to myself for the next 3 nights and a double bed !! BLISS. The chalets are luxurious and like a proper home. Front loader washing machine, dishwasher, comfy lounge, decked out in IKEA. Can I just stay here forever? Just kidding, would miss my dogs too much.

Chalet Polaris. Views were magnificent.

Monday, Monday......so good to me....

St Jean de Maurienne to La Grave via Telegraphe, Galibier. Had a great sleep and felt a touch more refreshed after an easier day prior.... butt and legs slightly recovered/healed and ready to face getting back on the horse today. Quads still a bit tender tho. It was cloudy and humid this morning although a bit cooler than previous days which was very welcome. After a little roadworks detour which saw us stray off course, we made it to the start of the Telegraphe climb which was 12 km. It wasn't raining but the air was damp and quite sticky. I had a great climb up here, amazing what an easy day can do.... joined up with Pete, Lisa and Marisa who had left just after us but must have passed us at some point on our detour.... .

We stopped and had a coffee at the top here, and a pit stop then put a couple of jackets on as it was cloudy and a bit more chilly. I can't remember how long the descent was but it wasn't too long before you start the climb up the Galibier... we passed through a small town and had a wave from Oli and Kylie in a cafe then it was 17km to start the climb ( its 1250m ascent up there)... oof, too hot again so jackets off and luckily Ian came past in the van so were able to throw those in. Scenery wise, this was similar to the Iseran with some snow bowls visible in the rocky peaks, alpine wildflowers, cowbells, thin air...the last few kms felt a bit struggley, mainly because I think I hadnt fueled enough on the Telegraphe and after.... its quite bizarre as you turn the corner to reach the top and its like a Piccadilly circus of motorbikes, more motorbikes, cars and a few cyclists and more gangs of motorbikes...was bloody freezing up there too!!

It was quite a pleasant descent ( compared to others.... although hopefully after all the riding I'm descending a little less Granny like ) to the top of the Col du Lautouret then spotted the support crew who had lunch ready. SO hungry. Amazing scenery and we were all chanelling our inner marmotte ( see photos below )

Once lunch digested it was 10km down to La Grave... through a couple of tunnels but a nice descent to our base for the night with views to die for; at 1500m. Quick throwing of stuff into rooms and bike to the sheds then into the van for a mass exodus to Alpe d"huez to register and have a wee run at altitude and round one lap of the course. The ride up the Alpe did not fill me with much excitement about the race I must say...we tropped to registration which was rather busy so decided to run first. I was a bit CBF mode and weary as well as still lacking in energy #hangry much?! so Tanya and I just toddled easily round the course chopping off about 1.7 km to make for a 5km. Then rego time and an extensive debate ensued between myself and the reg lady who couldnt understand my Tri NZ membership declaration. Mostly my fault as I only uploaded to my registration the day before...........she was also confused as I was down as Scottish but affiliated to Tri NZ. Anyway much begging and pleasding and agreeing that Brexit was a terrible idea, I was able to register. Phew ( or not??!) Back down in the van ( thank GOD we don't have to descend that on race day) then back to the hotel for showers, organisation for the next day then wines and dinner. Can't even remember what we had that night but I did rejoice that it wasn't melted cheese. "Easier " day tomorrow and on to Vaujany where we will reside for the next 3 nights in chalets. So good to not have to be moving on and packing up, that feels like a more monumental task every day as the fatigue sets in deeper and deeper.

Spent Sunday.

No, I have not forgotten to complete the sentence.....just an apt description of the mind and body after my biggest training week since 2019!! Not much to report on today so will keep it brief and a few photos.......... Slept til 7, leisurely brekky with a little food fatigue in the mix too. More bread, ham and cheese consumed. Off to the pool for some "games".......nooooooo, I know exactly what this means. After an auspicious start and what felt like a good warm up, it was time for the handicapped ( literally and metaphorically in some cases...!) 400m. based on half IM swim times. Well, I havent' swum a half ironman swim since 2019. The fishies all started first then it was time for the rest of us , although Dave D and I had an interloper in our lane doing back stroke while we did ours ( Molina) who kindly mentioned he thought we were just cooling down like him. No, we are just fucking slow......!! St J de M pool - site of some intense battles :-)

After the 8 mins of thrashing and general questioining of life choices, it was a 50 m kick race. Actually I was not to bad at that though was so starved of oxygen after 25m I thought I was going to explode! Then team relays based on where you reside, sorry John. Was always a ganble being stuck with a big handicap ( Dave D and myself). So Team Chch were DFL in that!! A quick trip to the supermarket for snacks before it shut then back to the hotel and an afternoon sleep for me. Finally dragged myself out for an easy 5km round St jean du Maurienne stopping to take photos.

Tomorrow, we ride to La Grave via the Cols de Telegraphe, Galibier and Lautouret. Hope my quads have recovered after a day's rest!

Saturday -sucking in air then sizzling hot

Val d "Isere to St Jean de Maurienne 106 km. 1523 asc. 5km shuffle before brekky.

Sunset in Val d'Isere Had a sub par sleep in my sauna style bunk room and a rebellious tummy , likely from the overload of melted cheese or, in fact, any cheese. Dragged myself up at 5.45 nd joined Kylie and Tanya and we had a cruisy jog down throught the main st until we hit a rocky track. Kylie went on to join up with the guys and we turned around as rocky trails are hazardous on fatgued minds and bodies.Running back up to the hotel was hard work- altitude ( Val d'isere sits at 1800m) and fatigue. Kinda like that post Ironman feeling when your breathing muscles are tired and you can barely walk up a flight of stairs. After a decent brekky and gallons of mediocre French coffee we set off...16km of uphill up the Iseran, which I had only climbed from the other side and had in my head that today was the super steep side. It was actually a pretty pleasant climb ( most are when related to Ventoux or Forclaz..!) and stunningly beautiful with Alpine flowers and glaciated scenery. Much to our delight the Jumbo Visma team car came past and following suit were a few of the non TdF riders who were apparently doing "reps" on each side of the Col. jeezus!! The team car went past me at one point around 4 km from the summit; windows open so I yelled out "STicky Bottle" but wasn't obliged.... likely because I don't know you say it in Belgian.

Grinding on the Iseran. It was pretty busy at the top with motor bikes, cars, bikes and hard to get a photo of the summit which is 2770m; the highest sealed road in the Alps. Another long descent and Ian waiting at the bottom with the van so that we could disrobe of all the warm gear ( chilly up top! Still some wee snow patches). Then we headed down a long hot valley through a couple of beautiful wee towns towards lunch stop in Modane - the Garmin was directing us on the "route panoramique" - uh-oh, another grind up hill. Yes. And road works so it was a dusty ride in the searing heat through fresh seal /light gravelly bits until we hit a long gentle descent and made it through Modane until we founbd the lunch stop - the support crew had done a fabulous job and a huge spread on a picnic table for us. Yummy. Guzzled down a wrap, melon and some apricot juice then the heavenly nectar that is a cup of coke with ice in it. We had to take a detour due to roadworks ( large landslide) which again meant a steep , hot and dusty grind up through a tiny village then a descent to join the bike path on the main road, slight downhill all the way to St Jean de Maurienne. It was a little windy too but luckily Gordo had joined our group so he and Daryl did a fine job of sheltering us 3 girls and made for a swift ride to the hotel. But oh my goodness it was HOT!! Again, bikes offloaded, into the rooms, showered and it was beer O clock again. Dinner was at a restaurant owned by the hotel approx 500m away..... food was pretty good but it took an eternity to be served and in between courses - I think we ate dessert at 9pm... I had to have a cold shower when returned to cool myself down, it was only the next morning we spotted the air con unit above the door in the room. Not the only ones to miss it tho!! St Jean de Maurienne- famous for the home of Opinel who invented the knives. And a bike race dedicated to his memory. How cool.

Big day in the saddle - La Clusaz to Val d"Isere via Daisies, Cormet de Rosalind. One for grimpeurs ( and grinders)

Our grupetto was under instruction to be driven over the Aravis and start at the base of the Les Saisies climb. Half of our group ( us 3 girls) are reasonable climbers but slower descenders then the boys so we would have probably managed the Aravis in good time. However, after a twisting, slightly nauseating van ride over the Aravis and relief that in fact, I wasn't having to descend it we got out, a little green at the gills and regretting some over indulgence at the breakfast buffet ready to climb to Les Saisies. This was a fabulous climb with views of Mont Blanc. Another perfect bluebird day and shaping up to be another hot one. Bloody oath.

First one done !! Pleasant descent down then through Beaufort and ready to start the climb up the Cormet de Roselend which is 20 km long. I've done it fron the other side and remember it being very scenic and reminiscent of scenes from Heidi. The lower kms average around 8% ish and it felt a bit hard on the leggies, especially after a long descent where I find my legs stiffen and feel like I'm trying to rotate logs of wood. I concentrated on some banging music and focussed on the views and feeling #blessed. I had , for some reason thought lunch was 12.5 km up so much to my dismay when I spotted Ian ( support) at the roadside helping Tanya fix a flat that lunch was another 8km away. Eh?? #hangry. But that soon passed when was rewarded with views of the lake ( which I must have descended past 8 years ago but had no recollection). I did stop to take a photo here and then the gradient eased off a little after that and also we were out of the trees so it was a fabulous grind up to the summit and breathtakingly beautiful. Our sensational support crew were at the top ready with a table of delectable goodies for lunch. And a coffee from the wee Nespresso machine in the van. Oh my, that was like a celestial treat sent from the gods!

Luckily lunch had 20 km of descent to aid digestion, by the time I reached the bottom it felt like I was in some kind of tetanic spasm in my neck/ shoulders. Death grip on the brakes on all the switch backs lower down in the trees as well as motorbikes, cars, campervans all competing to get around cyclists on the road. Aaaaargh, a bit terrifying although all the vehicles here are great and either wait or pass with plenty of room ( unlike the entitled attitudes we receive from NZ drivers). From Bourg St Maurice the three of us girls then headed up the valley twards Val d"isere, our final destination and the promise of a long drag uphill to finish. It was super hot and dusty down here and we were all a little weary by now. I have to confess I was also a bit grumpy..........and had some ( a LOT) of trepidation about riding through the upcoming tunnels. We saw Julie part way and were able to refill bottles and throw down a load of Haribo lollies. Da bomb. We made it through the first couple of tunnels which luckily had some lights , but HELL the amplified noise of impending traffic is terrifying to the very depths of the soul. Three tunnels later and we were almost at Val d "isere which sits at 1800m elevation... straight up the road to the hotel. I couldn't contain my excitement when I spotted sheepskin covered stools in the lounge/bar area. They must have known my ass was coming for a vist haha. Shame we were only spending one night here as it was very luxurious ( albeit reminiscent of a large sauna...pine everywhere)................dinner was a traditional Swiss border feast of fondue or Raclette ( another variation on the melted cheese theme). However the raclette came with crunchy veggies and salad so mosyt of us opted for that. The potatoes were delivered to the table in a denim bag, much to our amusement ....as did the dehydrated bits of pepper and mushroom ( a la Eddie - Chandler's brief roommate..IYKYK)

We have to climb the Iseran tomorrow then a "cruisy net downhill" to St jean de Maurienne. Right. That means a few wee climbs thrown in I can imagine. Oh and a wee run before breakfast...

Toasty Thursday

This will be brief as I've been slack with the blog updatesthanks to being a bit frazzled by the heat as well as general CBF by the time I had a spare 10 minutes. And those who have done camps before, you know we don't get a lot of spare minutes in between meal schedules, bag logistics and then extensive prep for the day ahead as well as enough clean kit.....!! Today's plan was: Bike 30 km from La Clusaz down to the Lake Swim in the lake 5km run Bike 60 km back via Forclaz, Col de marais, Thones. After a reasonable night's sleep and another breakfast of scrambled eggs, jambon and some fresh bread and a flagon of coffee, we set off in our grupetto to the lake. Net downhill so was pretty quick. Swim plan was JN's favourite- an eliminator contest. I'm always out in the first round so was chuckling with internal glee that I wouldn't have to kill myself through rounds of 400s. Wetsuit still felt as if it was choking me round the neck and the chest, despite letting water in and doing all the things and I started to feel a panic attack coming so I took it off and just swam in the trisuit as the water was a very pleasant 21dgrees. Aaaah thats better although being an already disadvantaged swimmer , not wearing the wettie would definitely knock me out first round, which it did....... but then I enjoyed some relaxed swimming while the others fought for glory. next up was a "Guess your time 5km" ( another JN favourite!). It was a bit of a shoulder to shoulder battle between the Colonel and the Grinder and I was taken out by the Colonel.... but good to be pushed along and also run 1min13 quicker than predicted although in hindsight with the mercury already rising fast, I should probably have taken it a bit easier. All in the name of type 2 fun tho, right?!!

Run done, changed, sugary snacks on board and time to ride home the long way. I can't possibly print on this blog the word I'd like to use to describe Forclaz. It started off at a relatively steady grade but then kicked off at the top with pitches varying 12-17 %, combined with about 32 degree temps. It was a war zone of athletes at the top begging the support crew for coke and cuddles......and then the descent was just as nasty as the road was only the width of 1.5 cars with very tight corners and steep drop offs. We cruised on up the Col de Marais then regrouped and found the short cut avoiding the Croix de Fry and toddled up the valley through Thones and up to La Clusaz which was hot , rely hot, dusty and we were all dreaming of a cold beer.

Fake it til you make it

La Clusaz - stunner of a place. Beer. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Dinner tonight was trout ( tasty) and the accompanying vegetable was half a stewed tomato. But no strawberry soup for dessert tonight at least :-)

Vaison la Romaine- Annecy-La Clusaz

Apologies dear readers for missing a day - laptop was in van en route to Geneva with the rest of the luggage to pick up the other campers. I'll keep this one short and concise, peppered with photos to tell the story and of course ensure it doesn't turn into a tedious monologue of wattage and other metrics.....yawn.

Pizza dinner post Ventoux and sampling the local fermented beverages...

Vaison la Romaine and the Roman bit. Day after Ventoux dawned bright and early at 3.30 am, hurrah for jet lag !! Made it out for a run at 6.01am, a minute too late to join JN's 6am run group but hey, who wants to run at 4.45/km that early anyway?!! I used the run to actually be a tourist and take a few photos as am a bit slack in that department and rely on everyone else to take photos...... After brekky and bikes, multitudes of day bags which had to suffice for overnight stay we were off to Annecy.... 3 hrs or so later and lots of busy traffic, we were dropped at our hotel then JN and Dave sped off to Geneva so we appointed Gordo in charge til we were reunited with the others in La Clusaz. Quick change and we headed off on the Semnoz loop - 51 km around 2100m asc. Once out of town its a 16km climb, I found it a pretty nice climb and had expected it to be steeper; had a few pitches but a pretty pleasant 7% average for the 16km. Altho its all relative, after the abject misery inflicted by Mont Ventoux the day before. It was a bit cloudy uo top but oh the sweet, sweet sound of cowbells. Yes, am finally on hols, in the Alps.

Top of Semnoz- winners are grinners A long descent followed by another long descent ( thank GOD we hadn't done the loop in that direction!) and once on the outskirts of Annecy it was designated bike path all the way back to the hotel- these were terifying actually - e-bikes whizzing past at top speed, kids, scooter... felt more hazardous than the road and I could feel a bit of rage building internallyu but then remembered I'm on holidays and its time to be zen and grateful and #blessed so just CTFO

Me CTFO . And getting some of my 5 a day. Dinner in Annecy was a pleasant affair... we found a restaurant that wasn't serving pizza ... much to the waiter's amusement the order was for 7 burger with fries. Bien cuit. ( well done- didn't want to risk burger tartare....)

Thirsty work this triathlon stuff :-) Today ( Wednesday) after thankfully a long and quality sleep, we started off with a swim in the lake. How beautiful, clear 21 degrees, flat and glassy. Had a struggle to start with as felt my wetsuit was strangling me and stiff back abd shoulders from all the long descents but that eased off although I stil felt as if it was really hard work- but of course, tired from all the riding etc. Until I got out and realised my float bag hadnt been fastened properly and had been slowly catching water as I swam.........so I emptedout about 10 litres or more... haha. #resistance training

Will swim for views. After a hearty repast at the hotel, where I had to exercise (some). restraint on the baked goods and a pleasnt wander by the lake it was time to leave for La Clusaz( 37.5 km 900m asc). Gordo had stated it was a no drop ride so after another fraught expedition along the bike paths, we were out into some beautiful wee villages and rolling climbs albeit toasty in parts we arrived at the hotel in La Clusaz to the chaos of bike assemblyu, bags etc etc as the others had all arrived from Geneva. Its very ski town? Sound of Music here..... but thats what we come for, right?!!

Will also ride for views...as long as its sunny. Right its almost dinner time - then John gives us a brief on whats on tap tomorrow ( bike/ swim/ run/bike I think ) which fills me with trepidation although I have to remind myself this isn't quite so intense as a tradiitional Epic camp so its OK - just CTFO Chrissie and #wine o clock. Living the dream.....

Knocked the bastard off- Mont Ventoux pre Epic camp adventure

Well, after an eternity of travel involving long layovers in Singapore and long tranist time in Frankfurt combined with Lufthansa's highly inefficient bulk baggage system. "Go over there to the bulk baggage queue" he said. "Since you have a bike". Sweet, this wil be alot easier given I'd just spent an age to clear immigration with my European passport that is now persona non grata post Brexit so had to stand in the queue with half the population of CHina and the Arab emirates so it wasnt quick! But no, arrived at the bulk baggage queue to find around a hundred people waiting with trolies laden with multiple Cases, small dogs with large animal carriers, backpacks, golf clubs.....and it moved at the rate of an advancing glacier. An hour and 10 mins later I got to the counter to find out that the extra bag I had paid for needed to be specified as a bike; anyhoo.... the lady was very helpful so one meltdown later it was al;l sorted and I could finally get through security, have a shower. Got to Geneva with my luggage, emerged into the smoky fug at the arrivals door and Dave was there to greet me with the hotel shuttle. Nailed a good sleep that night after a short run and build of the bike, managed a 10 km run into Geneva to finally snap the lake ( all for the 'gram you know....) then once packed up we set off for Vaison la Romaine - home for the first 2 nights. Staying in the same place as 2016, within the walls of the medieaeval village- cobbles galore.

Took the bike for a wee tootle to check all in working order then twisted John's arm to upload all the map files to my Gramin for me which he duly obliged. Cheers! And phew!

Managed another reasonable sleep altho had a period ofinsomnia between 3am and 4am, mainly flashbacks to the last time I climbed Ventoux and some inner ponderings about life choices; why don't I choose holidays that involve lying on a beach with cocktails? Hmmmmm. Our little group of 3- myself, Tanya and Jeremy set off at 7.45 for Bedoin... made it to the sign that says 19km to the summit and that was that. Temperature was already climbing. All i can say was that the first 12 km are quite brutal with an average grade of 9-10%, road is similar to NZ road surface and quite narrow.....had some good tunes banging in my ears and plenty inner motivational chatter reflecting on gearing choices and lack of long rides in a Chch winter. Once past Chalet Renard, the road opens out, the surface improves and the gradient is a little more kind. Arrived at the top, couldnt find the summit sign for the obligatory selfie ( again, for the 'gram...) and there seemed to be thousands of people up there... on bikes, walking , driving, motorbikes. Jeez. Found the support car, jacket on , waited for the otheres then a nice albeit pedestrian descent for 20 km and then coffee and a snack at the restaurant at the base near Malaucene. had to drink my Americano black however, the waiter said he could do a cafe au lait but could not provide us with a small amount or splash of milk for the coffee... eh?. I spoke to him in my best French too altho suspect I sound like the policeman in Allo Allo..... but God loves a trier, right?!! 10 km home from there... relieved its done and the ghosts of 2016 laid to rest... lack of sinus infection and snottery head lurgy really does help! Off to Annecy tomorrow..... the logistics are proving too much for my fatigue addled ( perimenopausal??!!) brain to comprehend so hoping itll make more sense after a wine or 2 later.

At the summit, dropping some internal F bombs of relief.