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.

Another Epic camp imminent- better get this blog rolling again :-)

Apologies for my 3 year hiatus readers and fans ( hi Mum!!).....the road to hell is paved with good intentions as they say: so looks like I'm definitely headed for at least purgatory....... Epic Camp Lite Alpe d"Huez is. looming.. my first full camp since 2019 in the Pyrenees ( see prev blog posts) although its apparently an Epic camp Lite but as John always says, "Its not easy camp" so I'm pretty confident we will be doing some big days on the bike with an obligatory swim and run somewhere. But thats the type 2 fun we sign up for , right?! Winter training in Chch- all variations of weather.....all you need is a good playlist and buddies, right?!

Quick update in photos - had a brief hiatus from triathlon and into some ultra trail running, which I loved but it ain't tri! Mini- Epic camp in Queenstown April 2024, lots of vert, great crew and also the weather gods were on our side. Apart from the descent of the Remarkables; thats likely the coldest I've been in my life... colder than the day we climbed the Cold'Ordinho and the Port d"Envalira.. Some photos day 1 - Glenorchy return. Swim in Lake hayes and then a run round the lake track:_

Day 2- Triple Peaks, the biggie- Remarkables, Crown range, Coronet peak

Day 3 - freezing pootle at Moke Lake while the speedgoats did a cross country mission. Post camp bubbles in the Koru lounge Qtn, of course !

Im not as fit especially cycling fit as have been on previous camps- new work is quite full on and also involves a weekly commute to the West coast ( which I love ). But life is good and this is actually a late celebration for a milestone birthday and also rediscovering myself after an existential crisis combined with global pandemic...haha. Although ironically, I'm still a "Novid". Or perhaps a "Lance" would be a better term ( never returned a positive test....right?!)

Epic camp mini NZ - day 4 - The Final Grind. Murchison to Nelson.( 152km 1400m asc, ~ 400m swim, 2km run )

Had surprisingly the best sleep on Sunday night in Murchison, even in the 1970's porn movie style motel room, but it had the comfiest bed :-). My legs didnt feel too bad when I woke up considering the day before, had a bit of food fatigue so couldnt force much down for brekky other than chopped apple and peanut butter with a bit of banana. It had looked a pleasant morning but by the time the grupetto was ready to roll, it was drizzling which got slightly heavier for a bit. Ugh. It was 35km on the highway to the St Arnaud turn off which is rolling but a net uphill, the road was not too busy but any traffic that did come seemed to be a huge logging truck; for us which always seemed to occur on the part of the road that had zero shoulder. Most of them were pretty good although it does feel a little like Russian roulette at times. Once we turned off at St Arnaud, its a very quiet rolling road which winds up by the Buller river ( guessing the source must be Lake Rotoiti...). I have to admit I was feeling a bit dark about the whole thing, my right glute was burning and I felt a little annoyed about the bumps in the road so guess I needed to eat more. ....... We rolled in to the lake front greeted by the local gang of sandflies, bees and of course the other campers who had had a nice leisurely break to rest the legs... 15 mins til eliminator run start time. Eh ?!! Shoved down a half pack of Gu blocks then we did the first 500m just as a warm up off our times, Rebecca and I were off on the 30 sec handicap and we had also been in the same bunch so we lamented the lack of rest in our legs !! Needless to say once we hit the 2nd lap ( 50 m smash it downhill, 450 m run hard ) we were both eliminated although looking at the 5km times people submitted I'd say there was a LOT of sand bagging!! I trotted another 1km by the lake track to get the legs moving differently then it was swim time, hopefully to get away from all the winged pests that were gatecrashing our party. It was pretty fresh in there ( ice cream head +13 deg ?), but oooohhhhh so therapeutic on the muscles, super clear, deep water and bonus was I didnt spot any eels lurking underneath. Almost felt like a new woman when I emerged from the lake - even better I had fresh full cycling kit to change into, sure my bum would be thankful too. Scoffed a wrap,shrouded myself in a cloud of DEET, a bit of pizza, some fruit, bit of choccy ( hmmmmm, def underfueled this morning) then we were off under the illusion of a fast 88km of net downhill to Nelson which started with a bit of a climb , rolling , then a reasonable slog up to Tophouse saddle. Our little group of 4 had splintered apart by now but I had some music to keep me company and distract me from abject misery and deep existential nihilism. Its a super quiet road but was grey and bleak up there, almost with the threat of rain. The road then turned onto a rolling road which led to Wakefield, it had a few pinchy climbs interspersed with long false flats ( both up and down ). Arrived at Wakefield and an enthused bunch of campers at the aid station, had a quick pee stop and grabbed some food and bent to peer pressure to leave with everyone else so again, didnt get much rest and as anticipated, the speed bunnies sped off and I tried to hang on as best i could but eventually my foo foo valve did blow butonly 18 km to go. Nicole kindly waited on me in Richmond as was worried I didnt know where I was going ( I didnt really know where I was going ) and we manged to wind our way through the bike paths and do an extra tour of the wee estuary by Monaco and add 4km on... !! Rolled in to a reception of coffee, hot chips, smoothies, beer... bloody brilliant!! Final dinner was a tasty 3 course repast at the Anchor Inn.... another camp ticked off!! Thanks to Gail and Kylie for their unwavering support and enthusiasm for us all and to John for his excellent organisation and route choices. Herding a load of hangry cats takes a special type of person !! I'll write an epilogue in next few days to wrap up my personal thoughts but for now ( back home as I write this) I had better tackle the mounds of smelly, damp kit that needs washing and psych myself up for dealing with work tomorrow. :-(