Stage 1 - Evian to La Clusaz

Phew. What a start. Total distance 124 km with 2,750 m of climbing. The slow group (including me, of course) set off at 09:00 after breakfast and a team photo, straight up a nasty little hill from the lake. The 1,712 m Col de Joux plane was mercifully closed, so we went round to the East of it, up a very pretty col, to the accompaniment of sheep and cow bells. A mad descent followed to a lunch stop in the valley at Samoens.

Unfortunately I missed the lunch stop sign and pushed on a few km further before having a very pleasant solo meal at Morillon. Salad, steak and chips, peach tart and coffee may have been a bit over the top, I suppose, but it did taste good. The group went past just as I finished, and I tagged on for a flattish ride to Cluses, followed by the day's main event: the ascent and descent of the formidable Col de la Columbieres.

This is a very tough (though spectacularly beautiful) 17 km with over 1,100 m of ascent that tops out at around 12 per cent. I wasn't last, quite, and even managed a short sprint at the end, cheered on by the Swarm, bless them.

Then another sweeping downhill and a short pull up to La Clusaz.

There were some clouds and a few damp roads, but the weather was good throughout. I am going to be stiff tomorrow. I hope the route isn't tougher still...

Distant view of the Col de la Columbières, with snow...

The Fireflies camera crew at the top of the Col de la Columbières.

Details AM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326343272

Details PM:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/326363594

Progress...

Woke up before the alarm at 04:30 having spent most of Sunday packing and unpacking, and checking train times. OK EasyJet flight but then a long wait at Geneva airport with a lot of other Flies for the hotel pickup. 

Eventually made it to the Hotel de la Plage right on the lake near Evian. Bikes ready and waiting, so a quick 15 km spin along the shore road and back just in time to miss the rain. 

News is that several of the northerly cols are still closed, including Galibier, which is a pity (though maybe tinged with relief).   Still a pretty tough 130 km planned for the first day tomorrow, including the Col de la Columbieres towards the end, which ramps up to 12 per cent...

Final Checks and a Party...

Lovely day, so four laps of Richmond Park before the bike gets sent off to Geneva. Lots of sun, plenty of red deer and quite a few cyclists.
Mercifully, the front fork, which had started creaking after the Fireflies ride on Saturday, was blissfully silent. I spent some time stripping and reassembling the headset bearings on Wednesday, using some special Loctite bearing 'glue' to locate the bearing cups in the frame, and this seems to have worked.
Back from the park, I checked the whole machine over again and lubricated it all, ready for its journey.
Then it was off to Golden Square in London's Soho for 'Le Grand Depart' – full of Fireflies, past present and future, and tons of relatives and well-wishers. Picked up two smart 2013 Tour jerseys and other bits and pieces, including a tour number, and saw the bike safely into the van. All very professional. Weather forecast not that good though, it seems....

A special bidon.

Park Ride: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/323657940

A Baptism of Fireflies

I heard a couple of days ago that there would be a last (but my first) Fireflies training run starting from Richmond Park this morning, so – French cold receding – I thought I'd better give it a shot and meet some of the team.
Sure enough, there was a small knot (swarm? conflagration?) outside the Roehampton Gate cafe, and we set off for what turned out to be 125 km and 5 hours' actual riding in the famous Surrey Hills. These are a familiar training ground for London cyclists, and the multitude of relatively short, steep hills are very unlike the much longer, steadier ones in Vercors – or the alps, come to that. However, I just about managed to keep up, lagging behind a bit on the steep bits, but I was rather cold and shaky by the end, in spite of occasional sunny spells.
The roads were predictably dreadful (Gambian ones, where they exist, are smoother and have far fewer potholes). I hit a bump on one fast descent and got into a bit of a wobble, after which paranoia set in about whether the bike's front fork had got damaged by a French pothole. I stripped everything down this evening, though, and everything seems fine. I don't need a terminal equipment failure on any of the multi-kilometer alpine downhill sections.
The Fireflies seem a great bunch. I think we'll get on well.

Details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/321924125