Welcome to Chewy's World!: Alpe D'Huez

Well, I made it to Notre Dame and Tour Eiffel before hopping on the TGV to Grenoble, followed by a bus ride through the villages of Oisans to the final destination: Allemont.

For those of you not up to date on your French geography and miniscule villages that lay nested in the French Alpes, I will give you the easiest reference point to find us. We are located 5 km away from the base of Alpe D'Huez...and Col de le Croix de Fer is our backyard. Tough life, I know...

This is the view I wake up to in the morning. I actually took it hanging out of my bedroom window. Today was beautiful! Clear skies, and around 30 degrees celcius, but the wind helped cool things down.

First stop was to the bike store to pick up my new bike. Gregory and I realized that it would be $800 dollars to get my bike to and from France via the airlines plus any tune-up charges, which, is the cost of a new bike! So we decided to invest in a bike to keep in the Alpes for us when we return in the summer. The bike shop is named "The red frame" in English.

The bike I got is called "Q-bike" and rides like a charm! Here I am strapping on my "lunch box"

Next stop, Alpe D'Huez (the mountain right in front of me in this picture)

One final pose for the camera! I did something I have never done before on this ride; I rode with the camera and took pictures along the way. Alpe D'Huez is hard from the standpoint that is it steep, an endless sort of steep. It is also very unique in the fact that is has 21 turns, all of which are marked by signs. The first 3 km are the hardest at +12 % and I usually end up contemplating walking my bike (or riding it off the ledge) those first 3 km. Then the climb levels off to a "modest" (make me want to puke) 8-9% with some steeper sections along the way. Here is a picture at the half-way point looking down at the start point: Bourg d'Oisans.

The final 3 km are just as hard as the first, becoming steep again. The locals are already gearing up for La Marmotte, as you can see from the large red "Marmotte" logo erected 2 km from the finish of the climb. I am very proud of myself, this picture was taken while biking!

Finally at the summit, there is a "finisher" area for all the tourists and locals who make it to the top. It really is something to climb this beast! There was one man who started walking his bike at turn 14 and was 2 km from the finish when I was on my descent still walking it up for the finish! Allez, courage!!