The Trips

1. Alpe d'Huez
2. Col de la Madeleine
3. The Longest Day

Today is a big day.  We plan to ride the famed switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez in the morning and see the stage finish in Grenoble later that afternoon.  We poke around in the bike shops in Bourg d’Oisans waiting around for a start card and finally set off at 10 am, well after everyone in our group.  We hook up with a group of  Spanish riders heading out of town and set off.  We climb for about 10 miles up a pass
through dark tunnels cut into the rock before we get to the Barrage du Chambon and realize we’ve been following these guys up the pass toward tomorrow’s stage finish at Les Deux Alpes!  We turn around and finally make our way to the base of the Alpe d‘Huez . 

Getting the start card was a waste of time as the stamping machine at the base doesn’t work. 
We finally get to work on the climb at 11:30.  It’s 8 miles at nearly 9% grade and by now, it’s about 90 degrees with the sun beating down.  The bottom of the climb is really hard.  I’ve read about it, I’ve heard about it, I’m ready for it, but it’s still a little intimidating.  I’m wondering if I’ll see the top.  The signs for the 21 numbered hairpins keep me alive as I focus on getting to the next one.  The faded names of
last year’s heroes painted on the road remind me that I’m at the altar of one of cycling’s holy places.  When I get to #10, I know I can make it.  The ski station at the top is hopping with a global entourage of cyclists.  Alex is cooked and sits in the shade near a water spigot being used by all the riders who have made it to the top.  We grab some quick food and a drink at a café and then wind our way down the climb. 
Alex barrels down around the hairpins.  Two Italian guys latch on to us but are dropped.  Since we’ve missed the tour bus back we’re committed to riding back to the hotel in Uriage, silently sharing the work into a strong headwind.  We grab a shower and then convince the surprisingly uninformed local bus driver that today’s Tour stage is finishing in Grenoble.  This is it, the Tour at last!  It’s a unbelievably huge show
of cars, color and thousands of people. 

We grab our Champion and PMU caps from the caravan girls before climbing up onto a signpost to see Stuart O’Grady hold off Saeco’s Calcaterra at the line.  We stumble onto the doping control and run smack into Le Maillot Jaune.  Ullrich doesn’t look fat to me- he’s tall, lean and all business.  We bluff our way onto
the Mapei team bus for photos, fan cards and a team poster.  For the first of what will not be the last time, our tour bus is nowhere to be
found, so we hop the tram and then the local bus back to Uriage.  This Tour watching is going to be hard work!

Tuesday, 7/28/98
As Good As It Gets

A most memorable day on the Col de la Madeleine.  After yesterday's rain, the day is full of promise.  We start our ride out of La Chambre and the climbing starts right away.  Some idiot bumps Alex’s wheel at the first hairpin and he’s almost off.  I won’t see him again until the top.  The mountain is littered with fans that have been camped out awaiting today’s stage.  Signs, flags, songs and painted names await the riders.  My new Rabobank kit gets the attention of the many Dutch fans-
they yell  "Boogie!  Rabo!"  The Madeleine is long and exposed.   The mist at the top only adds to the roof of the world feeling.  A bad day here would be hell and Alex seems to be suffering from yesterday’s picnic because I see him go by in our group van with Penny and Kathy.  I climb with Chris and Jean-Luc for awhile and then settle into my own pace, wanting to soak in the tremendous scenery and atmosphere.  The top seems a long way off on this 20K giant and I’m in no hurry.  The mountainside is crowded with the cyclist’s fan clubs, campers and fans making their way to the summit.  We see Didi Senft- the Devil.  Passing under the KOM banner at the 2000m summit of this hors categorie monument
feels like a real accomplishment.  After a quick regroup at the top for photos, it’s down for a phenomenal 25K of twisting descent.  Nobody can hold Alex’s wheel on the descent and I’m glad to have new tires.  We bomb down for what seems like forever around ribbons of new asphalt put down just for the Tour.  I strip off the armwarmers and windvest as we descend into Albertville and go for a solo flyer at the 10K banner.  The roads are closed to traffic and the barricades and banners create a real Tour stage  atmosphere as I ride into the finish area and enjoy my own 
little Tour fantasy.  We climb up the back of the VIP grandstand to get a better view.  The big screen TV shows us that Ullrich has ripped off the front at the bottom of the Madeleine and only Pantani can stay with him.  They provide an exciting two-up sprint finish at the line.  The peloton rockets down the finishing straight.  After the podium presentations, it’s off to the team areas for photos and a close look at the bikes.  Then it’s on the bus to Annecy du Lac.  It’s an incredibly scenic, walled lakeside town and one of the most expensive places to live in France.  We dine al fresco by the lake.  The wine is pretty good, too!

Wednesday, 7/20/98
The Longest Day

The strangest day of the Tour.  After our guide Philippe takes us on a morning route circling the beautiful lake in Annecy, we climb 4K up the Cret de Chatillon, a Category 1 climb in today’s stage.  We have a great picnic spot picked out to await the peloton and soak up the ample alpine
sun.  Greg Lemond rolls by with his tour group and stops for a chat and some photos.   The Tour publicity caravan entertains the crowd and everyone scrambles for the souvenir goodies tossed out from the cars- 
keychains, hats, all kinds of free food samples. After what seems like a long time, we overhear an announcement on a French fan’s transistor radio that the riders have stopped just outside of Albertville in protest.  Hours behind schedule, the helicopters overhead tell us the peloton is near.  The riders roll up the climb en masse without their
race numbers- the stage has been neutralized.  It’s bitterly disappointing, as the prior two days of racing have been so good and today’s stage was full of promise.  After the peloton and the following cars pass, six of us decide to continue to the top of the Cret de Chatillon climb, another 8 miles at 9% grade.  It’s hard going as we compete with what seems like a thousand cars for room on the narrow
road.  The other four riders turn back and leave Alex and I to find the summit on our own.  The view from the other side opens up to a spectacular vista of the French Alps and snow-covered Mont Blanc as a reward for our effort.  At the summit, in true Tour fashion, we scrounge papers from some Dutch tourists to stuff up our jerseys for the
descent.  Because of the protest delays, it’s getting late and it's a bit cold as we plunge down the mountain, passing numerous cars and camper vans. A spontaneous decision to stop for a quick pint in Annecy turns into dinner and two pitchers of the local Gamay.  Luckily, we meet up with Christophe, our group's coach driver, and we won’t have to ride the bikes back to L’Abbaye in Vieux Annecy after all.  We slip from English to French and then German over dinner. I could easily be talked into living here.