44.7 km Rain, wind & a touch of snow – at least the roads were empty of cyclists. Total distance 2,666.3 km will-davies.com
Author: Will
Will
Happiest while cycling uphill.
20.0 km Rain & cold – with more expected over the next couple of days. Still it was wort getting out. Snow again on the nearby little mountains. I passed this sign that says: “you have killed my cat, thx to respect the speed limit.”
65.9 km I am the first to admit that I’m a wimp on steep descents. But still, when it takes an hour to descend back to the beginning then you know you’ve done a big climb. La Semnoz is a huge hunk of land next to beautiful Lake Annecy. It took over 1,500 metres (+5,000 feet) of vertical climb to get to the top – a small ski resort. Fantastic views of the Alps and the lake. I had been climbing for about 45 minutes until I got to the beginning of the real climb near the Col de Leschaux.…
36.8 km Good, fast, shortish ride. Strong after break day. Maybe a long day tomorrow? Total distance 2,535.7 km will-davies.com
63.6 km Earliest start of the year. Brisk, sunny, Saturday morning with lots of cyclists out. I know I’m a bit pathetic, but I didn’t follow a planned route and instead tracked down as many people on hills as I could find. The last 20 kilometres were ridden with a nice guy that I tied up a long hill after a tough battle. Days were I chase people are actually usually (like today) very tough rides as it makes me work really hard. Fun ride, felt strong. Total distance 2,454.3 km will-davies.com
45 km After some good rides ove rthe weekend, for some reason – not helped by the grey weather – I had a little bout of laziness the last 3 days and couldn’t get motivated to get outside. Still a little lethargic, I forced myself on the bike today and had a pretty good ride. Very strong after 3 rest days, I slowly got back into the rythm -capped by tracking a fairly fast guy down on a long hill. Total distance 2,390.8 km Total Ascent: 26,500 metres will-davies.com
34.2 km Today I climbed two of the three climbs of the famous Ballon d’Alsace. On July 10th 2005 the second of today’s climb will be the first big climb of the Tour de France. The day started out with pouring rain – I was absolutely sopping wet when I reached the beginning of the 1st climb and was beginning to think I was crazy. But this route up from Sewen passes two beautiful mountain lakes and the climb soon warmed me up. I began to enjoy the great scenery and the empty roads. From the top I descended to…
26.0 km Rented bike, flat tire, two attempted repairs … 4 hours, and a few rainstorms later, we arrived back at the hotel. Enough said. PHOTO: Me, above a medieval walled town minutes after thinking I’d successfully patched a flat tire. Since it was a rental I didn’t have my usual spare – grouchy walk back to hotel.
33 km Super hard uphill ride through forest roads in the Vosges mountains, Alsace, France. Fantastic ride, although first 8 kilometers took an hour! Cycling on muddy roads, up steep hills in rain and sludge. Rode two hours without seeing a soul. This picture shows one of three 12-14th century castle ruins high in the Vosges mountains above Ribbeauville and providing a great view from our hotel. My bike route went right by two of these old castles.
34 km Hi from beautiful Alsace. Vineyards, castles, beautiful fortified medieval villages. We did an easy ride through the vineyards after a long drive, but have an active weekend planned.