10 mins slower on Alpe D'Huez?
Posted: 22 Jul 2013 23:14
We got back early Sunday morning from a great holiday and thoroughly enjoyed watching the action on Alpe D'Huez. However I can't fathom why I was 10 minutes slower than the last time I rode it when I went up on Wednesday morning. My training was much the same, ride to work three times a week with the occasional climb up to the Peacock pub. As was my pre-ride preparation, plenty of local wine and cheese the night before. I reckon it must have got steeper than when I rode it in 2003 age 53
Mind you, the ride down was a bit different. With literally thousands of cyclists coming up by the time I started my descent, it was a tad busy and I had to be patient waiting behind vehicles as they struggled with the volume of traffic. Close to the bottom I managed to find a bit of space and started to move more swiftly. I came round a bend between turns 17 and 18 to find an impatient car driver overtaking a bunch of cyclists and completely on the wrong side of the road leaving me absolutely nowhere to go. I hit the brakes and just managed to avoid his car but by now had lost control and was heading toward the low concrete guard wall. As I hit it I was flipped straight over the top and hurtled 25 ft down the mountain side to come to rest lodged between two trees and avoiding falling 60 odd feet to the road below. There I spent the next 30 minutes waiting for the emergency services conscious but unsure how severe my injuries might have been.
A very kind Dutch cyclist (who of course spoke excellent English and French) climbed down to assist followed by others and a while later an English doctor. The Fire Service and Paramedics finally managed to hack a few saplings down, get a stretcher under me and haul me back up the mountain. They finally got me to a hospital in Grenoble and released me several hours later with apparently nothing more serious than a few scrapes and bruises and possible cracked ribs.
To my surprise my bike was only slightly damaged and I was able to ride part way up again the next day on race day with Debs. 24 hours later I couldn't have done it as by then had seriously got stiff and sore. Incidentally, the car driver never stopped.
Boy, how lucky have I been? but I think it will be a week or two before I'm back on a B ride.
Mind you, the ride down was a bit different. With literally thousands of cyclists coming up by the time I started my descent, it was a tad busy and I had to be patient waiting behind vehicles as they struggled with the volume of traffic. Close to the bottom I managed to find a bit of space and started to move more swiftly. I came round a bend between turns 17 and 18 to find an impatient car driver overtaking a bunch of cyclists and completely on the wrong side of the road leaving me absolutely nowhere to go. I hit the brakes and just managed to avoid his car but by now had lost control and was heading toward the low concrete guard wall. As I hit it I was flipped straight over the top and hurtled 25 ft down the mountain side to come to rest lodged between two trees and avoiding falling 60 odd feet to the road below. There I spent the next 30 minutes waiting for the emergency services conscious but unsure how severe my injuries might have been.
A very kind Dutch cyclist (who of course spoke excellent English and French) climbed down to assist followed by others and a while later an English doctor. The Fire Service and Paramedics finally managed to hack a few saplings down, get a stretcher under me and haul me back up the mountain. They finally got me to a hospital in Grenoble and released me several hours later with apparently nothing more serious than a few scrapes and bruises and possible cracked ribs.
To my surprise my bike was only slightly damaged and I was able to ride part way up again the next day on race day with Debs. 24 hours later I couldn't have done it as by then had seriously got stiff and sore. Incidentally, the car driver never stopped.
Boy, how lucky have I been? but I think it will be a week or two before I'm back on a B ride.