Tour de France 2009 - The Tourmalet

c'est vrai!

We arrived yesterday in Luchon and it was cold.  Not freezing but not hot and sunny.  It's in the Pyrenees and deep in a valley.  More like Boulder than France.  We checked into the hotel - which is lovely, Hotel Majestic and went out to dinner.  

Today was a big day for us, we road the Col Tourmalet.  The highest road in the Pyrenees...the hardest mountain we have ever done.  We drove over to Bagnéres de Bigorre (about 30 minutes before the start of the climb) so we could start there and get a bit of a warm-up before we hit the mountain.  The total ride was 55 km and it took me 3 hours and 18 minutes (up and down) and it took Bruce 3 hours and 5 seconds.  It was hard and never stopped.  Just up and up and up. From Luz-Saint-Sauveur (which is 30 km from where we started) it's 19km long, climbing 1404m at an average of 7.4 % with a maximum of 10.2% at the summit.

me warming-up before the climb

still trying to warm-up

It was amazing and hard and rewarding and beautiful.  I would love to do it again actually.

We wore short sleeved jerseys on the way up and hats, gloves, jackets and arm warmers on the way down.  The tour de france will ride this col on Sunday as part of stage 9 and it was already filled with caravans and tons of people waiting for the race.  

warm-up over...time to start the climb up

the climb took us up and up and up

how many more km?

did we just climb up from down there?

getting into a rhythm

Bruce too

It took me over 2.5 hours to get up and a bit over 30 minutes to get down.  We changed in the car and drove to a café to watch the final 22km on the big screen.  Amazing day, amazing finish. Tomorrow the stage finishes in Saint-Girons and we'll be there. 

we made it to the summit 

the last 2 km kicked my butt

bruce got here 18 minutes before me

the last 2km!

just a beautiful church on the way home

More pictures and updates to come.

Right now we are going to give each other leg rubs before we go to bed.

Tour de France - Stage 5

Riding along the Canal du Midi towards Cap D'Agde

Stage 5 today - leaving from Cap D'Agde and ending in Perpignan.  We decided to ride our bikes to the start, about 35 km from our hotel in Béziers.  It was a great ride in along the Canal Midi, until we heat Cap D'Agde which was crazy.  We watched the caravan go by, had a coffee and then decided to ride out and see them go by.  Once they did we jumped back on the bikes and headed back to the hotel to watch the finish on television.

there they go...

Canal du Midi

so psyched to be here

After a little nap and a shower we headed out for dinner.  On the way we stopped at a little wine bar that we visited back in February. It's very nice and they have some excellent wines to taste.  I had a Roussillon 2005 and a Corbières - 2005 and Bruce had a Vin de Pays d'Oc and a 2005 Santenay. Both of us loved the Roussillon!  We then went over to a little bisto near the church.  Perfect place for dinner, we sat outside, facing the lovely church.  Perfect day.  

church in Béziers

I'm pretty psyched to be here too

View from the terrace next to the church

Our wine & entrées

We leave in the morning for Toulouse to pick up our rental car.  Yes, rental car.  Claude our 1985 Peugeot stationwagon would have a really hard time making it up the mountains in the pyrenees.  Then we'll head to Luchon where we'll stay for the next 4 days.  We won't see the tour live again until Saturday, but those 2 days will be excellent!  We'll spend Friday riding some of the famous cols and Saturday doing long ride and then we'll see the finish in Saint-Girons.  

Stay tuned.

Tour de France 2009 - Stage 4

part of the "Caravan"

The moment we have been waiting for, the Tour de France.  And instead of watching it (3) times on television is one day, (seriously we'd wake up early to watch it live, miss the finish because we would have to leave for the studio, so we'd come home in the afternoon and watch it again and then we'd watch the highlight show in the evening), we get to see it LIVE. 

This week we will be in Béziers for 3 nights and then over in Luchon, which is in the Pyrenees for 4 days.  We'll watch stage 4, 5, 8 and 9.  Then we'll go home for a few days and head back out on the 19th for Provence, we'll climb Mt. Ventoux and see stage 20, which should be amazing.

Stage 4 is the team time trial.  It started and ended in Montpellier.  Béziers is about 50 km from Montpellier, so we drove the car about 20 km and decided to bike in.  We couldn't decide if we should see the start or the finish, figured the finish would be good (they started and finished in different locations).  We road the bike path next to the course all the way until we ended up on the course.  The Astana team was out warming up and passed us.   We road the final 2 km of the course to the finish.  Pretty cool.

Astana out on a warmup ride

There's Lance

When we arrived at the finish, about 3 hours before the first team started, so we picked our spot and waited.  Right when we arrived we met Bill and Liam.  Liam is 8 years old and he met Lance Armstrong on a climb in the alps a few days before the start of the tour.  Check it out here Liam and Lance.   Liam is an amazing kid and a super cyclist and athlete.  He and I hung out together the whole race, we talked about loads of stuff, but mostly cycling and he taught me quite a bit about the tour, he knows everything about it!  He and his Dad Bill are here on a father/son vacation to follow the tour.  Bill is keeping a blog about the adventure, you can follow them to here, father and son tour 

They'll be heading over to the Pyrenees when we do, hopefully we can meet up again, because I would love to ride with Liam.

Watch for Liam in the tour someday!

funny "gift" from the caravan

just hanging out and waiting

chatting with Liam

OK back to the tour.  Before the race starts the "caravan" comes through, it's just a big parade.  All the sponsors have cars, floats etc...and they throw out goodies - candy, hats t-shirts, key chains, umbrella hats, etc...it's pretty funny.  About an hour after the caravan the race started. The first team starts and then 7 minutes after that the next team goes, 20 team in all.  The TTT (team time trial) was amazing, it's great to see the whole team riding together and being at the finish was super cool.  Astana ended in first, Saxo bank 2nd and Columbia/highroad 3rd.  Lance almost got the yellow jersey (maillot jaune), but right now he's in 2nd.    It was a hot day but super fun.  We road back to the car, on the route again and headed back to Béziers for dinner.  

When we were here in February we saw a little Mexican restaurant called O-Mexicain, but it was closed for the slow season.  They were open and since we haven't had Mexican since September we had to go there for dinner.  It was amazing.  We had chicken fajitas and flour tortillas.  Excellent, not heavy or full of lard, just really good.  The owners were really nice and we are thinking of going back again before we leave.  If you are ever in Béziers you must check it out, you won't be disappointed.  

Stage 5 tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Come ride with us

Many of you might know this...some of you might not, but Bruce and I are avid cyclists.  We have been cycling seriously for about 6 years.  Seriously means about 100-130 miles per week, taking our bikes wherever we go on vacation and making all of our holidays based around cycling.  

About a month ago we were on a ride with our friend Ben and started talking about how great it was to cycle here and how everyone should experience the beauty of france by bike. That's all it took, please allow me to introduce to you "Two Wheels Good Tours". We were born from 2 passions, riding bikes and the beauty and culture of france. After a number of years travelling and cycling around france we have decided to invite you along for a ride.

The endless roads, charming villages and fine cuisine provide the perfect ingredients for an amazing cycling adventure. We are committed to providing an intimate and personalized experience to our guests, centered around our passion for cycling and love of the french countryside.

France has a long and rich history of cycling tradition and of course hosts the biggest cycling race in the world, the Tour de France. We have chosen the 2009 Tour to launch our first official trip. With the return of several stars of cycling, most notably 7 time winner Lance Armstrong, this year promises to be one not to miss. Let us take care of the work and hassle of planning every detail of the trip, so you can fully enjoy your cycling experience.

This year we will spend 7 nights and 8 days, from July 6-13, 2009, taking in 5 stages of the Tour. We will start with the TT in beautiful Montpellier we will follow the race through the Pyrenees, culminating with the legendary giants the Col d'Aspin and the Col du Tourmalet. We will enjoy 6 days of riding some of the most beautiful roads France has to offer, sampling delicious food and wine and staying in 3-4 star hotels.

With a maximum group size of 15 people, we offer a personal and intimate experience tailored to your interests and ability level. Our team is made up of wonderful personalities who are caring, fun, and easy going. All of us here at Two Wheels Good Tours know how important it is to pick good travelling partners. Who you travel with is as important as where you go and what you do, and we never forget that.


Tour de France 2009
Montpellier - Pyrenees Trip 2009


Here's what we put together for you.

Trip Details
Duration: 8 days/7 nights
Dates: Monday, July 6 - Monday, July 13, 2009
Start: Montpellier Finish: Lourdes-Toulouse
Accommodations: Selected 3 & 4 start hotels
Group size: Maximum 15 (3 staff)
Cost: 1350 euros
Deposit: 200 euros

Tour stages you will see
- Tuesday, July 7: stage 4, Montpellier (TT): 38km
- Wednesday, July 8: stage 5, le Cap d'Adge - Perpignan: 197km
- Friday, July 10: stage 7, Barcelona - Andorra Arcalis: 224km
- Saturday, July 11: stage 8, Andorra-la-Vieille - Saint-Girons: 176km
- Sunday, July 12: stage 9, Saint-Gaudens - Tarbes: 160km

Tour cost is 1350 euros per person (twin share) and includes the following:
- Transportation for you and your bike
- Services of 3 experienced cyclists and guides (fluent in French and English)
- Transfer on July 6 from Toulouse Airport to Béziers
- Transfer on July 13 from Luchon to Toulouse Airport
- 8 days/7 nights in the beautiful Midi-Pyrenees
- Excellent accommodation during the tour (twin share with private facilities)
- 3 nights in Béziers
- 2 nights in Andorra
- 2 nights in Luchon
- Buffet breakfast daily
- 3 dinners
- Mechanical assistance with your bike
- Seeing 5 stages of the Tour de France
- 6 days of riding
- Cycling jersey
- Tour map
- Cycling route map
- Snacks, water

Not included: Flight to Toulouse, Hotel extras (phone, laundry, drinks)

Don't stay home and watch the Tour on TV...come ride with us!

We will also be adding another tour in May (details to come in a couple weeks). This tour won't focus on a race, but on an area, you will be based in the Aveyron(our region) and you will visit 3 other departments (the lot, tarn & tarn-et-garonne) as well. We'll have time for wine tasting, visiting beautiful villages, sightseeing and even relaxing by the pool.

You can keep up to date on our tours at Two Wheels Good Tours blog. If you or someone you know have always wanted to come to see the tour de france live (this year will be especially exciting with Lance's return) or if you have always wanted to have a biking holiday, but didn't know how to put it together, come ride with us, we'll do all the work for you. It will be a vacation you'll never forget.
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Aveyron Update

a beautiful old ruin

This week has flown by.  It's now November, we have been here for 1 month and we have a new president!  The longest we have ever stayed in France is 1 month.   I still feel like I'm on vacation, I don't think about home or worry about the business, because things are going great there.  But I also haven't gotten into a groove yet.  I'm sure that will come soon enough.

It's fall holiday here in France for the schools, so I don't have french class for almost 2 weeks.  I am sad about that, because I'm really enjoying the class.  I go Tuesday from 9-12 and Friday from 9-12, I have 12 other people in the class and we can't speak english, can't bring dictionaries or verb books and our teacher doesn't speak a hint of english.  There is alot that I miss, but it's great. I'm excited to go back on November 7th.

We turned the clocks back here in Europe on Saturday the 25th and I'm happy about that.  It wasn't getting light out until almost 8:30 am.  I'd much rather have it dark earlier in the evening and lighter in the morning.  

On Sunday the 26th, Bruce and I road from Cordes-sur-Ciel to Albi and back.  It's was about 65 degrees and beautiful and sunny and warm and we had a lovely ride.  About 2 hours and we took the backroads so there wasn't much traffic and beautiful views.   We then spent about a hour sitting outside at a café in Cordes...soaking up the sun.  Cordes "on the sky" - so called officially since the twentieth century, because of the way it rises above low lying mists on winter mornings.

The town was founded in 1222 by Raimon VII, Count of Toulouse, during the Occitan re-conquest after the death of Simon de Monfort. Cordes was the first and most important «bastide», built to welcome refugees after the Cathar wars. The town was encircled by two fortification lines closed by powerful fortified gates. Cordes remained the first stronghold of the Albi region for a long time. It became one of the major Cathar centres, and consequently would experience the cruelty of the Papal Inquisition. Following the Cathar period, Cordes experienced exceptional growth. The early bastide spread out beyond its early ramparts and new suburbs were built requiring new fortification lines (5 in all). Within three generations Cordes became a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants. Its prosperity sprang from the textile and leather industries, trading and finance.  Today Cordes is renowned for its luxurious houses and small palaces built by prosperous merchants and noble families between 1280 and 1350. Gothic decorations can be found in the architecture and some façades are decorated with high relief sculptures.

If you like being a tourist, this is the place for you. It is chock-full of people living in chocolate-box picture houses, over 50 resident artists, numerous restaurants, three museums and its own heritage industry. There are also numerous theatrical plays and seasonal festivals (including ones for the asparagus and truffle seasons).  It's a really beautiful village.  Last year Bruce and I bought these etchings from a man in Cordes, his wife draws the pictures (usually small line drawings of the village) and the husband prints them.

beautiful view

Looking up toward Cordes

It rained on Monday...all day and it was cold.  Tuesday we decided to venture out and drive up to Rodez so Bruce could look for another bike.  Yes, he needs another bike, one that he can ride in the rain, in the winter, to the village and not worry about it. Our road bikes are pretty expensive and it's just not practical to use them as commuter bikes.  I bought my commuter bike a couple weeks ago and it's been great.  We also met up with Betty from Cuisine Quotidienne  who lives just outside of Rodez.  It was great to meet her and she took us to a lovely restaurant called Chez Marie.  It's a fomagerie and also a restaurant (lunch only), all of the dishes are built around cheese, how can you go wrong with that.  Lunch was fantastic and Betty is lovely.  It rained all day in Rodez so we actually spent most of the time sitting in the workroom of the local bikeshop, because Bruce bought a Cyclocross bike (which means it's for road and mountain), he's pretty excited.  We also went to the local art supply store and he bought canvas, oil paint, acrylic paint, brushes, etc...so get ready for some pictures of his paintings.  We didn't walk around Rodez much, we'll have to go back when it's not freezing and raining.

On Wednesday it rained again in the morning and was nice in the afternoon, so we jumped on our commuter bikes and road into Villefrance.  We went to the market and had a café at our local hangout called Le Globe and then I wandered into this upscale kitchen supply shop that I've been eyeing since last year.  I spent a good hour just wandering around.  I just love kitchen supply stores.  Then on Thursday morning we woke up to SNOW.  Yes, snow.  Holy crap, it snowed in October.  Bruce hasn't seen snow in about 20 years, I haven't seen snow in maybe 7 or 8.  The flakes were huge and our jaws dropped when we woke up and saw it.  The dogs have never seen snow before.  Dashell loved it, Stella...not too much.  We had to get some vegetables and such so we bundled up and headed over to the Thursday morning market in Villefrance.  By the time we left we were soaked (even with hats, rain jackets) and very cold.  But we figured that we can't just sit here in the house and fester!   

SNOW!

On Friday we saw a break in the clouds and jumped on the bikes and went on  a ride, about 30 miles and it was actually quite warm (well, let me re-phrase that) quite warm for here...i'd say it was around 60.  I cant' believe I'm saying that's warm.  We headed north to an area we had never biked to before, it was of course stunning scenery.  Everywhere we go it's like a painting.

When we got home we decided it was time to go out to dinner, since we haven't been out to dinner since we arrived.  We went into the little village of La Fouillade (about 3 miles from here) and went to "le vieux chene" - translated  "the old oak".  We walked in and it was about 6:45...there wasn't anyone there, except the owner, his wife, his daughter and her little girl.  Of course, we were too early, they don't start serving until 7:15.  So we sat and had some wine and started to talk to them.  Then all of a sudden we start hearing "Paul Weller"....our favorite musician.  We both had to laugh and knew this would be a good place.  The owners Paul and Linda have lived here for about 4 years and they just took over the restaurant/bar/b&b.  They are from Cambridge England and are so nice.  On Friday they have a set "themed" menu and tonight was Italian.  We had soup, pasta with bolagnaise sauce, garlic bread and tiramasu, yummy.  Next Friday is Fish and Chips and the friday after that Curry night.  We stayed until about 10:30 and met some other people who were really nice and ended up at the bar talking with everyone.  Great place and great people.  We were so happy we went out.

Last Saturday was "All Saints Day" here in France, so everything was closed...but that didn't matter because it rained...again!  We had friends over for dinner last night - Jacques and Fabiane.  Lovely night with good friends, good food, good wine and a warm fire.  Perfect.

Sunday it, you guessed it, rained again.  The forecast calls for a couple more day of rain, with clearing here and there and then nice.  Oh please stop raining.  Coming from Los Angeles, where it rains maybe 5 days a year, this is really difficult for us.  On Monday we went shopping for rain boots, because leather boots don't do well in the wet.   These boots ROCK, they were 8 euros and they are dark green farmers boots, so we can put them on and head out with the dogs and our feet don't get soaked.   We have had to have a fire almost every day it's been so cold and if we keep going like that, we'll run out of firewood 1/2 way through the winter.  Everyone has told us that the farmers are saying it's going to be a very cold winter.  Help me!

Tuesday it rained again.  We did venture out because it's only water.  Yesterday was a long day, because we got up at 4:30 am to see the elections unfold and we were so happy that America did the right thing and voted Obama as our new president.  It was a cold and rainy (big surprise) day, so we just stayed in and napped.  Our friends Jacques and Fabrice came over with champagne in their army hats and streamers congratulating us on our victory.  Yes, the french do have a sense of humor.

Jacques and Fabrice

Today, it's freaking raining again.  OMG.  But we are heading out to the open market because we need cheese, veggies, wine, spices, etc...on with the rain boots, rain jackets.  We hope that life here in the Aveyron won't be all rain or we will be bummed out for the winter.  It sure makes you realize how spoiled we are in Los Angeles, you take the no rain and warm weather for granted.