Haute Route Day 7: Digne to Nice

160KM. 2700M. Sometimes these events organize the last day as an easy one. Not the case here. Big day. TL rode strong. I felt tired. As in 2012, decided to ride as an entire team - Canadian Express. Lots of fun.

The official finish line. Our ride finish was about an hour spin away in Nice where we met wife.

TL got a flat on the promenade rolling through Nice. His first of the event. Funny timing.

Showered, packed bikes and quick transfer to Saint Tropez. Big dinner to celebrate. Wilbur forgot his uniform.

Missed the Whistler GranFondo as didn't get home in time. Apparently it was quite fun.

Haute Route Day 6: Dinge to Ventoux

145KM. 3050M.

Hard to pick a favorite day, but Day 6 was as close as it gets for me. Partners were Ribs/TL and Wilbur/GD.

Tough logistics stage as it was a point to point ride with all riders and their bikes transported back from Ventoux to the start town.

145KM of riding on the day, but it was really all about the final 21KM. Like Alpe d'Huez, Madeleine, etc., Ventoux ranks as one of the most famous climbs in Europe, hosting many epic Tour battles.

While Alpe d'Huez may claim more history, Ventoux's physical makeup sets it apart from anything else we'd ridden.

Climbing Ventoux is an accomplishment. Climbing with 5 hard days on the legs and a 125KM "warm up" is just plain tough. 

Day started with a frenetic rollout in a big pack that lasted the first 100KM. No climbs big enough to break up the lead group. Finally a "half Cypress" split apart the group, though Wilbur and I caught back on to the leader's group at the bottom of the Giant. 

Three routes up Ventoux. We ascended from Bedoin.

Definitely my toughest climb. Unrelenting for most of 21KM. No flat sections. No hairpin breathers. And as promised, a real punch in the face over the last 3KM. 

Wilbur was a beast. Took it to me with 3KM to go. Wilbur loves it when it gets over 10% grade, as do most who eat sparingly and weigh less than a high school cheerleader. 

Below is photo evidence of his attack. That's me down the road. Apparently I attacked him on the gentler slopes at the bottom of the climb. No photo - no proof.

The expression says it all.

You can see the final 1KM of the climb from the summit. Rose for the day was cheering on TL and Ribs as they completed the stage. Great day in the saddle for all of us. WL finished top 25 out of a field of 450 and I was 30 seconds or so behind.

A shoutout due to Ms. Nathanson-Duyker and the other wives (Sharon, Shereen, First Lady) who let us do what we love. Lots of time spent away from family preparing for, and participating in, these events. Couldn't do it without support at home. Day 6 also coincided with my 11-year wedding anniversary. Ms. Nathanson-Duyker spent the day roughing in on Capris with her sister and the First Lady.

Selfie from the summit. Hard to tell from this photo, but the top of Ventoux is often described as a moonscape.

Trev's greatest value on the trip may have been his orchestration of our Day 6 apres. In lieu of cattle car back to an underwhelming town of Digne, TL's friend, Lana, picked us up, drove us through some beautiful towns in Provence, and accompanied us to a top notch lunch at Crillon de Brave.

Haute Route Day 5: Bourg D'Oisans to Digne Les Bains

187KM. 2900M.

Bit of a delay in posting. Ran out of  blogging steam towards the end of the event. As I was reminded, must finish what was started, so here's how the final few days shook out.

Day 5 was the longest day of the event by distance travelled. Unique to Haute Route thus far had been the up-down nature of the riding. At previous TransAlps events we were more accustomed to "transitions" whereby long distances were covered traversing valleys to get from one climb to another. 

Day 5 felt more like a TransAlps day as we migrated from the quintessential French Alps to the Provence region of France. 

With the great help of Magic Places', Joerg and Matt, I managed to find yet another bike to replace the downed White Lightning. 4th bike in 5 days. Had it set up and ready to roll a whole 2 minutes prior to the starting gun.

Back to day 1 partners, with TL and I accompanying Wilbur and Ribs to the bottom of the first climb.

TL cresting one of the day's climbs and approaching the Magic Places' on course support. 

The final 60km of this day rolled up a valley into the finish town. Similar terrain to riding out to Horseshoe Bay. TL, Derek (another Canadian we met at the event) and I drilled it together. We were part of a bigger group but the riders of the group were sketchy and had produced a good crash. We let them separate so we could do our own thing. Wilbur and Jamie cruised to the finish in a big group. Apparently Wilbur dropped a "bomb" with 3km to go and attacked the group, dropping all but his partner. Made some friends with the move.

Arrived in Digne after nearly 7 hours in the saddle. Long distances equal long days. First impression of Digne was not our favorite town as it didn't quite meet the associations one might have of Provence. Hotels in these small towns can be hard to come by. We typically favor well located (close to food and start/finish) over fancy. This one met the first two criteria.