Saga's gallore!

Bonjour
Well we now have a full house. Megan and Jason arrived on Thursday on their touring bikes. Jase had had to go to the UK again for work, so it was just me holding the fort. I was at the local cafe when they arrived - sitting in the sun and learning my French. The touring bikes, when fully laiden are so heavy to ride - I can't believe how they can even ride them over the mountains!

On Friday I took Jase (H) and Meg to our favourite bike shop and provided 'fashion' advice (yes CW - clearly my forte!) for them while they picked out a new cycle outfit each. Then we just cruised around the town for the day and enjoyed the sun.

On Saturday, Jase (H) and Meg picked up their rental road bikes for the race and then went for a spin to the place the locals call "the end of the World". I think Jase thought the name was apt as he was not too comfortable on his bike, and also punctured. I went to the pool in the morning and the lady at the pool enjoys my attempts at French so much that she let me in for free! Then I drove to Lyon airport and picked Jase (G) up. Poor Jase had been victim of the French air traffic control strike and had been delayed at the airport all day on the way up to the UK.

That night it was out for dinner to our favourite restaurant. The meal was good but the boss actually hissed at us when we said we only wanted to drink water - he said "not in my restaurant"! Needless to say we haven't been back - I hope we get over it as I do actually like the place!

On Sunday I sat in the sun and learnt French , while Jase G, Jase H, and Meg went for a ride. Just after lunch time I got an SOS text from them - Jase H's rental bike's stem had come loose and could not be tightened as the bolts were the wrong size. I was given sketchy (at best) directions to find Jase at a tiny village called La Vallette on the La Mure route - I had no idea where this was and had no money on my phone so had to somewhat 'wing it'. I used Jase's cell phone to ring the number they had called from but got the answer phone of some French guy they had stopped so that was no help! Luckily on my way I remembered the French CD.... Phonetically.... kel aye la hoot der Pari (basically is this the route to Paris?).... so when I was lost on a tiny country road in the sticks and spotted a farmer and his son walking on the road I was able to pull this out.... yes I am not that stupid - I did interchange Pari with La Vallette! Anyway I finally found a rather disgruntled Jason Hopper on the side of the road who had renamed his bike the "Black Bitch". Another hour in the car to return, and the bike was taken back to the shop!! He has since been in to the 'premium' bike shop and upgraded his bike - now a carbon Orbea so he is happy! The Jones family arrived Sunday night and we all went out for dinner to a new place - quite nice, but not the same as my favourite place... I may forgive the hissing man yet...

Well today is Monday and it has been an interesting day to say the least. Jase (G), Jase (H), Matthew and Megan all set off on their bikes to the Glandon and Croix de Fer. I wanted to go too, so decided the next best thing (sort of...grrrr) was to go in the car and take photos of them riding and then join them for coffee at the Croix de Fer. Jenny, Claudia and Lucy headed off to Allemont to the market.

It was a beautiful sunny day, so Matthew and Jase (H) decided to continue and pre-ride the Marmotte course. Jase (G) biked back to Bourg and Meg came back in the car with me. When home we went and did some groceries, then I headed up to the pool at Vaujany. I was furious when I got there (30mins on windy road) and realised that it was Monday and that the pool was always closed on Mondays... grrrrrr. I needed to do some exercise for my own sanity so I drove via Villard Reculas and the balcony road (scary narrow cliff road) to the Alpe d'Huez pool. I didn't get home until about 7.15pm - thinking I had had a terrible saga... needless to say this was nothing!

Megan had received a call from the two boys out riding - they were in a cafe at Valloire - the weather had turned! They reached Valloire in the sun, but then as they approached the top of the Galibier a storm set in - hail, snow, and freezing cold! They were simply unable to descend as the road down the other side was white with hail. Luckily for them an elderly couple were at the top of the climb in a van and gave them a ride back to Valloire. The couple asked them if they were training for the Tour de France, so I think they were secretly happy with that!

This time it was Jenny's turn to respond to the SOS call (and luckily for me I wasn't home yet!). Unfortunately Matthew left my cell phone behind in the couple's van and the battery is also flat, so Jenny was unable to contact the boys again and spent a good hour in Valloire looking for them. They have just arrived home (10.45pm!) - needless to say a long long day!

Well not much more to report - will attach some photos tomorrow.

Bon nuit
Jeanette

Where is Summer??

Bonjour

Well I am not too sure what's happened to our weather! Today is officially the first day of summer, and it is a balmy 13 degrees! On the upside, it is really supposed to warm up tomorrow and the sun is expected to return - yay!

Last week was wet wet wet. We headed into Grenoble on Thursday (our nearest city and 45km away), and had a look around the town and the shops. It is a pretty dull place really - not alot to see and do, and certainly not on a wet cold day. We did come across an Otago Rugby shop which seemed kind of odd in this part of the world!

There have been massive floods in the South of France, but we have escaped them here. The rivers have all been up though and the waterfalls are really spectacular. Jase has been back riding in the rain - he was pretty sick of it after Germany, but has had to get used to it again. He did another Alpe d'Huez TT yesterday in the rain, and when he reached the top of the mountain it was actually snowing! Another 2 minutes faster though despite the conditions!

On Friday Jase decided he wanted to ride the Marmotte course again as it was dry and sunny when we got up that morning. Never one to account fully for the conditions, I set off (in the car mind you) dressed in shorts and hoping for a sun tan. By the time we reached the Glandon the weather was really starting to cave in. Jase continued, and got up and over the Telegraphe and to the bottom of the Galibier before the weather really started to deteriorate. He wasn't feeling great either and had already ridden for 5 hours so hopped in the car and we drove over the Galibier and down to the hotel/cafe at the top of the Latauret for lunch. We were both freezing.

The guy in the cafe was less than friendly, until I tried some of my new found lingo on him. After that he was our best buddy. I told him it was cold in French and then he disappeared out a back room. We wondered where he had gone, until he reappeared armed with a large white bathrobe! He stood behind me and held it out ready to dress me in it! It perhaps would have been rude if I had not worn it, so stood up as he held it open for me to put my arms in the sleeves! I then sat there drinking my coffee feeling like a right clown as people came in for lunch, coffee etc! In Jase's words, it was a "dead-set disgrace" and "humiliating" - and he wasn't even the one wearing the robe!

Saturday morning we headed into Bourg (yes 100m away!) to check out the local Saturday market. It was pretty cool looking at all the dried fruits, cheeses, olives etc. We then went back to the local cafe and chatted with our friendly waitress. Then off to the bike shop to replace Jase's 8-10 year old bike shoes! He is super happy with his new ones - especially since they are the same ones that Fabian wears (or at least he was wearing them in the picture inside the shoe box!). That afternoon I went to the pool and Jase went for a ride. He wasn't going to wear his new shoes for fear of them getting wet - but then the weather dried up so out he went in his shiny new shoes. When I came out of the pool, the woman at the desk (my other French buddy!) asked where Jase was - she finds it funny that he is reluctant to wear his new togs. I told her he was out riding in his new shoes that he didn't want to get wet.... then at that very instant it started to pour with rain - we both just cracked up!

On Sunday as we were driving back down the mountain after the TT, I spotted one of my patients riding his bike down the Alpe with a group of kiwi guys from Christchurch. They ended up inviting us to watch the football with them in their hotel lounge room that afternoon. It was a pretty exciting game (Italy vs NZ). I think everyone was supporting the kiwis (other than the lone Italian in the room - poor guy!). We also met 2 other kiwi guys there (both also from Chch), and it turned out that one of them was a friend of Jones's, so we ended up having dinner with them at a local restaurant.

The Hoppers have just text us, and they arrive on Thursday. The Jones family arrive on Sunday. Christine has just text also. She arrived safely in Corsica, and will meet us in Paris with Mum and the Gerries in 2 weeks time. All very exciting!

Not much more to report. Hope the weather picks up! It's currently like mid-winter in Chch!
Jeanette

Dauphine, and more

Bonjour

Well last week the Dauphine Libere pro road race came into our neck of the woods.

On Friday Jase did another Alpe d'Huez TT (still not permitted to publish the results, but a good 3 minutes faster than the week before - must be the coach I reckon!). I drove to the top and cheered him on at various intervals. This time I told him he was not permitted to speak unless positive words were going to come out of his mouth... so no words came out at all! Once at the top, Jase did a cool down and drove back as I began my 'adventure run' down a valley track. I had studied the map in detail to find an adventure for myself that was predominantly downhill. There was one small (about 1km) section of gentle uphill before I reconnected with the road. This part I ran backwards, and had no issues at all in doing this - other than looking like an idiot as I ran into the town of Huez, and almost tripped over several times! At the bottom of the hill, Jase met me with warm clothes and we stayed down there and watched the Dauphine race come through. It was actually rather non-exciting as they just whizzed by pretty fast (a small breakaway first and then the main bunch all together).

Saturday's race was a little more exciting to watch - the finish was at the top of the Alpe d'Huez, and Contador was always expected to attack up there. We headed up in the early afternoon and went to the Lakes and went for a bit of a walk - man it is beautiful up there. We then headed down into the town to get ourselves a good spot to watch the finish. We found a great spot out of the wind and right in front of the big screen - so we were able to watch the last couple of hours of the race. The Alpe d'Huez climb was pretty exciting, with Contador repeatedly attacking, but the little Radioshack man in the yellow jersey managed to stay with him until the end. We stood up to watch the final sprint finish up the home straight. Contador deserved the win after all his attacks, but I am not a fan. I am also not a fan of his crazy gun firing antics on the dias!

Other than this, I have been doing quite a bit of swimming, and generally have been sticking with the pool at Vaujany (1200m). I have also found that by breathing every 2 strokes I don't feel sick at all afterwards, and now I can handle 3km again. Jase came to the pool with me today. I have become buddies with the woman at the desk due to my feeble attempts at the lingo which she seems to enjoy, so told her that we had purchased the 'appropriate' swimwear for Jase now and that it was very funny. She just laughed but said he would fit right in! I'm not quite so sure if his cycle tan lines were too inconspicuous however!

On Monday we went to see a French sports doctor as Jase had forgotton to get a medical certificate for the race before we left. It was classic - the guy was about 6.5 feet tall at least, and barely spoke a word of English. He knew the words 'very good' and used them with varying amounts of emphasis as he checked Jase's heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing!

Last night we went up the Alpe for dinner. One of the Aussie Mtb'ers and his girlfriend are staying up there and invited us up. Andy is also gluten free so we had a feast of gluten free sausages, baguettes, etc. It is always good to speak to some fellow English speakers!

I am continuing to practise my French on anyone I can! I get it way wrong sometimes especially when I try to make full sentences! The people seem to like that I try though, and are always willing to help me. The guy who lives downstairs thinks I am a right idiot. I wanted to tell him something the other day so wrote it in a note as it was too much for me to say. He just read it and shook his head laughing. Then I google translated what I had written - it pretty much meant nothing at all!

Well that is all for now.
See some of you soon!
Jeanette

Marmottes and Budgies

Bonjour everyone

Well it has been pretty hot here - up to 30 degrees with sun too, which is a nice change from Germany!

Last Saturday Jase rode the Marmotte course (with the exception of the Alpe d'Huez at the end). He rode with a guy from the Netherlands who is a cycle guide over here and is also training for the Marmotte event. I won't even attempt to write his name as I can barely even pronounce it! He did the Marmotte last year and came off down the Glandon when a rider punctured in front of him. He fell off a bank several meters down and suffered 3 compression fractures of his Thoracic spine. Just an aside (if possum man and the Hoppers are reading), the descent off the Glandon is dodgey as. I drove the Marmotte with the guys and it was terrible in the car, but both guys said it was dodgey to ride. The road is extremely narrow, and it won't be closed to traffic during the race which is unbelievable so you will have to take care. There are other added obstacles - as I drove around one corner I had to slam on the brakes as a whole lot of cows had got out and were lingering on the road. They just wouldn't move for me - it took me at least 5mins to get past - and they wouldn't even respond to my cow lingo (yes - English, French, and bovine! I am multi-lingual) of Moooooove it! Mooooove it!

The cycle guide is starting in the first 400 riders (these spots are saved for the top riders), and he is aiming for 6.5hrs. After riding the route Jase has reassessed his goals - it is damn hard - especially in the heat, and he reckons anything under 8 hrs is pretty good. I took some photos of the day which Jase will attach. We stopped at the Latauret at an awesome spot for lunch, then Jase remounted and headed back to Bourg (my new name for this place as I now consider myself a local!).

Amongst all my frustration I do in fact have some good news! I can actually run and walk down hill without any problem! (well - that is aside from a fairly descent dose of DOMS!). Jase drives me up hill and I run down - it is great here as they are not hills - they are mountains. So I can actually get a good run in! I started gently - 17mins, and the next few days I could barely walk! The next run was 22mins, and yesterday was a whopping 40mins downhill! My legs are not too sore today either. Fully stoked. It seems if I really reduce the psoas requirement I am fine. Yay!

On Sunday Jase just did an easy recovery ride, so we cruised around the town and checked out the shops etc. We went into the outdoors shop and I bought 2 maps and managed to tell the owner in French that I am injured and can walk and run downhill but not uphill - and then asked him where he recommended I go! I am not sure on my sentence structuring but he eventually got the idea and then spoke to me in English as I think he was finding the conversation speed rather painful! I then asked him if he sold budgie smugglers so Jase could go swimming! (not in those terms!). Jase wasn't too happy about this, but I think he will struggle if it gets really hot without being able to swim! He opted for the hilarious German 'hot pant' variety, but moans that they feel uncomfortable and tight! He refused to model them for this, so I had to suffice with a photo of them placed on the floor.

Sunday afternoon I convinced him to come to the outdoor pool with me. As we were wandering down, Jase reported that the sky looked very ominous - then a few drops of rain were all it took for him to mention coffee instead of the pool. Lucky for him I wasn't too motivated on swimming either, so we went and had coffee instead. Truth beknown, he was not quite ready to wear his 'hot pants' in public (he still hasn't worn them actually!).

On Monday morning I drove Jase to Lyon airport (just over an hour and a half away), as he had to go to Scotland for 2 days work. I then drove back here and headed up the Alpe d'Huez for a look around and a swim in the indoor pool up there. I checked out 2 beautiful lakes (Lac Besson and Lac Noir) - photos above. Then I went back into the town and had coffee at a small restaurant before heading to the pool. I swam 2kms and felt really sick afterwards. I was short of breath and my whole face was tingling. The altitude really seemed to affect me - it is 1860m. Afterwards I tried my French on the lady at the desk, and she taught me some more words. Man it is tres difficile (very difficult!). They just speak so fast!

Tuesday morning I went back up the Alpe and this time swam 1.5km, and didn't feel sick at all afterwards. I also went straight to the pool and didn't spend several hours up there first. It is also interesting that I get no goggle marks at altitude - in Germany I had huge rings around my eyes for several hours after swimming. After the swim I found a perfect spot to learn some French - The photo is above - it had an awesome view, a picnic table, noone around, and even a toilet, with refreshments in the car! What more could I need! After doing some stretching, core stability work (yes I am mad!) and studying French for a few hours, I headed back via a mountain top village called Villard Reculas. The road was quite scary to drive - extremely narrow and along a massive cliff. There are some photos above taken on my drive, looking down on the town of Bourg d'Oisans (or simply Bourg if you are cool!). I stopped at a look out and there was a tiny triangular paddock right on the mountain top completely packed full of goats (photo above)! I could hear barking, and thought that these must be a particular type of mountain goat that bark.... then the high protector of the goats appeared! A tiny little white dog nestled right in the middle of the paddock - it was hilarious!

Later that day I ventured into Bourg and ordered a coffee (at you guessed it - the usual place!). I like to go there as the coffee is big and the lady is good to practise my French on as she is very patient! By the way, those who are coming over - don't think of getting me to change from this favourite coffee place. It won't happen! I sat outside in the sun at the shop and learnt some more French with my ipod. I am up to lesson 29 of 90 lessons, but they are getting damn hard now!

Wednesday morning I went to pick Jase up. When we arrived back we went to a really awesome place for lunch. I was gutted as I asked for a table for 2 in French, and the guy responded in English. grrrrrrrrrr!

Well that is enough waffle from me! I hope everyone is well. Really looking forward to seeing some of you very soon!

Au revior
Jeanette

Bonjour from Paradise!

Bonjour

Well here we are in Bourg d'Oisans. This place is one of my very favourite places in the world. It is a cycling paradise and everything here is set up for cyclists. It is a little hard I must say but I will deal with it and return in the future with my bike!

The trip here on Tuesday took about 6 or 7 hours, but we had the odd stop. The weather wasn't great which was a shame as we could have seen alot more - especially coming through Switzerland. Did manage to get a shot (for you Ray) of the biggest jar of Nutella I have ever seen - not sure which spoon you would use for this one! It was really heavy and cost 65 Swiss Franks! I have banned myself from the substance now.

We arrived here at around 5pm and met Damien our landlord. He speaks great English and seems a bit amused when I try out my French on him! He is a keen downhill mountain biker, 35, and lives up the Alpe d'Huez. The apartment has 3 bedrooms and he says it is fine for you all to come and stay at no extra cost so that is great.

First day here Jase was working, so I ventured into the town (all of 100m) and tried out my French on a few people. I generally start by saying that I am learning French and that I am going to try to speak to them... then I bring out a few more words before I become stuck and they speak to me in English! I can't believe how friendly and helpful they all are now that I can have a bit more of a try at speaking. When we were here in 2008 I thought I was giving it a crack when I said hello and do you speak English (in French) !! I walked to the local pool and the lady there told me that through June it is only open Weds, Sat and Sun from 2-6pm. It is an outdoor pool so heres hoping it's warmer than the German one!

Weds night I had Jase do an Alpe d'Huez TT. Bit mean since it was his first day here and he was tired after working all day, but as his 'coach' I wanted a baseline. I drove the car up and cheered him on at various points. I met 3 English guys up there and they waited with me to cheer him on - he definitely lifted his pace as he came past us! The guys were going to spray paint 'Go Jase' on the road but the spray can wouldn't work. Anyway I am not permitted to publish Jase's time as he is less than impressed. I didn't think it was too bad, all things considering.

Yesterday (Thurs) there was an event up the Alpe to raise money for cancer... 3000 mad Dutch cyclists cycling up it 6x each! They started at 5am, and the event close off was 9.30pm, so a long day. We went and watched a little of it at the base of the climb, and there were definitely some tired looking riders. Man the Dutch are a tall race!

Jase went for a ride to the "end of the world" yesterday (called that by the French as it comes to a dead end) - almost the flattest longish ride we could find with over 1000m of climbing! I went down to the park (about 50m) and took Jase's laptop and learnt French using David's CDs. I was a little embarrassed at first as people could hear it, but in the end it turned out great - they all absolutely loved the fact that I was trying to learn their lingo and several stopped for a chat! None quite so long as my new 54 year old French friend Gerard Arnold however! He talked to me for a good hour, and he didn't speak any English at all but somehow he managed to teach me a few things! It is quite funny as I was bagging the CD for teaching me irrelevant phrases such as asking someone if their children are big - I ended up pulling out all the French I knew - it turns out his daughter is in fact big (she is 29 afterall!) - she is 1m 84cm tall! So that phrase did end up being useful!

Yesterday afternoon Jase and I went to Vaujany (a mountain village 1200m altitude, and about 18km from here). The reason for our visit - the indoor swimming pool (I was starting to go mad without any exercise). Jase of course did not swim - reason being the fact that board shorts are banned in French pools! - only speedos or tight 'hot pants' are permitted! The woman at the desk spoke good English to me after I had tried my French, so I told her that in NZ it was 'uncool' for males to wear such outfits! She laughed and said she had heard this before and found it very strange. Jase then displayed his tan lines in an attempt to gain understanding from her -she simply laughed and said that his tan lines were no excuse! I will attach a photo of the sign on the pool door - comedy gold!

I swam 2.5km and man it was alot harder at altitude! I didn't think 1200m would affect me but it did. Maybe because I am not a good swimmer - I don't seem to notice the altitude as much on the bike. The pool was great though - the French have not seemed to embrace the German signature stroke of double armed backstroke thank goodness! I also had an actual roped off swimming lane to myself!

Today was a beautiful day. Jase went for a short recovery ride in the morning, then we went up the Lataret and the Galibier. The Galibier had heaps of snow (photos are above), and today was the first day it was open. Then we went and had a look around Briancon, and drove a little way up the Col d'Izzard. Was around 28 degrees today so hope to at least get a sun tan soon!

Well that is enough waffle. If anyone ever wants to visit paradise, this place is it - Bourg d'Oisans in the French Alpes (right at the base of the Alpe d'Huez).

Au revior
Jeanette