Weight Weenies

Calnago wrote: ↑

Mon May 28, 2018 5:01 pm

@chunkytfg: Keep going! It’s such a beautiful climb. From which side are you climbing? More pics please... and it’s a great excuse to take breaks.

We climbed it from the south coming from Bourg d'Oisan. All the way to the top. Both myself and the Gf are new to the alps with neither of us ever doing serious mountain passes before. IT's epic round here however it would be nice to find some climbs that dont spend all there time above 10%

We are staying in a chalet up Alp dHuez between bends 4 and 6. Means a bit of a hike to get home!



IMG_4948 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

IMG_4960 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

IMG_4949 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

IMG_4962 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

Nice pics!
Looks chilly however....

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TonyM wrote: ↑

Mon May 28, 2018 5:34 pm

Nice pics!
Looks chilly however....

Not to bad. MAybe 18DegC. We got rained on towards the top and left the jackets on for the ride down

Indeed often like this in the Alps. One side is nice and sunny but the rain can come very suddenly on the other side. So my experience.

chunky666 wrote: ↑

Mon May 28, 2018 5:32 pm

Both myself and the Gf are new to the alps with neither of us ever doing serious mountain passes before. IMG_4962 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

She's a keeper.
As the person responsible for ensuring my wife is properly equipped for our rides, might I suggest you find her some knickers or knee warmers and a wind vest?

That’s how you learn....🤪

ms6073 wrote: ↑

Mon May 28, 2018 7:29 pm

She's a keeper.
As the person responsible for ensuring my wife is properly equipped for our rides, might I suggest you find her some knickers or knee warmers and a wind vest?

That she is!

Gilet was in her back pockets along with full finger gloves. Legs were not cold so didnt need them. If we bought her knickers they would be more like full tights she is so short!! lol

Trust me she has all the kit and knows when to use it and when not to. She suffers with the cold once the temp dips to freezing but once its inot the teens( centigrade) it's no longer an issue

The Abolutely Stunning, and somewhat easier than the day before, Col d'Ornon. Just a short ride up and back followed by coffee today. Tomorrow its Alp d'Huez and Col d'Serenne to round out a great 4 days riding.

IMG_4982 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

IMG_4977 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

IMG_4976 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

IMG_4966 by chunkytfg, on Flickr

Yepp that sounds much easier...

Good morning:

I was in the area where Tuscany meets Umbria for a time and managed to do some rides. Some observations about the area:
- very pretty, olive groves, medieval hilltop towns. One ends up stopping a lot to visit old churches.
- it's a hilly area, constantly up and down. In 100 km you add >2000m without having climbed anything significant
- roads are typically good in Tuscany but in Umbria the right side where cyclists are suposed to ride are often disastrously ripped up, potholed. Not everywhere but impossible to predict. But Umbria is less touristy, very charming.
- white roads are typically very good, especially when flat/tish. Grade is hard to predict, there are sudden rises at 10-15%, which may be damaged after storms (there were many storms...). Be ready for anything. The italian Touting Club maps don't indicate clearly what's white vs blacktop.
- drivers are generally considerate of cyclists

some pics
below Monteleone d'Orvieto


near Cortona


white road


Carnaiola


Lugnano

chunky666 wrote: ↑

Tue May 29, 2018 12:15 pm

The Abolutely Stunning, and somewhat easier than the day before, Col d'Ornon. Just a short ride up and back followed by coffee today. Tomorrow its Alp d'Huez and Col d'Serenne to round out a great 4 days riding.

Nice photos!
If you have never done big mountains before the Ornon might have been a better starting point then the Croix de Fer :p
Love that climb as well, nice rolling roads. If you are looking for another nice easy spin climb nearby check out Les Deux Alpes.

Rondje wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 01, 2018 8:53 am

chunky666 wrote: ↑

Tue May 29, 2018 12:15 pm

The Abolutely Stunning, and somewhat easier than the day before, Col d'Ornon. Just a short ride up and back followed by coffee today. Tomorrow its Alp d'Huez and Col d'Serenne to round out a great 4 days riding.

Nice photos!
If you have never done big mountains before the Ornon might have been a better starting point then the Croix de Fer :p
Love that climb as well, nice rolling roads. If you are looking for another nice easy spin climb nearby check out Les Deux Alpes.

Yeah you could be right although the weather forecast for the days we were there was looking so bad in places we had to pick each day depending on how long we were going to be out. In the end it turned out the weather was glorious sun till about 1pm then it would cloud over and start raining about 4 every single day!

Les Deux Alpes looks nice but we only had the 4 days there unfortunately and we are now back home after a 12 hour drive yesterday.

wingguy wrote: ↑

Sat May 26, 2018 12:14 am

On the virtual road today, got to play around with a legend of the UK TT scene and Polish cycling Marcin Bialoblocki on our fit machine ahead of his further 10 and 25 record attempts and reclaim of the Polish Nats title

Thanks for those photos. Marcin has absolutely destroyed short distance time trial records in UK lately. He took the 10-mile record from (I think) 17:20, Alec Dowsett no less, to a mind-blowing 16:35. He has similarly obliterated the 25-mile record which was 45:xx and, as of a couple of weeks ago, is now an astonishing 42:58. This season he has his sights set on 50 miles and possibly 100 miles also so stay tuned.

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@chunky666, great pics. You're a far, far better man than me...