At the summit of Col du Galibier
Today we rode a total of 62 miles and climbed ~8200 feet, or nearly 30% the height of Mount Everest. 6800 of those were in the first half of the ride from our house to the top of the Col du Galibier.
I realized I lost my driver’s license, debit card, and ~€35 somewhere between leaving the town of La Grave for the summit of Galibier, and returning back to La Grave. While it took just 21 minutes to come back down the mountain to town, it had taken over an hour and forty minutes of non-stop climbing to reach the summit. Maybe you had to be there, but not turning back to reclimb in search of the cards was a no-brainer. Hopefully I have enough cash to finish out the trip.
It was a long ride. And the day ended with our usual climb up 30% of the height of Alpe d’Huez, with my Garmin reading 103.6F. It made me wish for the beer hand-up I got on my ascent yesterday.
En route to Galibier
Unbelievable scenery
Chris puttin’ the hurt on up Col du Galibier
Climbing Col du Lautaret
Sound of Music, anyone?
We took advantage of snowmelt-streams to cool off
- Three of the 6 of us that summitted today
Temporary Travels 
Hey Brother,
I just told the crew what you are doing and they pretty much say they are jealous, you suck… oh yeah and they hope your having fun 🙂
Can’t wait to have lunch when you get back.
Always,
Doug
DOUG! I didn’t know you still followed my blog! Glad to hear it’s being read by someone other than family (no offense family!). Next year I’ll bring the office with me!
Sorry for your losses. Hope things get better. . . Quick question – Are you seeing a lot of other riders out climbing that ridiculous mountain, or are you Americans the only crazy ones? daad
Tons of other climbers! Most seem to also be not-French, but few obvious Americans. Nearly all are middle-to-older-aged white men, and tons of folks are on group tours.