Great climb with some great views.
Half of the group got in the van at the bottom to get a ride back up to the hotel. At first, I was one of them but for some silly reason, at the last second, I asked Curtis to get my bike down from the top of the van so I could ride up. 59min of pure misery!
-bosch
Then down a crazy fast descent (no guard rails on these roads) to 700m. Where I began the Col du Telegraphe (12K of 7% to 9%) up to 1566m. From there it was a small decent to the town of Vallorie (1410m) and the start of the Col du Galibier. This climb is just over 18K long and starts off easy with 1K at 8% and then easies up with 3K of 2-3%. But on that day there was the worst headwind (I'm guessing 30-40mph) I've ever ridden in. At full gas, all I could get out from the engine was 10-12kph. Now that I'm totally turned inside-out, I start the real part of the climb. 10K of 8% and the final K at 10% up to an elevation of 2648m. 
Not really that hard of a climb, but with the wind, and it's getting stronger as I go up, this climb was a beast! By the time I reached the top, over an hour and a half to do the 10K, I was getting tossed around by 60mph+ winds.
Not a bad climb for me, but to carry a backpack (15lbs) up a 26K climb on the 2nd day???
The switchbacks at the top.
-bosch
-Bosch
Have you met Matt P. yet? Here he is throwing down with the rest of the Cat 5 riders in Watsonville in his new Sierra Pacific kit. He's a new racer out of Fresno that likes to ride hard. On the final lap he towed another rider all the way around the course for him to get over taken right before the line to come in second. Nice work.
Sat. July 18, 2009, Eric put the hurt on the Masters 35/45 crit. He worked the field including all 15 of the San Jose riders to take 1st. A great win.
