Sunday, July 20, 2008
Hotel Au Bon Accueil
It's raining a little bit this morning. Luckily we're not in a rush to get going. The hotel we are staying is called the Hotel Au Bon Accueil. It caters to cyclists, especially the Dutch. I just thought I'd through in a few photos of the place so you can see how plush we're living over here. We're outside of Bourg d'Oisans by about 10km (Bourg d'Oisans is near the bottom of L'Alpe d'Huez) - near a little commune called Venosc. From the hotel, we can ride a whole bunch of rides - Alpe d'Huez, Col de Sarene, Les Deux Alpes, Col d'Ornon, Col de la Croix de Fer, Col de Telegraph, Col de Galibier, and a few more that aren't quite as well known. We are also a short drive from a bunch of others. I think tomorrow we will drive to Briancon and hit the Col d'Izoard.
Here's a picture of downtown Bourg d'Oisans. Seems like the place is goi
ng to be going crazy these nxt few days, with the tour ending on Alpe d'Huez on Tuesday, and leaving from town on Wednesday. I'd bet that some of these places make a good chunk of their annual revenue in this one week of the year.
Here is the view from my window - I couldn't get both mountains in one shot, so this one is to the left...
And here is the view to the right..
Here is the viewing room for the tour - more of a big 3-sided shed outside with a big screen tv. It has chairs, couches, and all sorts of tour memorabilia - unfortunately it is all in Dutch, so I can't read any of it.
Here is Gary getting another plate of pasta. That's all for today - I'm hoping the thunderstorm will pass and we can ride, but then again, a forced day off might be a good thing. I probably won't take one by choice, but I'm sure my body could use it. I think I've climbed about 33,000+ ft in the last 6 days - and only ridden about 290 miles. I think I might be close to 50,000ft for the first 10 days - that's the equivalent of climbing to Mt Bachelor about 20 times. A demain!
