The 2011 route has been announced! We are pleased to say that the Tour will be on our doorstep for the 3 days prior to Paris, saving the best 'til last!

Stage 18, Gap to the Col du Galibier/Serre Chevalier on 21st July 2011 (via the col d'Agnel and Col d'Izoard - ouch!)
Stage 19, Modane to Alpe d'Huez on 22nd July 2011 (via cols Telegrape and Galibier)
and finally, a 41km individual time trial in Grenoble on 23rd July 2011

We can't wait!

Strong rumours from a reliable source, the newspaper Dauphine Libere, that the Etape du Tour 2011 will be either a stage finishing on Alpe d'Huez (from Modane via the Col du Galibier) or Pinerolo to the Col du Galibier. The rumoured date/s are 16th or 17th July 2011.

The actual Tour stages are said to be 21st July, Pinerolo - Col du Galibier and 22nd July, Modane - Alpe d'Huez. We have heard from another source that the 23rd will be a rest day.

We'll post more here or on our blog (http://kingofthemountains.blogware.com/blog) if and when we learn more.

Dauphine article: http://www.ledauphine.com/hautes-alpes/2010/09/25/les-hautes-alpes-accueilleront-l-etape-du-tour-velo-magazine

Our period of waiting is almost over.  Pending cloud cover, we will be setting out to test bike lights whilst riding the Marmotte sportive route on Tuesday night next week.  Bacon sandwiches at dawn on the Alpe d'Huez anyone?

Guy
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

The Marmotte went great yesterday for our guests - we counted out 11 and we counted them all back again - some in spectacular times too. 

I have put up around 60 photos of the event at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kingofthemountainssummer/LaMarmotte2010#

and we are also updating our photo of the day every day this summer season too - check it out at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kingofthemountainssummer/KingOfTheMountainsPhotoOfTheDay2010#

There you go! Happy viewing.

Guy & Helyn

www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

I had a charmed 24 hours yesterday.  Despite having loads of guests here, and people to drive to Geneva for flights, Helyn dropped me off in our beloved Trieves area for a night off.

The programme went roughly like this:

Saturday:
Picnic lunch en route by the river down by Valbonnais, including the world's longest sandwich.
Arrive in Mens, bright blue skies.  Set up tent.
Swim in the outdoor pool, eat ice cream (Helyn heads home).
More swimming and reading, quiet beer in town, shop for dinner.
Camping stove dinner of gnocchi and roast chicken, with a small glass of Ardechoise wine (thanks Auntie Liz).
Asleep by 9:30 (still in my clothes).

Sunday: 
Up at 6:30; quick breakfast and off to sign on for my mountain bike event (which started at the camp site).
7:45 on my way on the bike around some of the most spectacular scenery you could imagine (check our online photo gallery for more pictures (link)).  Great feed stops, great riding, a good mix of climbing, easy stuff and a bit more technical descending.
5 hours on the bike.
Back to base; meet Helyn, shower at the camp site, quick swim and off for post-ride food (delicious and all local).
3pm head for home to meet the first of our arriving Marmotte guests!

Thank you Helyn!

Guy
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

The opening of the Col du Galibier now means that anyone wanting to ride the Marmotte route can do so.

I popped out with Christian last Saturday for a liitle mountain bike pootle not far from Grenoble (at Saint-Paul de Varces) and it was lovely.  I even had a timely puncture, kindly aided by the feed stop people.  It is the first time they have run the event, and I hope they keep it up.  Lots of kids along for the 8km trundle too.  Good to get out.  I haven't done a lot this year.

Guy
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

The Galibier is still shut as of this morning. We'll keep you posted.

Yesterday we had an 'away-day' in Gap, about 2 hours south of here. It was more of an escape than an away-day really as it's been pretty wet and chilly here for a few days now so we were in search of some sun, warmth and dry tarmac. Though having seen the Giro highlights from yesterday I feel a bit of a lightweight saying that I didn't fancy riding in the rain!

We stopped off for a quick detour in Pont-Sarrazin (just off the N94 on the way between Gap and Chorges). This is the site of the dreadful Beloki crash (2003 Tour) and where Armstrong's evasive action took him on a short cut across a field. There was a little too much wheat sprouting for a re-enactment of the cross country route taken but we took a few snaps (see below).

Dan and Will (our regular annual 'season openers') had not ridden in Gap since they took part in the 2006 Etape du Tour (Gap to Alpe d'Huez), so it was nice for them to retrace some of the route and to see some of the beautiful scenery at a more reasonable pace! One of the most spectacular sights is the beautiful azure blue lake of 'Serre Poncon' on which there is a tiny island with a chapel perched at it's centre (see photo top left).

Just after snapping some photos of the lake, Will noticed a rather nasty cut in his front tyre with the tube just poking through. We were a good few kilometres away from the nearest bike shop in Embrun and it had just hit midday closing - time for lunch!

One giant sandwich and a Coke later we set off for Embrun via a lovely climb with great views back down to the lake. All of us were watching Will and his front wheel carefully on the descent. When I heard that chilling and unmistakable 'bang' that is a tyre blowing, I didn't expect to see Dan wrestling to control and slow his bike. Ironically, it was Dan's rear wheel that had blown, the walls were completely shredded and the tube like macrami around the rear mech' and brakes. Fortunately, due to good handling, Dan only had a small 'off' and minimal road rash and damage to himself. As for the rim of his back wheel, that didn't come off so well.

So, we had a 4km or so walk to an amazing bike shop (thank you Alpes 2 Roues) where Dan and Will both received new tyres and Dan a nice new and very shiny wheel.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the workshop Guy got busy borrowing tools and stripping all that was salvageable from the ruined wheel, this earned him the nickname 'Stig of the Dump', which has now stuck!

Now it was my turn for trouble, not mechanical but physical -empty legs! We had a fairly straightforward run to get back to the van but into a strong headwind (the windsurfers and kite surfers on the lake should have given me a clue as to what was in store!). I was finished and Guy, Dan and Will had to tow me back to Gap nursing me up even the most pathetic of inclines - still, at least Dan had a nice new wheel for me to follow for the duration!

Photos below and on our 'Photo of the day' album.

Helyn

This year, I have decided to mark our summer season with one photo every day, from the day of arrival of our first guests until the day of departure of the last ones.  It will hopefully capture the spirit of what we are up to here.  Today is the official start date.  Dan & Will, our traditional summer season openers (they're always keen to come and clock up a few early-season Alpine kilometres) arrived at Lyon airport today. 

The images will be displayed on our Picasa web gallery. 

Link:  http://picasaweb.google.com/kingofthemountainssummer/KingOfTheMountainsPhotoOfTheDay2010#

OR: link straight through from our kingofthemountains.co.uk homepage.

I can't promise that they will always be spectacular (some of them, I know, will be downright dull) but they should show the passing of the seasons, the Alps in full green spring splendour, high summer, all blues and whites and the amazing colours of autumn too.  There will hopefully even be the odd smiling face (and probably some tired ones too).

The last guests are currently pencilled in to leave on 2nd October, so, in theory, today's image will be the first of 142!

I hope you enjoy the ride!

Guy

www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

The Col de la Croix de Fer is open. As yet the Glandon is still closed.

Hooray!

The photo top left is from some recent marketing sent to us by France's ''Velo' magazine. This is the equivalent to our Cycling Weekly so you'd think they'd be able to find themselves a decent graphic designer or two!

Yesterday I headed over to the Savoie for a randonee that started over by Albertville (La Bathie to be precise).  I was due to drive a bunch of skiers back to the airport this morning (Sunday) and had planned to stay overnight in the Tarentaise, but the Icelandic dust cloud put paid to that, with the hapless skiers destined to a coach trip right through France instead!  Oh well, it didn't stop me getting out on the bike....

The weather was perfect and the start was at 1pm, giving the weather a good chance to warm up.  And warm up it did!  I am now sporting my first cycling tan lines of 2010 and very proud of them I am too...

It was a lovely tour, over some roads that I didn't know at all and, despite missing a turning, and hence the final col and 9km of the route, all went well.  Bill punctured, but was aided by a local with a garage full of tools and his own compressor, so even that went well!

Bring on summer!

Guy

PS: Met a lovely Devonian chap at the event, who loved the riding so much here in the Alps that he moved over from Plymouth two years ago to the foot of the col du Glandon, in the Maurienne valley.  One house renovation and a lot of work put in and he's now happily riding around the Alps to his heart's content.  Bravo Mike!

www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

These days it's worth coming here as much for the reading as the riding!

We started out with quite an array of books on the subject of cycling and triathlon and now, over time, the library has doubled thanks to some really generous donations and gifts from guests, friends and family. We would like to thank in person the following people, with a special mention going to Kirt who, from the States, has sent us 2 magnificent parcels brimming with some amazing titles (all packed out with coffee beans and other goodies).

Our thanks go out to:
Kirt, Jimmy, Will, Dan, Nick, Matt, Undies, George, Huw, Cycling Weekly, Frosty, Steven, Rob and Malatcha.

To give you a taster, a list of just some of the titles we have here:

The Rider, Tim Krabbe / Bad Blood, Jeremy Whittle / A Century of Cycling, William Fotheringham / Gold Rush, Phil O'Connor and Cycling Weekly / The Crooked Path to Victory, Les Woodland / Sex, Lies and Handelbar Tape, Paul Howard / Rough Ride, Paul Kimmage / It's Not About The Bike, Lance Armstrong / Put Me Back On My Bike, William Fotheringham / Inside The Postal Bus, Michael Barry / Push Yourself Just A Little Bit More, Johnny Green / The Death Of Marco Pantani, Matt Rendell / Breaking The Chain, Willy Voet / The Escape Artist, Matt Seaton / Fallen Angel - The Passion of Fausto Coppi, William Fotheringham / French Revolutions, Tim Moore / 23 Days In July, John Wilcockson / The Lance Armstrong Performance Programme, Armstrong & Carmichael / From Lance to Landis, David Walsh / We Might As Well Win, Johan Bruyneel / The Beautiful Machine, Graeme Fife....and many more!

And that's not to mention the local guides, ride profiles, maps and pile of cycling DVDs we also have!

So, if you have a holiday planned with us soon, pack your slippers as well as your cycling shoes and book your armchair!

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

We hinted in our 'Valley Rumblings' post last month that our local col, the Col d'Ornon, would soon be equipped with a couple of 'Timtoo' transceivers. This has now been confirmed for June/July 2010.

Also in the local area the following cols will receive transceivers: Les Deux Alpes, Col du Lautaret and the climb to Oz en Oisans.

The climb to Alpe d'Huez has had these transceivers installed for around 3 years now and they have been hugely successful. The Thursday time trials that run in July and August use these to time all participants.

With the use of a timing chip that you pop in the back pocket of your jersey, you can get accurate times of ascent on these climbs as you pass the Timtoo trancievers at the foot and summit. All results are then posted on the Timtoo website: timtoo.com

The timing chips are available to rent from the tourist office in Bourg d'Oisans and we have a couple here registered to King of the Mountains.

No more fumbling with the stopwatch!

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

There's no friendlier atmosphere to ride in over here than at a 'cylo-randonnee' event. There's no better value either at around EUR 7 for your ride, feed stations and post-ride food and drink (which is usually wine!).

The event that we went to yesterday was hosted by the 'Cyclo Club Gillonnay', a small village a little north of Grenoble airport. As usual the welcome for the 200 or so participants was warm and enthusiastic.

Guy had a mechanical problem before we set off (a loose crank arm) and within seconds of asking one of the hosting club members for a tool or two, he was surrounded by lots of incredibly helpful people one of whom was a qualified bike mechanic. Despite their enthusiasm and desire to help, it was pretty obvious that the problem was terminal and could not be fixed on the spot, they were so downhearted that they could not help Guy that they urged him to take down their mobile numbers and call if he needed rescuing en-route! So kind.

We had planned to ride the 90km circuit but in light of the crank arm wobbles, only rode 70km. These are totally non-competitive events so fortunately there is no mass start, you roll off whenever you fancy between the designated times (yesterday was 7:30 to 9:00am), we were pretty much the last to leave!

The route was mainly on a low, plain but with some short, sharp, typically English climbs, a perfect season opener. The plain was nearly all agricultural land; arable, fruit trees, some vines and livestock. It's basically what you see as you come into land at Grenoble airport. A good proportion of the route was on agricultural lanes and back roads. It was a lovely sight to see so many animals out in the fields enjoying the sun as much as us, particularly the spring lambs that had us and all the riders around us cooing!

There was an Easter fair in the village when we returned and the Gillonnay club had set up a beer tent as well as food and refreshments for us randonnee riders in the town hall. After this the serious cycling started; a kermesse, road race, a circuit of 17km x 5 which made us feel very pedestrian indeed!

A great cyclo-randonnee to kick off our season and a reminder of just how friendly and warm the world of French cycling is.

See photo top left and attached below.

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

It doesn't get much better for me than watching the Tour of Flanders whilst eating Easter chocolate! Even better to know that tomorrow we are heading off to a cyclo-randonnee event where I can burn off some of the calories gained from 'beheading' my life-sized, chocolate bunny!

(Picture below of giant chocolate rabbit!)

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

The weather is continuing to confuse us, and, it would seem, the French Met' Office too. The forecast for the coming week seems to be changing hourly and starkly; from snow to sun, from -2'C to +14'C.

For the time being we have adopted the 'make hay while the sun shines' attitude and downed tools whenever there is a window of good weather. Yesterday presented one of those windows of opportunity. Although a little chilly here in the village, the valley near Grenoble was around 15'C. We headed down in the minibus with our neighbour, Yves, and had a fantastic 70km ride - Guys' first road ride of 2010.

I say 'road' ride, but we spent a good proportion of the time on the Grenoble cycle path which runs for miles along the leafy banks of the Isere river. The path is fantastic; well surfaced, well signposted, nice and wide and a very safe and friendly environment to cycle. It is shared by walkers, runners, rollerbladers, people riding to and from work, etc. Anyone who has taken part in a Grenoble based cyclo-randonne event with us will have probably used at least a portion of this path for the first few kilometres as it takes you - traffic free - to the outskirts of the city and to some great country roads and climbs.

Good thing that we were not on the roads closer to home as the freeze-thaw and constantly changing temperatures brought down a sizeable rock face on the road to home the other day (picture top left) - another good reason to wear a helmet!

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

What is going on with the weather here?

On Tuesday we were out on our mountain bikes lapping up the sun, trundling down the Col d'Ornon to Valbonnais on trails dotted with primroses and surrounded by trees about to burst into green life again. Our trail was interrupted twice by the paths of recent avalanches and as as we hauled the bikes over these we all thought that was the last we'd be seeing of snow for a while.

In total contrast the very next day it snowed and it has done just about every day since then. Fortunately it's the light spring snow that doesn't hang about so the shovels have not had to be employed but the welly boots have as it's been a slush-fest!

The fresh snow was however encouraging for Sunday as we had signed-up for our last cross country ski race of the season at Les Saisies in the Savoie. We have only ever skied there once before and it was paradise. The area boasted probably the best groomed and most perfect pistes we have ever come across. Despite the recent fresh snow, conditions on Sunday could not have been more different; hard packed snow and ice, rutted and pitted making falls (we both had then!) painful and hard. It was a day to take a pedestrian pace and just finish with the minimum of bruises and no broken bones! All was forgiven when we arrived at the hall for the end of race meal. We were greeted by the sight of two wood fired 'cauldrons' and a marvelous aroma of cooking sausages - joy! Amazing what a good bit of mountain food can do to pep you up!

For photos of mountain biking, the 'Etoiles des Saisies' ski race and of course the sausages, see top left.

Helyn

The snow is finally on the move in the village, the waterfalls along the valley are spouting back into life and the stream at the bottom of the garden is in full swirl and gurgle. On Friday were able to use the road next to the house for the first time since November, making unloading shopping and building materials seem effortless, no more 'It's a Knockout' 500 metre waddles with plasterboard and bags of cement!

Fortunately there was just enough snow at the top of the col for the inaugural 'Trail Ornon' on Saturday; a running race on the snow over 10km or 20km and a 1km or 500m event for children. Unfortunately the snow was very soft which made for chilly toes and some erratic running styles, but despite this it was really well attended (photos) and hence has made it's mark on the map for coming years. I took part in the 10km event and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had the added advantage of knowing most of the marshals along the route so got some very enthusiastic encouragement!

After the race it was back home for a cake baking marathon: 2 x lemon drizzle, 1 x coffee and walnut, 1x carrot cake, 2x batches of brownies. These were all whizzed off to an English/French charity night where they were sold to raise some money to send groups of French language students to London this summer. The evening was really lovely with a fair 50:50 mix of English and French, all very friendly, that was until the rugby was put on to a big screen....I soon took my leave!

The following day, Sunday, was less pleasant for another event taking place on our valley; 'Oisans Ski Cimes', a well established ski touring race that covers some of the higher peaks opposite our house and beside the Col d'Ornon. Sadly attendance was down about 50% due to rain and high winds. Some of our friends and neighbours who were marshaling at the higher and more exposed positions on the course are still thick with colds now.

Guy and I did a bit of cross training/active recovery on the Sunday afternoon on the banks of the lake at Aix-Les- Bains. Don't really know how to describe the contraption we hired (photo top left and below) apart from 'a bicycle made for two'!

 This coming weekend we will be having our last cross country ski of the season at an event on Sunday and then it's out with the 'real' bikes.

Helyn

Despite the fact that I still have to scrape the windscreen on the van in the morning, that I ski-ed at lunchtime on the col today and the toilet froze last week, there are signs here that spring is coming.  The freezing level shot up today and I even did a bit of bike tinkering.  When the sun comes out  it has real warmth, the birds are singing and dog poos that were deposited back in December 2009 are rearing their ugly brown heads in the village....it's (almost) all good....

Guy
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

Some very local news, or maybe it would be better to call it 'rumour'...

Rumour has it that this summer 'Timtoo' are going to place more transceivers in our area including on our very own Col d'Ornon (possibly on Col du Lautaret too and the La Berarde climb). List of existing timed routes.

This means that with the use of timing chips (available from us or Bourg d'Oisans Tourist Office) you can get an accurate ascent time of our col from the valley. Only problem is that you have to resist a King of the Mountains cake and tea 'pit stop' en-route!

Other rumour is that gradient/distance markers will be installed on some climbs in the area too. Most people like this sort of information when riding, they are certainly very popular and prolific in the Pyrenees.

We'll see how this progresses and if rumour turns into reality. We'll keep you posted.

Valley fact is that the 2010 'Lignarre Valley' hill climb series dates have been confirmed for Friday 16th, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th July (Col d'Ornon, Oulles and Villard Reymond).

Come on down to get on up!

Helyn

Hooray! Had the first ride of 2010 on Friday. A sunny, sunny beautiful day spent with our friend Colette. We rode in the Chartreuse mountains and opened the 'account' with a 20km spin - quality not quantity, blue skies and the most amazing cliff faces around us, still clinging on to snow like the fir trees that we rode through.

What a sensation after nearly 4 months of not being able to regularly ride. The sound of clipping into the pedals, the noise of the freewheel and the wind whistling past your ears, heaven! After my 20km taster I was like a junkie having just had a 'hit' and wondering where my next fix would come from.

My next fix was the following day, yesterday. I could not resist. Equally as sunny as Friday, not a cloud in the sky, but it was deceptive as there was a cold northerly wind blowing for the second part of the ride that took temperatures down to around -3'C at times.

Guy was heading to Geneva in the minibus so dropped me off en-route in Vizille where I rode home via some fairly main roads (though very quiet) over the col d'Ornon and back into the village (http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/france/livet-et-gavet/565126789810711147). The route was uphill for most of the way but it was all pretty steady. I had been so excited to get out again that I made some terrible schoolboy errors:

1. Forgot to take a spare tube
2. Did not take enough food for the journey
3. Did not check my pre-prepared water bottle thus did not realise that is was a solid block of ice on leaving

The first half of the ride did nor provide any opportunities to rectify 1-3 above but by La Mure, around half way, I'd got a fancy Michelin tube and a sandwich that was about 1.5ft long and rammed with enough cheese and ham to keep the hungriest of cyclists going. It was too cold to hang about and eat the sandwich so I ate on the move - not that I needed proof of how cold it was at that point, but the ham kept freezing between mouth fulls!

The ride up the col d'Ornon from Valbonnais was really beautiful. The birds were in full song and the sky was still cloudless and azure blue, a great contrast to the snow still laying around about. There have been some fairly impressive avalanches along the valley here and the evidence of this is scarily apparent; piles of heavy snow set like concrete sometimes just metres away from the road and villages.

The final descent to home was as thrilling as it was chilling and within minutes of being back in the house I was in the shower and having a great big mug of hot chocolate. Something else I've missed about riding these past few months; that after a ride it's the simplest of things like a shower and a warm drink that feel like sheer luxury!

A chilly spell now but I am avidly watching the thermometer for the next opportunity to get back out there...

Helyn
www.kingofthemountains.co.uk

The podcast that we recorded for Julia Armstrong is now live!

Here's the link:

http://www.juliaarmstrong.com/index.php?id=680

In the podcast we touch upon riding Alpe d'Huez, cyclosportives, the Marmotte, cakes and much much more!

This is our podcast debut but we are willing to take up any offers from the BBC; the shipping forecast or maybe a bit part in the Archers beckons!!

Helyn

Julia's website: http://www.juliaarmstrong.com/index.php

Yesterday we visited a really beautiful valley just the other side of Briançon (near the Col d'Izoard), the Val des Prés valley named after the beautiful Clarée river that runs its length. Also along the valley are several small hamlets and villages, all stone with lovely churches and chapels dating back to the 15th century. The tourist office boasts that the valley has 300 days of sunshine a year and yesterday it lived up to that reputation.

From the minute we set off from home it was beautifully clear and bright but deceptively cold despite the sun. It was -15'C when we arrived to sign on and pick up our race numbers from the race HQ hosted in a large hall. Fortunately the hall was dotted with radiators where skiers huddled to thaw out fingers and toes and warm up boots and gloves before heading to the start line.

The start of the event was staggered with women going off a few minutes before the men. The start was a proper Olympic style line up with tracks for each person to glide along in for a few metres (think scalectrix) and then pop out of to start the 'skating' ski motion.

There was a fantastic atmosphere and with such a wide open valley great views and sunshine all around. The route followed rivers, took small paths through forests, took us over little bridges and, then snaked through the narrow streets of various little villages. Whenever it passed through a village the residents were out in force with their cheers and clanging cow bells. There were also musicians along the way including an accordionist and a great drum and brass band playing  their own oom pa pa versions of some less traditional songs (Radiohead's 'Creep' being one example).

Sadly, I pulled up after only about 10km as I was feeling really rough. It's rare for me to 'DNF' as I normally love suffering, but yesterday I felt empty - I'm probably getting the cold Guy was getting over. Guy raced with a 'kill or cure' attitude to his cold and I think crossing the finish line it felt a lot like 'kill'. Without going into too much gory detail I think he at least cleared his blocked nose and sinuses along the way!

The sun was so bright and strong that the post-race meal was an outdoor affair with a big barbecue of sausages and dauphinoise potatoes, again accompanied by the brass band. Despite my lack of kilometres I still got tucked in!

The whole event was so picturesque and well organised and thought through from the friendly marshalls to the hand crafted wooden trophies for the winners (sadly no wooden spoons for team KOTM!).

On the way home we stopped for hot chocolate, beer and cakes to celebrate the 8th 'birthday' of our neighbour, Yves, who was with us at the event. He had what he calls his second chance at life 8 years ago to the day after he was trapped under snow in an avalanche for nearly 45 minutes and miraculously survived. Anyway, that's another story!

Helyn

Yesterday the cross country ski centre on the Col d'Ornon hosted an introduction to biathlon.

This is a sport that we have been keen to have a go at ever since we started cross country ski-ing. What could be more fun than the combination of ski-ing and guns?!

The taster day yesterday was a very toned down version of the biathlon that we have been watching at the winter Olympics; for a start our guns had no live ammunition but lasers. Also, to avoid accidents we neither wore our skis when shooting (apparently harder than it looks) nor carried the guns around the little 600m loop that they had set up for us to ski on.

One thing that I have often thought looked hard is holding the gun steady having just stopped ski-ing, to calm your breathing and heart rate so as not to disrupt your aim. I found it really difficult and having skied was a lot less accurate than when shooting 'fresh'. A couple of our neighbours who were there turned out to be naturals with the gun (note to self never to mess with them!!).

At the end of the day we split into 10 teams of 2 and lined up for a relay biathlon race. Guy skied and I did the shooting. 3 x 600m laps for Guy and 2 sets of 5 targets for me. To be fair, Guy is a much better shot than me but he's also quicker on the skis too! It was all very light hearted and there was a great atmosphere - one team of two had been passing by and wanted to join in but had no skis with them, instead they ran the course - in moon boots!!

I shall be watching the biathlon this evening to see how easy the pros make it all look - not a pair of moon boots in sight I'm sure!

Helyn

See photos here:

In the next couple of weeks we are due to feature in a podcast with Julia Armstrong: (Julia Armstrong podcast).

I doubt our chat about cycling, Alpe d'Huez and the Alps will get as many hits as the latest podcast with the sex and relationship writer Nicci Talbot!!

It was lovely chatting to Julia, who we have known for quite some years now through a mutual friend and running. Just talking about the summer, riding and the cols out here has got me very excited about the fact that spring is just around the corner!

We'll post a link when the exact date of broadcast has been decided upon.

Helyn
Visit www.juliaarmstrong.com/index.php

There will be a new event on Alpe d'Huez this summer ' 21 Virages Pour La Vie', roughly translated this means '21 Hairpins for Life'.

The event will take place on Sunday 23rd May 2010.

This is a  charity ride to raise money and awareness for a children's cancer charity 'Everyone has their own personal Everest'. The idea is based on a similar Dutch event where riders complete several ascents of Alpe d'Huez in 12 hours. Last year at the Dutch event 'Alpe d'Huzez' riders completed anything between 1-6 climbs with the maximum being an impressive 9 times.

Riders can start from any time between 7am and 12 midday and must set off for their last ascent before 7pm.

For more information contact the tourist office in Bourg d'Oisans or Bike Oisans: http://www.bike-oisans.com/

Good luck!

Helyn

As the Winter Olympics started yesterday, we too have been making our small efforts at competitive winter sports!

We have taken part in 2 races so far this season each time travelling and racing with a small team from our village and it's neighbouring hamlets (see pictures top left and below).

The first race, 'La Foulee Blanche', a huge event in the Vercors mountains attracting several thousand participants over 2 days (see photos of the masses on the home page of their website: http://www.lafouleeblanche.com/)

The second event, last Sunday, was a much smaller affair; only around 150-200 participants, but equally as well organised and super friendly. With that number of skiers it was a small enough 'pond' for 5 out of the 7 'big fish' in our village team to win trophies!

Next race on the calendar for us is the 21st February, a considerable step up from our previous 20 and 30km to 42km - we'd better get some training in...

Helyn
4 photos:

Timing yourself up Alpe d'Huez is hard not to do! I'm always amazed as to where I am on the climb after 37minutes 35 seconds have passed - it's certainly not heading for the podium and a shower like Pantani in '97!

To make life easier for riders, for the past 3 years a company called 'Timtoo' have produced timing chips and installed transceivers to take some of the hassle out of the timing yourself up the 21 hairpins. As a rider with a chip in his or her jersey pocket passes a transceiver at the very base of the climb the timing starts. A split time is given level with the Alpe d'Huez tourist office ('vieil Alpe') and a final time at the official tour finish ('mythique'). The times are then registered on the Timtoo website:Timtoo results page link.

The timing chips are available for hire at a kiosk next to the tourist office in Bourg d'Oisans from end May/June time. We at King of the Mountains also have a couple of these chips (results for guests using our chips are listed under club name 'King of the Mountains').

Timtoo have a host of other climbs and cols where these chips can be used (list of routes), most recently added are 3 ending at the summit of Mont Ventoux:

Buis les Baronnies - Mont Ventoux
Nyons - Mont Ventoux
Montelimar - Mont Ventoux (last stage of 2009 Tour de France)

Happy timing!

Helyn

What a great idea and a great cause too. Coming to an area near you in summer 2010:

http://www.millionmilebikeride.com/

Our friend Russell Standring of Grenoble Cycling Pages put together the little video on the Million Mile Bike Ride home page featuring cyclists riding the Challenge Dauphine Libere cyclosportive last year. See if you can spot King of the Mountains cyclists; a starter for 10 is Guy on the yellow opening credits...

For other videos by Russell that give a great idea of the riding here (Marmotte and other sportives) see: http://www.youtube.com/user/standringr

The photo page on his website is pretty amazing too as is the A-Z of climbs in the area.

Helyn

Around 2ft of snow fell here yesterday and there's more on the way...

A popularly held belief is that the Inuit or Eskimo have a word for every different type of snow, I however have one alone: horrible!

Guy embraces snow, loves the stark seasonality of winters here, for him the novelty has not yet worn off even in this our 7th winter in the Alps. For me the novelty never really arrived. I am just not a winter person, never have been (see photo top left not exactly loving it!). It is not my natural environment, I lose feeling in my fingers at the mere thought of making a snowman or snowball and as for sledging...

I'm wondering if back in the UK the novelty of 'Frozen Britain' has worn off yet? Though having a legitimate excuse not to have to go into work is a bonus I suppose. The trouble with the French Alps is that nothing stops for snow, or rarely, you just have to get out and get on with it (how does the snow plough driver get to work?).

French people are very keen to have a pop at British weather and believe we live under constant rain, 'cats and dogs'. Well, I'd rather good old cats and dogs than penguins and polar bears or whatever the equivalent quantitative term is for snow.

For a start rain tends to run away and does not have to be shoveled away like snow. Rain is warmer than snow. Rain washes away dog poo (a blight of some French towns) unlike snow which preserves it as an unpleasant spring 'time capsule'. Rain is an honest wet unlike snow that sits on you, inert, until you get back into the warm and then soaks you. Rain brings rainbows, green grass, flowers and does not erase the colour of your surroundings. Rain washes the car not buries it.

I know I'm a grumpy old git. I should not complain as I do benefit from snow too - I love cross country ski-ing and those blue sky days when it's all twinkly can be stunning. And, after all, I did choose to live in the Alps so it would be ridiculous of me to expect anything else in January.

I suppose I am just going through 'the winter blues'. The fact that a chionophobe (came over all Stephen Fry then) like me puts up with this for 4-5 months of the year is just testament to how amazing it is here in spring and summer. All that shoveling, shivering and falling over is forgotten the minute I see those green shoots, buds and flowers of spring in our valley!

Helyn

We ended 2009 with a marathon fortnight of socialising, eating, drinking and French culture. We spent both Christmas and new years eve in the company of some very good French friends and their families. We could not have been made to feel more welcome and have certainly learned a few things about French customs, revelry and gastronomy!

Christmas in France is typically celebrated on the evening of 24th December when all gather for an evening meal, to open gifts, etc. We started with aperitifs at around 7:30pm which included 'champagne soup' - a dangerously refreshing cocktail of cognac, cointreau and champagne. Fortunately it was not far to the dinner table where I soon lost count of courses, though I do remember; oysters, smoked salmon, foie gras, escargots, frogs legs, beef, yule log, chocolate mousse and a different wine for almost every course...we waddled away from the table at about 2am, marvelous! New years eve was much the same and started with another champagne soup concoction - no wonder we all found ourselves dancing in the kitchen until the small hours!

Whilst we did have a white Christmas, snow has been pretty scant thus far this December, intermittent rain has meant that there is much less about than this time last year. Bad for ski resorts but it has allowed us to have a few unexpected bike rides.

Last Sunday I rode along the Tarentaise valley in the Savoie region. Although there was snow on the high peaks, I stayed low and south facing so enjoyed sun for most of the morning. I rode among vineyards for the good part of the ride - it was like a ride along the shelves of Oddbins; Chignin to Chateauneuf. After the vineyards I continued on from Albertville on a beautiful cycle path, along the 'Olympic Valley', past some of the sites of the '92 winter Olympics, past the foot of the col du Madeleine and on to Moutiers. At this point I had lost the sun and it had started snowing so I was glad to meet up with my knight in a shining minibus, Guy, who whisked me away for a hot chocolate and to be reunited with my new Christmas gift of a down filled jacket!

Our new year was spent in the south of France, near St Tropez. By the time we had driven through Gap we had left the snow behind and on our arrival at the coast it was a good + 10'C more than it has been here. Despite packing overshoes, skull cap and windproof leggings, these did not get an airing as we were able to ride in shorts. What a novelty in December; sea, sand, boats and harbours. Like my last ride there were some more vineyards (Cotes de Provence) but unlike my last ride I was not the only cyclist on the road and there was not a snowflake in sight!

2010 - I have certainly started as I'd like to go on; friends, family, fun, food and cycling!

Happy new year to you all from us.

Helyn & Guy