Another amazing day. Even more amazing than yesterday, if that's at all possible.
Two reasons:
- We rode twice as hard and climbed twice as high (total ascent of 2,240 meters) today as we did yesterday, and
- We watched the Stage 14 mountaintop stage finish from no more than 10 feet away from the best cyclists in the world
At 930AM we set off from our hotel in Figaredo and cycled 76km (45 miles) to the ski resort of Fuentes de Invierno (1500 meters, 26 km long!), via the Cat. 1 Alto de la Colladona (850 meters, 8.5km long) and the Cat. 1 Puerto de Arnicio (910 meters, 12km long).
I never thought I could successfully tackle something like this, and so when we all arrived at the top of our third, grueling climb, it was an amazing feeling of accomplishment!
Our mountain climb speeds never got past 6mph for the most part, but the descents were fast & scary! John T. is much more comfortable speeding down mountain passes than I am, and was routinely seen hurtling down all of today's "cols" faster than 45MPH!
As we approached our third and final climb of the day (a really grueling 26K with an average 8% grade) the crowds got bigger and bigger, as many thousands of people walked, biked and drove up some or all of the mountain to watch the stage finish at the top. What was great was that the Spaniards (and most Europeans, for that matter) are huge cycling fans and were very supportive as we tourists tooled by, chanting, "venga, venga, venga!" (go! go! go!)
We arrived at the top, exhausted, sweaty and covered in grime, but on top of the world....we had about an hour before the pros came up the very same mountain we had just climbed and we got into position at the finish to watch Alberto Contador and Team Astana take the win for a second day in a row. A very good day indeed :-)
Tomorrow our day will begin with a shuttle to see Stage 15 festivities in Cuidillero; it's the first time that this colorful fishing port has hosted a stage start. After watching the beginning of the race, we'll ride part of the stage route ourselves and have the opportunity to climb up to the Puerto de Somiedo, known simply as the "Puertu" to the locals - this is a category 1 climb that borders the Asturias and Castilla y Leon provinces.
More soon,
John G.
1 comment:
Bravo John G. and John T. I so admire the passion and glee you bring to this trip. Thanks for reminding me how important it is to have something fun and inspiring in our lives!
Post a Comment