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velotel
12-31-2012, 10:00 AM
The sandwich being ride on the last day, ride on the first day. Doesn’t happen all the time here. Lots of years too cold, too much snow. Thought that was going to be the case this year but then the snow went and melted under an onslaught of rain and warmth. Rolled out the bike this afternoon for a quick out and back on the plateau. Out to the Col de Marcieu and back. No idea how many times I’ve ridden it over the years. A lot. Never tire of it.

Temp colder than a couple days ago when I rode Col de Cochette. Posted pics from that ride. But not much colder. Today I wore gloves. Didn’t on Cochette. Took the camera along again. Some shots as evidence that on 31 December 012, I rode my bike. Sweet. Sandwich to be completed tomorrow. Hopefully.

Some shots from the ride for no reason at all. First one taken a couple hundred meters from my house, Mont Blanc in the distance. Shot Mont Blanc a few times along the way. I like being able to see that summit. One of those idiosyncrasies. Actually the Italian side of the mountain is what I see. The summit is french. Back when France was the muscle they got to draw the frontier. They bent it around the summit to keep it to themselves. I doubt the mountain cares.

In the last shot you can see the summit of the big tram at Alpe d’Huez. Barely of course. Don’t have a long enough lens for more. It’s on the summit in the far background just about in the middle of the shot. Consider that like one of those pilot announcements telling the tiny percentage of passengers with a window what’s below.

tv_vt
12-31-2012, 10:23 AM
Nice pics. Looks deserted. See any other riders out there this time of year or are you an outlier?

How long have you lived there? Do you feel isolated or have you been able to make enough friends and contacts to feel like you fit in there? (asks someone who's thought about living in the Alps...)

Cheers and 'bon chance' on your ride tomorrow. (I'll be playing tennis,... indoors.)

velotel
12-31-2012, 10:49 AM
Nice pics. Looks deserted. See any other riders out there this time of year or are you an outlier?

How long have you lived there? Do you feel isolated or have you been able to make enough friends and contacts to feel like you fit in there? (asks someone who's thought about living in the Alps...)

Cheers and 'bon chance' on your ride tomorrow. (I'll be playing tennis,... indoors.)
Not really deserted but up here the density factor is low.

Been here close to 20 years now. Not isolated. My wife is french. The fit is fine. I love living here. On the other hand must admit to a wee bit of envy to go live in the Piedmonte region of Italy. Warmer climate, great food, italian lifestyle.

oldpotatoe
12-31-2012, 11:59 AM
Not really deserted but up here the density factor is low.

Been here close to 20 years now. Not isolated. My wife is french. The fit is fine. I love living here. On the other hand must admit to a wee bit of envy to go live in the Piedmonte region of Italy. Warmer climate, great food, italian lifestyle.

Boo-hiss...too beautiful...

Next time I see Matt I'm gonna punch him in the shoulder..tell him to pass it on next time he sees you.

velotel
12-31-2012, 01:16 PM
Boo-hiss...too beautiful...

Next time I see Matt I'm gonna punch him in the shoulder..tell him to pass it on next time he sees you.
You might just be able to do that yourself. Good chance of a trip to Boulder next spring. Happy New Year

gemship
12-31-2012, 01:40 PM
roads look clean do they salt and sand?

Llewellyn
12-31-2012, 05:28 PM
Looks like a beautiful part of the world. I love mountains :)

67-59
12-31-2012, 06:27 PM
Always love your picturesque posts, velotel.

Did the first half of my sandwich here in Minnesota. Really cold (about 15F), but it has been a couple of days since the last snow, so I found an area exposed to the sun that was mostly dry. A chilly 26 miles.

Tomorrow is supposed to be even colder (high of about 10F), but it's supposed to be sunny so I'll go to the same sun-exposed stretch to complete the sandwich. Can't do that every year with a skinny-tire road bike in Minnesota.:banana:

oldpotatoe
01-01-2013, 07:55 AM
You might just be able to do that yourself. Good chance of a trip to Boulder next spring. Happy New Year

C'mon down to the shop and have a crappy american beer or we can show ya some single malt scotch or some 'TeKillYa'.

We work on a guys bike who distributes really nice wine also...and maybe there are a few rides with Matt in your future, here. We have tried to hurt Matt but kid is a strong one.

Happy New Year-

And if ya need to borrow a bike, we have a few we can set up for ya.

maxn
01-01-2013, 11:37 AM
That plateau ride is solo nice. Too bad its on the other sied of town. I guess I just need to get strong enough to "warm up" on Quaix+Porte+the back side of col de Coq -- yeah right! Happy new year