“Resting” in Annecy

While the Tour de France took an official rest day today, we did what all serious cycling fans do—went for a ride. First we packed up our bags and made the long trip south from Alsace to Annecy. The VéloSport Vacations crew did a nice job of breaking up the six-hour transfer with a Tour video, Chris Gutowsky’s bad jokes, (Okay – that made the trip a little longer.) and a nice roadside picnic about half way through. Though long, the drive was beautiful as we worked out way from France, through Switzerland, and then back into France.

Right after arriving in Annecy at our hotel – the luxurious Imperial Palace – we suited up and got ready to ride. While we were topping off our water bottles, Kevin Livingston came out to say hi before he got ready to ride with us. Everyone was looking forward to spending some time on the bike with one of American cycling’s top former pros and one of the funniest and nicest guys in cycling.

Most of us opted to do a loop around Lake Annecy and an optional climb up the category 1 Col de Semnoz. A smaller, hard-core group—Peter Greer, Steve Maxwell, Jim Shaw, and our knowledgeable and strong PezCycling journalist James Hewitt—took off to take in over 120 kilometers on a ride that included the Col de la Colombiere. Tough rest day!

Kevin joined the Lake Loopers and entertained the group as we worked our way clockwise around the lake. We road bike lanes, special bike roads, and a large bike path as we worked our way around the big turquoise oval. At the end of the 25-mile loop the group split up into those interested in tackling the Semnoz and those interested in indulging in the 4-star luxury of the Imperial Palace.

Kevin took our group--including Chuck Rasmussen, Owen Williams, Wayne Schiewe, Brad Warnecke and Aaron Kirkemo--straight up from the lake road to the steep beginning of the Semnoz climb. Despite my efforts once again to take us off course, we all managed the first part of the climb before things started to split up. Chuck was on form today and went off the front with Kevin. And he stayed there to the summit.

During the 10-mile climb, we talked about our picks for tomorrow’s big stage. Kevin said that Armstrong could take the stage but that Vinokourov was a potential wild card. With the first real mountains of the Tour, we all agreed this important mountain stage was going to be critical.

On our way to the top, we did cross a few random cows planted firmly in the middle of the road along with a handful of intense cyclists – including a number of mountain bikers. At the top we enjoyed our various caffeine fixes before bombing the fast descent down into Annecy. No one could quite hold Kevin’s wheel on the descent though Wayne gave it a valiant try. At the bottom, we picked our way through traffic to our lovely hotel. Then it was time to clean up, eat and pack for tomorrow. With the Courchevel climb to challenge us and a helicopter transfer off the mountain to thrill us, we are all looking forward to this surely epic day.