Who who wants to go ride this beast?

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2019/7/welsh-town-claims-title-for-worlds-steepest-street-582452

Jules said:

Who who wants to go ride this beast?

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2019/7/welsh-town-claims-title-for-worlds-steepest-street-582452

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trDbyQbfHKc

As some of you know, I’m on family vacation in Europe and took the family to see the Galibier stage. It was only about 30k from the chalet where we were staying. I rode the Galibier until the gendarmes stopped me with 1k to go. That was good fun

For the race I was situated where the Lauteret led into the Galibier. The atmosphere was awesome and I got to see Quintana attack.  Heck out the pics below. 

But that was only the beginning of our adventure. We were heading back towards our chalet near bourg d’oisans when we learned that the road was closed due to a rock slide (actually 4 avalanches) following a downpour ahead of us. We were among thousands of spectators - some in cars and some on bikes. The newspaper story is here: https://www.ledauphine.com/hautes-alpes/2019/07/25/la-rd-1-091-coupee-apres-une-coulee-de-boue-dans-le-secteur-de-la-commune-de-la-grave

We stopped in the town of Le Grave to get a bite. This was challenging because none of the restaurants were ready for the influx of spectators and my boys have Celiac, which meant we were limited to gluten free options. In the end we sat in a bar/cafe and made sandwiches with the local sausages and tomatoes we bought at a grocery store. 

The roads of this little town resembled the LIE during rush hour, but not knowing if the road would reopen we headed in the opposite direction with the plan to head over the Galibier. Turns out the road remained closed for several days. We missed the avalanche by a few minutes. Some people stuck between avalanches had to be air lifted out. Ouch 

Everyone else in cars had to do the same thing so we sat in a slow moving traffic jam on the only road out of that area which took us to Briancon. By the way, the hotels in le grave were booked so I am not sure what happened to all the spectators on bikes. 

For most of the time we were stuck we had little to no cell service. The gendarmes were not allowing anyone up the Galibier, so we took the only road available to us heading East - in the direction away from our B&B. We were heading away from our destination with one of the world’s largest mountain ranges between us and where we wanted to go. Once we descended into Briancon we loaded up Waze which said the fastest route was 4 hours... through Italy.

Yup, it routed us near Turin. The road towards Gap was longer, but we later learned that relying on Waze was a mistake. First off, I neglected to realize it would require my climbing over and down the Glandon in pitch black. No streetlights and no moon. The more significant problem was that the 12 kilometer tunnel back into France was being repaired, so they were only opening one lane at a time. As a result we sat for nearly an hour in Italy waiting for the tunnel to reopen. 

So to give you a sense of time, we left the Tour around 4:30 or 5 and got stuck in Le Grave at 5:30 or 6. We did not get back to our B&B until 2AM! 

It was quite an adventure. Hope our alpine trip is less exciting. Here are some pics

what an adventure!!

That sounds fantastic, if trying. I'm sure you'll all be talking about it for years to come!

This week the family and I dropped in on Nathaniel Miller in Fribourg Switzerland. He and his 4 year old son Adrian joined me in sporting some Kissena threads as we toured the “chateaux” in Gruyere. I learned that Artist H R Giger of Aliens fame was from the area. They have cafe based on his artwork. We didn’t get to ride this time, in part because Nathaniel’s wife Ana is due with their second child my day now! Congratulations Nathaniel!

It was an absolute pleasure seeing you and your family, Patrick. And thanks again for the threads. I hope that next time we can go for a bike ride, because the riding out here is wonderful! So, Kissena gang, if you're looking for a nice corner of the world to ride in, you have a friend in the middle of Switzerland. 
By the way - today is the official due date, and still no baby yet. But soon, we hope! 

KCC alum on the bay of Biscay. (Pre crash) 

the crash sucks, but that photo is so much awesome!!’

I missed the group photo but did a bike thing

It’s it’s not Europe but I discovered the Paul Bunyan trail up here; 110+ miles of paved trail with zero cars. Converted railroads ftw

Imagine riding your trainer outside with nary another human in sight. Also, mind the frogs...

#soulriding

The edge of “the planet”

You know your in for a good week when the house you rented is on a mile long gravel road 

I’ve thought about starting a blog entitled ‘nice bikes with cheap locks’. The latest entry would be this fine titanium colnago my son and i saw in Bern yesterday. I think one of the best was, a few years ago in Basel, a nice aluminum Cervelo with high end Shimano and zipp wheels, thinly tied to a lamppost. Ah.... Switzerland. These bikes wouldn’t last 15 minutes in NYC.  

Wedding + work trip back to the big smoke, chance to ride round the old stomping ground...

Great stuff, where is that?

Rode the Heck of the North as a domestique for Lisa. 35 degrees at the start - chilly! 

awesome!

Love the stem cap!

Good eye!

@Lisa Roazen headlining, and scroll all the way down to see the sweet Van Dessel

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/weather/4802113-Blizzard-didnt-deter-Duluth-doctors-nurses

Now that's what fatbikes are for!

Checking in from St. George, UT.  If you've heard of it, it's because Zion National Park is nearby or you're a huge fan of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid.

This is the second leg of a big west coast trip, with the first week in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mt. Washington.  Mt. Washington is a small mountain in the city, with a few 1mi climbs to get to the top and many, many double-digit ramps that take in sections of the mountain.  when I checked the Mt. Washington Drive climb on Strava four years ago, WorldTour pro Phil Gaimon was only the fifth fastest up it.  If there's a regret, it's that you can't rip the descents, as there are too many houses and cars parked on the road.    

I missed my first day of riding because the airline didn't put my clothing bag on the plane, so I arrived Saturday night with a bike, and shoes, but no clothes or helmet.

My first day was constrained by time.  I only had an hour or so.  So I decided to ride up and down Mt. Washington as much as I could in that time.  that meant 2700' of climbing in 13 miles.  It had rained overnight and with an occasional drizzle, the roads weren't exactly grippy.  

https://www.strava.com/activities/2954535438

The second day was the only one I knew I had to do.  A loop into the Angeles Forest that took in the Tujunga climb and descended the Angeles crest highway.  The weather cooperated, so I did it.  5300' of climbing in 53 miles.  It's a false flat most of the way through the suburbs to the forest, a 15-mile climb to the angeles crest highway, then a 10-mile descent on the highway (not really a highway; a two lane road).  It's my third time doing this loop and I love it.  the Tujunga climb is basically empty.  I think I might have seen five cars in over an hour.  The descent is a steady 5% or so and curvaceous for nine miles, and then a 10% grade straight to the bottom.  Only good for 35mph or so when freewheeling, but as fast or faster than cars much of the way.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2954535485/

It's been a wet December in LA, and it rained heavily on Christmas Day.  I rode the next two days and the amazing thing were the snow-covered mountains of the forest.  Never seen that before, though the mountains do go up to 6,000'--snow isn't exactly surprising at higher altitudes when the lower altitude is at 45f.  And seeing palm trees in the foreground with the mountains in back is pretty rare.

That snow, however, probably made the drive here in Friday worse.  Interstate 15 was closed on the California-Nevada border Thursday because of the snow and the highway was packed on Friday.  I also saw people getting out to throw snowballs--probably never had done that before.

Here, at 2900', the snow apparently almost never falls.  This valley is ringed by mountains and the tops are snow-covered as well.  Was hoping to get in a classic 50-mile group ride today, but almost nobody showed, maybe because of the high winds, so the group rode to lower elevations and tried to stay somewhat shielded.  When the group finished, I went out for more, hitting the biggest climb in the immediate area, 4mi through Snow Canyon (named for a person, not the precip).  Cool climb, but the straight descent on a bike path next to the highway wasn't the payoff I had hoped for.  

https://www.strava.com/activities/2963980072/

Trying to plan another good ride before I leave.

I spoke with a guy at a local bike shop in St. George.  He suggested riding in the area north of the airport, so I went to RideWithGPS to create a route that took me that way.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the road I routed myself to was unpaved and best for ATVs.



Great views, but the red dirt was largely loose and got looser as I rode further.  The hills were too loose to ride with 23mm tires.  When I realized it wasn't turning back to pavement any time soon, I turned back.  

Cool riding, but it took me probably the better part of ten minutes to de-clog my cleats.  

Then, to go the way I wanted to, I rode  "parkway" that was a two-lane road with 65mph speed limit--and generous shoulders.  Pretty empty, but not sure that was a good idea.  

at bit of an anti-climatic finale for the road trip.

https://www.strava.com/activities/2974308385

It looks like I might be adding a week trip to Tuscany Italy at end of April first week of May to recover on the hilly terrain there... Oh I mean to visit my sister, yeah, that's right...

Got here last week (Trois Vallees), a little early for the Tour, but on July 15, 2020, this will be part of stage 17. https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-17

I'd rather ski down than bike up to be honest...

random story: saw a Lotto Soudal Pro, Roger Kluge, yesterday in Berlin
unpopular opinion: Ridley's red bike looks better than Trek's
#proridesinrain

Thought you guys would like some photos from this weekend's Fat Bike Birkie - 49km on the Birkie ski trail. Yes, that is someone roasting a twinkie. No I did not try it.

Went for a #sociallydistant fat bike ride with a pal today. Might be the last of the season up here.