The Legendary Alpe d'Huez Cycle

I did it! L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the 'Cols Mystiques' of the Tour de France. 14km from start to finish, 21 hairpin bends, and a climb of 1,150m (3,770ft) ending at 1850m (just over 6,000ft) at an average gradient of 7.9% without respite. Result!!

This was a great achievement for me as I hadn't been on a road bike for a few years and I am not at my fittest by any means!! However, I love the Tour de France and when we drove up the 21 bends at the start of the week I decided I wanted to give it a go. I needed a few stops (for photos of course!), and hubby had to stop to wait for me to catch up, but we completed the ride, got a medal (from the shop where we hired the bikes) and certificate from the Tourist Office!!! Now the challenge is to get fitter and go back to do it again in a faster time :)