Day 6: La Grave to Le Sauze (Barcellonette), 143km

Today was a long day – we did 146km and it seemed to be all uphill.
we are all f***ed.

Col du Lauteret – Col d’Izoard – Col de Vars- Le Sauze!

Lauteret was 15km – all up hill –grey & chilly & at the top there was no sun, the descent was even colder and Giles just did not have enough on!
Fingerless gloves, exposed legs, a gilet – he was in bits & shaking. Then they got hailed on and the water sprayed up from the road & soaked through their shoes.
At the bottom they drank hot chocolate and an ex-racer told them to wrap their feet in newspaper to dry them & insulate. It worked.

Then off up d’Izoard.
An iconic climb – the most beautiful scenery – very different to the scenery before. - less lush – acid soil- firs – rock – flowers like the south of France.
It was a good road, steep, hairpins.

New techniques to distract from the pain were employed. Chopper & Giles played “the A-Z of animals”.
Rules involve the mimicking of animals – the other must guess the animal – offerings included Ant Eater, Salamander, Vampire Bat & Great Crested Newt.
They laughed so hard they nearly fell off!

Meanwhile further down the Col, Adam was being a hero helping Pete with his climb. The motive may be that Adam is after his bike!
Nat King Cole & Neil Diamond featured & Sweet Caroline was a high point!

There is a real difference of ability here. Some people are spending a lot of time cycling alone – just them & their ipod – It makes a difference if you can hang back & help them. Stick together & we will get through it together. It is not a race.

The top was amazing but freezing.
We were still wet & cold. The pads in our shorts were soaked with frozen rain. It rubs - not comfy!

Izoard is a crazy descent – you can see the first 20m of road then it is so steep it drops away. The road was cold & windy & cut into the side of the mountain – a 50’ drop on the other side. There are no barriers here – if you don’t make the turn you go straight into the Abyss -

New Speed for Chopper – 46.8mph. Giles over took a Saab Convertible & a Jeep, the cars beeped & cheered in appreciation.

Todays lunch stop was a disaster; 2pm on a Sunday in France, in the mountains, forget it! Man can not cycle on a Croque monsieur & a Cornetto alone – but they did!

17km Col de Vars was hard on a poor lunch. Plus breakfast was substandard too – with no rolls to take as snacks!

At the top 14 fireflies did not stop – they formed a peleton to limit the head wind & sped down – they just needed to get back & get warm - the final 4km was a climb of a 10% gradient. After a freezing & wet day with 144km already in your legs – that is tough! They sprinted.

High Points – Giles & Chopper saw Marmottes - Giles got a close up experience, complete with a squeak!

Boogie Nights – They are all in a room together tonight! Pushing the beds together for warmth!

Speed Talk- For some perpective on speed another Firefly recorded a massive 70.2mph in a previous year on one descent!

Mill Blood – Adam sneaking in to his room late last night – did not want to wake roommates – went into bath room in darkness! Hit his nose!