Bon jour…

Time means nothing. Miles don’t even seem to matter. Speed is irrelevant. Elevation is everything. Yes, we’ve been climbing for three days in the beautiful French Alps and have finally finished at a reasonable hour. If you’re interested, allow me to catch you up on our travels. There are no leadership lessons in this one, so feel free to skim or skip…

Day one we arrived from our overnight flight at roughly 8bells. downer got the biggest van he could find, we loaded up our bike boxes, and after one missed turn, we arrived at Hotel St. George. downer and FM put the bikes together while the rest of us tried to lend a hand anyway we could. By 2pm we were saddled up and off to our first climb, the Col du Mollard. Everybody was excited and Churp was running on fumes as he didn’t sleep a wink on the way over. Pictures at the top and lots of smiles. It hurt, however, getting there. Next up we descended for 7 miles and then made the left turn onto the Col de la Croix de Fer. This baby bit hard. We arrived at the summit a bit weakened, but still smiling. Remember, it’s still day one. A bunny hop up the Col du Glandon and then a 13 mile descent. Thank God for descents! We rolled back to our hotel at a little past 6pm. Tired.

Day two we awoke to a torrential downpour. I opened the door to our room and stuck my head outside. I couldn’t see across the street. Yikes. Change of plans. We drive 45 minutes to Albertville and hop on the most beautiful bike path in the world. It’s raining. We’re cold. We’re riding. Again, smiles all around. After about 15 miles the rain stops and we arrive at Annecey where the burgers go for 20 euros (30 bucks). We’re too late to get served, however, so microwaved pizza and energy bars make for our late lunch. We rolled back to the van in a downpour but we were still all smiles; just stinky.

Day three was epic, according to Churp. We summited three mountains beginning with Mont Vernier. This baby looks like a minature version of l’Alpe d’Huez. Pictures at the top and off to the summit of the Col du Chaussy. This one hurt my little hammies. Descending this thing was beautiful. The views made all the suffering on the way up worth it. I take it super slow on the way down (and up) as I promised my Miss. It’s kinda nice she wants me back in one piece 🙂

At the bottom of the descent, the oh shit moment hits us. The sign for Col de la Madeleine stares at you unfazed by your earlier progress. She demands total respect. 13km of unrelenting UP! This one really hurt. The legs feel like mush and the kilometer signs seem to come ever so slowly. On you pedal. It was good to have FM and Blondie (Tom’s new name) always in my sight. I’m used to solitude so it was kinda nice to have a few friends nearby…

Madeleine was “no easy girl” as our hostess, Martine, told us before leaving. She was right. We earned this summit. The last 4km I sang the entire time. I’ve never done this before and most likely won’t again. Somehow, today, I needed to sing. I didn’t sing out loud but I sang nonetheless. “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red/yellow/black/white, they’re all precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” As I sang and allowed the words to penetrate my sweat and into my soul, I forgot about the pain accompanying each turn of the pedal. I lost myself in song. I hadn’t sang that song since childhood but it was still buried in memory just waiting for the moment when this little boy needed it and the reminder it represents. Epic.

Yes, today was an epic day with my friends. I miss my Miss and all of our children. I miss my dogs. I miss my home. I miss my routine. I miss many things about my everyday. I’m making some memories. Good. Tomorrow, Blondie, downer, FM, Churp, and I will make a few more. This too will be good. For now?

Bon jour, pussycats…