Flu bug hits tour group

A flu bug has hit our tour group hard. To date, 8 people have come down with the bug including Stamm and Vanderwiel Sunday morning, and Baker Sunday night. Bummer.

Executive Summary of Sunday's Ride:
I neglected to start my Garmin when we left lunch, and missed the data for the 14 mile descent of the Roseland. Total mileage - 86 miles, total climbing - 4 mountains = 11,000 feet. The Roseland was a beautiful climb. Our vantage point was again, only 300m from the top. We were all much fresher when we got to the vantage point than on the Columbiere. The final climb up to our hotel at the Meribel ski station was a killer. I was so far gone, I was ready to bag on today's ride. Thankfully, a good nights sleep cured me of my sanity, plus Painman's comment "That sting in your head? That's Pride effing with you." motivated me.

Detailed Summary of Sunday's Ride:
After Saturday's tough ride, the A and B group numbers did a complete flip-flop. Most people did the longer A ride on Saturday. Today, only 7 of us did the A ride (from our 2 star hotel group), including Treb, Baker, Painman, and myself. Stamm was sick, and opted to ride with the luggage to our next hotel. Russ was sick too, but decided to ride in the sag, and maybe give riding a go later. The 4 of us were pretty concerned about them all of a sudden getting sick, along with the others, since we all ate and drank the same as them, and were concerned it was food poisoning.

With angst, the ride started with a climb up the Col des Saisies. It was tough climb to start with, and I rode it pretty hard, while the rest took is easier in preparation for the tougher Cormet de Roselend. After refueling at the top, we started the technical descent off the Saisies. I attacked it with vigor, and Baker was game for the fun. It's not the speed that is the thrill, it is zipping into the apex of the switchbacks, braking at the last minute, leaning hard, and sprinting out.

The Roselend starts right at the bottom of the Saisies. Russ decided to get out, and give riding a try. Unfortunately, our Guide blew through the roundabout, but only Baker, Treb, and I were with him. Since Painman had missed a turn earlier, I stayed back to make sure the rest of the group made it. However, I didn't know for sure who was back. Russ came through, and I waited a couple more minutes, and continued on.

I figured they would wait for me before starting the climb. I rode slowly through the busy town checking all the cafes to see if they made a rest stop. Through the gates at the base of the Roselend, reading 20K to the summit. They must have started without me. As you might guess, I was a bit pissed, and rode like a man possessed in pursuit. I slowly worked my way through Russ and the others until I finally spotted the LSC 3. What I didn't know is that our guide hadn't waited at all. He zipped through town and left Baker and Treb to their own devices. In fact, Painman had just caught up to Baker and Treb, right before I caught up, and was a bit pissed as well.

I hammered by them in anger, without even giving a look, and cursed "Thanks for waiting Chad." Chad hesitated a bit, and then started to join me. After a few minutes, I had ridden the anger out of my mind, and looked back to see Painman just behind. I slowed to join him, and he filled me in on the debacle. Apologies all around. All is well. We continues to ride a moderate pace, and noticed Treb and Baker making ground, so we waited to make friends.

With the competitive nature of the climb put behind us, we started stopping and shooting photos of the amazing scenery. The final 5K of the climb is a picture postcard with switchbacks lined with fans, and rock out-croppings. The last 2K opens up a bit, throwing a nasty headwind at us. We conquered the climb and dropped back to our vantage point for some food, and to look for the Red Lantern.

Red Lantern showed up after a few minutes, and soon the caravan was coming through. I scored some more schwag including 2 foam PMU green hands. A huge score. We stood up on the top of a knoll to watch the race. The helicopters were right on top of us as the tour came by. What an amazing experience.

We started our descent down the Roselend immediately following the end of the racer caravan. I led Baker down as before, and we worked our way through all the other riders and traffic until we were in front of everyone except the tour caravan. What a blast.

At the bottom of the Roselend, riders from our tour group started piling into the sag vans, until they were full. The rest were left to ride the rest of the way to Meribel, including a tough final climb up to the hotel at the ski station.

We rode out of the valley a bit, and then started a short descent. I took second wheel behind Peter Thompson, the leader of our Tour Company. As we descend, one of the riders keeps cutting inside Painman on the switchbacks, and swinging out into his line. Once, Twice, then on the third time, he pushes it so hard, he slides out and crashes, just about taking out Painman.

On top of that, another little guy (from the same team), does the same thing to Baker, and pushes him off my wheel, then tries to push me off Peter's wheel. I was pissed. When we got to the bottom, I talked to Baker and Painman about what was going on. I went over to the bonehead that tried cutting inside me and shared some terse advice about letting people 50lbs heavier than you lead you down the hill, and not cutting inside on a switchback.

All that excitement aside, and we proceeded to the climb up to our hotel at the Meribel ski station. The climb completely kicked all our butts, and had me considering taking Monday off. And I paid for this?