2009 Tour de France

Over the past two or three years, I've been spending a bit more time on the bike. In an effort to capture and share some of what I've been up to, I thought I'd give the blogging thing another try. This will be my 5th attempt at blogging, but maybe this time it will stick. This year I'm particularly excited about cycling as I'll be going over to France to experience the Tour de France first hand. It's still a couple of weeks away, but already I'm having a hard time sleeping at night. We leave on the 15th of July and will be returning on the 27th, and during that time we'll see several stages of the Tour, including the finish in Paris. Perhaps even more exciting is the opportunity we'll have to ride some of the most famous mountain climbs of the Tour. In nine days of riding we'll climb:

• Col du Romme
  
• Col de la Colombiére
• Col de l'Iseran
• Col du Telegraphe
• Col du Galibier (twice)
  
• Col du Mollard
• Col de la Croix de Fer
• Col de la Madeleine
• Cormet de Roselend
• Col des Saisies
• Col du Glandon
• l'Alpe d'Huez
• Mont Ventoux

Of course, that's assuming we survive all nine days of riding. To get ready for the trip I've been putting in as many miles as I can handle, and I've also been studying the various climbs so I'll know what I'm up against each day. In a way, I'm looking at this as my own little mini Tour de France. As time permits, I'll start posting the plans for our ride. After each stage I'll try to provide an update to let you know how it went. Can't wait!