Bon Jour Ami (friends)!
Returning to the heart of the French Alps in the summer was not something that Mary and I were about to miss out on. A good number of people make a point to work this beautiful high alpine area into their summer vacations, as it seems only a lucky few are able to make their lives out of the antique villages surrounded by the shadow of glaciers. We were ok with missing out on the tour d France as it passed through the area days before but we were more than excited to be able to sample some of the classic mountain climbs that make that race the biggest deal in cycling.
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| Living large ( and healthy). |
But first and foremost this was a business trip that was aimed at competing in the the final race of the 2012 World Cup series and finishing up a ride we have been on since the opening round of the series in March.
The Alpine Town of Val d'Isere put on an impressive event hosting a cross country, Downhill and Trials event which made for a festive, fun and spectator friendly vibe. The town itself is something special obvious even as we approached by RV from the southern route over the highest paved pass in Europe. The majority of the pictures we took seemed ill served to grasp the scale of the mountains that clustered the background of every shot. The infrastructure of carefully laid gondola and lift service heading out for kilometers in every direction made it seem that summer sports here are just a way to pass the time until Ski season begins.
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| Said "no biking" here at the Parque Nacional Valnoise. So we went for a good hike (after the races)... Incredible! |
The race weekend went well for us and we were happy to have Mary ride her best european world cup of the season. I suffered from a bad line in my final practice lap the day prior to the race that resulted in the gathering of a generous mid ride soil sample as I tested the torque specs of my stem blots with my knee. Though I was able to go through the motions of racing the next day I struggled to find my form from the start and this made for a tougher race than I would have liked. The consolation prize for the team was Mary's rise into the the top 20 overall in the WC series!
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| Team Kenda-Seven-NoTubes, getting it done. |
Mary and I are currently camped out in the RV and rotating between several of the small villages nestled in the mountains east of Annecy, France, where we are settling into a familiar transient lifestyle. The infrastructure here is set up well to accommodate RV tourism and we have found our version of the peace we like even amount the summer crowds, by going with our typical early to sleep and early to rise styles. We have found some serious training options in just exploring the small winding roads which expand in all directions from this single valley, and they amazingly seem to continue in similar quality across the entire Rhone - Alpes region.
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| Evening stroll through the sweet old town. Beaufort, France. |
Mary and I are happy to be able to utilize this vertically endowed area as a training base for the upcoming races on our calendar, especially since we just got confirmation that we have both been selected for the US National Team that will compete at the Cross Country World Championships Next month (Sept 8th) in Saalfelden, Austria! We are both excited to have this event on the horizon and feel honored to be able to represent our country, team and sponsors once again at this season defining event. In the mean time we are glad to have the quiet epic mountains, artisan cheeses/ wines and fresh baguette keeping us captive here in France.
We look forward to crossing out on the paths soon!
Salute!
Mike and Mary
Team Kenda - Seven - NoTubes
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| Bon Pain. |
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