First Ride of the Year

Since moving to France, both my road bike and mountain bike have been sat still in packing boxes in our barn. This week was beautiful sunshine, warm days and dry roads, but work commitments made it impossible to get out. Bad weather was on its way (heavy snow) Sunday, so I took my chance and headed out to the local hamlets to at least get some KMs into my legs.I’m seriously glad that I did, as time had dulled my memory about how bloody hard cycling is. It was pleasant, but windy day which made even the few flat sections tough. It’s stating the obvious but being in the mountains, everything was either uphill or downhill.

The quiet roads around Mas Bourget – only the odd barking dog and bemused local to bother me – not a Kent white-van-man in sight!

Close to 25km was enough for now, I’ve got my sights set on tackling the Col de Grimone which is the nearest local decent ride. I seriously hope that I’ve got a problem with my heart rate monitor though, as my maximum heart rate was clocked at 254bpm!

A bit of pootling around the villages and its back home. However, the 5km back up the valley to the house is surprisingly sustained, and quite tough considering its only 100m in elevation.

The last hill before home

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