RUNDOWN
- 30 minute run
- 170km ride from Vaison-la-Romaine to Embrun (+ 40km tack on for points), 2700m elevation
- 3km swim in Lac de Serre-Ponçon
HOW I FEEL (Adding this piece in, since it's quite relevant...)
On a scale of 1-10 (1 = garbage, 10 = rockstar) Feeling 8-9, due to lack of Mont Ventoux ride. Many are looking hollowed out already.
RUN
We woke up fairly early and enjoyed some breakfast in the courtyard of our hotel. The hotel, La Fete en Provence, was beautiful (the word quaint, which I'm not sure if I've ever said, comes to mind) and the food met our high French-cuisine expectations. Our run was an easy one, and provided an opportunity to see a bit of the town, Vaison-la-Romaine. (Apparently the town has a lot of Roman history; the town square had a Roman feel to it, if that's a thing...)
RIDE
Riding east from Vaison-la-Romaine to Embrun was basically a false flat for a 120km. Guessing the incline was maybe 1-2% for the majority of the stretch, with one or two sections of 3-5% climbing over 10km.
Given that the group was pretty smoked from Day 1, we pacelined this 120km, sharing time at the front in 10-15 minute stretches. Feeling guilty about having missed Day 1, I took some long pulls at the front. That said, I certainly wasn't the only one doing so. (For any non-cyclist reading this -- hi mom! -- taking pulls at the front means that you're working hard at the front of the group while shielding the other riders from the wind. You typically expend ~30% less energy, measured in watts, when ride in someone's draft.)
The ride was scenic in areas, but the real jaw-dropping views kicked in at the 140km mark as we climbed north of Lac de Serre-Ponçon and caught views of the lake's wildly blue water down below.
Since the camp dishes out points in 30km increments (i.e., 170km gets the same as points as 150km, however 180km gets an additional point), I was convinced to join an 'easy' 40km tack on ride to get to 210km. I joined, again feeling guilty about missing Mont Ventoux, and it was a sufferfest.
SWIM
An easy 3km in Lac de Serre-Ponçon. The water was a bit chilly, but I welcomed the cold and went no wetsuit. It felt great and probably helped me recover a bit after the long day of riding.
