26 June 2008
26/06/2008 15:21:03

What a fantastic couple of days. Myself and Derek decided to try out the climbs out of the Maurienne Valley and
the Oisans region. So off we drove to St Michel en Maurienne and headed off straight into the Col du Telegraphe
followed by a 5km descent before heading up the mighty Galibier to 2645m. Fantastic weather and views.
Derek headed back to pick up the car whilst I carried on down to the Col du Lauteret and off towards Bourg d'Oisans
before the last testing climb up from Lac Verney to Vaujany, a 5km ascent all at 10%!
A great evening of pasta and champagne, a dvd then some sleep before heading off the next day to climb the Alpe d'Huez.
I left Derek to climb up with Wendy whilst I headed off up at a faster pace and set a benchmark time of 1hr8mins.
Pizza lunch then retrun to that 10% climb, a shower, au revoir to Wendy and we set off back to Macot content in two great days
in the saddle.

We hope to include these and other rides in our September holidays and a number of weeks next year.

23 June 2008
23/06/2008 09:47:29

The weather at the moment is fantastic - hot and sunny days with temperatures up in the 30's. A great weekend with Gary and Les (can't believe that Les is 63!). We did the climb up to the Col de Petit St Bernard on Friday and then the Beaufort 120km loop on Saturday with the fabulous climb up to the Cormet de Roselend to start off the day. Gary cycled up to La Plagne on Sunday morning and then a dip in the lake, a bit of sunbathing before the journey back to Geneva in the afternoon
Well done to those who have stayed with us and were taking part in the Nice Ironman on Sunday - Steve, Daryl and Cliff - let us know how things went.
Looking forward to a great week of climbs next week after a few days without guests where I am going off to sample new rides - Galibier and Alped'Huez!!

01 June
01/06/2008 21:29:49

Last Friday the Cormet de Roselend opened up at last. Three of us were some of the first cyclists to
reach the summit, on what turned out to be a fantastic day for the weather as well as the scenery. Today
myself, Clodagh and Trish headed up towards the Col de Petit St Bernard but 5km from the summit the wind in our faces got the better of us and we made a hasty retreat back to Bourg.
Heading up to La Plagne tomorrow

Monday 19 May
19/05/2008 21:29:30

A long, hard day in the saddle on the 140km Albertville, Col de Tamie trip.
A great day was had by all and most of the group even conquered the Notre Dame du Pre
climb on the return. A cheeky beer at the top and then returning to Macot for dinner and then straight to bed.
I have never seen Simon P so knackered.
A good quality of guests this week adds to the effort that everyone is putting in.

La Plagne tomorrow!

Annecy swim & 130km ride
08/05/2008 21:09:07

Today was yet another glorious day with temperatures in the mid-20's
we had a hearty breakfast and headed off in the minibus for a long swim at Bout de Lac, Lake Annecy.
The water was a little bit fresh on first entering but once we got going the crystal clear waters were fantastic.
A few of us headed out to swim to the fifth bouy and back (about 2500m) whilst a few others just selected the second bouy as the target.

Back to the bus to change and then a well earned lunch at the nearby bar before the five headed off for the 130km cycle to Sevrier then over the
Col de Leschaux, Col du Frene, St Pierre d'Albigny, Albertville and back to Macot. A long ride with a few climbs that lasted about 6 hours!

Finally, after a few fraught moments with missed turnings etc, all arrived back to base just in time for dinner.

A beer or two, a film and then bed - ready for a few climbs and a long run tomorrow - the last day of this first long distance week of the season.....

Long day out
25/04/2008 06:04:16

After a rest day yesterday (Wednesday) we embarked on the longest ride of the week - 130km of varied terrain including Albertville and the Col de Tamie - 10km climb at about 6.5% average.
The day was a great success with warm sunny weather giving us all some sun.

Wet riding to La Rosiere
21/04/2008 21:59:38

What a day! We set off with just a few spots of rain but things gradually deteriorated. The climb itself up to La Rosiere (20km) was very good but on arrival it started to snow! The descent itself was then a little bit on the cold side to say the least - lucky I had taken a foil wrap that a couple of us shared to try and maintain a bit of warmth. Returned to base and warmed ourselves up. Looking forward to a better day weatherwise tomorrow.

Good news is that temperatures are heading upwards later in the week (20 degrees and sunny).

Riding up to La Plagne
10/04/2008 21:57:50

This last week I have managed to take two rides up to la Plagne which have gone very well.
The weather wasn't the best but at least it was warmer than it has been recently.
Over the next week I am hoping to cycle over to Annecy to try out some new routes over the Col de Leschaux to St Pierre d'Albigny and back via Albertville.

Things are warming up at last ready for our first guests of the season on 19 April

Coached training weeks
22/03/2008 18:42:09

We have teamed up with F4T to offer two different weeks of specialist coached training weeks to

Great sunny riding
15/03/2008 10:15:18

Yesterday I decided it was about time that I got back on the bike and started riding uphill again. It was warm and sunny and the feeling was just great. I only rode uphill for about 10km to Granier but that was enough as a kick-start to the training. If anyone is interested in a last minute weekend deal then we can accommodate you on a B&B basis through March and April

Back to training
09/03/2008 21:11:38

After having very good intentions for the winter period in terms of training it hasn't quite worked out like that. I spent November, December and January building a roof - on another chalet not ours - then just as the weather was ideal for cycling our middle child, Joe, became ill and spent 4 weeks in hospital!
We are now nearly back to normal and the weather is changing for the worst. I hope to get bak in to some sort of shape ready for the first arrivals for our training holidays on 12 April - any suggestions?