Stage 1 - The Lake District

After Many months of hard training June 21st and the first stage of Les Dix Alpes finally arrived. We all met for brekie at 7, followed by a group photo in Como town centre. The weather had picked up just in the nick of time and we all set out along Lake Como in all our yellow LDA jersey glory.

 Leaving from The Best Western in Como

Participants & Crew @ Lake Como

Stage 1 was a relatively flat stage to ease us into what was to come on day two's route through the Simplon Pass. Such was our eagerness that a group of us missed the right turn for Lago di Lugano (glacial lake in the SE of Switzerland on the Italian border) and went some 20kms out of the way ultimately adding an extra 40km for our days total. The Aussies "Maca", "The Big Unit" (due to his sheer size on the bike), Pete the Kiwi dentist, Chris the limey, Ruane the big Dane and myself were the brunt of a running joke that lasted 2 days. It was mainly I who was at fault but they were all stupid enough to follow! Our route took us along the shore of Lago di Lugano via the town of Lugano and on to Lago Maggiore, the 3rd of the prealpine lakes of Italy. We were moving a long at a nice pace, stopping occassionally to make sure we were headed in the right direction this time and to take a few snaps of the breathtaking scenery.

It was fairly clear early on that there were a few levels in terms of cycling ability. What was most evident was that there wasn't a bad cyclist in the group. Everyone was in great shape and excited about taking to the Alpes. Some of the crew had already cycled 3000kms from Palermo in Sicily to Como - hardcore!

With 150km on the clock we rolled up to our first of many campsites just outside the Swiss town of Locarno. The icy mountain stream water proved a very refreshing leg healer. Apparently the freezing water is a good way to stem the bleeding micro tears that appear on musle tissue after strenuous activity.

The campsite itself was nice and rustic but full of teenagers intent on wrecking our buzz! Very little sleep was had that night due those muppets and the fact that I was freezing my balls off inside the tent. What I don't know about camping is not worth knowing. I've since purchased a new sleeping bag and therma rest and am sleeping much better.

A little about our support crew. We have a mechanic called Richard, a couple of fine chefs called Japp and Astrid, Marcel the bag man and the boss himself Wilbert. All Dutch except for Astrid who hails from Denmark. They are all great characters and uber organised, unlike myself. Every morning I struggle to pack up all my shit, eat as much food as possible, fill my biddons, pump my tires and apply some sun cream before departure at 8am, SHARP. Not an Irish 8 O clock! I usually have to ride fast to catch the peloton for the first few kms.

Tuesday and Stage 2 was going to be the first big test, The Simplon Pass @ 2,008 m.

Como

On sat after much lugging of gear between 2 taxis, a bus and a train I finally made it to the hotel in Como. What greeted me in the Best Western Continental was like a scene out of Home and Away with the kackle of Aussie and Kiwi accents. We exchanged pleasantaries and I then set about rebuilding my bike. Thankfully nothing had been damaged in transit. I was keen to get out for a spin to ensure everything was in perfect working order but decided that Sunday might be a more favourable option given that I had been up since 5am. Also it was pissing rain outside as Ireland basked in Summer sunshine! Awake early on Sunday (with a bit of a head on me after some vino with my new Kiwi friends on sat night) I set off in the rain for the famous Museo del Cicliso high on the hills above Lake Como. It proved a painful enough ride with temperatures no greater than around 6 degrees and driving rain. Nice warmup for Les Dix Alpes on Monday!! It was well worth the spin however because after approx 30 hairpin bends myself and my co-lunatic doctor buddy Greg from Christchurch, NZ, reached the wonderful Museo del Ciclismo and chapel "Madonna del Ghisallo" with it's relics and Giro d'Italia winner signed jerseys. Probably not that intersting for non-cyclists but the views from Bellagio and higher up at Madonna del Ghisallo were breathtaking, in spite of the rain. 

I felt really fresh on the steep gradients and my rothar was in good working order. The weather forcast for Monday was good so I was looking forward to seeing the Lake district in all it's glory on the relatively flat first stage from Como to Locarno in Switzerland.

 Colly & Greg setting out for Passo del Ghisallo

Route Profile with Gradients

Les Dix Alpes

(This extract is taken from www.collymurray.com and provides an overview of Les Dix Alpes and my reasons for undertaking the trip)

Colly embarks on “Les Dix Alpes” (The 10 Alpes) on Monday June 21st 2010 in Como, Italy. The finish lies after 12 days, 1.100 kilometres and a multitude of beads of sweat at the waving palms on the boulevard in Nice, France.

The famous cols of the Tour de France: Col de l'Iseran, Col du Galibier, Col d'Izoard and Col de la Bonette will be traversed. In addition, some lesser known, but no less challenging climbs like the Simplon Pass, Col du Petit St. Bernard, Col du Grand St. Bernard, Col de Vars and Col de Lautaret will also feature en route to Nice. Nine passes above 2,000 meters plus the legendary climb to the ski resort of l'Alpe d'Huez. A lot of famous professional cyclists have fought out heroic duels here in the recent past; Federico Bahamontes, Marco Pantani or Lance Armstrong. It is now Colly's turn to follow in their tiretracks and in the process raise vitally needed funds for Cancer Care West.

This event is being undertaken in loving memory of Martin O' Gorman, a dear friend of Colly's who succumbed to cancer in September 2009.

Colly will be incurring the cost of the cycle out of his own pocket and all money raised will go directly to charity. No money donated will be used as part of the cost of the cycle.

A special word of thanks goes to those who sponsored cycling equipment and nutritional products for the training and cycle; Richies Bikestore in Swords, Asher from CycleWays Parnell St...