Apparently… I’ve Been Training For The Wrong Mountain.
In my last post, I talked about the possibility of pedaling in the Pyrenees. Well the good news… No wait… the GREAT news is… I’m going! It’s set… I have my wonderful wife’s blessing… the deposit’s been made… the plans are in place… the preparation pedaling is well underway. But let’s talk about that last part. In that last post I also talked about one of the big climbs… the Col du Tourmalet. It’s 16.9km of climbing to an altitude of 2114 meters. That’s 10.5 miles to an altitude of 6,935 feet. I also scoured Google Images and found an unbelievable shot of the sheer torture I would soon face.
A massive mountain with switchbacks galore. I had to see this image often. I set it as my screen saver at work. It’s great mental training. I look at it everyday. I think about what each switchback would feel like. I can feel the sway of my bike… the cadence… the strain. I can SEE myself on THAT road. Problem is… I won’t be on THAT road. I won’t be anywhere near THAT mountain. It’s the wrong mountain. Thanks to a blogging pal who knows the peaks of France very well… I now know it’s the Stelvio… in the Dolomites. Thanks Google! Now that I’m straight on what road I need to envision, my kind blogging pal at Cycling Challenge sent these pics of him cranking up the real Tourmalet.
Besides being post card quality shots… they also show just how steep the climb can be… especially this one:
Now that the images of this road are burned into my brain… I need to get back on the trainer. I’ll share more details of the trip soon… as well as how I’m tailoring my man-cave training for the real Col du Tourmalet and the remaining thousands of feet I’ll be climbing next Summer.
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I did not have the heart to point out it was the Stelvio on the other picture since I think it is harder than the Tourmalet and you should train for the more difficult one. But, yes, not only is it the wrong pass, it is in the wrong country as well.
SPROCKETBOY– Thanks… I especially like your encouragement on training for the harder climb and then I’ll be really ready. Good way to stay strong enough to still qualify as a member of: Men of Iron.
SAL– You’re a funny man Sal. How about you follow in the car & keep me company. You could also pass me food, drink and tweet for me.
Sounds like a great trip. I did something like that a few years ago with Trek Travel except in the Alps. We did a couple of smaller warm-up mountains early in the week and then the Telegraphe and Galibier in an 80 mile day. Then Alpe d’Huez the last day. Worth all the suffering I put in to get ready ENJOY it.
CRAIG– Thanks for stopping by the blog and commenting! Sounds like a great trip. I’ve heard good feedback about the Trek Travel trips. The training is going well so far. I’ve had a pretty solid base but I’m building with Power and Strength intervals. The suffering is all part of the fun. 
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The first shot looks as if he’s starting to hit the 10% grade. Now that you have the Stelvio memorized, you can just slip over and ride it after the Tourmalet. Maybe on a rest day?