16 July 2008: Stage Ten: Riding Rick's Bike
Update from Lannemezan, the site of the first good night's sleep I've
had since Amsterdam and the start town for stage 11.
Rick's bike, along with boulangerie calories and the support and prayers
from folks back home, carried me up the steep, verdant slopes of the
Tourmalet. Halfway up, I decided that my knees hurt about the same
regardless of speed, so I got out of the saddle and proceeded to hammer
out the last 10 km, much like the Basque climbers by whose countrymen I
have been surrounded in the Pyrenees stages. It was nice to be passing
people again, as opposed to the day before (when I was passed by a rider
on a 40 year-old bike with a fixed gear). Reaching the top of the
Tourmalet, on the bike that Rick rode for so many years, was the high
point of the ride to date.
Let's hope my knees don't pay the price tomorrow.
Sleep is precious, so I send this with typos and thanks for the
encouragement. CJ and I hope to camp near Quillan tomorrow night, about
42 km into stage 12.
Jesse Czelusta atop the Tourmalet.
