Lac d'Emosson with Jan

Another beautiful day to ride in the Alps.  I opted for Emosson to see how my legs were feeling.  I made sure to spin on the approach to Montets, then not to hard up Montets.  I summited in good time still, a sign to me I should be alright on Emosson.  At the top of Col des Montets I met a gent climbing from the other side.  A snapped a photo of him then we chatted for a minute.  It was his final ride prior to "Etape" (French for "Stage".  They open up one of the stages of The Tour the morning of the race, just the same as Warriors at Tour of Utah. 

As I got back on my bike to continue I met Jan.  It turns out Jan was also getting in his last good ride before "Etape".  Jan is new to the sport.  3 months ago he signed up for l'Etape, then decided he should probably get a bike and get in shape for it.  I like your style Jan!

Jan and I chatted all the way up Emosson.  I may have talked his ear off, but time passed quick and before I knew it we were nearly to the top.

A few moments to relax and chat overlooking the lake and dam.  With the weather today we finished above cloudbase.  Fun descending and watching the others dissapear down through the clouds.

We had different routes back, so once we reached the dam I wished him well in his first race...Stage 8 of the 2012 TDF.

Stats
Distance: 40 miles
Time:       3 hours
Climb:     5,394 feet

Climb Information

	Distance			Elevation		Grade
Cat	Start	End	Length	Min	Max	Avg.	Max
	2.59 mi	4.29 mi	1.71 mi	3,547 ft	3,909 ft	4.0%	--
	5.00 mi	7.72 mi	2.71 mi	3,990 ft	4,712 ft	5.0%	--
	13.49 mi	19.85 mi	6.36 mi	3,526 ft	6,286 ft	8.2%	--
	26.73 mi	32.14 mi	5.41 mi	3,536 ft	4,718 ft	4.1%	--