They call this a rest day!!! - A report from Valley resident Garrett during day 2 of the Tour de France

Although it is a rest day for the Tour riders, it was not a rest day for us. We left the chalet at 9:00 am heading down the 10 km to the valley below. This was a wild descent as it was made up of 10 hairpin turns on about a 8% grade. Once we got into the valley we immediately started a climb up the other side. This climb was about 10 km long with an average grade of 7%. It was on a small road just wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other. The French are very good about cyclists, so they always gave us plenty of room. After arriving in a small village we stopped for water then continued back across the valley floor and began the climb up to the Corcheval ski area. One of the Australians in our group said that the climb up to Corcheval was easier than the climb we had just done. We believed him for about 10 minutes then began to doubt his estimate as we saw signs along the road at every kilometer telling us the grade to the next kilometer marker and they were all in the 8-9% range. From Corcheval we rode over to Meribel and down to the chalet where we are staying. The entire ride was only 25 miles, but was over 3700 feet of climbing and took us almost 2 hours. Tomorrow we are back on the Tour route and will climb the Col de la Madeleine, which is 25.5 KM long with a number of 9-9.5% sections.The race actually finishes about 25 km below the climb of the Madeleine. Pictures and a report will follow.