We got a late start due to morning rain, but after it cleared off we made the Col Agnel (“Lamb Pass”) at 2pm local time, so if you were looking at the webcam at 5am Seattle time, we were both wearing red.

Susana took the lead for the first half of the day, a gradual valley floor following a creek before we passed the last Italian town and the real mashing began.

I insisted on riding the whole thing — with plenty of breaks. Susana walked the steepest parts and I wasn’t going much faster than her on those sections. There were a lot of cyclists, too. Most rode alongside us and then gradually pulled away (of course they didn’t have 60 pounds of gear), but some shot up the mountain like a rocket, which really made your jaw drop. We even passed a few, too, which must have been discouraging for them (with our loads). Some hikers on the road cheered as Susana rounded a corner, then pushed her a ways up the next hill.

The price of the average cyclist’s bike is much higher here too… obviously only dedicated cyclists would be found on this road: Time, Lightspeed, Look, Pinarello, and other nice frames.

It was pretty cold at the pass with some patches of snow. Everyone donned jackets for the descent. No customs check was required as we sped downhill into France; I reached 67 km/hr, but it’s pretty hard to stop a heavy bike on a steep downhill, so I braked more than normal on the curvy road. Overall it was a fun day. One or two percent less would have been more enjoyable though. The current grade was posted on every switchback, along with the distance it was in effect for (11.65% for .9km, for example), the current altitude, and the distance to the pass. Very helpful. And the steepest section posted was 14%.

We rode straight down to the first campground and are now going to bed at 9:30, despite Bastille Day fireworks. We’ll see how the knees and muscles feel tomorrow.