My Etape Photo Album

popette

hello
Here's some of the photos from my trip to watch the Etape at the weekend

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74 ... utacam2008

The first lot of me trying and failing to climb the Tourmalet. Bloody hell, that is an amazing climb. It was really hot on the Saturday so Mr P kept pouring mountain stream water on me (good thing I wasn't wearing white - men, I can see your bits when you wear white shorts by the way). I had to climb off with 6km to go as my HR was going beserk. So, I shed a few tears and chucked the bike in the back of the car. We drove the final 6km and it was hard enough in the car.

The next are from the Etape. Some are a bit blurry but I was trying to capture a sense of speed that the cyclists were travelling at - just an awesome sight to watch the huge peletons spanning the entire road.

The final one is of Mr P, my brave man, arriving at the water stop at the foot of Hautacam 10 minutes after they closed the road. He did so well to make it that far and I think he was a little relieved that he wouldn't have to climb for another two hours.

We're both really fired up about next year now.

SteveR_100Milers

Hwey well done to both of you! they realy are tough. Like you I am really fired up to go next year, some colleagues/mates did a private trip and did amongst others Telegraphe/Galibier, Alpe D'Huez, and the Ventoux all in 4 days. Ventoux: I simply cant get my head around 10-12% for 10 miles....thats 10 miles of the Tumble (for all you Welshys that know the Tumble), and i struggle to get up that!

CHRISNOIR

Massive congrats to you both, those look like killer climbs! Good pics as well - whenever I've tried taking bike pics I've ended up with a memory card full of various back wheels.

Chapeau!

popette

Cheers guys - added a few more from my little camera.

So, I'll see you next year in the alps Steve - it must be alps after two successive years in the pyrenees right?

nick hanson

Nice pics
You got a pic of my favourite cafe in there!

ricadus

Those London Dynamo riders always seemed to get snapped. Must be 100s of them riding all the European sportives just in case. . :roll:

Surely she didn't go over the misty Tourmalet dressed like that:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74 ... 1710542818
:shock:
Tough, those French birds...

Crapaud

Nice pics, Popette! Looked like a great day out.

Did you take the photos yourself while cycling? If so how, and what camera were you using? I've never had much success taking photos on the bike.

Couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit off colour, so I've fixed it for you ...

hisoka

Great shots there, makes me want to do it. Well when I finally get into the right shape for that type of climb. I will get there, promised myself and I never break promises.
I was going to make some glib/smutty remark about the white and water, but it is far too early in a morning with far too little sleep last night to write anything good and I have my pride to consider (I consider where I left it, somewhere along with my shame I think).

popette

Crapaud wrote:

Nice pics, Popette! Looked like a great day out.

Did you take the photos yourself while cycling? If so how, and what camera were you using? I've never had much success taking photos on the bike.

Couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit off colour, so I've fixed it for you ...

Thanks for that Crapaud
I wasn't cycling when I took the pictures of the Etape - I was a spectator only on this occasion. I took them with a nikon d70 just standing at various points along the route. If I do take my camera out with me on a ride it's a canon ixus 65 which is pretty small and fits in my jersey pocket

geoff_ss

Great pictures Karen.

I'm a bit confused (easily happens ) The weather looks awful on some of the pics but good in the pics in St Marie de Campan. Were they on the same day?

We were camping just above St Marie in late May this year and the weather was mostly awful. We rode over the Horcette d'Ancinam (sp? but a super quiet road) and back over the Col d'Aspin in mostly good weather but it was raining by the time we got back to the campsite. We'd hoped to ride up the Tourmalet the following day but after raining hard all night and still persisting down in the morning we decided to move on. There was a lot more snow up there too.

Still, we got better weather later when we climbed the Ventoux. I reckon that's harder than the Tourmalet (21km @ between 8% and 13%) but we last climbed that in 1986 - younger and fitter but with full camping gear

Geoff

ACMadone

Cracking pics of Contador's pink bike. Did you just get those 2?

clanton

Some great photos there. I love this one:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74/EtapePauToHautacam2008/photo#5220587435757381250

wonder if he finished?
Glad we didn't have wet conditions for the Marmotte, must have made it so much harder!

Hugh A

Surely she didn't go over the misty Tourmalet dressed like that:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74 ... 1710542818

Tough, those French birds

Yes she did - I can't imagine how she didn't freeze! There were lots of other hardy-looking souls only having short-sleeved shirts with no jacket. I wore a vest, shirt, gilet and jacket on the descents and it was still really cold!

The weather looks different in different shots because it wasn't raining in the bottom of the valley at Hautacam - it remained dry all day but the moment we got a bit higher we entered the cloud - a sort of continuous cold drizzle. When we came back down again it hardly seemd possible that it was still dry there.

ACMadone

ricadus wrote:

Those London Dynamo riders always seemed to get snapped. Must be 100s of them riding all the European sportives just in case. . :roll:

Surely she didn't go over the misty Tourmalet dressed like that:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74 ... 1710542818
:shock:
Tough, those French birds...

Well the guy behind looked as though he was enjoying the view!

popette

clanton wrote:

Some great photos there. I love this one:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74/EtapePauToHautacam2008/photo#5220587435757381250

wonder if he finished?
Glad we didn't have wet conditions for the Marmotte, must have made it so much harder!

I think he comfortably made it past the cut off point at the bottom of Hautacam. He looked fresh as a daisy at the water stop and was getting quite a bit of attention because of his most unusual attire. I would love to do that - wear totally inappropriate clothing but razz off into the distance.

popette

ACMadone wrote:

Cracking pics of Contador's pink bike. Did you just get those 2?

afraid so. I should have taken more of the bike porn but I only had my little camera with me in the village and I was too busy feasting my eyes and being dragged towards the beer tent by mr P.

There are shots taken on different days - when I rode on saturday it was cloudy in pau but roasting hot on the slopes of the tourmalet. Sunday was overcast everywhere with quite a few showers thrown in too.

bagpusscp

Well Done .Remember the bigger the hill the better the view

IanTrcp

clanton wrote:

Some great photos there. I love this one:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74/EtapePauToHautacam2008/photo#5220587435757381250

wonder if he finished?
Glad we didn't have wet conditions for the Marmotte, must have made it so much harder!

Pretty sure I saw him at the top of Hautacam late in the day. Good effort!

redddraggon

IanTrcp wrote:

clanton wrote:

Some great photos there. I love this one:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74/EtapePauToHautacam2008/photo#5220587435757381250

wonder if he finished?
Glad we didn't have wet conditions for the Marmotte, must have made it so much harder!

Pretty sure I saw him at the top of Hautacam late in the day. Good effort!

He looks like a right wierdo :shock:

Hugh A

Yes - I'm sure he made it. He was riding well on the Tourmalet when I passed him but not looking so happy on the Hautacam - I saw him as I was coming down but he seemed well ahead of the broom then. I expect he was glad of the extra layers if not the added weight.

Ken Night

Hugh A wrote:

Yes - I'm sure he made it. He was riding well on the Tourmalet when I passed him but not looking so happy on the Hautacam - I saw him as I was coming down but he seemed well ahead of the broom then. I expect he was glad of the extra layers if not the added weight.

That's Justin(e) formerly of ACF and who completed PBP last year

I noticed some French riders looking up and down, sniggering and tut tutting

A bit of a take off of Drew Buck's effort at PBP IMHO (rode in Johnny Onion costume on a 1930's bike with a reverse pedal low gear)

Hugh A

Yup - there's only one Drew Buck alright. Mind you I suppose he had to follow up the Pederson 'hammock' ride with something equally interesting.
Chapeau to Justin(e) though all the same.

xio

Apparently Kieran (shirt as on left) had the shame of being overtaken by him on the Hautacam...

007stucumber

clanton wrote:

Some great photos there. I love this one:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74/EtapePauToHautacam2008/photo#5220587435757381250

wonder if he finished?
Glad we didn't have wet conditions for the Marmotte, must have made it so much harder!

He looked very comfortable half way up the Tourmalet ...

pedylan

007stucumber wrote:

clanton wrote:

Some great photos there. I love this one:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/popette74/EtapePauToHautacam2008/photo#5220587435757381250

wonder if he finished?
Glad we didn't have wet conditions for the Marmotte, must have made it so much harder!

He looked very comfortable half way up the Tourmalet ...

I passed him (I just HAD to) about one third way into Hautacam. I didn't know whether to bid him chapeaux or shout w*nker.

I'm still not sure, but as my mood was poor at the time I didn't have breath to spare for either.

pedylan

I think you should compare your photos with the official efforts - got mine on a flyer in the post at the weekend. Frankly, yours are miles better - what about hanging up your cycling shoes and photographing the next etape.

ellieb

He appears to have done it in 9h 34. I expect the streamers slowed him down in the descents

pedylan

ellieb wrote:

He appears to have done it in 9h 34. I esxpect the streamers slowed him down in the descents

Probably, especially when they iced up.

daowned

Heres another shot of the bike I managed to get.



For those that were at the start village did anyone manage to lift up the carbon bike at the Giant stand? It was far lighter than any other bike I lifted eg: Trek, Spesh, Scott, Cervelo.

kmahony

Some really good pictures Poppette. There's a cracking picture of Gaz (another one of our group)

Yes, the bloke on the strange bike did finish (and yes, did pass me on the Hautacam). He was a Kiwi, doing it on that bike so he had an excuse to pull out, but he didn't.

Bugly

popette wrote:

hello
.... It was really hot on the Saturday so Mr P kept pouring mountain stream water on me (good thing I wasn't wearing white - men, I can see your bits when you wear white shorts by the way). ...

Nice pics - re white lycra _ always have avoided it like the plague (especially now that I am more urm generous in my portions). Sweat alone can make it semitransparent and I have ridden with people that ride in slightly aged lighter and white lycras. It really leaves very little to the imagination.