Letour was a bit awkward this year: it was in the Pyrenees the week we were in the Alps. No matter, it meant we rode every day of our holiday instead of waiting for hours for our heroes to arrive.
Four of us were in the first wave to arrive: Simon, Ian, Jack & me. Our first excitement was missing the flight from the dreadfully designed Luton Airport - queueing a ridiculously long time to get there at 5.30 in the morning, then compounded by those nice Easyjet staff closing the checkin 5 minutes early then charging us extra for the privilige of taking the next flight.

That aside, we managed to get there on the same day but at different times and so were ready to make the first ride on Monday morning, having met Derek, Chris & Marion in town on Sunday evening. Monday arrived, with plenty of sun and a warm outlook, we did Col de Joux Plane, through Morzine, Col d'Encrenaz, Praz de Lys then down the Col de la Ramaz.. A great introduction, particularly for 16-year old Jack. A good day albeit uneventful, Tuesday we rode over the Col de Romme, over the Colombiere, Le Grande Bournand and back along that great descent to Bonneville and a laborious climb back home.
Tuesday night offered storms, torrential rain which continued through Wednesday so we had the day in, relaxing. The rest of the party arrived this day, so we welcomed them into the apartment, went for a beer and to watch the end of the tour, then a quick blast up to Fleine.
Thursday everybody went over the Colombiere and the usual return through Bonneville, not wanting to waste ourselves particularly for Fridays "special" ride.

Friday arrived and we jumped aboard 2 minibuses at the early hour of 7am and made our way to Modane, ready to ride the hardest stage of the 2011 tour. Modane to Alpe d'Huez, taking in the Col du Telegraph and the Galibier. An amazing day, our first climb the Telegraph at 1500m had us all meet again at the top as the climb caused us to split. Then a swoop to Valloire and the start of the monstrous Galibiere. The most striking thing about this region was the size of the mountains, twice the height of the ones where we were staying!
The Galibier is 2600m high, my main worry was the temperature on the top and how would we cope but the weather was really good so although it was very windy and pretty cold on top, it was nowhere near as cold as expected. The following week there was a foot of snow! As we hit the top, Derek ushered us into his camper van where Marion had prepared a light lunch for us - sandwiches, salad, sausage rolls, tea. It was the most welcome sight ever! We had to leave pretty quickly to make way for our comrades who were arriving at 10 minute intervals so Chris, Washa, Lee and me all descended towards Bourg D'Oisans, a 25 mile descent before embarking on the final climb of Alpe d'Huez.
With its 21 hairpins, this was a challenge and it was fascinating to see the number of camper vans already parked there a week before the tour was due!. Lots of cyclists too. A tough climb but we all made it to the top and met for drinks in one of the bars before swooping back down to meet the minibuses. It took 3 hours to drive back to Les Carroz and we missed our meal but an unforgettable day.

The last day we rode to Sixt Fer a Cheval, which as the title suggests has a horseshoe rock formation and is a pretty good sight. Again, glorious weather, a tootle along the valley, a drink and snack at lunchtime - at the cafe with the most unimaginative menu in France, 2 items! Then a detour to a waterfall and a whizz back home. Not bad for a rest day: 55 miles and 2000 metres of climbing!