.....that's how I'll be busying myself over the next week.
The Trophee de l'Oisans - La Vaujany cyclosportive (173km/4400m climbing); Le Prix des Grandes Rousses (40km/1900m climbing); La Marmotte (174km/5000m climbing); La Grimpee de L'Alpe d'Huez (13.2km - 21 switchbacks) !
Loads of mountain passes to crest - including mythic Tour de France climbs, and many miles to cover in between.
It sounded a good idea at the time to sign up. But now the time has come to step up to the plate - and boy will it be a challenge.
Apart from the obvious distances involved, what I fear the most is coping with the heat. Normally, I would have had a few days of hot weather cycling by now. But somehow, the summer hasn't quite arrived in London and I can barely remember what real heat is like !
I spoke to the proprietor of the apartment we'll be staying in today and she said there's wall to wall sunshine and it's 32 degrees celsius. My exploits in a couple of days' time up the col d'Ornon, col de Malliol and col de la Mort etc could end up literally being a baptism of fire.
But still, I'm really looking forward to being in such a beautiful setting and discovering new places - and hopefully I'll get me and my bike up a few climbs as well.
Now where's my bike ....?
