Briancon Day 1

Today saw our first day in the mountain town of Briancon (The highest town in Europe sitting at an altitude of 1,326m). First impressions of this place are good with insanely good views of the alps surrounding us in every direction.

The start of the day saw us frantically scrambling to find a live stream of the state of origin game two to watch the mighty maroons level the series at 1-1. Looking forward to watching another series win in Grenoble in a few weeks time.

After the game it was time to start unpacking our bikes and building them up for the weeks riding. We got of to a bit of a false start with several chain and derailleur issues and even a cracked frame stalling our intentions to get out on the bikes. After a trip to the local bike shop for some parts and some self learning in bike mechanics we were finally up and running.

With time running short we decided we would go for a quick ride around the town to familiarise ourselves with the main routes out of town which we would be taking over the next few days here. Initially it took a bit of getting used to sticking to the right hand side of the road, particularly at round a bouts but you get used to it pretty quickly. 

After getting a grip on the town we took a little taste tester up the Col d'Izoard which sits at a peak of 2,361m. While we only went a short way up it is easy to see how these climbs will take a toll on the body with the climb being approx 20kms in length. The air is also noticeably thinner and breathing is definitely a lot harder then what we are used to. 

Up next we took a trip up to the top part of town which included a few little kickers with gradients > 15%. At the top we found the route d'italie which is the main road to the Italian border and we will be taking this road up to some of the Italian climbs in the coming days. We road a little way down the road and got our first taste of the views which we will be looking at in the coming days.

All in all, after a bit of a false start, the day ended on a positive note and a little taste of what we are in for over the rest of the trip. Up tomorrow is the Col d'Izoard and the Col du Granon