Our upcoming tour of the French Alps rises from years of idle daydreaming, followed by countless iterations of refining our planned itinerary. Right now it feels pretty perfect, assuming that we prove up to the task. My planning document lists 18 passes significant enough that I could find profiles for them on Climbbybike, including several of the big names - Ventoux, Madeline, Izoard, Galibier, Var, Allos, Croix de la Fer. Ouch.

I never really expected to take this trip, thinking that if we were going to bike this challenging landscape we should have done so when our knees were about 15 years younger. Surprisingly though we seem to be getting stronger and tougher as the years go on, so we're going for it. This will be the most ambitious month on a bike the two of us have spent together, and we're just a bit apprehensive about it. One way or another though it will be an amazing experience for us.