The finish today in Avoriaz!

We are officially on the TOUR DE fRANCE ROUTE TODAY. The riders finished here tonight in front of us about 5:30pm. It is amazing we are staying on the very top of the mt here, a beautiful ski resort. Linda I need a partner that's for sure. i rode 2 days ,but I am hanging it up until Bordeaux. These are some steep A.... mts. I didn't quite train enough. LOL Phil is doing great, he is in his element. Lot's of great riders here, mostly the guys of course, a few women are in pretty great shape too. I will tour with Sophie the tour guide tomorrow and a few other non riders. it is amazing terrain, WOW. The little villages and spectacular mts. make a great back drop. We head out tomorrow to our next stop and will be there for 3 nights. Weather is fairly warm, but we had a huge thunder storm and hail yesterday afternoon, a nice change of pace.

Ambience, wine and food are suberb, and such an interesting group of people, always what we love. We have some great pictures but the are not co-operating for the blog. We will put them on the next post! BonJour P.S. TeamVelo Visalia-Friday-20 miles easy around Lake Geneva. Saturday-35 miles- Les Gets & Ascent to Avoriaz-last 15 miles 5-7% grade-4000 ft of climb. Sunday 35 miles-Col de Joux Plane 6.5 miles 3-11.5% grade, Ascent to Avoriaz-today's stage- 8.4 miles 6-7 %-5000 ft of climb. I spun at 6-7 mph-the pros attacked at 2-3 times faster-these guys are not normal!!! The crowds were unbelievable. We watched the finish at 50 meters, Andy Schleck rocketed past us, quite a ways behind Sammy Sanchez, and as we witnessed on the big screen somehow had enough in his Belgian legs to snatch a pivotol win in the first mountain stage of the 2010 Tour de France!! The big stars all came out to play!!! Will talk about Lance later-KADALAK

This is out of order,but we were having trouble downloading our pictures. We are attending our first official welcome meeting tonight, looks like our entire group has arrived. Riders from San diego, Vancouver, Portland, France, Kentucky, Los Angeles,

Boston, San Luis Obispo, Colorado, several couples and a few singles. We rode around Lake Geneva today about 20 miles, Phil, Judy and Frank. Equipment is great, Phil's bike arrived in tact and we are officially starting our tour tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. We will be ahead of the Teams by 1/2 day. Several teams including Rabo Bank will be checking into our hotel here in Geneva the same day we leave! This Looks to be an amazing experience! So far, so good. Au Revoir PS Denise and Raquel, I am sporting my WELLS FARGO bike shorts, giving Rabo some competition.

Viva la`france

Judy and I have arrived in France. Out flight was filled with some very interesting individuals-from crying babies - to 2 middle eastern looking guys who refused to sit down while the plane was taxiing- both almost came to fisticuffs with the stewards- to a puking in the aisle terrorist looking dude-and we did not know until we got off the plane-there was a dog traveling under the seat ahead of us. Weather is hot. We are struggling to stay awake a few more hours before tonight. I do not sleep on airplanes. We are challenged by a few computer issues-nothing out of the ordinary. All for now - be safe-KADALAK P.S Great news we just met Jessie And Michael-recent Cal Poly grads who write computer software for a living-they are part of our group VeloEchappe-no longer tech challenged-KADALAK

Happy Independence Day

Happy birthday USA!!! We had another eventful day. The girls left for Fiji.The LOOK is realizing no cell phones for 2 weeks. Our neighbors invited us over for a bbq. 20 UCLA students showed up the night before-they really know how to celebrate their independence!!! My bicycle is now packed in the black case below and ready to board Air France. The 2nd to last pic is of the traeger smoking marinated chicken breasts and rack of lamb=BAAHHH-good for us- not so good for the lamb!! French word of the day-Rack d'agneau-bon appetit-KADALAK

The Tour is on!! World Cup counts down. We need to pack now!!

Saturday July 3,2010. We start out with pic# 1 an abstract art rendition of the peloton . Question of the day-which direction is the peloton traveling and who is leading??? Pic #2 our essentials- shoes, helmets, gloves. Pic# 3 - my bicycle- 54cm specialized S works roubaix-comes with a compact on the front-34 cogs & a big cookie-32 on the back. Last pic-our suitcase -we are packing light- shorts,shirts , sandals and tums- if & when we forget something
-VISA- don't leave home without it!! In World Cup action Germany defeated Argentina @ Spain defeated Paraguay to advance to the semi's. I cannot wait to board Air France to witness the most exciting Tour de France in history. USA placed 4 cyclists in the top 11 in the Prologue Stage 1 in Rotterdam. Lance is back!! 4 seconds ahead of Contador- let the attacks begin!!-KADALAK

Matt is back!! 3 little pigs return home!!

The happy, healthy Matt Capel has appeared sporting some extravagant sunglasses purchased no doubt in the budding metropolis of Hudsonville,MI. Matt had a couple of tough weeks adapting to life here in the Valley- but that is ok- builds character. We always set an extra plate or two for dinner at our home- just in case!!The 3 little pigs made an encore appearance - famished- as usual- no not really hungry, but after downing 2 rib eyes, an endless salad, veggies, and the best ever- corn on the cob!!- they posed for this classic pic-Thanks- P.S. Somehow these three were nicknamed the 3 little pigs as Freshmen and the name stuck- you all finished strong -Be strong in college- Becca on the left will attend Trinity Christian College in Chicago, Bre will attend Concordia in Irvine,CA& Dizzy will attend Calvin in Grand Rapids ,MI- once again it is funny where we all end up!!!! KADALAK

Just another strange day in the Valley

Reality check- I asked Pudah- who is that old guy blogging on my computer? She responded- whose reading glasses are those
on the left? and whose wine is that on the right?? Enough said. Gracie our Poodle had her hair- no-her-ah- fur done today. She entered the Sassy Pooch Mobile Pet Salon -a normal curly poodle and exited a stylish patriotic pooch with red white & blue bows in her ears!!! Matt & Jake ate lunch at the famous Taco Truck- AKA ROACH COACH. The 5 gallon bucket on the left side is there for a reason-not just for trash & napkins. The last pic is the best. The boys are painting G Pa's building- it looks awesome. By the way Matt is in the running for the painter's "butt crack of the year award"- funny where we all end up- KADALAK