Neil Hutchins

@GoldBianchiman Gorges de la Nesque? I was there with my Specialissima a few weeks ago after going up Ventoux.

@FrazerGoodwin @100Climbs I’ve just looked up the results Frazer (isn’t it incredible that’s still online). I’m going for a *just* inside the time cut. 😄

@NeilHutchins @100Climbs I bought hot chocolate in that bar, then used the hot air hand drier in the toilet to warm my hands. I bought ski gloves and a fleece from intersports across the road. Finished inside the time cut 😃

I wish this had been the Etape stage. It’s stunning.

@FrazerGoodwin @100Climbs Ha! I did that Etape. Horrific conditions on the descent of the Tourmalet. I stopped at Barèges and a lovely lady from the cafe was handing out hot coffee. I bonked a bit on the last few kms up the Hautacam because I hadn’t been able to get any food in me and all the shivering.

@100Climbs Be careful for what you wish - the coldest I've ever been on a bike was on l'étape over the Tourmalet in 2014 (we rode opposite direction in the pouring rain, freezing fog on top and sleet on the descent - nearly fell off the bike shivering so hard by Barèges - LOADS abandoned).

@petercossins I’m staying just west of there in Lapradelle for a week in the summer so this might need to go on my list of rides (along with several others from your Pyrenees book). I’m pretty scared of heights though so I might not be riding one handed and filming!

@thebandit007 Done

Day 3 ride. Raising money for Mirai no Mori. Need another $27! globalgiving.org/fundraisers/mi…

Nevertheless, a great day. The legs were good after that week in Switzerland. I felt like I could just plug away endlessly on the climbs and finished with plenty in reserve.

The Granfondo Les 3 Ballons today. Over 200kms with the return to the start and well over 4000 metres of climbing. Though misty and drizzly conditions and it rained heavily with 2kms to go on La Planche des Belles Filles and then on the descent back so ended up completely frozen.

It was probably an error recovery-wise to then do the long hike to the “Sherlock ledge” around the Reichenbach Falls in completely unsuitable footwear afterwards but I had to do that and the Sherlock Holmes museum really before I leave Meirignen tomorrow.

All in all, it’s been a pretty tiring four days’ riding and I really need a couple of days of rest before the granfondo on Saturday.

One final HC col today up the Grimselpass makes it 4 in 4 days. Today was more of a grind up the very long climb until the true majesty of Swiss road (and hydroelectric) engineering was revealed towards the top.

Finally, after all that excitement, a cruise around the lake back to my apartment with a bit of bonus cycle path and gravel thrown in. Utterly exhausted after the last three days and grovelled back to base.

After the climb was the dizzyingly thin, winding descent surrounded by the Wetterhorn. Equally exhilarating, jaw-dropping, terrifying and exhausting and with the prize of the north face of the Eiger at the bottom in Grindelwald

Another stunning ride in the Swiss Alps🇨🇭. Today the Gross Schiedegg. Mentioned by a few as one of the most stunning climbs in Europe and it certainly didn’t disappoint. After a drizzly morning, the sun finally came out at the top of the mountain for utterly life affirming stuff

The very top of the pass is still closed for another week or so which gave me the opportunity of riding almost to the top completely undisturbed as opposed to enduring the normal heavy traffic on the pass. What a privilege!

A second completely stunning Swiss 🇨🇭 mountain ride this morning up the magnificent Susten for 24kms to the Stein Glacier (Steingletscher) with absolutely no traffic. A most epic piece of road with incredible vistas.

I knew that the top of the climb was closed but pressed on anyway, thinking it was because of snow and rode through the scarily pitch black, muddy, freezing and gravelly tunnel just before the end only to find a landslide blocking the route. I escaped down as the weather changed.

The rest of the route was absolutely stunning. A constantly changing gradient and a constantly changing climb that felt like about 4 different ‘best’ climbs stitched together.

A rare few tweets from me this week as I’m in Switzerland and France doing some cycling so I’ll post the stories of the days on here.