Ciao from the mountains!

Here's a photo of Heather and a friendly St. Bernard atop Colle Belvedere which is actually higher (2588 meters) than the little St. Bernard pass (the paved road) used by the bike races, including last year by that French race in July. We cheated a bit and took the chairlift to the first station, then rode the bikes the rest of the way up. Riding on the dirt roads reminded us of the old days when Giro and Tour riders rode on tracks of this quality, using bicycles far less sophisticated than those of today. This was especially true when we returned "home" to watch the Tour on TV -- and saw they essentially neutralized the stage and let the six breakaways have 12 minutes by the end of the day -- because it was too hot! Sure it's hot, it's JULY in France folks! Let's hope some riders and directors decide to resume racing soon, no matter what the temperatures are.