We woke up around 7am and had breakfast in the hotel shortly after.
We weren't sure what the check-in process would be like for the Haute Route so we both felt a little anxious in the morning hours. We were instructed to bring our suitcase (plus bike box) to drop off so we brought all of our stuff inside our suitcase as we weren't sure if they would be inspecting our gear as there were some mandatory items on the packing list (ex. gloves, arm warmers, jacket, etc.). With the check-in opening at 10am, we left our place around 9am so that we had plenty of time to walk the 2 kilometers to the athlete village - with our suitcases. After arriving, we stood in line outside the village for around 20 minutes until the gate opened at 10am. It was finally happening. It was time to check in for the Haute Route Alps!
The check-in process had a lot of steps but it was very organized and everyone was very nice.
Step 1: Drop off suitcase, bike box and bike in a designated area.
Step 2: Pick up race packet and if using Haute Route Accomodations (which we did), pick up travel bag.
Step 3: Get our rental bikes from France Bike Rental.
Step 4: Drop off suitcase (and bike box) with tag to be picked up after the last stage at our final accomodation.
Step 5: Take pictures and buy some swag (and pretend we aren't nervous :)
Step 6: Walk bike and travel bag (with stuff inside) back to hotel (and get pastries along the way).
After much contemplation and discussion, we decided to rent road bikes for the Haute Route and travel with our mountain bikes for Xterra Czech. This was a last minute decision to change from our original plan of renting mountain bikes and traveling with our road bikes but we were really concerned about traveling with our road bikes from Vienna to Nice and then from Geneva to Vienna. We invested a lot into this event and waited several years for this event to happen and we didn't want to take any chances that our bikes would not arrive for the event. Although it was a little concerning to rent bikes for a 7-day event taking us over 500 miles, we were really pleased with our Pinarello Prince bikes that we rented, as well as the top notch service from Jeremy with France Bike Rentals. Karel brought my crank (155) to put on my rental bike, as well as my saddle and pedals. Karel also brought his own pedals. Jeremy let Karel go to work on my rental bike. Karel was prepared with a new chain and tools. I was so happy to see that we had matching white bikes and I could not have been more excited to ride my Pinarello for 7-days. Karel had this same bike back when we were dating so it was a bit nostalgic to be riding the same bike for this event
After we had some food back in our hotel (we picked up some items from the grocery the night prior), Karel did a quick bike fit for me (me clipped in holding the kitchenette sink) before we headed out for a spin. We were really tired - a combo of the travel, walking around a lot in Nice and still feeling some lingering soreness from Xterra Czech just a week prior) but it felt great to be on the bike and to get the blood flowing.
There was an organized Haute Route shake-out ride in the late afternoon which we thought about doing but we decided to ride on our own as we knew there would be several stops for pictures and a few adjustments on our bike fits. We had the GPS route from the shake-out ride and we mostly followed it for a scenic (and hilly) 18 mile loop.
I quickly fell in love with my rental bike and it was amazing how quickly I forgot that this was not my bike. It was a great feeling knowing that I get to ride this bike over 7-days. There were a few parts on the bike that could have made the bike a bit better (according to Karel's standards ;) but overall, it was a fantastic bike to ride. While my bike fit was perfectly dialed in, I wasn't comfortable when I was in the hoods as I had to stretch my fingers to grab the brakes. Not a problem - we biked by the Haute Route village and Jeremy adjusted the brakes and also changed the front tire (Karel noticed it was a bit worn and he wanted to make sure I didn't risk any flats). Karel made a few adjustments to his fit and we were both feelig a bit less nervous for Sunday - the official start of the Haute Route. It was a bit interesting biking through the city streets of Nice, but it was good to shake out the legs.
Physically we both felt pretty yucky during the ride but the scenery was incredibly. We were tired and just feeling off but the ride did help us out a bit. The ride took around 90 minutes (1700 feet of elevation gain) and we climbed for half of it and descended the other half. It was really cool to see the Tour de France signage as we were riding.
After we ate, it was nearing 6:45pm and we walked down the street to a building for the Haute Route Athlete Briefing/Welcoming. This is when it all got a bit real. Sitting amongst cyclists from all over the world, hearing all different languages, we started to feel the nerves again. We watched an inspirational video to get us excited about this tremendous physical feat that we were about to embark on and got a briefing on stage 1 of the event.
Lessons Learned
We didn't need to bring all of our gear and clothing to the check-in. We also brought way too many clothes with us for the event. We only needed about 2 outfits (and sleeping wear) as we didn't do much between stages except eat, rest and sleep. We brought 5-6 cycling jerseys (and a few bibs) which was good since we didn't have laundry access throughout the event (The Haute Route offered laundry for 2 items after stage 3 but we didn't use it). Instead of weighing down our suitcases with clothing that we didn't wear, I should have brought along more snacks for after each stage (instead of searching for groceries) and brought along more sport nutrition powder to refill bottles throughout each stage (instead of just relying on on-course nutrition). I think Karel would have benefited from having his Normatec boots to use after each stage. We brought a foam roller which was nice to have - even though it was often painful to foam roll the quads before each stage. The shake out ride was needed to move blood so that's something we always do before an event. Although our first two hotels had AC (stage 1 and 2), we didn't have AC for our entire Europe trip. I highly recommend this travel fan - it came in so handy, not just to cool us off but for the light sound during sleep. Under different circumstances, we would have ridden our own road bikes but we don't regret using France Bike Rentals. We purchased Package #3 and Jeremy was amazing. He would even clean our bikes after the stage and he was there after every stage if we needed anything. Our bikes came with a spare kit and CO2 and fully charged. Although our bikes would have been fine throughout the entire event, I had Jeremy charge my bike after stage 6. Karel had his charged after stage 5. I'm glad we went to the athlete briefing/wecoming ceremony as it was good to understand the briefing (which was always uploaded to our app) and to get to know some of the faces we would be seeing throughout the event.
We didn't need to bring all of our gear and clothing to the check-in. We also brought way too many clothes with us for the event. We only needed about 2 outfits (and sleeping wear) as we didn't do much between stages except eat, rest and sleep. We brought 5-6 cycling jerseys (and a few bibs) which was good since we didn't have laundry access throughout the event (The Haute Route offered laundry for 2 items after stage 3 but we didn't use it). Instead of weighing down our suitcases with clothing that we didn't wear, I should have brought along more snacks for after each stage (instead of searching for groceries) and brought along more sport nutrition powder to refill bottles throughout each stage (instead of just relying on on-course nutrition). I think Karel would have benefited from having his Normatec boots to use after each stage. We brought a foam roller which was nice to have - even though it was often painful to foam roll the quads before each stage. The shake out ride was needed to move blood so that's something we always do before an event. Although our first two hotels had AC (stage 1 and 2), we didn't have AC for our entire Europe trip. I highly recommend this travel fan - it came in so handy, not just to cool us off but for the light sound during sleep. Under different circumstances, we would have ridden our own road bikes but we don't regret using France Bike Rentals. We purchased Package #3 and Jeremy was amazing. He would even clean our bikes after the stage and he was there after every stage if we needed anything. Our bikes came with a spare kit and CO2 and fully charged. Although our bikes would have been fine throughout the entire event, I had Jeremy charge my bike after stage 6. Karel had his charged after stage 5. I'm glad we went to the athlete briefing/wecoming ceremony as it was good to understand the briefing (which was always uploaded to our app) and to get to know some of the faces we would be seeing throughout the event.