Day 7: Kind regards from l’Alpe d’Huez

Details

From:Villard de Lans (France), Place Chabert

To: Alpe D’huez (France), Avenue des jeux

Distance: 91 km

Weather: Cold, rainy, fog, some snow. Lots of wind from all directions. Altitude: 1860 meter

20 partners and their iron horses conquered the Alpe D’huez. They all made it. Some without ever being mentioned in this blog. To assure they don’t get into problems when they get home (how can they prove they were here), we opted for a somewhat different approach today. Each participant has been asked to summarize in one or two sentences their experiences of the last week.

Here is what they wrote:

Wim V: Let’s stop complaining about “global warming”: average temperature today was no more than 10 degrees with snow on the top of “the Alpe”. Sincere congratulations to all those who endured this during the whole week and climbed the famous Alpe !! For sure, see you next time.

Rolf D: We left Belgium with a lot of sunshine, entering France, we got confronted with some rain, fog, clouds, today we were witness of some snowfall. Although the weather got worse every day, the team spirit grew day-by-day. Great week, great sport, great challenge but above all great colleagues!

Sven A: With only 3 months of preparation, I started last week with some mixed feelings. But, after a few kilometers, I felt that this is what I wanted to be part of! Nice conversations on the bike, beautiful environments like the Burgundy region and for sure partners to be proud of. Count me in for next time!

Stefaan P: Every morning we made a ‘departure picture’. On one day, Piet V said : “No horses (bikes) on it.” I answered: “Only the donkeys”. It was a real challenge to ride the trip. But we did it! Straight to the top. And as a bonus we got a lot of fun and friendship.

Dirk H: At this moment we’re sitting in a small restaurant on the top of Alpe d’Huez. When I look around in this room I feel a lot of respect of what we all did in group. But what we reached wasn’t possible without the support of the ‘home’. So thank you ladies and kids for all your support and understanding during this week and during the weeks of preparation.

Donald N: Having only participated to a part of the trip, I was amazed by the cohesion the group was showing when I arrived on Wednesday. The ones having difficulties were waited for, cheered or helped if needed. Also for the ones having ambitions to win a climb or arrive first in the restaurant or hotel, there was more than enough “testosterone” in the air to try to “kill” each other – in a sporty way of course – and drink a good beer afterwards discussing the war stories. I specifically want to thank the organizers as I had the feelings we were really treated as “pros”.

Dirk C: In the weeks before the event, I had some mixed feelings about whether the cohesion in the partner group would be strong enough to hold the extreme challenges we probably would have to face: extreme weather conditions, (too) long trips, fatigue, … Today however I am extremely proud on what I have seen in the past week. Thank you all for this (again) amazing experience. And I hope the enthusiasm of today can be translated in some extra sponsoring donations…

Piet V: Not only the wine becomes better with the years (something we have tested every evening) , also our bi-annual trips to a col in France are getting better every year. This was again a great ride after driving to Lourdes (Tourmalet ) and to Mont Ventoux . I was – together with my GPS – responsible for making sure we found the right way in this immense country which France is. This GPS has also recorded some statistics for those who like figures: we have been on the bike for 56 hours (including some stops, we have driven 1070 km , we had an average per km of 25, we have climbed 11.400 meter. I have consumed 29.000 Kcal (of course the last one is personal). But the last statistic was not in my GPS: I have enjoyed every minute of this trip!

Yves F: Great players win games but great teams win Championships! Here we had both great cyclers and a fantastic team where we all did our best in a true sense of partnership. I was privileged to be part of this team and it is was a great example of how the right people share the same enthusiasm and values within our network, irrespective of where we come from. As the representative of the Luxembourg “farm” (dixit Rony), looking after our pigs and cows, I really enjoyed this fantastic experience. As a Belgian expatriated in Luxembourg, it is so good to feel at home in both countries! Congratulations to the Belgian partnership to show that good food with clients at the restaurant goes hand in hand with sport activities! Let me try and replicate this in the Grand Duchy – what a challenge!

André C:Today the ride was from Villars de Lans to Alpe d’Huez. We started in the Fog, risking our lives on the road to Grenoble, “cela ressemblait au Tour de 1948” où il neigeat à Villars… et à Bourg D’oisans”. We were lucky; there was no snow in Bourg this year, well melting snow in l’Alpe D’huez. Great feeling to get there, but really biting on my “teeth flesh”. I really enjoyed the week.

Frank V: The most wonderful about these days is that they reflect the most valuable things in live: exceed yourself physically, experience friendship, enjoy nature, be part of a group, …. Thanks to all!!!

Stijn D:When I registered for this cycling event I could not imagine what a fantastic experience this would be. The trip has allowed to better understand what people are capable of once they set a goal for themselves. Truly, a fantastic experience with a fantastic group of people.

Stefan VT: an incredible teambuilding event and for some participants like myself an excellent opportunity to surmount and exceed oneself working for several months towards a goal to beat the famous Alpe D’Huez!

Patrick D: It was a fantastic week. Every evening, André was our “sommelier”. He takes always the best wine. His motivation: with a good wine in the evening, it will be a good ride in the morning. Thank you, André. We will miss you choices.

Marc B: There’s no place to take a different perspective than from the top of the Alpe d’Huez after having cycled to the top, all alone, in the rain.

Marc M: after having built up condition during 4 months – and having lost some weight! – the Alpe d’Huez adventure started six days ago, and we’ve made it now, we climbed the Alpe d’Huez this afternoon, an experience never to forget. Now it’s party time, it was a great experience during which we discovered some very nice tracks in Belgium and France, looking forward to next edition!

Chris V: This week was a week that had all you can imagine: great team spirit, outstanding atmosphere, true kilometers and real mountains. Last but least, an unbelievable last day (and evening) that has set the standard for future initiatives for good causes.

Philip D: top experience, top achievement, top atmosphere, top team, … only at Deloitte!!! Thank you guys for this wonderful week! See you in 2 years on the bike again!!!

A final word from and for the spouses, from Ann V and Ann C: We can ensure all partners are alive and kicking. And if you do not believe us, you can ask the barkeeper of ‘La Fondue en Folie’ at l’Alpe d’Huez who can confirm this. Kind regards from l’Alpe d’Huez. They all made it to the top and were in perfect shape to dance all night. Congratulations to all and many thanks to the drivers!

Rony W: Dear audience, thanks for being with us this week. We had over 1000 hits a day. Remember why we did it. You can still contribute.