22 wheels, 130km, 3 cols, 30 litres of water, 1 minibus, and 50% sunshine, 50% storms. It could have gone one way or the other, but cycling from Chamonix to Bourg St Maurice turned out to be one of my best days on a road bike, ever! Joining a group of local Chamonix riders on the first day of their Chamonix to Nice bike trip, we left Cham at 830 in pretty miserable conditions. Wrapped up to the max, I umm-ed an ahh-ed over whether it was actually a good idea, since although I've been training, it's been mostly running, and not a lot of long endurance. In the end, decided to go for it, if for no other reason than to burn off my pizza from the night before. As it turned out, by the time we got to Megeve, the rain had dried up, the clouds had eased and the sun was trying to come out. What a totally, totally fab day ... it was long, but fortunately the legs held up, and the smiles lasted all day (along with the perfect riding temperatures and stunning views). And surprisingly, as we cruised the 20km descent into Bourg St Maurice from the Cormet de Roseland, I ended the day feeling better than I think I ever have after that many hours on a bike. Very happy to have been a part of day 1, and delighted not to be as out of cycling shape as I feared. Roger - thanks for organising and good luck with the rest of the trip everyone - was an absolute pleasure to join you for the start!