What's New?

Winter conditions here in the village normally mean that from December to early April we are unable to get a vehicle down the snow-blocked street to our house. Owing to the lack of snow and sunny weather this year, access has been possible for a couple of months now. This makes life - and more to the point, deliveries - so much easier.

So, in answer to 'What's New?'; we have recently been able to get a brand new, comfy L-shaped sofa installed in the living room. Although most visitors favour sitting in the saddle whilst here, there is always the Tour to follow on TV, not to mention our huge collection of cycling DVDs (some new titles there too for the 2011 season - thanks to Kirt in San Fransisco largely!). We will be giving the sofa a good trial run on your behalf during April for the Tour of Flanders and the Paris Roubaix!

Other recent deliveries include lots of timber, metal and concrete to finally tidy up our garden. We have always been a bit ashamed of our 'lawn' - it is probably 20% grass and 80% rock! So, in the true spirit of 'Groundforce', we are about to take advantage of the snow-free conditions and commence with a decking project. This should give you a much more pleasant area to enjoy post-ride drinks, outdoor bike building/mainteance and generally soaking up the splashing stream and mountain views at the back of the house.

Also this year, by popular demand, we have produced some posters which include some lovely images of Alpe d'Huez (see picture). It doesn't look nearly as tough in 2D!

As mentioned in our blog post back in January, we have a new(to us!) minibus too. An upgrade with turbo and much needed air-conditioning for those balmy summer Alpine days.

Other developments in the village include the naming of the village streets, which has never officially been done before (it is hinted that our road will be called 'Rue des Jardins' - a bit more positive than the parallel street; 'Rue des Avalanches'!).

Watch this space too for King of the Mountains T-shirt news, we'll keep you posted....