Photo of the Day: Albert Bourlon - 1947 TDF

Albert Bourlon won stage 14 of the 1947 Tour de France. He broke from the peloton just minutes after the start, and then rode solo for 253km. 

Crown Range Switchbacks

Seven certified Euro-style switchbacks on Crown Range road in Otago, New Zealand. 

Camila and I drove from Queenstown to Wanaka today via the Crown Range. The road starts at 400 meters elevation and quickly gains 200 meters through the switchbacks. It then levels off for 1-2km before heading up to the pass at 1,076 meters. This is one of the highest paved roads in New Zealand (the access roads to Coronet Peak and The Remarkables ski-fields are higher).


I'll be back later with my bicycle. 

Bucket List: Ticlio Pass, Peru

Good news and bad news. The good news is that I found a massive 4,818 meter climb. The bad news is that Alto de Letras (which I climbed in February) is not in fact the world's biggest mountain pass.

X-axis = kilometers. Y-axis = meters.

Ticlio Pass (also known as Anticona) is located approximately 150km northeast of Lima, Peru. Starting at sea level in Lima, the road climbs at a gentle 3.5% average gradient all the way to 4,818 meters. The final 50km average 5%.