This is the 2nd day of riding in the Alps and I chose to ride out to Col du-Lautaret and Col du-Galibier - The Tour de France of 2011 had a dramatic finish on these really tough climbs. I was not even really sure if I could do it. I took the cable car from Venosc to the top of Duex Alpes, a ski resort. This started my 7-mile downhill run Lake du Chambon. This is a massive lake with a big hydroelectric power station on it. After that it was a steady uphill climb to Col du-Lautaret. It was a long 25-mile ride in a stiff headwind to the ski lodge on Lautaret at 6,700 ft. The climbing is not done yet! After a break there, I started the steady 10-12% grade and 6-mile climb to Col du Galibier at 8,500 ft! The road was narrow and had steep drops on both sides. The presence of cows grazing at that elevation gave me a very calming feeling as I approached the summit. I made it to this difficult peak just using my middle front chain-ring as I knew an even tougher ride was coming tomorrow. I was exhilirated to scale this mountain. Then I rode back to Lautaret and had lunch with a delightful family. Mr. Bruno works at Lyon was had a lovely wife and children who were most friendly and welcoming. Then it was a long downhill all the way to Bog d'Oisans and then back more hairpin bends to the Venosc village where I started. I felt like I could have climbed to the clouds that day. A 15-km ride was to humble me back to earth the very next day!