LaFuga, QueFiga, Marseille, Italian Riviera

Be prepared...this is a long post!


So here are some pics...more added frequently...
https://picasaweb.google.com/116796398801334726146/MONVENTOUX?authkey=Gv1sRgCPHP567rqZ_yyAE&feat=directlink
Here are lafuga's pics
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41002211@N03/sets/72157626844695843/

These are pics of my experience working for LaFuga.cc on Mon Ventoux in France. One of the most famous climbs in all of cycling. It's on the Tour De France every year, and one man who died, Tom Simpson, of which there is a memorial at the top: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mont_Ventoux#Tour_de_France

The LaFuga Experience:
So I was "hired" on Tuesday and started on Wednesday night. Left Tuscany at www.peraltatuscany.com on Tuesday afternoon and went to Chiavari, then got on train on Wednesday morning and went all the way to Nice StAugustin.
The border at Ventimiglia/France was somewhat chaotic. It was just four Gendarmes standing at the top of the stairs leading down and back up to the other tracks. Anyone dark, ethnic or out of the mainstream was stopped. I was used to checkpoints with the huge brumblebeard...but this time I was waved through without a second glance!

A few hours later at a tiny stop in France I got out and called Gregg who was running a little late due to traffic. So I watched the lighting and listened to the thunder as it slowly passed from my left to my right. A huge Fiat Ducato rolled up with a 12 bike roof rack. We then had a little wait at the airport for Ross, one of the directors and then headed up to a town near Grasse where the HQ is located.

I think Gregg mentioned the movie "Ronin" which was shot in the area, and from then on it reminded me heavily of the movie. A handful of people go to a remote town in France and plan their "Attack" on the area. It was just a bicycle attack, but when I arrived all the bikes, bike parts, radios, computers, cell phones and other gear, along with two vans and a trailer made it seem real. And it made want to save up and do one of their tours!!!

So after some FNG (effin new guy) tasks like scrubbing the van and doing the dishes and putting together welcome packets we got to bed.

Next morning was more moving stuff around and packing the vans. I got shirts from there, which are awesome! Then we went to the airport to pick up an irishman, a brit and a brit lady...sounds like the start of a joke. Well the joke was on me. I had to navigate from the airport to Carpentras and they had a TomTom but I'd never used it and it's wayyyy to user-friendly and retarded, and so after some awkward silences and Ross grabbing the map I ended up taking the scenic route on a secondary highway which was actually very scenic, but added some time to the trip. I HATE NAVIGATION UNITS! THEY WILL MAKE US ALL RETARDED! THROW YOURS AWAY!!!

Once at the place we used the roof terrace to build up the clients bikes. The clients were mostly top level people from the company and a few manufacturing floor and sales rep type of people as well. All the clients really enjoyed all the bikes and talking to us guides and everyone was playing with their bikes and talking cycling. After that was dinner down the street.

okay this is getting a bit boring. On to the big day...the Mon Ventoux Climb for Life! Which is a funny name because you'll nearly die in the process. The goal was to go up and down the mountain three times from three different routes. Everyone met their goals and had a great time. It was a little rushed for us because there were only two vehicles and three guides, which meant once things got spread out it was tough to keep everything together...I ended up loaning out all my warm clothes at the top and getting newspapers to stuff under people's jersey's so they'd keep warm on the descent. Also at the top there were too many people and bikes for one of the vans. So I volunteered (such a sacrificial lamb I am) to take myself and a lafuga bike down the hill. I should mention that the lafuga bikes are carbon fiber specialized models with full Ultegra...niiiiiiice.

Then after everyone went back up and past me at chalet reynard, which is about 6km from the top, ended up riding up with the last two riders to help cheer them on. This was all done on a tiny frame with some sandals and rolled up jeans...very classy, very professional, very Portland.

At the big celebration that night Chris, who had crashed on the way back after the summit ended up being the awards presenter. He was fucking absolutely nut crushingly hilarious. I want an iPhone app that's like those old dolls. You pull the string and then Chris just says something. Only I want the 10,000 phrase full Chris database in it though!

After the trip I had no plans...no idea about France etc. I ended up hanging with one of the clients from the trip and crashing on the floor of his hotel room in Marseille, and sitting at the beach all day with topless women. The air was hot as hell and the water was cold as fucking hell. After two days of that I decided back to Chiavari to plan my next mission...Barcelona...eastern europe...and by the way, Chiavari ain't bad either!

The dilley and his toes in Chiavari...