As long as I've been following the Tour de France - since 1989, when Greg le Mond won by eight seconds on the final day - I've been enthralled by the idea of trying to ride one of the great climbs: the great cols - Glandon, Tourmalet, d'Aubisque, Galibier, Telegraphe - or any of the other monsters: the Port de Bales, the Hautacam, and especially the Mont Ventoux or l'Alpe d'Huez. Who knows if it'll ever happen, since a) I'd need to ride a better bike for more than four miles a day and b) holy crap are the guided tours expensive.
But in the meantime, I am hooked on "The Climb," a new blog by Rob Mackey in the New York Times' "Play" magazine. Mackey, a smart, fit guy but by no means a stud rider, is training to try to ride the Tourmalet in July. He's got 33 days to go. It's gripping stuff, frankly - man against mountain, mind over matter, blogger versus naysaying commenters...