Stage 4

Sorry for the delay!  Rode Stage 4 yesterday, but got in late and the internet was too slow to load up a blog before crashing.  Anyway, the stage was relatively uneventful.  We were delayed leaving Lorient (a nice little ocean-side town) by a draw bridge letting sail boats in and out.  Then we got going on another "flat" stage. 

If you've ever taken the road from Vancouver to Whistler, you'll know that it's pretty much up and down the whole way.  You blast through the descents, so most of the time is spent climbing.  Surprisingly, the "flat" stages on the Tour aren't that much different.  The ride to Whistler has around 6000ft of climbing, and Stage 4 had around 7000ft, plus an extra 60km or so.  Then to top it off, the "flat" stage ends with the Mur-de-Bretagne, a 2km climb with sections as steep as 15%!  Calling a stage flat in the Tour reminds me of Hawaiian surf reports... it's usually a lot bigger than they lead you to believe. 

Lots of beautiful country to make up for some lousy farm roads.  And for the first time I didn't spend much time fighting the wind.  That really got my spirits up, but overall the goal for the day was to take it easy and rest my knees, which were getting sore the day before.  It worked, and I finished the day feeling pretty good about myself.  181.41km in 7:22:53 for an avg speed of 24.88km/h and avg power of 135W (160W normalized).

Big thanks to dad too for driving the support vehicle!