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A Tour of Our Own

Riding the French Alps: A Tour of Our Own

Flying into Geneva, Switzerland, I could barely stand the excitement of my upcoming trip in the French Alps last summer.

I have cycled the Alps many times before this with my Belgian friends, plus one from Canada--all men--but this time was going to be different. I brought along my bike mentor and close friend, Louise. This trip would be extra special, indeed.

Louise got me to serious cycling when I was 21 years old and it changed my life-I'm sure many would say the same about their start in cycling. She also turned me on to bike touring.Click  here��all women tours

Now, Louise is in her seventies years old and is still a full-time ski instructor and avid cyclist, so I was thrilled when she committed to going to France with me. We trained all summer, riding the passes of Mount Rainier in Washington State and riding on weekends locally. By the time August rolled around, we were trained and ready for our alpine adventures.

After driving from France to Switzerland, we headed down to the small village of St. Jean de Sixt, where we would base ourselves for the next week and ride a different "col" or climb every day. From our family run hotel, the view from our wood-shuttered windows featured a mountain sunset every night as we ate dinner of food and wine from the region.

Our day would start with a breakfast of croissants, chocolate rolls and fresh baked baguettes with homemade jams and coffee, lots of coffee. My friends, Marc and Michel, who both Louise and I met at decade ago on bike trip in Spain, had route maps and cue sheets for the days' rides. Half the fun was discussing the route!

On our weeklong stay, we hit the major climbs in the region, many of which are often chosen for the Tour de France. Some of these climbs included: the Col de Aravis, Col de Columbiere, Col de Saises.

Each of these climbs has their own charm. For example, the climb up the Aravis is wide open with tons of hiking trails and cheese making factories. At the top, you'll be treated to a beautiful view of Mt. Blanc and cows with their bells ringing in the distance. On the Columbiere, which becomes notoriously steep at the top, you'll see goats, cows and horses, clinging to the sides of rocky hillsides. On the Saisies, you'll switch back and forth through meadows and farms with Mt. Blanc in the distance, and at the top, reach a ski town and resort.

By car, we explored around the larger towns of Annecy and Chamonix--all within an hour drive. You can take the same back roads that you bicycle to get to these places. In fact, by car, you'll discover even more small roads and little known climbs.

A Trip for Women Only

I was so inspired by riding my own pace with one of my best girlfriends, that I decided to recruit a few other gals and start my own tour based out of the Chamonix Valley in France.

Part of what made our experience so great was that we were prepared. For this tour, I have a recruited USAT Triathlon coach and physical therapist/athletic trainer to create a 12-week training plan with thee teleseminars and email access to a coach. This luxury tour includes sag support, one 1-hour massage massage and gourmet food and wine served by our hosts in a mountain chalet.

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Callaway Golf Tour Pros and the Clubs They Play

The 40 or so men and women tour professionals on the Callaway Golf staff come from the world's premier professional golf tours, including the PGA Tour, European PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour.

They are elite players with extremely high standards. Who are they, and which Callaway clubs do they play?

A few are spotlighted below, followed by a complete listing of Callaway Golf tour professionals.

Phil Mickelson

Callaway Golf tour pro Phil Mickelson is currently the No. 2 ranked player in the world, having amassed 34 PGA Tour wins, including three majors. Here's something you may not know about Phil: golf is the only thing he does left-handed. The pro known as "Lefty" began the game as a left-hander so he could mirror his dad's right-handed swing during practice. Learn more all women tours

"I've been using this Diablo fairway wood," Phil said recently about the new Big Bertha Diablo Series. "This is the best fairway wood I've ever hit."

In Phil's Bag:

FT-9 Driver Big Bertha Diablo Fairway Woods Tour Authentic X-Prototype Irons 5-9 X-Forged Irons 3-4 White Hot XG #9 Putter Ernie Els Callaway Golf tour pro Ernie Els competes globally and has won 48 worldwide titles, including three majors. Nicknamed "The Big Easy" for his long, fluid golf swing, the 6'3" Els was a consummate athlete in his youth, excelling in rugby, tennis, cricket and other sports.

Like Phil Mickelson, when it comes to Callaway drivers, The Big Easy swings the FT-9 Driver. Ernie also favors Tour Authentic X-Prototype Irons.

In Ernie's Bag:

FT-9 Driver X Fairway Woods Tour Authentic X-Prototype Irons 3-9 Tour Milled 1 Putter Annika Sorenstam To say that Callaway Golf tour pro Annika Sorenstam is the greatest female golfer of all time is no stretch. Annika, now retired from tour competition, collected 72 LPGA Tour wins (including 10 majors) in her Hall-of-Fame career. She is also the only woman to fire a 59 in a tour event.

Known for her precision play, Annika has played Callaway irons throughout her career. She currently plays two models: Tour Authentic X-Prototype Irons and X-18 Irons.

In Annika's Bag:

FT-5 Driver X Fairway Woods Tour Authentic X-Prototype Irons 7-9 X-18 Irons 4-6 White Hot XG 2-Ball Putter Graeme McDowell Callaway Golf tour pro Graeme McDowell is an up-and-coming player on the European PGA Tour who has won four times and was a member of the 2008 European Ryder Cup team. The Irishman played collegiate golf at the University of Alabama, where he was ranked No. 1 in the United States and won an amazing six of 12 college tournaments.

In Graeme's Bag:

Fusion FT-3 Driver X Fairway Woods 15 X-Forged Irons 3-9 White Hot 7 Putter Gary Player Callaway Golf tour pro Gary Player is a living golf legend. Still active on the Champions Tour, the man nicknamed "The Black Knight" has won 163 tournaments worldwide and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. Gary also won nine majors in his illustrious career and is one of only a few players to achieve the career Grand Slam, winning the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship by the age of 29.

In Gary's Bag:

FT-5 Driver Steelhead III Fairway Wood 4+ Steelhead Plus Fairway Wood Heavenwood Hybrids X Hybrids X-Tour Irons 6-9 Tri Hot 3 Putter Complete List of Callaway Tour Pros PGA Tour Stuart Appleby Cameron Beckman Notah Begay III Olin Browne Ernie Els J.J. Henry Fredrik Jacobson Danny Lee Rocco Mediate Phil Mickelson James Oh Nicholas Thompson

LPGA Tour Sandra Gal Vicky Hurst Leta Lindley Morgan Pressel Momoko Ueda

European PGA Tour Thomas Bjorn Michael Campbell Nick Dougherty Niclas Fasth Alastair Forsyth Stephen Gallacher Anton Haig Thongchai Jaidee Michael Lorenzo-Vera Graeme McDowell Alexander Noren Alvaro Quiros Robert Rock Marcel Siem Oliver Wilson

Nationwide Tour Bubba Dickerson Nick Flanagan

Champions Tour Mark McNulty Gary Player Eduardo Romero

Golf Icons David Leadbetter Johnny Miller Arnold Palmer Annika Sorenstam Justin Timberlake