First (successful) long(ish) tour complete

Set off through the French Alps last week with one goal to get to Nice for the finish of the Tour de France. This was very lightly packed as we were “credit card touring”. Had plenty of advice here and learned plenty en route much appreciated.
Will cover the route, the TdF, the accommodation/food, the mechanicals(🔧), what was learnt, and any tips for this area.

The Route:
We pretty much stuck to our plan which was nice. After a 2am start to get to Geneva and sharing a hostel with loads of rowdy Germans pretty poor sleep for day 1 but an easy day.
Day 1. Geneva-Annecy ~69km 🗻700m
Day 2. Annecy-Saint Jean de Maurienne 132km 🗻2591m 🔴Col de Forclaz, Col de la Madeleine. 🔧
Day 3. SJdM-Le Bourg d’Oisans 98km 🗻2906m 🔴Col du Telegraph, Col du Galibier
Day 4. A rest of sorts with staying in one location. We cut this short after being mentally and physically tired. 33km 🗻1151m 🔴Alpe d’Huez
Day 5. BdO-Guillestre 120km 🗻2996m 🔴Col du Lautaret, Col d’Izoard.
Day 6 pt1. Guillestre-Barcelonnette 50km 🗻1190m 🔴Col de Vars.
Day 6 pt2. Barcelonnette-Les Thuilles-PraLoup 1600. 25km 🗻537m 🔴PraLoup 1600
Day 7 PraLoup – Nice 157km 🗻1899m 🔴cime de la Bonnette

Le Tour 💛🇫🇷
The main purpose. We hit the last 4 stages. With our long wait in Barcelonnette we could see the finish of St18.
St19. I’ve previously posted asking advice on this. 4hrs before stage start the Gendarme wouldn’t let us pass the summit of the Bonnette to reach Isola where we planned to watch the stage to make check in. Due to the night before accommodation shambles I had 3 brioche buns and 2gels until 8pm. A very grim last 40k. Shoutout to Visma for giving me a bottle and a gel.
Once in Nice we stayed there for stages 20/21. Didn’t want to see a bike again.

Accommodation/Food:
As detailed Geneva Hostel not a great start but could be manageable with a later flight time. In Annecy at the Premiere Classe my booking wouldn’t go through the automated reception so managed to cancel and book on the spot (for less somehow).
SJdM okay there was nothing here for food. We ended up on a McDonalds raid, after my suffering on the Madeleine not ideal but weirdly felt mega the next day (electrolyte?).
Barcelonnette/PraLoup. Despite booking.com saying by 6pm there was no option for key collection until after 1930h at another village off route between Barcelonnette and PraLoup which meant a 25k ride after an afternoon in the heat watching the TdF. Not ideal and worth noting if you book a “studio apartment” at a ski station. Key safes for some reason seem uncommon in France.
Nice. Despite many road closures for the TdF (which we were delayed by) our accommodation were very strict on 7pm which we missed. Thankfully we sorted something for 120EUR that evening on the spot. Possibly due to TdF but Nice was very limited in accommodation options and very expensive.
Food. Barring SJdM great range of cheap and filling meals en route. Carrefour had a great range of wraps and microwave rice dishes while fruit and veg was very cheap and high quality. Restaurant portions were all suitably filling. Any questions about recommendations in these finish towns ask away.

Mechanicals 🔧
A major influence. A seat post slip was sorted on day one no issues there, my own fault.
On day 2 after purchasing hand built wheels specifically for durability a spoke came loose before the Madeleine. With a set of pliers i managed to get it semi trued however brake rub became a recurring theme of every Col.
exploding rear mech. Possibly my own fault here. Tried to run a 30T in a Short Cage mech. En route to PraLoup on day 6.2 cable pulled through the clamping bolt. Pliers and multi tool got it fixed although some issues with tension led to a chain in the spokes. Got it bodged to Nice ft some grinding on the Bonnette.

What was learnt/tips:
1-Bring pliers lol all round life saver. A spoke key is useful too.
2- Climbing.
The alps aren’t all long and steady. Most are and 36-30 worked but in a dark place on the Madeleine I was begging for smaller. The upper slopes of the Galibier and the Forclaz are prolonged 10+% too. Read the profiles of climbs. In France the signs tell you the next km gradient but google profiles of all climbs. The one I didn’t was the Madeleine. This was also the climb that had me in the pits.
3- Descending.
Having the road ahead on the Garmin is a lifesaver. I punctured at 60kph on the Bonnette. With my map I could see there was a drop off hairpin ahead so sent myself into the closest grass verge to stop before.
4- Sundays in Rural France are horrific. We only just made carrefour for closing at 1230 for lunch and dinner was restricted to a McDonalds.
5- having a shorter day or even just two nights in one place is great to sampl the local riding and mentally reset on a day without bags
6- Orangina is magic

Pyrenees next 🗻

In memory of the pair of sliders lost on day one but upgraded in decathlon to adidas ones.