Longtime friend of the Vicious Cycle Blog and super cycling freak, Rich Scales, will be doing the Race Across France this weekend.

The race was inspired by Race Across America, of course, and the long version takes riders from the Mediterranean to Le Touquet on the northwest coast, so ‘across France’. Rich is doing the middle distance and finishes on Lake Annecy, south of Geneva. Still, he will ride (solo and unassisted) 1100 km (683 miles) with over 22,000 m of climbing (72,000 ft), all done with as little sleep as possible.

A quick glance at the map (link below) tells me that Rich will be climbing Mont Ventoux, Alpe d’Huez, Galibier, Iseran, Roselend, Les Saisies, La Colombiere, and probably a few I’m missing.

You can follow Rich, starting at 7:18am this Saturday morning. If you’re near Annecy at the end of his travails, buy him a beer. He likes that.