It’s July 11, 2013,  and I’m sitting in a room with 11 other riders in Lourdes, France listening to three Trek Travel guides giving a briefing on today’s ride up Col d’ Soulor and Col d’Aubisque.  Col d’ Soulor is the first of eight climbs up mountains in the Pyrenees, Alpes and Provence where the Tour de France is won and lost.  They are the very essence of the world’s most grueling sporting event. The mountain ascents of the Tour have made and broken champions and the so-called out-of-category climbs are the worst. Tom on Alpe d'Huez Why am I sitting here waiting to ride up the first of eight mountains that have 10% plus grades and how did I get...