Hey there liz - first well done on completeing a great tour...
Most impressive...

But I have to ask... are you saying you had only been on a bike for a month before yu did this tour?
And if so what sport did you do before cycling? Marathon running or some kind of running sport?
And what kind've bike were you on? If you had a triple, it would have made the climbs (like Huez) much more manageable...

I am intrigued, I would love to do this type of tour. But after training for 2 years, and racing for 1 year, I was shattered after a 66 km hilly road race on Saturday... how did you achieve these distances day after day if you only had a month to prepare?

Are we misinterpreting your post?