Hotel de Ville - Original Cycling Oil Painting by Christopher Watson

The man looks up the hill, spots the words HOTEL DE VILLE on the largest building in town, and confidently announces, “That’s where we’re staying.” Except There are approximately a bazillion stone steps between them and that building.

He’s already committed. She’s exhausted, hungry, and had fully expected the day to end by simply rolling into town. Instead, she’s now being told they need to carry loaded bicycles all the way to the top of the village. The helmet hits the ground. The discussion begins. The building at the top is beautiful. It certainly looks like the nicest hotel in town. Except Hôtel de Ville doesn’t mean “hotel.” It means City Hall.

So after hauling themselves and all of their gear up what feels like an endless staircase, they’d discover a very polite clerk who would almost certainly point them back down the hill to the actual inn everyone recommends Auberge du Col the one they had ridden right past.

This idea actually came from racing Ironman Mont-Tremblant. If you’ve been there, you know exactly what I’m talking about. The race starts and finishes at the bottom of the pedestrian village, while many of the hotels sit at the top of the hill. During the day there’s a gondola. After sunset? You’re carrying your bike, wetsuit, transition bags, and whatever energy you have left… up what feels like an endless staircase after 140.6 miles. Every time I remember that climb, I think of this woman standing at the bottom of these steps while her partner cheerfully says, “Come on… it’s just up there.” No. It is absolutely not “just up there.”

There’s also a cat sitting in the upper-right window, quietly watching the whole argument unfold and judging everyone.