France – Page 2 – Gav's Cycling Adventures

Col de Chaussy (via Les Lacets de Montvernier) & Col de la Madeleine

Aug 7, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Amazing Alpine Adventures – Day Seven, St Jean de Maurienne.

Today was all about exploring the wild back country of the Maurienne valley, while taking in some epic climbs. We started by heading to what was once the best kept secret climb in the region, Les Lacets de Montvernier (which translates as ‘the shoe laces of Montvernier’).

There are 17 hairpins in the space of 1.5 miles & the single track road (it looks more like a cycle path) rises just over 650 feet. I managed to get one action shot, where there was a motorcyclist on one set of hairpins, while I captured two cyclists further up the ascent. There was still some graffiti from the 2016 Tour de France, which is just visible on the photo below – Adam & Simon refers to the Yates brothers who competed for Mitchelton Scott that year.

Once we reached the summit of the hairpins, I jumped off the bike & headed down a farm track for about 400 yards & then cut through some woodland. I was now stood on the edge of a 1,000 foot vertical drop to the valley floor below (not good for my vertigo), with a stunning view of Les Lacets laid out below & across from me – my photo doesn’t really do the climb justice, but it’s a great reminder of a stunning piece of tarmac. The Tour de France is visiting again this year, so look out for Les Lacets de Montvernier on Stage 12.

After another mile or so, the single track joins the main route up to Col du Chaussy, which is a 9 mile brute of a climb with stretches hitting 13% in gradient for 400 yards or more – plenty long enough to cause me significant difficulty (& pain!). The scenery was awesome at this point, with huge views across to the snow-capped mountains that surround the Cols de Glandon & Croix de Fer. We were heading ever higher & the trees were getting thinner (hence the views) & then we saw a tiny balcony road, threading its way across what appeared to be a sheer faced cliff. As we got closer, we realised that’s exactly what it was & that the only thing protecting us from the 2,000 foot drop would be a concrete barrier!

The road was so quiet, at least we didn’t have to worry about traffic – other than the odd motor bike, the only people we saw until we reached the summit were other cyclists, as they motored past us! Once we’d made our way past the cliff road, it was a steep few miles of climbing through forest, before another change of scenery as we left one valley & joined another. The final 2 miles of the ascent took us through alpine meadow & then finally we could make out the Col du Chaussy sign in the distance – it’s not the greatest of signs!

We stopped at the summit café for a coke followed by coffee & watched in amazement as above us about 25 eagles soared on the thermals looking for their Sunday Lunch – we hoped we weren’t on the menu!! As we headed over the summit we knew we were in for a helter skelter descent of some 6½ miles on narrow farm tracks – we were effectively transitioning over to the lower slopes of the Col de la Madeleine, before our next 9 mile ascent to the summit some 4,000 feet above us.

I’d always known I would be fine climbing the Chaussy, as it was only about 3,500 of climbing although some was steep, however, backing this up with an ascent of a Tour de France legend (it’s referred to in the climbing guides as Mythique because of its difficulty) was going to be completely unknown territory & I genuinely didn’t know if I would be capable of completing the climb – but that’s what challenges are about.

The first of a few acid tests came after less than a mile of climbing, when the roadside marker showed that the gradient for the next kilometre averaged 11% – I couldn’t hang on to Sean’s wheel as my speed plummeted to 3.5 miles an hour! My lack of climbing training was exposed right there & the next 45 minutes were the most painful I can remember on a bike, as the gradient hovered between 8% & 10% while horseflies mocked me by taking bites out of my oversized arse – I couldn’t go fast enough to escape them!! The views were beautiful up towards the snow peaked mountains, but I experienced a very rare crisis of confidence about whether I would see the new summit sign on the Col, some 7 miles further on.

At that moment I stopped to take the photo below & made a conscious decision to ride to the summit, but to do it at my pace & to enjoy every minute of the experience. All of a sudden I was ok – I’d had the opportunity to stop & had made the choice to continue, so I knew I’d complete the climb. It was still an incredibly difficult few miles up to Saint-Francois-Longchamp, the last sign of civilisation before the summit. From here the road twists & turns over cattle grazing land, with huge views all the way down to La Chambre, some 13 miles & 3,500 feet away on the valley floor.

Finally, after 1 hour 50 minutes we’d reached the summit – again Sean rode at my pace all day & never complained about me slowing him down. That made it all the more enjoyable to get a photo together in front of the new Col sign, then head to the café for a massive slice of blueberry tart & coke!!

The first 4 miles of the descent were on twisty & wide roads, but at that point the road was being repaired ahead of Le Tour & there was gravel on almost every corner for about 2 miles. I’d been warned about this yesterday by a group of Oz riders who are staying at our hotel, so at least we were both prepared for it. After that, the road took long sweeping corners ever downwards towards La Chambre & some 25 minutes after leaving the summit, we were back on the valley floor.

All that remained was to cycle the final 6 miles beside the river as we headed back to St Jean de Maurienne. Today was yet another stunningly beautiful day in the saddle, here’s hoping tomorrow brings more of the same!

Les Karellis & Col d’Albanne

Aug 6, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Amazing Alpine Adventures – Day Six, St Jean de Maurienne.

Having enjoyed every minute of our stay in Hotel Les Grillons in Talloires, today was time to say ‘Au Revoir’ to our hosts Aurelie & Sebastien & head to our new base in St Jean de Maurienne, the Hotel St Georges, which is run by Martine – we’ve stayed here twice before & it was great to wander into Reception at 11am, be recognised immediately & offered un tasse de café on the terrace!

Our rooms were ready for us within 20 minutes of arriving, so we were unpacked, bikes built & ready to roll out for a leg loosener by 12.30. The Maurienne Valley is home to 5 of the top 10 cycling climbs in France & we plan to climb some of the Tour de France classics, as well as explore a few lesser known climbs, as we did today. Slightly west of Col du Telegraphe & Col du Galibier is a purpose built road up to Les Karellis ski station & the Col d’Albanne. I’m an avid follower of Will Davies (no relation), who’s set up the Cycling Challenge website & I found this ride on there. In fact many of my Alpine Adventures owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Will for sharing his exploits.

The first 4 ½ miles took us from St Jean de Maurienne, to the foot of the climb at Le Bochet – the fun began here! For the next 8 miles, we cycled switchback after switchback as we climbed at gradients of between 8 & 10%. As we rose ever higher, the views along & across the Maurienne valley became ever more impressive.

After 5 miles, the road splits, with Les Karellis heading right & Col d’Albanne heading left (both continue to climb, so no easy options here!). We carried on towards Les Karellis, a purpose built ski station, some 3,000 feet above the valley floor below. We didn’t see anywhere open for lunch, so we were pretty desperate for something to eat & drink by the time we reached town. We found a café where we stopped long enough to enjoy an espresso & lemon meringue tart – the food of champions!!!

We descended 2 ½ miles to the turning for Albanne & then started climbing a single track lane through a pine & silver birch forest, which provided some welcome shade from the heat of the sun. After a couple of miles of twisting & turning past small streams, we exited the forest & found ourselves in an alpine meadow with views of the high mountains in every direction! Across the valley we could make out the cliff road up to Mont Denis (a challenge for another day), while directly in front of us was the Fort du Telegraphe & the descent from Col du Telegraphe into Valloire. So much incredible scenery on our first day in the Maurienne valley!!

All that remained was to drink in the views, capture some photos for posterity & then descend the single track to the Karellis junction, before diving back to the valley below. Once we arrived back in Le Bochet, we took a short but scenic diversion past the beginning of the Col du Mollard – hopefully I’ll share more about it later in the week.

What a great first day in the Maurienne Valley – here’s to four more action packed adventures!!

Col de Leschaux Loop

Aug 4, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Annecy Alpine Adventure – Day Five, Talloires.

Today was all about trying to get my wheel bearings fixed, which meant that straight after breakfast I had an appointment with Mr Google to investigate my options – head to Annecy (nearer, but smaller) or Albertville (further to travel, but bigger). I made the decision to start locally, then travel further afield if necessary, so we were in the car & on our way to Annecy by 9.40am.

Town was crazy, as the Etape du Tour is on this Sunday & it goes from Annecy to Grand Bornard. There was an enormous trade exhibition on the lakeside & there were cyclist types everywhere! The first place was very sympathetic & while not able to fix the bearings, they were able to give me a couple of useful phrases for what was wrong & they sent me to one of their competitors, who he was hopeful could help me.

In the next bike shop they had little English & I had little French – how grateful I was for my phrases from my new friends at Roule et Poul. However, in spite of their best efforts, they couldn’t sort me out either. Again, they gave me the name of another competitor who would be my best chance of success in Annecy – I was so impressed by MTB’s attempts to help me too, even though on this occasion they couldn’t resolve the issue.

A 20 minute walk later & I arrived at Cran Cycles on Avenue de Cran. This place was a cycling geeks Nirvana with framed & signed cycling jerseys from Arnaud Demare & Jerome Coppel, French cycling heroes both. I felt my luck may be about to improve! After 30 minutes of looking through box after box of wheels parts, unlike Bono, he did find what he was looking for!!! My new best friend worked through his lunch break to put the bearings & wheel back together & after handing over €46 my bike was back in business.

I left the bike shop at 12.45 & by 2pm we were on our bikes & heading out for what felt like a bonus cycle ride – as time was short, I drew up a 35 mile route to ensure we were back at a reasonable time. We set off around the lake towards the Annecy cycle path at Doussard. From there we followed the path towards Annecy for 10 miles until we reached Sevrier at the foot of the Col de Leschaux. This is a 7.5 mile climb that rises at a steady 4% the whole way, so gave me my first chance to ride full gas & see how my legs would react – even if I’d got the pacing wrong, I would still have been able to pootle up to the summit!

After a quick photo at the summit, we stopped for coffee, apple pie & ice cream – the perfect recovery food after my efforts up the mountain! The descent on the opposite side of the valley is steeper & technical with a couple of great overlooks to the lake below & in less than 15 minutes, we’d reached St Jorioz & were back among the cars again. Two separate cars pulled out of side turnings without even stopping to see if anything was coming – in both instances I had to take evasive action before stopping to teach the drivers a few ancient anglo-saxon phrases!

From St Jorioz, it was a case of finding our way back to the cycle path & retracing our route back to Talloires. Considering I didn’t have a bike that I could ride this morning, this has undoubtedly been a successful day on & off the bike!

Tomorrow I say goodbye to Hotel Les Grillons, it’s been the most amazing base in idyllic surroundings. & the food has been out of this world. Nothing was too much trouble for Aurelie & Sebastien, who welcomed us into their home. I will definitely be returning to this oasis on Lake Annecy. The adventure isn’t over, however, as we head on to St Jean de Maurienne – a permanent fixture on the Tour de France itinerary.

Col des Aravis Loop

Aug 1, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Annecy Alpine Adventure – Day Four, Talloires.

Last night the mountain weather treated us to a lightning & thunder extravaganza which lasted for over 2 hours, incredible to watch, but impossible to film. We set off under grey, bruised skies after our hosts assured us that while we may experience brief but heavy cloudbursts today, it would be dry for the majority of our ride today. The plan was to visit the Col des Aravis as part of a 55 mile, 5,000 foot climbing loop. This is a great route that included a bit of everything, quiet cycle path, long ascents on deserted roads & a couple of fun descents.

The first 14 miles followed a familiar routine, hug the shoreline of the lake as far as Doussard, then hop on the cycle path until we reached the turning for today’s climb – in this instance we had 14 miles under our belt by the time we left the beautiful & deserted cycle track at Ugine. The next 35 miles would be either climbing or descending! During my research, I’d found a high, but quiet back road that would keep us off the main Gorge d’Arly road for the majority of the 11 mile drag to Flumet. We started ascending on gentle hairpins as we left town & then it pitched up to about 8% as we rose ever higher up the side of the gorge. We were riding through pristine pine forest, an intoxicating smell followed us, but sadly it also limited our views from the balcony/shelf road to the valley below.

After about 2,000 feet of climbing we descended back onto the main road for the final 3 mile stretch of gentle uphill towards Flumet. From here the 8 mile ascent of the Col des Aravis began in earnest, as the road snaked its way up the valley. The first few miles were gentle & gave us a chance to get into a rhythm of climbing, but also make good time. At the halfway point of the climb, we stopped for lunch in La Gittaz – a delicious spaghetti carbonara with authentic fromage & jambon was just what the body needed. We’d landed on our feet, as this is also when the heavens opened, so we avoided getting wet!

The final ½ of the climb zig-zags between the huge Aravis mountains at a steady 7% – I now know that so long as I ride within my current limitations, I can tap out a cadence for a couple of hours so this became an enjoyable experience for the most part. It was a different story whenever we zigged (or was it zagged?) into the headwind as that made things more challenging, however, less than 45 minutes after lunch we were on the summit admiring the big views all around us.

As we continued the loop & descended the Col des Aravis towards La Clusaz, St Jean de Sixt & Thones, my bike started to wail like a banshee – this was unlikely to be good news!! I eventually worked out it was coming from the rear wheel & was likely being caused by the bearings. I took things easy on the remainder of the ride & am hoping that the local mechanic in Talloires will be able to swap out the bearings straight away – if not, I’ll hire a replacement wheel for the day & beg that he fixes it for Saturday morning.

We stopped briefly for coffee in La Clusaz, which is a skiing hotspot in winter & a cycling mecca in summer. The Tour de France is visiting this year & they’d entering into the spirit of things, with cycling references displayed everywhere in the town. The highlight was a bike & rider displayed on the roof in E.T. style!!! The Etape de Tour takes place this Sunday over the route of Stage 11 – the Queen (& toughest) stage of this year’s TdF & this was right in the middle of things.

As we exited Thomes, we passed the National Cemetery of the Glieres, which commemorates all those who lost their lives fighting for the Resistance in the 2nd World War – the Maquis were very active in the region & each new generation is made aware of the sacrifices their forebears made to protect their freedom. After a brief moment of quiet reflection, we were on our way towards the 2nd & final categorised ascent of the day, Col de Bluffy – a tiny pimple of a climb & not really worthy of being called such, as it took about 10 minutes to climb!!!

From here, it was a 2 mile descent back to Lake Annecy & then a 3 mile pootle along the lakeside back to our hotel. Another amazing day of cycling, against a backdrop of awe inspiring scenery.

Col de Meraillet, Cormet de Roselend & Col du Pre

Jul 31, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Annecy Alpine Adventure – Day Three, Talloires.

Today we jumped in the car & took a one hour drive to the small town of Beaufort, home of the famous cheese. The Beaufortain region is surrounded by the high mountains on all sides & is on my list of places to visit as a base for a week of riding (I picked up a route guide from the Tourist Office, so that’s now one step closer to happening!).

The aim today was to cycle part of Stage 11 in this year’s Tour de France, namely the Cormet de Roselend from Beaufort. If you’ve followed my previous trips, you’ll already know this is where I had the accident which smashed up my left collar bone & wrote-off the bike I had at the time. At 13 miles & with 4,000 feet of climbing to reach the summit, this would be my biggest challenge so far of this year’s trip.

It’s a wooded, green & pretty ascent to Col de Meraillet, with views back down the valley & the gradient is a constant 7% to 8% for these first 8 miles. As soon as we passed this intermediate col, we had our first views of one of my favourite alpine lakes, the glorious Lac de Roselend. The next mile or so followed the shore of the lake & I took the opportunity to gather my mental & physical resources by suggesting a quick coffee & raspberry tart stop.

After a 10 minute stop, it was time to push onward & upwards, as the scenery changed completely & the trees of the lower slopes were replaced with alpine meadows & numerous rivers plunging down the mountain to supply the lake below. The gradient was between 7% & 8% all the way to the summit, which at least allowed me to establish a rhythm & cadence, that while slower than normal, was within my current capabilities.

After 2 hours 15 minutes of climbing, we’d reached the summit & I’m grateful to Sean for happily cycling at my reduced pace & making small talk all the way up – it made the ride even more fun. We managed to persuade a fellow Brit to take a photo of us both, although the language barrier was a bit of a challenge, he was a Yorkie!!!!

Much as I wanted to ride both sides of this mythical climb, today wasn’t the day, as I don’t have the training in the legs this year, however, I’ll be back again to fulfil that dream. Instead, we headed back down to Col de Meraillet & then took a detour across the Barrage de Roselend & then did a short, sharp bonus climb up to Col du Pre. This is a climb that reminded me of a classic Spinal Tap quote where the volume was turned up to 11 – in this case it was the gradient that was louder than 10!!! The real reason for this side ride was the absolutely breath taking view across the Barrage & Lake to the huge snow encrusted mountains in the bacckground. All Alpine lakes are beautiful, but some are more so than others – the mountain to the left of the photo with its head in the clouds is Mont Blanc.

We retraced our wheels back to the Route de Roselend & then took another planned side road to check out the Lac de la Gittaz, which had been recommended by someone who had visited the region previously. Yes, it was pretty, but after all of today’s remarkable scenery, it didn’t stand out as much as it would on any other ride. However, I’m pleased we stopped to see it.

All that remained was to follow the road back towards Beaufort & remain vigilant of the ‘gravillons’ (dodgy as you like ‘chippings’ to you & me!) which have been laid ahead of the Tour de France circus coming to town. I’m usually a confident & competent descender, but this was no fun at all as for 2 miles all I could think of was ‘don’t tense your arms’, which of course made me tense my arms!! I got down the descent safely, so it was time to celebrate an amazing day in the saddle with an artisan ice cream (coconut & rum raisin, as it happens & it was delicious!).

We spent a few minutes strolling round town admiring all the Tour de France paraphernalia that has already been put on display – whole bikes hanging from balconies, bunting in the colours of all the competition jerseys etc. The final treat of today was to stop off at Forclaz de Montmin on the way home, a brutally steep (I wouldn’t be able to climb it at my fittest) 5 mile climb. From the summit we had huge views along the length of Lake Annecy & could even make out our hotel on the valley floor, some 2,400 feet below. What a great way to round off a brilliant day of cycling!

Col de Vorger & Colette de Tamie

Jul 30, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Annecy Alpine Adventure – Day Two, Talloires.

After yesterday’s epic day in the saddle, I was unsure how the arm would feel today & with thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon, it made sense to plan something shorter & give my body a chance to adjust to consecutive days cycling in the mountains. We were greeted to a blue, cloudless sky & the temperature was already 75 degrees at 9.15am, so we were in for another scorching ride so long as we could beat the weather!

Today’s route started off mirroring yesterday for the first 7 miles, as we hugged the shore of Lake Annecy for 4 miles, before connecting with the Annecy to Albertville cycle track. Once again, we had the path pretty much to ourselves as we skirted the edges of small villages, passed golden fields of freshly harvested wheat & cut between small lakes where ducks were being fed by the locals.

The first 17 miles were covered in just over 70 minutes, with next to no feet climbed – effectively the majority of the day’s climbing was crammed into the next 11 miles (which also included a short descent). We exited the cycle path just outside Albertville & the road started climbing immediately, as sweeping switchbacks kept us pointing skywards. Although the climb of Col du Vorger was ‘only’ just over 2 ½ miles in length, the gradient didn’t drop below 9% (Sean was laughing as he pointed out the 13% stretch!), so we’d climbed 1,100 feet by the time we hit the Col. The oddity was that although we were at the summit, we were still surrounded on all sides by towering mountains of volcanic rock.

After a brief stop for a photo & to let the legs & lungs recover, we continued following the narrow single lane road & descended through meadows & farmland for 3 miles, before arriving at the start of the climb up to Collet de Tamie (not to be confused with Col de Tamie, which we’d descend to later!). The stats tell me it was a 5 mile climb with 1,600 feet of climbing, however it was much tougher than that, as the first mile only rose about 150 feet, meaning the remaining 4 miles was at a leg sapping (for me at least) 8%. The saving grace was we were protected from the relentless sun, the temperature again topping 100 degrees at its hottest.

We stopped for a quick photo opportunity at the summit of Collet de Tamie before taking an immediate left turn to visit Fort de Tamie (our coffee stop yesterday) where, today we stopped for lunch. We relaxed in the shade over a panini, lemonade & ice cream, before retracing the first 16 miles of yesterday’s ride, with a slight detour for a photo op at the Abbaye de Tamie. This was my favourite descent so far, as the gradient was relatively gentle as the smooth tarmac swept us towards Faverges, where we connected again with the cycle track towards Talloires.

We made a brief stop at Doussard, where we watched a group of parapenters who had launched themselves off the cliffs some 2,000 feet above us coming in to make the most delicate of landings in a field close by. We then followed Lake Annecy’s shoreline, admiring the stunning alpine blue of the water against the dark blue of the sky above. The threatened thunderstorms didn’t ever arrive today (although they are forecast for later in the week), so we made the most of the early finish & the stunning weather, to spend an hour or so by the pool, working on the tan.

I feel I should apologise for one of the photos, as I look like a badly stuffed sausage, but this is what happens when you continue to eat like a cyclist, when not training like one!

Col de Tamie, Col du Frene & Col de Leschaux

Jul 29, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Annecy Alpine Adventure – Day One, Talloires.

After 9 weeks of worrying whether I would be able to cycle or not, today was the day I would find out where my fitness is at & what I’m capable of doing (or not). The plan was to ride well within my comfort zone, but have a couple of testing climbs to see where I’m at – today’s ride absolutely tested my fitness!!!

We rode straight out the hotel & followed a quiet main road by the side of Lake Annecy for 4 miles, before picking up the Annecy to Albertville cycle path (which follows the old railway line route). It was the perfect start, flat, quiet & cool for the next 5 miles. As we reached Faverges, we said goodbye to the flat & started up the Col de Tamie, the perfect climb to warm up the legs as it rises about 1,500 feet over 7 ½ miles – it’s never too steep as it climbs next to a babbling brook, before opening up onto low alpine meadows & heading past the medieval abbey. After a quick photo stop at the col, we continued climbing another 250 feet or so up to the Fort de Tamie for a refreshing lemonade.

We descended back to the col summit, then continued down the opposite side of Col de Tamie. This was my first proper downhill since my off in Mallorca – if I was being kind to myself, I was hesitant to say the least. However, I at least gained confidence from getting down safely.

Once we’d descended almost as far as Albertville, we bounced along the valley floor with huge alpine mountains on either side. Our next challenge was one of these & it wasn’t long before we were climbing the lower slopes of the Col du Frene, a steady 7.5 mile ascent with a couple of 10%+ ramps in places. We were in switchback heaven with huge views to the valley below & the snow peaked mountain peaks opposite – we were both looking forward to getting a photo once the climb finished, as well as topping off our water bottles & grabbing a bite to eat. Sadly there wasn’t anywhere open, so we had to make do with a banana & energy bar.

The next 10 miles or so was a gentle descent onto the lowest part of the massif that towers over Lake Annecy. We had one final climb, which we’d ridden on a previous trip, the long drag up to Col de Leschaux – this was where I knew for sure I’d taken on 30 miles & 1 climb too many! The road rose at 4% to 6% for about 5 miles, but today in temperatures of 90 degrees & lacking my usual fitness, it was a bit of an effort to say the least.

By the time we completed the final climb of the day, we’d ascended just over 6,200 feet in total – by far my biggest climbing challenge of the year. We stopped for a quick picture at the top of the Leschaux, before dropping all the way back down to the side of Lake Annecy, however, we still had to circumnavigate ½ of the lake! I needed some sugar to get me home, so we made a much appreciated stop in a little café, so I could top up on a small ice cream & coke, before making the final 15 mile push for home. One more unexpected surprise was waiting for us, for the first time in about 5 trips, Sean suffered a puncture……then another one & then a 3^rd in the space of 5 miles! Even now we don’t know what caused them, as there wasn’t anything obvious wrong with the tyre or the wheel.

We returned home via the cycle path & then retraced our steps along the lake & back to the hotel. A truly epic & rewarding day in the saddle & a great marker for what I’ll be able to do on the remainder of the trip. We got back in time to spend an hour poolside relaxing & topping up our tans, the perfect end to our first day in Annecy!