St Jean de Maurienne – Gav's Cycling Adventures

From Sardinia to the USA (Part Three)

Apr 25, 2022Jan 22, 2023gavscyclingadventures

Once In A Lifetime (remastered) – revisiting some of our favourite places, but finding new routes to explore. Part Three also includes trips in the UK as we prepared for our USA adventure. The following lines summarise some of the questions I’ve asked myself at various times on my cycling adventures to date;

You may ask yourself “Where does that highway go to?”

And you may ask yourself “Am I right? Am I wrong?”

And you may say to yourself “My God! What have I done?”

The final chapter of my journey from clueless cyclist to American Adventurer focuses on my later trips to Europe, as well as my self-supported UK trips during Covid times.

As well as our annual Spring trip to Mallorca in 2016, we returned to Switzerland in the summer. This time we based ourselves in Martigny & explored the quiet roads up to the numerous hydro-electric dams in the Swiss Alps.

Remote road on the way to Barrage du Sanetsch

Mallorca again kicked off my 2017 adventures, followed by a first summer foray into the Italian Dolomites. The mountains are unlike anywhere else I’ve visited, with enormous grey crags & alpine lakes in every direction – I really struggled to limit myself to just a few photos from our week in Cortina d’Ampezzo!

Descending Passo Giau towards Selva di Cadore

We also managed to fit in a week of late summer riding in the French Pyrenees – we were based in Lourdes for our first visit. The mountains were steeper, more remote & wilder than their Alpine cousins! This is somewhere we want to explore further in the future.

A rapid descent of Col du Soulor on perfect tarmac

Our 2018 adventures kicked off again with a Spring break to Mallorca, however, I had a low speed crash on the first day which resulted in me spending the remainder of the trip sun bathing (which rather ruined my sharp tan lines!), instead of cycling.

My Mallorcan injury kept me off the bike throughout May & early June, so I had a few concerns about my cycling fitness ahead of our 11 day summer trip to Lake Annecy & St Jean de Maurienne. Our luxurious base in Talloires was the perfect launchpad for 5 days exploring quiet mountain passes as I built up some fitness for the huge climbs to come. Hopefully the photos below will show why I love visiting the big mountains – they also show my left elbow being held together with kinesiotape from my crash in April.

A field of sunflowers on the way to Col du Frene

The transfer to St Jean de Maurienne took less than 2 hours so we were able to fit in an extra ride on our transfer day up to the ski station of Karellis. This was one of a few lesser known climbs we explored, others included Les Lacets de Montvernier / Col du Pre & Col de la Beaune. We also returned to Col de la Madeleine & Col de la Croix de Fer, regular guests on the Tour de France & favourites of ours.

The iconic climb of the Col de la Croix de Fer

I went to Ibiza in September for Stevie W’s birthday & managed to hire a bike & sneak in a day of riding – this is another place well worth returning to for further exploration. I also won a competition to spend a day in the Neutral Service Car at the OVO Energy Tour of Britain, which helped me appreciate the difference between cycling athletes & novices like myself!

We returned to Mallorca in 2019. I managed to stay in my bike for the whole trip & we enjoyed visiting a few well known climbs, as well as getting off the beaten track – sadly I haven’t been back since this trip, but I’m looking forward to getting back in 2023.

Our summer adventure took us to Austria for the first time, with 5 days of riding the remote mountains around Innsbruck. Each day offered a different experience, as we mixed routes that looped over the mountains with valley riding along the way, with high mountain roads up to glaciers. While the climbs were challenging, pretty much every day we had the roads pretty much to ourselves.

We then crossed the border into Italy as we returned to Bormio for a further 5 days of adventures in the huge mountains . In addition to the legendary climbs made famous by the Giro d’Italia, we also found a few unknown climbs well off the beaten track.

It appears I must have used all my 2019 holiday allowance on cycling trips, as we also returned to Barcelonnette in September for a week of cycling! Again, we had the roads to ourselves as we combined some Tour de France favourites like the Col de Vars & Col de la Bonette, unknown climbs like Col des Fillys & Col St Jean & an away day to tackle the wickedly steep Col de la Lombarde from both the Italian & French sides.

Descent of Col du Vars towards Guillestre

The world changed in 2020 & foreign travel was off the agenda & the early months of the year involved lots of solo rides to comply with Government Lockdowns & Guidance. Luckily by July we were able to meet up again & although we couldn’t get away to Europe as planned we still managed to do plenty of day trips in July.

Week one saw us exploring the North Wessex Downs, the Cotswolds, the Mendips, the Malverns, Cranborne Area of Natural Beauty & the South Downs. This was a great reminder that there are plenty of places within an hour’s drive that are well worth exploring!

Quiet country lanes of the North Wessex Downs

Week Two involved more trips to explore new tarmac. We began with a Tour of the Cotswolds around Bourton-on-the-Water, followed it up with Tour of The Tumble in South Wales, headed out to horse country on a Lambourn Loop, returned to the Cotswolds to explore all around Chipping Norton & then finished with a trip out to Symonds Yat. A glorious couple of weeks that showed there is plenty of scenery to see in the UK.

Exploring the back roads of Bourton-on-the-Water

By the end of 2020 I’d had an application for redundancy agreed at work & had decided that I was going to use it as an opportunity to take on a challenge I’d been thinking of for a few years – riding coast to coast across the USA. Fortunately, this adventure also appealed to Sean, so we started making plans to turn it into reality.

I bought a new touring bike in January 2021 & started training on it in May. I started loading up the panniers to prepare me for what a trip on a touring bike might be like. However, the only way to truly know is go on a tour & find out! In July 2021 Sean & myself embarked on a 5 day Tour de South Wales, taking in Brecon, the Elan Valley, Aberystwyth & Carmarthen via National Cycle Routes 8 & 42. We then returned to Bristol via NCR’s 82, 47 & 4. The scenery was stunning & we were fortunate with the weather – we enjoyed ourselves so much!

We gambled on having an Indian Summer in September & planned a 2nd Tour de South Wales – this time we’d be going in a clockwise direction, following NCR 4 via Pontypridd & Carmarthen, then returning via NCR’s 47 & 43. We were loaded with 20kg of kit which gave us a really good taste of what touring in the USA might feel like. Once again, the scenery was amazing!

As I write this, we’re waiting for our “Fit To Fly” results, sat in the Hilton Garden Inn -we’ve completed 4,500 training miles on our touring bikes & thoroughly enjoyed 2 separate tours to South Wales. The waiting is finally over & technically, the adventure has begun – we fly to Seattle tomorrow (26th April) to start our Tour de USA!!!

From Sardinia to the USA (Part Two)

Apr 21, 2022gavscyclingadventures

Road To Nowhere – sticking with the Talking Heads theme as we broadened our European horizons! Many of our trips from 2011 to 2016 really did take us on roads less travelled – taking that ride to nowhere, we’ll take that ride.

In May 2011 we stayed in Geneva for 4 days, cycling the big mountains either side of the Arve valley, including the brutal climb of Col de Joux Plane on the way up to Morzine. We also visited Goeschenen that September for another 4 day trip – the Susten, Grimsel & Furka Pass (made famous by Goldfinger) remains one of my 5 favourite days in the saddle!

Two Amigos atop the brutal climb up to Joux Plane

2012 started with a week-long stay in Barcelonnette, including a day trip to Mont Ventoux for the first time – more about this mythical mountain later! The highlight of our 2012 stay in Annecy was going to see Stage 9 of Le Tour de France & seeing Wiggo riding to victory on the stage while wearing yellow – this was the year he won Le Tour! The lowlight was undoubtedly crashing on the descent of the Cormet de Roselend 3 days later, breaking my collarbone, ending my riding early & writing-off my Trek.

Standing to attention having survived my first visit to Mont Ventoux

2013 started off (& finished) with surgery on my collarbone – it was unsuccessful both times & I’m left with a mushy collarbone that never really healed properly. By now, we’d been gripped by the European Alps & we embarked on a monster 2 week trip at the end of May – snow everywhere!! The first 7 days were spent riding the truly epic climbs of the Maurienne Valley – we stayed in the Hotel St Georges & made friends with the hostess Martine (we’ve visited twice more since).

Martine welcomed us as if we were members of her family

For the 2^nd week we moved to Le Belvedere on the Petit St Bernard Pass, overlooking Bourg St Maurice. We had the Cormet de Roselend, the Col d’Iseran, Petit St Bernard & Les Arcs on our doorstep. By the end of our 2 week adventure, we’d completed just over 100,000 feet of vertical climbing (about a 1/5^th of that year’s total)!!

A glorious return to the Cormet de Roselend

Somehow we also found time for a trip to Andermatt where we spent 7 days exploring the huge mountains, including the legendary cobbles on the Gotthardpass.

The Oberalpsee at the summit of the Oberalp

In 2014 we climbed all 3 sides of Mont Ventoux in a single day (14,452 feet of climbing in 85 miles) on our summer trip to Bedoin & St Jean de Maurienne (again) – we’re in a fairly small club of people foolish enough to complete the Cingles Challenge! This remains my biggest challenge to date. We also found time to visit Col d’Izoard & Col du Galibier.

Paying our respects at Tom Simpson’s memorial

We also visited Italy for the first time in 2014, with a week long adventure in Bormio. Our trip included an epic day climbing both sides of the Stelvio, with the Umbrail pass sandwiched in between. We also got off the beaten track with a bit of gravel riding around Lago di Cancano.

We made our maiden trip to Mallorca in 2015 (Puerto Pollenca was our regular base until Covid arrived in 2020). This quickly felt like a 2nd home & we used it as a Spring Training Camp between 2015 & 2019 – it really is cycling nirvana!

For the summer of 2015 we embarked on another split base trip, returning to Annecy for 4 days, then heading to Aosta, for 7 days cycling in Italy. Colle del Nivolet (the final photo below) remains one of the most stunningly beautiful places I’ve visited on a bike – this photo (minus me) has pride of place in my living room.

You may recognise the Colle del Nivolet photo from the closing scene in The Italian Job – it was where the coach with the gold was hanging over the cliff. As far as roads to nowhere go, this is that road!

In Part Three I’ll bring the story up to date as our adventures from 2017 to 2021 prepare us for our expedition to The Big Country (yes, another Talking Heads song!).

Col de Beau Plan & Col du Telegraphe

Aug 10, 2018Jan 30, 2023gavscyclingadventures

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

Our final day of this year’s Alpine Adventure, so we decided to mix another secret climb with a real Tour de France legend. This morning we took a short drive to St Michel de Maurienne & parked up – from here we would be enjoying two separate rides.

The Col de Beau Plan loop isn’t one of the well-known climbs in Maurienne valley, but it’s a treat of a 16 mile loop. As we reached the right turn for the Telegraphe & Galibier, we turned left & almost immediately the road started rising. The first ½ mile or so is through residential housing, but in almost no time the buildings are replaced by fields & open grassland.

Going upwards & out of town, it became obvious we were heading to some fairly remote countryside & it was unlikely that we’d see much in the way of traffic – cycling heaven in other words! As we continued to climb, we could make out Les Karellis & L’Albanne ski resorts from our day out on Saturday. To begin with, they were up above us on the opposite side of the valley, but as we continued climbing the difference in height steadily reduced. In addition, we also had amazing views of the Fort du Telegraph & beyond, towards the mythical Col du Galibier.

We took a slight detour on the recommendation of someone staying at the hotel – it was with the disclaimer that the views would be amazing, but the road had been recently resurfaced. As we were climbing, the loose chippings were a mere inconvenience & didn’t detract from the detour in any way.

Having left town, it took more than an hour for us to see our first car, the roads really are remote & wild! The detour took us to over 2,500 feet above the valley floor below & also opened up views to the Orelle mountains some 3,000 feet above us. We were well & truly above the tree line, with the main crop appearing to be hay – the perfect opportunity to do some hay bale surfing (of sorts!).

As we reached the Col de Beau Plan, there was a side road off to the right & it would have been rude not to explore – it was a wide two lane, which wouldn’t have looked out of place as an access road to a ski resort, but after about 2 miles, the road simply stopped – we hadn’t passed a single building, so it’s a mystery as to why the road was built!

We descended back to the Col & continued over the summit & had a fairly sketchy descent for a mile or so, as there was gravel on pretty much every corner. We were still in the back country, although every now & then we rode through tiny hamlets as we continued losing altitude. Somehow we managed to bag our 2^nd Col of the day as we descended towards St Martin La Porte, the Col de Beaune.

By now, the single track had become a proper road & for the last 3 miles we zig-zagged our way to the outer edges of town & back into the main street.

It was almost 1pm, so time for lunch – we found a great place where the Plat du Jour was roast chicken, chips & salad. Needless to say we filled our boots & inside 30 minutes were ready to start our final climb of the trip.

All that remained was to visit the Col du Telegraphe, as we’d seen it during Saturday & Wednesday morning’s rides. This is the first part of the legendary Tour de France double act of Col du Telegraphe & Col du Galibier which, when combined together is the biggest ‘bottom to top’ climb in France.

We headed back to the traffic lights in the centre of town & this time headed right & immediately crossed the River Arc, which marks the start of the climb. From here we would ascend 3,200 feet in a little under 7.5 miles. The first 1.5 miles are through quiet villages until the forest takes over – for the next 6 miles the road would twist & turn through the birch & pine forest, however as the sun was directly overhead, there wasn’t much in the way of protection available.

The climb is a consistent 7% to 8% & is a favourite training climb for the professional teams – today we saw the Fortuneo-Samsic team going through their paces – their star riders (including last year’s Polka Dot Jersey winner, Warren Barguil) are currently taking part in the Tour de France. The guys we saw training absolutely powered up the climb in their ‘Big Rings’ while chatting & laughing!

Every now & then the Telegraphe allows you views to the opposite side of the valley & we could clearly make out where we’d been riding only a few hours earlier! One of the neat things about Col du Telegraphe & the nearby town of Valloire, is that they make a different straw man every year – when I last visited he had a wood cutters axe, however this year the theme is skiing, so I stopped at the summit of the col to get a photo. We also made time to enjoy a final espresso & fruit tart stop – I chose apple, Sean appears addicted to Myrtille (blueberry)!

All that remained was to turn around & then descend the 7.5 miles of twists & turns back to the valley floor below. I feel so very fortunate to have enjoyed 10 consecutive days of cycling, as I’d accepted that my injuries & lack of fitness would likely limit me to shortish rides every other day. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my adventures as much as I’ve enjoyed having them, Salut!!

Col du Mont Cenis (Both Sides)

Aug 9, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

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

Today was our first (& possibly only) commute, so we had a 1 hour drive up the Maurienne valley to Lanslebourg for the start of our adventure. Most of the Mountains we’ve ridden on this trip are famous for the cycle races that use them. Today was different, as Mont Cenis is a famous passage in its own right that occasionally has cycle races on its slopes.

At 2,081 metres, Col du Mont Cenis separates Lanslebourg, France from Susa, Italy – it also marks the border between the Cottian & Graian alps. From Lanslebourg, it’s a 6.25 mile ascent with 2,100 feet of climbing as the road winds through fir forests at a fairly consistent 8% gradient. There are a couple of lookouts where there are huge views to the Iseran at the end of the valley – although it’s almost mid-July, there is still plenty of snow in sight! As we climbed higher, the scenery changed to meadows with goats & cows roaming freely.

After 65 minutes, we’d reached the summit & were ready for elevenses – blueberry tart & a quick espresso. We were expecting a long day in the saddle, with plenty of photo ops, so we decided to speed up our traditional lazy coffee stops!

Col du Mont Cenis is steeped in history, as historians believe this may be where Hannibal & his Elephants crossed the Alps from France into Italy in 218 BC & from the 1860’s the summit was considered as the border between France & Italy. However, after World War 2, the plateau & lake were ceded to France, so the border is now several kilometres down the Italian side, below the dam & lake.

This is one of my favourite alpine lakes, as the colour of the water is incredible & it’s normally quite full – today was no exception, the only difference to normal being that the enormous mountains were shrouded in clouds & there was a haziness to the sky.

While the climb of the French side of the mountain is short & sharp, the Italian side of the mountain is a complete contrast. We descended 19 miles into Susa in a little over 40 minutes, as the road is wide & the corners are sweeping, allowing us to ride through the bends, rather than having to brake before them.

By the time we arrived in Susa, it was time for lunch, so we went all in on a pasta dish of gnocchi with mushroom sauce, penne with tomato sauce & spaghetti bolognese. The food was out of this world & was so filling that I didn’t need dinner this evening. All was going well until Sean ordered a Cappuccino at 1.30pm – as all coffee aficionados know, this is a criminal offence, especially in Italy!

We set off from Susa at about 1.45pm on what we knew would be a long haul back to the summit, although the good news is that the 19 miles ascends at an average gradient of 6%. Based on my climbing over the last 8 days, we knew this was likely to be a 3.5 hour ascent, with the temperature hitting 90 degrees fahrenheit for most of the afternoon. During today’s ride I drank 7.5 litres of water, which equates to over 10 pints – it was scorching all day!!

The early stages of the Susa climb were through deciduous forest, which became pine as the altitude increased. The Col du Mont Cenis used to be a main trade route between France & Italy, however in 1980 the Frejus Tunnel was opened & much of the heavy truck traffic was diverted away, which is great news for cyclists. However, there was a price to pay for the locals, as many of the restaurants & cafes that catered for the passing haulage trade closed down – we passed numerous deserted bars, cafes & restaurants on the ascent.

As we continued our ascent, we could see a huge bank of cloud forming above us at the lake (although we were still in the sun) – it appeared that the clouds were rising from the Susa side today, but the warm air from the plateau was then pushing back the colder mountain air – there was an invisible wall that prevented the clouds reaching the lake.

After about 2.5 hours of riding & a quick stop for espresso & an ice cream lolly, we had our first glimpse of the switchbacks – at this point we both knew we only had an hour or so left of the ascent. The hairpins climb a wall of a cliff & the views back down the valley are superb, as the trees are replaced by grassland & a man-made lake/pond provides colour to proceedings.

The final push saw us reach the summit & stop for some more snaps of the lake, as the sky was now much clearer. It was just after 5.30pm, so it had been a very long day in the saddle & we still had the final descent to Lanslebourg to negotiate. After the first couple of blind corners the road opens out & there’s clear line of sight on where the corner ends, so I was able to let the brakes go & simply enjoy the ride.

I can’t believe that this is the end of Day Nine already, where has the time gone? Today was another awesome day of cycling in the big mountains & I’m hoping for one final day of fun tomorrow!

Col du Mollard, Col de la Croix de Fer & Col du Glandon Loop

Aug 8, 2018Jan 29, 2023gavscyclingadventures

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

After yesterday’s epic day in the saddle, the intention was to take on a slightly more straightforward challenge. At points it was clear this wasn’t that easy ride! For the third day running, we rode straight out the hotel car park & rolled slightly downhill for 3 miles to the small village of Villargondran, for the start of our first climb of the day. The Col du Mollard can be tackled from 3 different directions & today we chose the route with 40 hairpins (yes, 40!) through a shaded, deciduous forest.

Throughout our stay in France, the temperatures have been in the high 80’s / low 90’s & today was no exception, so we were mighty relieved that the trees kept some of the sun off our backs for the first 45 minutes or so. This meant that we weren’t always aware of how high we’d climbed – we had an opening over St Jean de Maurienne after about 15 minutes of climbing & the valley floor was already more than 500 feet below us.

After 45 minutes of climbing the forest opened out onto alpine meadows & there were big views in all directions, although the haze limited the quality of the photos. In addition, the higher mountain peaks were hidden by cotton wool style clouds. We could just make out the classic route up the Col de le Croix de Fer on the opposite side of the valley, as it wound its way around the bluffs & promontories or cut through the rock via the 4 small tunnels.

At this point, we still had another 5 or 6 miles of climbing to reach the summit of Col du Mollard, in the skiing village of Albiez-Le-Vieux & the perennial problem of sourcing water reared it head – this is a daily challenge on the bike in high temperatures, as we only carry 1.5 litres split between 2 bidons. Sometimes the villages will have a communal tap/spring where cyclists can fill their water bottles. The tricky bit is finding where they are, as not all free flowing water is drinkable. Luckily Albiez-Le-Jeune came to our aid & I was able to top off my two empty bottles.

We eventually reached the summit & the village had entered into the Tour de France spirit by decorating an old racing bike in the red polka dots of the King Of The Mountains. Once I’d taken my customary photos, we found a neat place for lunch, with views towards the our next climb, which gave us something else to chew over, as well as our rather tasty burger!

The descent from the Mollard to join the main Croix de Fer route had roadworks, gravel & was in generally poor condition, but we both made it down safely, which is the measure of any descent. We joined the climb 10 miles from the start in St Jean de Maurienne, but there were still another 9.5 miles to go – this is a Hors Categorie in the Tour for a reason!

The first 4 miles are gentle, with gradients averaging between 5% & 7%, but then it gets tough – as we arrived at Saint-Sorlin-d’Arves the road ramped up to 11% for about 1.5 miles. As if this wasn’t a big enough challenge for me (it was, in case you’re wondering!), there was yet more roadworks & all the tar had been removed from the road, so we were riding on the metalworks, which made for a jarring experience in many ways!!!

Once we were through town, the magic of the climb began. The final 4 miles of the route are up a sheer wall at the end of the valley & this is achieved by a series of amazing switchbacks that rise ever higher above the ski village below.

It’s a consistent 8% to 9% throughout, until eventually we passed through a gap in the rock & there was the Col de la Croix de Fer signpost! This is one of my favourite places, as it is named Croix de Fer for a reason – it has an Iron Cross at the summit, which always makes for a great photo! A few years ago some vandals knocked the cross down & stole part of the base, but I’m delighted to report it’s now back in pristine condition again.

After a quick espresso, we set off to bag our 3^rd & final Col of the day & less than 4 minutes later we’d also climbed the Col du Glandon! This is a huge climb from either St-Etienne-des-Cuines (12.5 miles at 7.1%) or Allemont (20 miles at 4.75%), but it’s only a 2 mile descent from the Croix de Fer, with a small 100 foot climb to get to the summit. Beware anyone who claims to have climbed both the Croix de Fer & Glandon in a single day!!

The first 2 miles of the descent from the Col du Glandon are crazy, as the road hairpins down 12% gradients – I could hear my brakes squealing every time I applied them! We zig-zagged through grassland as we plummeted down the first 4 miles, with cows & sheep kept in their ‘fields’ with electric fencing….you wouldn’t want to meet one of them on the road!

All of a sudden the grassland stopped & was replaced by woodland, which makes spotting the exit of corners that much trickier, so concentration was fully engaged. We had huge views across the valley to the lower slopes of the Col de Madeleine, although the haze meant I couldn’t get any ‘Top 5’ photos today.

The final 5 miles of the descent were on a wide two lane road, with fast, sweeping corners & at last I could feel some of my confidence returning, as I wasn’t having to continually second guess the corners, I could actually ride through them. Once we reached St Etienne, we had a relatively flat return to the hotel by quiet back roads & we were back in time to enjoy a pint as the final few teams in the Tour Team Time Trial came in. What an incredible day of cycling in the huge Maurienne Mountains!

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.