Day 7 Plan

May 31, Annecy loop (49km or 85 km, 1212 m or 1890 m)

Cret de Chatillon, Col de la Forclaz

The Cret de Chatillon is the House Mountain of Annecy. It’s a fantastic climb, hardly any traffic, great road and variation within the climb, combined with stunning views. Seems nobody is sure how high the top of the plateau really is; 1660, 1699 or 1700m?  If you are lucky you find wild strawberries before you descend on a fabulously paved fast road down to Lake Annecy.  An impressive bike path leads either back to Annecy, or continues to the Southern end of the lake, from where you can climb the Col de la Forclaz; with two 15% stretches, this mountain road is a must for any cyclist in the area.  While climbing the views are hidden, but once you reach the highest point, the best views to be had of Lake Annecy open up.

Enjoy another evening in one of Frances most beautiful towns after packing your bikes.

Rain Day

We woke up to a steady rain, 50 degrees, and after a contemplative breakfast we decided to load up the bikes and drive to Annecy, scrapping the planned itinerary (including Cormet de Roselend).  A down day seemed right and we didn’t complain.  As good fortune would have it, we arrived in Annecy at noon, just before the street market closed, so we stashed our gear at the hotel and strolled over to Old Annecy for a lunch of fresh bread, cheese, strawberries, rotisserie chicken and pastry, all from local farmer/producers.  Ah, the best of France! 

The rain had stopped.  There was no reason to not get on our bikes so 6 of us (3 DNS’s—Did Not Start) headed out around Lake Annecy for a climb called Crete du Chatillon.  As we approached the start of the climb, 3 decided to go straight on the flat bike path around the lake, accepting a DNF (Did Not Finish) for the day.  If you’re counting, that left 3 of us—young Nick, Rick and I—still on our bikes going up.  It was a 4 – 8%, 25 km climb, 1200 m vertical, reasonable by our current standards.

Rain shrouded the mountain as we started and we quickly donned rain jackets.  1-1/2 hours later, we arrived at the top in dense fog. 

The mountain is also called “Le Semnoz,” which translates into something like “Signal Mountain.”  During WW II, there was a small but dedicated French Resistance in Annecy, despite Nazi control of the town.  The Resistance received air drops of weapons, supplies and information on top of the mountain.  At some point, an informer tipped off the Nazis, who staked out the air drop site and were waiting for the Resistance fighters.  They killed all of them, according to local history, severely curtailing the Resistance in the area.  I looked around for a memorial of some sort on the top but there was nothing to be found in the fog. 

After a few minutes, we descended back into Annecy feeling good about getting in a strenuous 35 miles despite the weather. 

Lost

In contrast to most of the cast of the allegorical TV show, I guess you could say we’ve “found” ourselves--we’ve gotten in tune with our inner cyclist here in the mecca of the French Alps.  It would be equally true to say that we’re mostly lost.  Well, not “mostly,” but “daily” would be an accurate enough adjective.

Is it the nature of French roads and signage? Is it our bike-brained inattention to detail?   Is it our guides’ willingness to wing it with the route maps?


These factors may be at work but none of them are adequate to describe our condition. They just don't stand up to close inspection.  French roads do sometimes follow medieval logic and sometimes the numbering system changes unpredictably, but the roads generally have signs pointing to nearby towns at every intersection, and surely they do nothing we don't see regularly in Atlanta.  The Boyz are astute, techno-savvy, travel veterans, and many of us study maps diligently and carry iPhones and Garmins and have a sixth sense about direction.  It couldn't be us.  Our guides LIVE in Europe, for pete’s sake, and speak 5 languages and travel these areas every year and have Tom-Toms in their vans.  And yet, we keep coming to intersections and being thoroughly stumped!  Do we turn left or go straight?

We ARE doing better than last year, as we haven’t been lost for more than 45 minutes in France.  We wandered for about 1:15 hrs. last year in Interlochen, Switzerland.  Guide Mike typically goes ahead and marks intersections with chalk arrows, which works well 1) if he knows the way and 2) now that his arrows are more consistent.  His early arrow attempts were described by one cyclist as “flailing octopi.”

In order to make sense of all this, I’m playing with the hypothesis that a certain amount of “lostness” is key to the zen of cycling.  If every climb is exactly the steepness and length described, and every route map is pre-determined with turns properly located, and every town is arrived at on the hour planned, cycling tends to repetitiveness and predictability, and then it feels less wild and free.  It’s the possibility of lostness that gives us the space to feel our freedom and to practice our self-reliance. 

If this hypothesis fails, I'm left with falling back on the old yin/yang argument:  how will a cyclist know the joy of found-ness if there is no lost-ness?

The Ride of the Flat Tire

Today was a very hard day.  11,300 ft. of climbing, 81 miles, and we’re all beat.  The itinerary was adlibbed this morning since the Galibier is closed.  It seems like most peaks over 2200 m. are still closed due to snow.  Instead we climbed the Col du Glandon, Col de Creux de Fer and Col de la Madeleine.  They were all long with plenty of steeps.

The signature moment came when Markham got off his bike 2/3 of the way up la Croix de Fer to check his flat tire.  He was convinced it was flat.  Except it wasn't flat--it was its normal round hard 100 lb. pressure.  That pretty much describes the day--the mountains saw to it that we rode flat tires for 40 miles.

We left L'Bourg d'Oisans at 9 AM and headed up the valley, then turned off the main road and began the Col de Glandon climb.  It was a picture-perfect day and, yes, the little towns crowding the road the frequent mountain vistas were all postcard-worthy, but we've come to expect it.  Just another day in the French Alps.... .  The descents continue to be fast, technical and exhilarating, and they go on for so long that backs, shoulders and wrists can tighten up.  Our final descent was 25k, lasting over 45 minutes (with a couple stops to regroup and stretch muscles).

At the end, we were exhausted.  We loaded the bikes on the vans and drove the last 40k to our hotel in Bourg-St.-Maurice.  

We got to our hotel at 7:30 PM, to a restaurant at 8:45 PM, and had a repeat of our Le Candie restaurant service experience.  At 11 PM we asked for the check, leaving without the price-fixe menu desserts we had coming—we just wanted to get back to the hotel and into bed.  Tomorrow’s itinerary calls for much the same as today’s, but we’re going to adjust it at breakfast in the morning.  Rain is predicted for one thing; but the main thing is that our legs are fried after Thursday’s race and today’s long, long climbs and we’re ready for an easier day.

Day 5 Plan

May 29, Le Bourg d’Oisans to Bourg-St-Maurice (200 km, 3299 m)

Col du Lautaret, Col du Galibier, Col de l’Isearn

Your ride today is as beautiful as it is hard. The scenery is stunning on top of Galibier, the vast views, the

clear mountain lakes, the smell of pine forests and the laidback atmosphere in the mountain villages give

you reason to slow down and soak it all in. From the Col du Telegraphe you descend into the Arch valley,

where Hannibal might have traveled through in the year 218 BC.

Now you get a bit of almost flat before your 33 km climb up Iseran begins in Lanslebourg. However, only

400 m will be climbed over the first 19 km (with the exeption f a short stretch), but after Bonneval sur Arc the

real climb starts and you concer 900 m over 13 km, some of it will hurt, usually the last 2,5 km with its 8-

11%.

Maybe you can beat our 1h 52 min record….

That was the plan--but actually we didn't do any of this.  The day's signature climb, Col du Galibier, is not yet open as the top is still clogged by snow, so Howie, Rich and Nel caucused and ad-libbed a new route.  While we were flattered by the fact someone thought we could actually ride 200 km and climb 3300 m on the day after Race Day (which, on the ground experience has taught us, usually amounts to 20% more climbing due to the ups and downs of the "flat" sections of the rides), none of us really thought we'd do the full route.  We're good at changing plans on the fly, responding to leg and heart conditions.

We did not get cheated by the revised route.  We climbed the following 2 major profiles, which belie the steepness of many shorter sections on these climbs.

  

After the Race

We hung around the top of L’Alpe d’Huez long enough to swap stories, refuel and buy a souvenir or two.  The town of Alpe d’Huez is surprisingly uncharming, a ski town sprawled across a barren slope, very un-French in its lack of planning and mish-mash of shops, condos and parking lots.  After a while, we coasted back down to hairpin 6, then turned and took a one-lane road through a few buildings crowded hard against the edge of the mountain and then winding down the mountainside with stunning views out over the valley.  We’d cycle 200 yds, stop for photos, cycle another 200 yds.  Eventually we unstruck our awe enough to make our way back to L’Boug-de-Oisans for lunch.  

It was noon and we had cycled only 25 miles, but the racing up L’Alpe (1100 m. vert) had whupped several of us—me, for sure—and I was thinking of lunch, beer, a nap and an easy afternoon at the hotel.  Some of my boyz were leaning the same way.  The discussion at lunch turned to a road Charles had seen carved into the edge of a mountain above our hotel, and another road twisting down the other side of the same mountain.  Charles had studied a map of the area the night before and, while this wasn’t a regular cycling route, it looked like a cool adventure and the two roads were connected by a dotted line at the top of the mountain.  The beer took hold and after an hour, we decided to forego naps and check out the road.

 

It was, of course, single-lane, cut into the rock, longer and steeper than we had thought, and included 3 tunnels, 2 of them curved and pitch black since you couldn’t see the other end.  It was also so stunningly beautiful that we hardly noticed we were, in essence, climbing Alpe d'Huez a second time both in steepness and length.  At the end of the road, high on the mountain, we arrived at a small hamlet named Notre Dame-du-Something, with a small café that said “Biere.”  There was also a sign pointing up a narrow lane that struck out across the rolling top of the mountain, apparently to another hamlet.  A sign at the lane said “Obstructed,” and this was, presumably, the dashed line of the map.  

While we had a biere, we asked the cafe woman for details.  She told Nel that the lane was gravel, it was 4 km to the next town, it was rolling and would add another 100 m. vertical, mostly guys on mountain bikes crossed it but occasionally a road bike would come through.  It was impassable by car.  Meanwhile, the sky had clouded over, the wind was gusting and it was clearly raining in the direction the lane headed.  I was tired, really tired, and ready to head back down the way we had come up, but once again my more courageous comrades--excited by the unknown--prevailed and we set out across the moor-like mountain top.  

It was exactly as advertised except for the vert. meters, which we estimated as closer to 200 than 100.  The first km was hard-packed and fairly easy to navigate on skinny tires.  Then it got more interesting.  Small glaciers encroached on the lane in 2 locations, releasing rivulets of water across our path.  Shale scree was scattered over the surface, puddles and muddy patches dotted the way, a sheer bank dropped from the lane’s edge and the clouds began to spit light rain.  And it was absolutely beautiful, one of the most exhilarating and top-of-the-world experiences we could imagine on a road bike!  We managed to ride the lane for the most part, walking a place or two where loose shale made balance impossible, and ultimately we came to a hard-packed gravel road that led to a paved road and down the other side of the mountain, just as the map had predicted. Amazingly, at the very top where the loose shale met the hard-packed gravel, was parked an old pickup truck and a solitary man with a hoe was working in a garden plot—all by himself on top of the mountain.

The descent was as exhilarating as the climb and crossing, with smooth pavement and the tightest hairpins we had ever ridden, and only 2 cars seen in 10 km.  We sailed over a bridge and up a short grade to a main road where we stopped to regroup, huge smiles on our faces.  "THAT was QUALITY!!!" enthused Rich, and we all laughed, filled with the thrill of an adventure that went right.

We arrived back at our hotel with our cyclometers showing 50 mi. and 2200 m. of climbing for the day—all of which seemed impossibly inadequate to describe what we all agreed was the greatest cycling day of our lives.

Haute Cuisine and the Cyclist

The restaurant at Le Candie, our chateau in Chambery, is among the finest in Chambery, and our tour guides took advantage of this fact by arranging for us to have dinner there on Tuesday night.  It featured traditional French haute cuisine with 2 entrée options for the menu du jour—rabbit et al, and a fish (dorado) et al.  After a beer on the gracious patio, we moved inside for dinner at 7:45 PM and began with a tiny twisted glass cup, featuring the chef’s espresso bisque as an appetizer, and a single roll, without butter, carefully placed on our plate by the waiter. About a half hour later, our second course arrived, which was a shot glass-sized portion of quail egg in broth and a small tumbler of a custard.  Some of our group opted for 3 pieces of white asparagus topped by a thin piece of salty fish instead.  We finished this course in 3 minutes, and about 15 min. later the waiter, sensing our restlessness, came back to offer us another roll.  At approximately 9:15 PM, the entrée arrived (see picture of dorado--it's the dark strips alongside the two cheese raviolis).  At 10:00 PM, Rich discovered a basket of bread in the adjacent room, and we commissioned 19 year-old Nick to deliver it to us.  He received severe looks from some native French diners in the room.  Perhaps hastened by the purloined bread, the waiter delivered course no. 4, the fromage selection, at 10:15 PM, and at 10:30 PM a number of us gave up on course no. 5, dessert, and retired, our appetites tempered but not satisfied, to our rooms.  We heard later that dessert was tiny but excellent.  The price was 80 euros/person, which included 3 half-glasses of wine matched to each main course.

 

Apart from providing a quintessential  French experience and a favorite talking point for the next couple days, we find the main value of the meal was to impress on us the misfit between cycling and haute cuisine.  Cyclists want food, lots of food, in a hurry.  Healthy, well-prepared food is even better.  Then we go to bed.  Now, as we travel through France, we put a premium on beer, pizza, salad, frites and 10 euro plat du jours from cafes and brasseries, food that arrives fast and reloads the tank fully.  

Official Race Finish Results

1. Nick Enthoven      1:00:44
2. Markham Smith    1:01:37
3. Jack Honderd        1:02:58
4. Howie Rosen        1:03:38
5. Rick McConnell    1:05:10
6. Rich Enthoven      1:05:20
7. Charles Brewer     1:09:37
8. Todd Rich             1:12:00
9. Chris Meyer          1:30:40

Race Day!

L’Alpe d’Huez has beautiful scenery from it’s open-sided switchbacks over the grand Romanche River valley.  It has a famous ski resort at the top.  None of that seems to matter to cyclists though, because for them it is first and foremost the greatest cycling race course in the world.  Everyone knows their personal time up L’Alpe, as well as Lance’s time (38:01) and Marco Pantani’s time (37:25).  It's also the site of Lance's famous "The Look"--a 'catch me if you can' stare back at Jan Ulrich in 2001. 

We are not immune to this particular cycling fever so it came as no surprise that the Ride Commish declared our climb up L’Alpe “Race Day.”  This means that a bunch of old farts, and one 19 yr. old kid,  would redline their hearts and scorch their legs—just like any Le Tour rider—for the 15 km of 8, 9 and 10% slopes.  We lined up at the official start line, which includes permanent timing equipment, and Nel gave us a “GO!”  Each of the famous 21 hairpins has a monument announcing its number and other pertinent data, with hairpin no. 21 at the bottom progressing to no. 1 near the top, and we churned our way up the mountain cursing the slow count of the hairpins.  The short version is that Nick, the kid, surged ahead at the start and maintained his lead all the way up to the top, challenged only by Markham near the end.  Nick finished in 1 hr., 44 seconds, and Markham came in at 1:01:31.  I followed Markham across the line at 1:02:58 to ensure 2 of the 3 podium spots for Team Atlanta, aka The Swiss Cows.  It wasn’t quite the podium sweep of last year for the Atlantans, but still a respectable showing for old guys.

Detail:  Nel recorded our official time at the “Tourist Top,” which is 1 km below the Le Tour Top.  So add 5 min. to our times to compare! 

Day 4 Plan

May 28, Le Bourg d’Oisans loop (66 km, 2040 m)

Alpe-d’Huez, Col de Sarenne & Les Deux-Alpes

Two Classics today; start with Alpe d’Huez, continue over the rugged, serene Col de

Sarenne (the rougher the road gets, the more beautiful the landscape), descend between

sheep herds and waterfalls down to the hamlet of Clavans (good place for a cold beer).

Les Deux-Alpes is always a great climb and the descend is fast fun.

Alpe d’Huez (the village itself) is a very important, huge winter resort and has always

been very interested in hosting the Tour in order to be interesting in the summer time.

Marco Pantani holds the record for this 15 km (9 miles) climb at 37 minutes and 35

seconds.

Chamrousse

We left the Park Hotel in Grenoble at 9:15 this morning, riding through  city traffic in a light mist to the outskirts of town.  We stopped for a few minutes to puzzle out our route, then found the road leading up to the main climb of the day, Chamrousse. (This is another of those famous time trial climbs that Lance won in a Tour de France, although we rode up an alternate route.)  The rain began in earnest 3 km into the climb, lasting about 45 minutes.  This was enough to get us thoroughly wet but not to dampen our spirits, and when it stopped, we were already above the lower clouds, obscuring what we assumed to be a grand view of Grenoble and the valley below.  The first 10 km were real leg burners and we welcomed the more moderate pitch of the remaining 12 k.  

We put on warm dry clothing at the top and then began a wet, foggy, twisty descent back down to the main road below (the descent was the route that Lance time-trialed up.) The sun came out and the pavement was rapidly drying as we turned up the main road and headed to the small town of Villiers for lunch.  After loading on pizza, fries and other cyclist mainstays for lunch, we resumed our journey up the valley to L’Bourg-de’Oisans, a cycling hangout in the heart of the French Alps.  The 24 km stretch between Villiers and L’Bourg turned into a mad chase of Rick McConnell and the Texans, who saw the open 1% slope and tailwind as ideal conditions to strut their stuff, pushing a steady 22 –24 mph.  By the time we reached the turnoff for the day’s second climb, our group was badly sucking wind and the Ride Commish declared the second climb “optional”—though not without some controversy—which meant that we all soft-pedaled the remaining 3 km to our hotel and quickly stashed our bikes.  It was already almost 4 PM and we had completed 96 km and 6700 ft of climbing, and guys were thinking of L’Alpe d’Huez coming up in the AM, and there was plenty of gear to dry out.  We later learned that Howie and Chris, some way behind the lead group, made the turn and completed the second climb before arriving at the hotel at 6 PM.  They now are attempting to challenge the Ride Commish’s ruling, wanting to assign us a DNF for the day!

Tights Spot

I received many admiring glances as I paraded through the airport in my XU2 compression tights, overlaid with standard khaki shorts and a collared shirt.  One youngster looked at me like he thought I must be Peter Pan’s father.  Betsy had observed on the way to the airport, “You are a fashion statement unto yourself!”   My tights, of course, had nothing to do with fashion and everything to do with performance.  “All of the pros wear them,” a friend of mine, who works pro races, had informed me.  “They REALLY help with recovery.” 

On my arrival in France, the Boyz were a bit skeptical of the look and utility of the tights and I took some Texas-sized ribbing.  One claimed his wife would divorce him if he walked out of the house wearing such tights—this from a guy dressed in harlequin-colored, skin-tight shorts and shirt, showing lots of leg.  Eventually 20 year old Nick, less schooled in the old ways of looking at things, came to my rescue saying, “Dad, you need to drop it.  That guy can CLIMB!” 

By Day 3, the comments on style are being replaced by questions:  “How do your legs feel today?  How much do those tights cost?  All the pro riders wear them?”  If my climbing stays strong, don’t be surprised if the Boyz look like Robin Hood’s Merry Men before its all over.

Day 3 Plan

May 27, Grenoble to Le Bourg-d’Oisans (99 km, 2076 m)

Chamrousse & Villard-Reculas

Chamrousse became well known during the Winter Olympics in Grenoble.

For us cyclist, the climb of Chamrousse became famous when it was used in the mountain time-trial in the

2001 Tour de France.

Lance Armstrong won the 32 km stage on 18 July 2001, when he took just over an hour to complete the hors

categorie climb from Grenoble to the ski resort.

It is a fantastic climb, not only because there is hardly any traffic and the pavment is superb.

After the Chamrousse loop we decend to Sechilienne, from where we follow the Romanche river up the

valley towards Le Bourg-d’Oisans.

After the village of Livet, we turn off towards Allemot.

From the Lake Verney, we start the climb to Villard-Reculas. This is not a well known road, which is great.

It is spectacularly cut into the side of the mountain, leading to the village of Villard-Reculas and eventually

to Huez. It is a great alternative to just pedalling along the valley to Le Bourg, as it is spectacular,

challenging but not terribly steep and quiet. The average grade is ususally between 7-8% in the first part and

4-6% before you reach the village.

Leaving Villard you descend 2 km to Huez and connect with the epic road up to the Alpe-d’Huez, which we

take down into Le Bourg-d’Oisans, our base for the next two nights.

Day 2 - The Rain Didn't Show

We gathered for our 9 AM departure with bikes and a variety of rain gear as the weather report promised rain in the mountains and in Grenoble, our destination.  We picked our way through the cars and round-abouts of Chambery before beginning our first climb, the Col du Granier, 15 km mostly in the 6 - 8% range.  Markham, Rick, Nick and I went off the front and paced each other up the long climb, with Markham and I reaching the top together.  A little light rain spattered us along the way, but nothing serious.  The wind and damp at the top quickly chilled us, so we added arm warmers and donned our jackets for a descent down wet pavement.  Abruptly, the sun came out,  and we rode into a picturesque little town with a patisserie and open air market featuring local strawberries.  Not having obtained any euros yet, I was left with stealing a couple berries from Chris and resolving to go to the first ATM I could find in Grenoble.  

A few of us took a side route out of town, through a gorge (the root of the word “gorgeous”) enjoying  a winding ride among stone cliffs, with a rocky stream far below and a great valley vista ahead.  By the time we returned to the little town and headed up our second climb of the day, our group was split into twos and threes, and Todd and I made the turn up Col du Cucheron together.  The designated road was closed for road repair, and we were re-routed to a secondary road, which, Nel explained, was longer and steeper, although I’m still trying to figure out how both facts could be true from one fixed point to another.  Anyway, we rolled over the summit and down a short descent into the town of St. Pierre-de-Chartreuse to find Rick, who had skipped the gorge route, finishing up lunch at a roadside café.  Todd and I eschewed lunch on the premise that we had one easy climb to go and we’d be in Grenoble by 2:00 PM with lots of food options.  Wrong!  The last climb seemed much longer and steeper than promised, and after the long 12 km descent into Grenoble, we wandered for another 1:15 hrs. looking for our hotel before being rescued by Rick’s Blackberry and a lead-in from Mike of Andiamo.  I had a serious food bonk on the way and headed for an ATM machine.

Day Two Plan

May 26, Chambéry to Grenoble (70+ km, 1890 m)

Col du Granier, Col du Cucheron & Col de Porte

Today’s route leads across three passes through the gorgeous Massif de la Chartreuse.

Little traffic, superb roads and lovely scenery; the distance is about 70 km, with an optional loop (marked in

yellow on the map) of 30 km, through the gorges and forests that are famous for this region. Needless to

mention the loop is not flat at all.

Parts of the “Classic des Alpes” (and therefore must rides) are the two passes Col du Granier and Col du

Cucheron. Not only are these classic rides, but classic scenery and due to this and beauty and cultural

heritage within the Massif de la Chartreuse the region was made regional Nature Park in 1995.

The third pass of the day is the Col du Porte. We’ll follow the signs for Charmant Som and after six

kilometres of climbing you attain an altitude of 1680m. This is the highest road in the Chartreuse, and a

stunning view of the Alps opens up. You then fly down into the Isere valley along quiet roads past small

villages and hamlets to the outskirts of Grenoble. The Col de Porte, by the way, was one of the first Alpine

climbs added to the Tour in 1907.

Grenoble is a great town to be in for a night, you will enjoy walking through the pedestrian area of the old

town.

Day One--Chateau de Candie

A beautiful day in France--everything has gone exactly as planned!  All flights arrived on time, all bikes showed up at baggage claim.  We loaded our gear into the Andiamo vans and headed to Chambery arriving at Chateau de Candie by 10:00 AM.

By 11:45 we had built our bikes, checked into our rooms and were ready to ride.  The sun shone and temps warmed into the 80’s as we headed down the valley on a bike path, before turning onto a car road and almost immediately found ourselves on the day’s signature climb.  It was exactly as advertised—in a word, unrelenting.  It pretty much hit 10% immediately and stayed there—well, between 8% and 14%--for the entire 9 miles.  It was Hogpen x 2, and I was thankful we were climbing it on the first day when legs were still fresh.  The view from the top was spectacular, as the horizon was lined with snow-capped peaks. 

The descent and subsequent climb were perfectly French, down narrow winding roads, through 6 or 7 building French towns, views of wildflower meadows, lakes and woods.  We arrived back at Chateau de Candie in time to take a swim and have a beer before dinner.  


For another account and more details, see Chris's blog at http://cyclingthealps.posterous.com/

Day 1 Plan

Here is the Day One itinerary and climb profile.  I love the cheerful description of the 10 - 14% climb.... Yellow is 8 - 10%, red 10%+.

May 25, Chambéry; Mont du Chat warm up loop (70 km, 1826 m)
Mont du Chat, Col de l’Epine
We meet at Geneva airport (Switzerland) and transfer by van to Chambéry (France).
After building your bikes we embark on a 70 km warm up ride that is hard and beautiful.
From Chambery to the base of Mont du Chat, you ride on a bike path, while the small road up the Mountain
is very quiet and steep, leading through forests with some great views of the lake. Once you reach the forest,
the climb stays between 10% & 14% for all of the remaining 7 kilometers.
Through rolling hills dotted with blooming fruit trees and sleepy hamlets you reach the second, smaller
climb up the Col de l’Epine.
Surely you are back in Chambery in time to see the old town and one of the best bike shops in the region.

Itinerary

Our itinerary has been given to us in the “trip bible”, established, we think, by our Ride Commish and Nel, the Europe-based operator of Andiamo Adventours.  Why it is called a “trip bible” is something of a mystery since we are a group of mixed philosophy and cultural allegiance (Come on!  Half of our members are from San Francisco!), but presumably it’s meant to be authoritative and preempt argument.  A better name might be the “trip Kama Sutra” since it’s all about cyclists putting themselves in difficult positions in search of a few thrills.

Meanwhile, the current weather forecast for the next 7 days on L’Alpe d’Huez:  low of 30, high of 50, rain mixed with snow.  Bike 'n Ski. Whoopee!

The French Alps the Enthoven Way; Chambéry to Annecy
++ 718 km/16’010 m - 450 miles/53’000 feet ++

Fly in and out of Geneva, Switzerland
Day 1, May 25; Chambéry; transfer from Geneva, Mont du Chat loop
Day 2, May 26 ; Grenoble; Col du Granier, Col du Cucheron, Col de Porte
Day 3, May 27; Le Bourg-d’Oisan; either loop through the Vercors region South West of Grenoble
then shuttle to Le Bourg, or ride Chamrousse
Day 4, May 28; Loop out of Le Bourg-d’Oisan; Alpe-d’Huez, Les Deux-Alpes
Day 5, May 29; Bourg-St-Maurice; Galibier, Col d’Iseran
Day 6, May 30; Annecy; (Roselend-option to shuttle) Col des Saisies, Col des Aravis, Col de la
Croix-Fry
Day 7, May 31 ; Loop out of Annecy; Crêt du Châttillon, Col de la Forclaz
Day 8, June 1; Transfer to Geneva, Switzerland