I was really well trained for this expedition (thanks to my coach!) and felt good for all the days and had plenty left in me when I packed up and headed home.Monday was a travel day and I drove the approximately 8 hours from Bonn to Bourg d'Oisan easily and with little traffic. It was pretty uneventful until I had about 1.5 hours to go and I was very near Grenoble, France. The site of the Alps coming into view was incredible. I went from flat to rolling hills to huge mountains as I rounded the corner. It was kind of frightful just thinking I would be climbing these in a day or so. I arrived safely at the hotel in town and unpacked. It was truly a flea bag hotel, but it was cheap and, being a single guy it was not a big deal. I walked around the town in the evening (it took 10 minutes) and realized all the hotels were flea bags. It started to rain in the evening.
Tuesday morning it was raining. I waited around for a bit but decided to go cycling regardless of the weather. It would be rather silly to train all year and then sit inside because of rain when the day came to perform. The first course I picked was to climb Les Deux Alpes and then head back on an out and back course. At 50K, the course was short to get me warmed up for cycling the Alps and to get a boost of confidence for the days ahead. The top was 1650 meters and it meant about 900 meters of climbing as Bourg d'Oisan is about 730 meters above sea level. There were very few cyclists of the road, probably because it was still early in the year, it was mid week and the weather was not cooperating. As I was climbing the visibility was getting worse. It was like I was climbing into a cloud. About 2 miles from the top they were doing construction and had closed the road down to one lane. They had stop lights at either end. It was weird because it was pouring rain, no one on the road but me and I hit the red light. I decided to stop and wait because I couldn't see more than 50 feet in front of me, but I ended up just standing there for 5 minutes by myself in the rain. When the light turned, I climbed back on the bike and finished the climb into the little ski village. I took a few pictures and headed back to the hotel. I took the descent really slow as I have no descending skills, it was still wet and I couldn't see very far in front of me. I also didn't want to break a collar bone on the first day out.
Wednesday was the planned epic day and I was on the road by 8:30 or so. The route was supposed to be about 160 km and 5000 meters of climbing. Of course the weather wasn't cooperating on this day either and there was a very light rain when I headed out of town and went towards the first pass at Col du Glandon at around 1900 meters. The road was very quiet and I only passed one other person, an old guy (70 ish!) on the way up. The scenery was spectacular with cliffs, waterfalls, huge reservoirs and incredible views. There was one really steep section at around 12%, but the hill averaged 4.7% grade, so it was a slow grinder for a couple of hours. When I hit the top there was some construction going on, so I had one of them take my picture.
One kilometer away was the top of Col de la Croix de Fer at 2067 meters. It was deserted, so I took a couple of pictures, ate some fake food and then prepared for the descent. The top was cold and incredibly windy. Luckily the weather was starting to improve, because the first part of the 45 minute descent was very cold, but the sun began to appear and warmed me a little. It was a slow descent as I held the brakes with a death grip and twisted around the steep turns at incredibly slow speed. I had picked up a map at the local cycle shop in town and it was generally excellent, giving details on 10 or 12 rides in the area, including the one I was doing. At one point at the bottom of the descent the map stated that I should turn on to a different highway. When I hit the intersection there was a big detour sign, with a freshly painted road going one way and a crappy road going the other way. The map said to take the crappy road. I sat at the intersection for about five minutes before I decided to go with the highway signs and follow the detour and the new road. Long story short I added 10 Km to my route and one more Col. After connecting up with the main route again I headed for the next mountain top. The ascent of the Col du Telegraph was another grinder, but very doable. I felt very good. I stopped at a few towns along the way to buy drinks. I had someone take my picture at the top of the Col and then headed off for Galibier at 2600 meters. As I came around a corner just outside of Valloire I got a glimpse of the climb ahead of me...it made me pretty nervous to see this huge hill with a bunch of switchbacks that looked incredibly steep. At the same time I was also passing a small chalet that happened to have a bunch of people drinking on the balcony. They all gave me a round of applause so I smiled, waived, grit my teeth and headed up the hill. Within minutes it seemed like they looked like ants. As I got closer to the top there was more and more snow. It was pretty cool to have a fifteen foot snow bank to your right and a cliff to your left (with no barriers of course!).
The last 5K was pretty tough; I think they save the steepest part for the top! I knew I could get to the top, but it was pretty slow going and I was thankful for all those climbing repeat drills I was put through in training. It turned out that the summit was closed and only the (long dark) tunnel was open so I couldn't climb the last 100 meters. There was a store at the stop, so I headed in, bought a sandwich and thought about the long 50K descent home. I was covered in sweat from the climb, but again the top was freezing and incredibly windy. Within minutes my teeth were chattering uncontrollably. The descent was tough for the first bit because of the strong winds and the tight hairpin turns, (again with no guardrails!). I am in total awe of professional riders who descend at 100 kph or more. I was lucky to hit 40 kph. I don't think I have ever descended for 50 kms before and I don't think I pedaled for more than a kilometer or two on the way back into town. It was pretty cool. I flew past the Col du Lautaret without even noticing the summit. I passed the huge La Meije glacier and a couple of really cute little towns, but didn’t stop for pictures. I was happy to be back in town and I actually felt good at the end of the day, eight and a half hours of riding and 170 km after I started.
Thursday morning I felt great and was not sore at all from the ride on Wednesday. Thursday was Alpe d'Huez and then the Col du Sarenne before looping back into town for a total of about 50K. I was a little nervous about climbing the Alpe d'Huez and so just took it slow and methodically. The first couple of switchbacks were the steepest, but then it seemed to be a little easier for most of the way up the rest. 21 switchbacks later I made the top in a time 1:15. I hung around for a while and got my certificate for climbing the hill before heading off to the next mountain top. I mentally underestimated the Col de Sarrene. On paper it is around 160 meters higher than the Alpe d'Huez, so I figured it would be no big deal. It was incredibly windy between summits and there were a couple of pretty steep spots. I passed a group of riders so I felt pretty good. I was glad to make the summit and noted mentally to never underestimate again! I stopped at the top for a few minutes, but again, it was incredibly windy. The descent was treacherous to say the least. It was a very narrow road without guardrails, water was pouring over the road in many spots and rocks/gravel littered the road everywhere from the spring run off. The hairpin turns I sped through at around 2 miles per hour, often with one foot unclipped from the pedals for fear of hitting a boulder or falling over from such slow speed. My hands were sore at the end from one hour of death grips on the brakes. I was glad to be done that piece of it. At the bottom, the road had completely washed away in areas and there were large construction teams doing repairs. The main highway near La Grave never looked so good. This picture shows some of the descent heading over the Col de la Serenne.
Friday was a 100K loop heading out of town towards Grenoble and then up and over the Ornon pass.
I picked the route from the cycling store map and it turned out to be a very nice tour. At the summit I met a couple of other cyclists, chatted with the store owner (there is a chalet at the summit of every hill I think), drank a couple glasses of peach ice tea, ate more fake food, filled my water bottles and headed back into town. My chain was rubbing slightly for about half the trip and I couldn't seem to correct the problem. I ended up cleaning and tuning up the bike in the evening and the rubbing thankfully went away.
The last day of riding was going to be a 60km out and back course to Berarde and back, but at the last minute I decided to do Alpe d'Huez again first and then start out to Berarde. I was still feeling very good and I wanted to see how fast I could get to the top of Alpe d'Huez if I tried a little harder than Thursday's effort. I ended up at just over an hour at 1:03 and still had a little left over. I coasted down to town, grabbed a quick lunch and headed out to Berarde. There were professional photographers near the Alpes d’Huez summit, and I ordered a few pictures.
Thursday morning I felt great and was not sore at all from the ride on Wednesday. Thursday was Alpe d'Huez and then the Col du Sarenne before looping back into town for a total of about 50K. I was a little nervous about climbing the Alpe d'Huez and so just took it slow and methodically. The first couple of switchbacks were the steepest, but then it seemed to be a little easier for most of the way up the rest. 21 switchbacks later I made the top in a time 1:15. I hung around for a while and got my certificate for climbing the hill before heading off to the next mountain top. I mentally underestimated the Col de Sarrene. On paper it is around 160 meters higher than the Alpe d'Huez, so I figured it would be no big deal. It was incredibly windy between summits and there were a couple of pretty steep spots. I passed a group of riders so I felt pretty good. I was glad to make the summit and noted mentally to never underestimate again! I stopped at the top for a few minutes, but again, it was incredibly windy. The descent was treacherous to say the least. It was a very narrow road without guardrails, water was pouring over the road in many spots and rocks/gravel littered the road everywhere from the spring run off. The hairpin turns I sped through at around 2 miles per hour, often with one foot unclipped from the pedals for fear of hitting a boulder or falling over from such slow speed. My hands were sore at the end from one hour of death grips on the brakes. I was glad to be done that piece of it. At the bottom, the road had completely washed away in areas and there were large construction teams doing repairs. The main highway near La Grave never looked so good. This picture shows some of the descent heading over the Col de la Serenne.
Friday was a 100K loop heading out of town towards Grenoble and then up and over the Ornon pass.
I picked the route from the cycling store map and it turned out to be a very nice tour. At the summit I met a couple of other cyclists, chatted with the store owner (there is a chalet at the summit of every hill I think), drank a couple glasses of peach ice tea, ate more fake food, filled my water bottles and headed back into town. My chain was rubbing slightly for about half the trip and I couldn't seem to correct the problem. I ended up cleaning and tuning up the bike in the evening and the rubbing thankfully went away.
The last day of riding was going to be a 60km out and back course to Berarde and back, but at the last minute I decided to do Alpe d'Huez again first and then start out to Berarde. I was still feeling very good and I wanted to see how fast I could get to the top of Alpe d'Huez if I tried a little harder than Thursday's effort. I ended up at just over an hour at 1:03 and still had a little left over. I coasted down to town, grabbed a quick lunch and headed out to Berarde. There were professional photographers near the Alpes d’Huez summit, and I ordered a few pictures.
This ride to Berarde was a great ride with lots of steep climbs, tough switchbacks, narrow roads, dark tunnels and of course lots of areas with no guardrails.
If you are not aware by now, heights bother me quite a bit. I came around one corner and saw a small bridge in front of me that couldn't have been more than 5 feet wide, no guardrails and what looked like 1000 feet down on each side. I had about 10 seconds to decide what to do as I approached. I thought about trying to walk across, but thought I may freeze in fear half way across. I considered crawling across and dragging my bike, but thought I would look stupid if another car or rider came by. I eventually just rode across going 3 miles an hour and staring 5 feet in front of my front wheel. I stressed about having to cross the bridge again for quite a while! I got a local person to take my picture in the town of Berarde and then headed back to the hotel for a beer to celebrate a fun week in the hills.
Sunday morning I packed the bags and piled the car high with my stuff. The drive home was uneventful. It was a fantastic trip, but I was glad to be home.
I have a bunch more photos on the web which I will send in a separate e-mail link (because I can’t figure out how to link it properly here!) If you hit the slideshow button and select the fast mode, you’ll be through the 100+ pictures in no time!
Tom
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