What's New in 2008
 6th May - The route for the 2008 Dauphine Libere has been announced with a route taking the riders through the Alps with the final stage finish in Grenoble. The climbs include the Col du Joux Plane, the Croix de Fer, and on the final day, racing through the Chartreuse and over the Col du Granier, Col de Cucheron and Col de Porte. More details of the route and race can be found on the official website of the race.
Official 2008 Dauphine Libere Website
The Dauphine Libere is a fantastic race to follow, and it is well worth spending a week following each stage through the fantastic scenery in the Dauphine region. All this without the crowds of the Tour de France, and the chance to get close to the riders.
2nd May - We're already into May and the mountains above Grenoble as still covered in snow. I think it will be a few weeks until we see the high mountain passes open this year.
The Grenoble Cycling Pages website was hacked this week. I've no idea how they did it, but every page was updated with malicious code. I've now reuploaded the site, and reinstalled the blog, forum and gallery with new installs and the site is now clean. Google blocked the site so I now need to contact them to request that they check it and let visitors know that things are clean. If you did visit the site over the last week, please check your PC for any problems. I can only apologise, and let you know that this was out of my control.
5th March - I'm now back from a month in New Zealand, having spent a wonderful time on the other side of the planet. It's a beautiful place with so much to see and do, and feels remarkably empty after spending so much time in Europe. Here are a selection of photos I took over the month. It would be a fantastic place to tour on a bicycle.
We are now in March but it's certainly still the ski season. If you are planning to come to the Alps in the early season, remember to check the state of the Cols on the Infotraffic website. You can check the site for the latest information on Cols already open and Cols still closed.
Now it's time to get back on the bike and to start preparing for the summer. It's only four months until the Marmotte.
1st January - Happy New Year, and best wishes for 2008. It's a typical winter in the French Alps with early snow in the mountains around the city allowing many of the local ski resorts to open early this year. It's also been a good winter for anybody keen enough for cycling, with cold temperatures but many sunny days.
My main goal of the summer will be to ride the Marmotte event for the sixth time with some of my old club from Cheltenham in the UK. With some time in New Zealand early in the year, I'll be looking to start my training in March to be ready for the event at the start of July. Wherever you are, I hope your training is going well and that you've got your goals for the year in the diary.
26th September -
I spent the weekend on the south coast with three friends from my old club, Cheltenham Cycling Club, and we spent four days exploring the mountains around Menton. Highlights for me included Lance Armstrong's favourite climb, the Col de la Madone, as well as the Col d'Eze and the Col de Turini.
You can find photos in the Gallery here.
23rdJuly -
Yesterday, I rode the 225 km Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes, an organised event which started near Grenoble in Vizille at 5:30am. Other groups had already left at 2:00am and 3:30am. The route took me over the Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Mollard, Col du Telegraphe and finally the 2646 metre Col du Galibier, totalling over 4,600 metres of climbing. It was a brilliant day, the Galibier looked stunning, I met some great people, and my legs amazingly kept going to the end and I finished in 9 hours and 57 minutes. No photos this time, but a video diary that was taken on a little Canon camera, and you can see it online here. I had said that I was going to create these videos more often, so let me know if you do like it.
15th July -
As part of my build up for next weekend's Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes, I rode the 2067 metre Col de la Croix de Fer, the 1630 metre Col du Mollard, and the northern side of the Col du Glandon, on a hot summers day here in the Alps. In total, 135 kilometres with over 3,500 metres of climbing and all went well until the 20 kilometre climb to the 1924 metre Col du Glandon. I suffered like I haven't suffered for many years on the second half of the climb as it was hot and my legs were tired on the steep gradients. You can see photos in the gallery here.
30th May -
Three news climbs for me today around Bourg d'Oisans. Firstly the 1680 metre Col du Solude, a climb to the south of the town with a number of unlit tunnels and a few kilometres of dirt track at the top. The second climb was to the village of Oulles, and again, a quiet road with lovely mountain views. Finally, the high point of the day was riding to the 2,100 metre Col du Sabot above the ski resort of Vaujany. Steep gradients with fresh snow at the top and a view over the Col du Glandon. All of the climbs are within easy reach if you visit Bourg d'Oisans, and all are well worth riding - today, we didn't see one other cyclist on any of these climbs. You can see photos in the gallery here and the ride report is on Le Blog.
10th May -
Today I rode one of those rides that I've been wanting to cycle for a long time. I started from Valbonnais near La Mure and climbed to the Col de Parquetout. It's only seven kilometres but with a gradient that reaches 15 percent in places, I had tired legs at the top. I then descending to Corps and rode the 15 kilometre climb to Notre Dame de Salette. To finish, I rode back over the Parquetout from the easier direction. You can see photos in the gallery here.
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