Grenoble Cycling Pages

May 2000 Diary

May 6th - The Col du Coq

It was a clear morning and around 14 degrees. I cycled along the main road through the Grenoble suburb of Meylan and past the numerous little villages until I was able to turn off onto the Col du Coq. The road climbs steadily at around eight percent towards the towering cliffs of the Chartreuse before bearing off to the right and climbs properly starts. I don't like this section because it feels like the climb hasn't kicked in and it's already hard. I passed a guy on his mountain bike turning a tiny gear and riding on huge knobbly tyres.

The hairpins are not too frequent on the first half of the climb. The views soon become more spectacular and the valley floor soon looks like you are landing in a plane and the Belledonne range behind. There are two tunnels before the halfway stage, before you leave the main road and it hairpins through the village of St Pancrasse. There is a kilometre of six percent before the final four at nine percent.

The snow capped 2062m mountain, the Dent de Crolles stands imposing above the road and you zigzag underneath the mountain for the final half of this climb. The highest peak in the Belledonne range across the valley, the Grand Pic du Belledonne (2960m) can be seen. The final four kilometres are at a steady nine percent and I felt the benefit of not going hard at the bottom of the climb.

The snowcapped Belledonne range from the Col du Coq.

The road was still closed into the Chartreuse so I turned around and enjoyed the descent back to the valley.

May 8th - Col de la Charmette

The temperature gauge on the balcony read 25, and the early evening sun beckoned. I followed the bike path for seven kilomteres towards Lyon, which was made easier by the fact that I was able to shelter behind a moped that was only capable of 45 kilometres per hour. I left bike path and started the climb of the Col de la Charmette (1261m) in the town of St Egreve (210m).

I soon passed my first hairpin, one of the only three on the whole climb. It is a 13km climb from the bottom and the road hugs the left of the valley till the hamlet of Pomaray and then switches to the right till the Col. The Col sits underneath the Chartreuse peaks of La Pinea (1770m) and the Grand Sure (1900m).

The distinctive Chartreuse peak of La Pinea.

I passed a sign that told me the Col was closed but I pressed on. It was May, there was no snow on the peaks above so I was sure it should be fine. You climb on the left-hand side of the small valley before crossing a bridge and then the gradient steepens and you climb on the right through woods.

I climbed passed snowdrifts and debris that has fallen from the rockface next to the road till I could go no further. The road cut through a small gully and it was blocked by snow so I had no choice but to carry my bike. I was able to cycle another 500 metres before the final 400 metres had to be crossed on snow to reach the Col. It must have looked quite comical to this cyclist stumbling across the snow in shorts and cycling shoes, but it was early evening and I had had the road to myself. I could cycle the last 30 metres to the Col before repeating the snow-crossing experience to get home.

May 14th - The Alpe d'Huez

I had climbed the Alpe on two previous occasions. On the first occasion, it was the third climb of the day after the Col du Galibier and les Deux Alps and I had been shattered. The second time was last summer when I persuaded my girlfriend, Rachel, to climb it. She did it and now has her certificate framed to prove she did it.

This time it would be the first climb of the day. The sky was clear and the temperature was in the high twenties. My brother was visiting, and it would be his first ascent of the most famous 14 kilometres in cycling. As we rounded the first bend and began the climb, we talked of what the Tour de France riders would be thinking at this point.

The road is excellent all the way up the mountain, good tarmac and wide enough not to be worried by the passing cars. The bottom is certainly the hardest section, and I tried to spin up the first five hairpins in the 39-23. It is incredible to see the road ramping up after each of the hairpins as you are trying to recuperate some energy on the ten metres of flat road before the gradient steepens again. I was alternating my style of climbing, out of the saddle and sitting down, just trying to feel good.

After the hamlet of La Garde, three kilometres from the bottom, I felt that the gradient had eased enough to let me move up to the 21 sprocket. If you crane your neck at this point then you can see the road winding up the mountainside above. Every so often, melting snow on the mountainside above had created a stream across the road and it was lovely to have the legs momentarily cooled by the spray.

I tried to keep a steady rhythm as I wound up the road, reaching the nine kilometre mark and passing through the village of Huez, I could see the Alpe d'Huez perched on the mountainside another 300 metres above. The gradient averages about 11 percent for the next kilometre after the village and it was thankfully a tailwind blowing me toward the ski resort.

The views steadily unfolded as I climbed, the Ecrins massif and the distinctive whirling rock formations around Bourg d'Oisans were replaced with the views of the 3,500 metre snow-covered Grandes Rousses massif above Alpe d'Huez.

We didn't stop at the village but instead continued to the Col de Poutran, another two kilometres above the village and just under 2000 metres in altitude. The snow was still there and it was great to cycle on a road cut through it. The view was stunning with the high peaks of the Belledonne massif backed by white wispy clouds, and the temperature was still reading over 20 degrees on my cycle computer.

Climbing through the snow above Alpe d'Huez.

It was then back to the village for a deserved drink before the fun of the descent.

May 20th - The Challenge du Dauphine

A clear chilly morning in the Vercors and 2000 cyclists stood between the start line and me. The start gun had gone but it was at least another ten minutes till I trundled across the start line with my cycling clubmate, Tim. We'd come for our first Sportif event of the year, the Challenge du Dauphine. We'd chosen the 124km event with 1700 metres of climbing that would take us from Meaudre, in the north of the Vercors, to the south of the range near the famous Col du Rousset, and then back along the undulating roads to the Gorges de la Bourne and Meaudre. It was cyclists as far as the eye could see as the road left the start town of Meaudre and took us along to the ski resort of Autrans before climbing the three kilometres over the Col de la Croix Perrin before the descent to Lans en Vercors.

A large group of elderly women applauded us as we left the hills. The route then followed the winding valley roads to the bottom of the first major climb to Herbouilly, which started in the ski resort of Villard de Lans and took us to St Martin en Vercors. The line of cyclists still stretched into the horizon as I could see them on the climb to the right, above me.

This climb of Herbouilly was never too steep and left its hardest for the last kilometre when it ramped up and the road surface deteriorated.

The chill really hit on the descent as the temperature plummeted to seven degrees on my cycle computer, and I felt I needed more than the T-shirt and two summer cycle jerseys but I wasn't going to stop. I do remember thinking how nice the views of the rolling Vercors looked near the top of the descent.

This is where the event really started for me. A small group of ten riders had formed up the road and I latched onto the wheel of a rider who sprinted past chasing them. We started working together and after a few minutes were soon able to rest at the back of the group. The group swelled with riders joining, and rolled happily along at around 40km an hour, help by a nice tailwind. We approached the third climb and a few riders jumped off the front of the group, including me, and I found myself with four other cyclists.

The climb kicked in and we passed the five kilometre to go sign and I could see another group was in the distance. I soon found myself cycling with one other rider. Our other friends had dropped off. I joined the next group just before three kilometres of the climb left and had chance to enjoy the views of the snow covered peaks of the highest mountains in the Vercors. The road surface was pretty bad here and I found myself zigzagging to find the best surface.

The Sportif route didn't carry on to the famous Col du Rousset but instead turned back and took us north over the Col de St Alexis (1222m). This would take us back towards the start town of Meaudre. These roads were all new to me so I wasn't sure what was coming next but I knew that our major climbs had finished. We now had the strong headwind to contend with on an undulating road. The route split here and we lost a number of riders who were doing the full 175 kilometre event.

I could see the next small group on the climb of the Col de Proncel (1100m) and with just over two kilometres of the climb left, I attacked from my group to try and bridge the gap. At the top, they were still in the distance and not in view so I sat up and waited for the other cyclist who had also jumped away with me. We started to work together, taking turns to fight the horrible cold headwind.

After fifteen minutes, I latched onto the next riders and took a deserved rest at the back of the group of ten. My partner had dropped off a kilometre before. It was the same scenario again, I rested and then left my group to try and catch the next one up the road.

Descending down into the Gorges de la Bourne.

With 15 kilometres left, we descended into the Gorges de la Bourne and began the final drag back to Meaudre. The road is extremely picturesque here, passing under cliffs and through tunnels, following the Bourne river before turning off for Meaudre at Les Jarrands. It was just five kilometres left of fighting the headwind till the welcome sight of the finish.

It had taken me just under four hours to complete the course and I was placed 75th out of eight hundred in my event. It was a pleasing day and I felt as though I'd had an epic ride in beautiful scenery. I'd looked after myself and eaten well, and had a T-shirt and water bottle to prove I'd been here. I'd recommend this event to anybody as it was well organised, everything is well signposted and there are plenty of opportunities for water and food stops. See you next year!

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