October 2000 Diary
October 7th - On the edge of the Chartreuse, the Col de Marcieu
;) |
| The
view of the Gresivaudan valley in the direction of Chambery. The Plateau
des Petites Roches is the lip above the valley floor, on the left
hand side of the valley. |
The mountains on each side of the Gresivaudan valley hide some attractive and quiet cycling country and are certainly worth exploring if you have the time. This is the valley that runs from Grenoble towards Chambery and Albertville. On the eastern side of the valley and under the Alpine Belledonne range, the Balcon de Belledonne is an undulating road that runs from Allevard-les-Bains to Uriage-les-Bains. On the western side of the valley, there is a small road that runs under the cliffs of the Chartreuse on the Plateau des Petites Roches. At about a thousand metres, and around 800 metres above the valley below, you can enjoy some great mountain views on quiet roads. The ride today would take me up on to the Chartreuse Plateau.
After a month off the bike, this was my first ride in the mountains since early September. I slowly rolled along the valley road from Grenoble through the villages of Crolles, Bernin and Touvet. It was Saturday morning and the traffic was light, and I had to contend with a headwind that was increasing the further away from Grenoble I cycled. I have found that if the wind is blowing in Grenoble then ninety percent of the time it seems to be a headwind when cycling towards Chambery. There are various routes up onto the Plateau des Petites Roches, with the first starting in Les Eymes and taking you up the first half of the Col du Coq. I didn't start climbing here but continued past for another 15 kilometres on the valley floor into the headwind and turned at the small village of St-Vincent-de-Mercuze, starting the 750 metre vertical climb up to the Col de Marcieu there.
The climb to the 1050 metre Col de Marcieu was tougher than I thought it was going to be. I had taken some time off the bike and it was steep from the bottom as I wound up the first few hairpins. After two kilometres, I took a few minutes to stop and pick up fresh walnuts that had dropped off the trees overhanging the road, stuffing them into my cycle jersey for eating in the evening. It was also the perfect excuse for a rest.
The road is predominately wooded, and the trees were still green but there were a few signs that in a matter of weeks the leaves would change colour and the Chartreuse roads would be lined with red, orange and yellow trees.
The gradient eased in the middle of the climb and I was able to feel a little better. There had been fresh snow on the Alps during the week and across the valley, the tops of the Belledonne range were snow capped. Unfortunately, the air was a little hazy and there was no view of the Mont Blanc towards Albertville. One field near the top of the Col was overcrowded with white cows, all happily munching on the fertile grass and all oblivious to the sweaty guy cycling past them.
The summit of the climb was deserted except for a hunter and his dog, although the little cafe was open. I donned my race cape and was thankful that I had brought my gloves as the chill quickly hit my body. The road did not descend for long and soon found myself climbing again to St-Hillare-de-Touvet, a village that is famous in the region for paragliding. In September, the village hosts the Icarus Cup paragliding festival, a flying festival where you can see dozens of people soaring effortlessly under their parachutes with the picturesque mountain backdrop of the high Alps across the valley.
I soon started my final descent after the village and quickly passed the turning for the Col du Coq, which was still another six kilometres of climbing. The final descent took me down the bottom half of the Col du Coq, through the two tunnels and down through the woods before joining the valley road for a quick run back with the tailwind blowing to Grenoble.
October 8th - The Col d'Ornon and the 21 hairpins of the Alpe d'Huez
In an effort to make the most of the mountains before the snow arrived, I put the bike in the car and drove to Bourg d'Oisans. I had made plans to drive to Briancon to cycle the 2,400 metre Col du Granon but fresh snow had fallen in the week, and according the road signs, the 2646 metre Col du Galibier was closed. It didn't seem worth driving for another hour to Briancon to find a road blocked by snow so I stopped in Bourg d'Oisans.
The day was clear but the air was chilly as I left the city. The temperature in the mornings had been steadily dropping since the middle of September. After watching the weather forecast over the last year, Grenoble seems to frequently be the coldest place in France during the morning with the temperature then warming to join the rest of France as the day progresses. The temperature continued to drop into single figures as I drove from Grenoble towards Bourg d'Oisans, another 500 metres higher than the city. After parking in the free car park in the middle of the town, I set the bike up and got changed. It was an arm and leg warmer day; bare legs in the mountains would have to wait till next year.
I cycled on the flat road back towards Grenoble for three kilometres and then turned left in the direction of La Mure, towards the mountain village of Ornon and the 1367 metre Col d'Ornan. The Col d'Ornon was a new Col for me. It is a 650 metre vertical climb from Bourg d'Oisans and 12 kilometres away. One of the rides that I would like to do early next year would take me on a 160 kilometre loop from Grenoble, over the 1370 metre Col de la Morte above Sechiilienne and then back over the Col d'Ornon.
The early kilometres of the climb followed the right hand side of the valley and were never too steep. The views opened up behind me with the fresh snow covering the mountain peaks towards the Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Glandon. The road to the Col d'Ornon climbs underneath the 2850 metre Taillefer, but there are no views of the summit as you climb. After three kilometres I passed a road off to the right that climbed to the village of Oulles, and a road to add to my list of places to cycle next year. I could see the road built into the mountainside high above me. A spectacular route to cycle!
I cycled through the tiny village of Ornon after six kilometres and then after crossing over a small bridge to the left-hand side of the valley, the road steepened and a nagging headwind picked up in strength. Thankfully it was a kilometre of cycling through trees but then the trees steadily began to disappear and I then had to use smaller gears to fight against the wind for the last four kilometres to the Col.
The final two kilometres were really open to the elements and although it was only four percent, I had to use a gear that I would normally have used on a ten-percent gradient. I could see the valley behind the Col had a lot more cloud settled in it than the sunny valley I was cycling in and I was thankful that I could turn around at the top and descend back to Bourg d'Oisans.
The descent was fast with the tailwind pushing me down to the valley, with my route taking me back through Bourg d'Oisans and onto the climb to Alpe d'Huez for the last time this year.
I had been able to happily sit in the saddle and turn a 39-23 on the first few kilometres of the climb to Alpe d'Huez in the summer. This time I was thankful that I had a 26 sprocket on the back as I slowly made my way up the early hairpins of the climb. It was the last climb in the Marmotte again as the August fitness had since left my legs. The glaciers on the high mountains towards Briancon looked fantastic with the fresh snow on the high slopes sparkling under the sun.
;) |
| Climbing
to the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez |
The climb to Alpe d'Huez can be broken down into three parts. The first part is the hardest and takes you up the first three kilometres and six hairpins to the village of La Garde on gradients frequently over ten percent. It then gets easier and for the next six kilometres you can see the road winding its way up the mountainside above. You can go up a gear here till the village of Huez as the road has eased to just over eight percent. The profile flattens for a few metres in Huez but it doesn't last much longer than a few seconds and then the gradient again ramps through the village.
The road sign in Huez tells you it is only four kilometres to the top, and one thing to remember is that there is an eleven percent section when you leave the village, halfway between hairpin four and three. Remember it is hard here because the first few times I cycled the Alpe, I thought that I was going really badly at this point. It was only when I looked at the route profile afterwards that I realised why I was cycling so slowly. The only hard part left then is from hairpin one up to the village of Alpe d'Huez.
I was happy to take it easy on the climb and stay in the 26 till the top. Halfway up I passed a French cyclist enjoying the sun while sitting on a barrier, and then a woman just before hairpin one who was spinning up on a bike loaded with panniers. The photographer who can usually be found at hairpin two in the summer was now nowhere to be seen.
The high peak of La Mejie, the 4000 metre mountain that dominates the skyline above La Grave on the Col du Lauteret, was visible on the final few hairpins but soon disappeared behind a nearer mountain as I climbed the last half a kilometre to the ski resort. I didn't hang around in Alpe d'Huez but instead I filled my water bottle at the fountain, donned my race cape and quickly chatted with some German cyclists before the descent. The shops were closed, as were most of the bars. It may have been October and cold but there were still five of us on the climb that afternoon.
