Grenoble Cycling Pages

June 2002 Diary

June 14th - A new Col under the Taillifer and the Dauphine Libere

With the Criterium du Dauphine Libere finishing in Grenoble, today was an opportunity to enjoy the good weather and leave the heat of Grenoble behind, as well as to cycle a new mountain and watch the professionals show me how to climb.

From Grenoble I cycled towards the Alps and up the gorge to Uriage before dropping back down to Vizille. It was only five kilometres further on to Sechilienne and the start of the days big climb to the Col de la Morte. The Col was 15 kilometres away and 1000m of climbing, taking me to the ski resort of the Alpe du Grand Serre at 1340 metres.

The climb is predominately wooded and for most of climb I was riding in the shade. It's a quiet road as there is little at the top to attract visitors other than the village and some great walking in the summer. The road climbs under the Taillifer, the huge 2850 metre mountain that dominates the south-eastern skyline from Grenoble, but as you climb through the trees, there are no opportunities to look up at the peak.

I didn't see any other cyclists and the trees gave few opportunities for views across to Chamrousse and the Col Luitel. The climb is never too steep and there are a few nice sections with hairpins and views down to the valley with the cars appearing smaller and smaller.


The final few metres to the Col	Starting to descend from the Col de la Morte

As I rounded the final corner and rode the final 300 metres past the houses and towards the Col, a medium sized dog came bounding out of a garden and had it's eye on my feet. My bottle thankfully still had enough water in it to give the hound a faceful of water but the dog wasn't about to give up easily and I had to spin my legs like crazy to outrun it.

The view down the valley when descending the Col de la Morte

The first few kilometres of the descent were relatively steep and the road wound its way down the mountainside with plenty of hairpins. High mountains that had been hidden appeared behind me and off to my left. My animal experiences didn't stop there and I was forced to stop and take off my jersey as a wasp had flown down and had started soon started stinging me. The road took me through small hamlets and I was able to fill my bottle in one of them before starting the four kilometres that would take me to the second Col of the day. The climb to the 1153 metre Col de Malissol doesn't get above seven percent and only lasts for two kilometres.

From the Malissol, it was all downhill to La Mure, where I stopped in a boulangerie for some lunch - excellent pizza slices - and then descended the five kilomtres to the Pont de Ponsonnas. The bridge is famous in the area for bungee jumping into the gorge below but not on today. The road was already lined with spectators ready for the riders to come through, and I dropped down to the bridge before stopping for a photo. Riding back up the five percent climb, I roasted as there was little wind and the temperature was set to be over 30 degrees in Grenoble, and it didn't feel much less than that here.

Riders in the 2002 Dauphine Libere climbing to La Mure

I found a spot to watch the race on the long straight into the town, and the race came and went. I had been thrown two new water bottles by the caravan as well a baseball cap. An old man walked over and gave me a Cofidis bottle that one of the riders has thrown down, so I left La Mure with my pockets bulging.

After La Mure, I cycled along the plateau to La Motte d'Aveillans, and on to Monteynard and followed a road that undulated for a few kilometres before dropping back down to Vif. The road descends 500 vertical metres for a remarkably long time and with a very gradual gradient. There were views across to the Vercors and the Mont Aguille, as well as down onto the Lac Monteynard with it's gorgeous blue waters. The Vercors were though covered with their menacing clouds and I expected rain but it thankfully never arrived.

The view towards the Vercors from Monteynard with the unmistakeable Mont Aguille to the left

From Vif, I joined the bike path until the edge of the city and then followed the eight kilometre road that took me to the Isere river and the centre of Grenoble. I don't know if the route is the same as used in Roman times, as it is straight for those eight kilometres without any change of direction.

June 23rd - The Col de Charmette in the Chartreuse and the Col du Mont Noir in the Vercors

I left Grenoble just after nine in the morning on a weekend that was predicted to be the hottest in the year. It didn't feel too bad spinning along the bike path towards St Egreve. My first climb was the 1,261 metre Col du Charmette, and it would be the second time I'd ridden the climb. The last time was in 2000 when I'd had to walk the last 500 metres over the snow, but we were now in late June and the snow had now gone from the low altitudes so there was no chance of needing snow chains today.

The gradient is steep at the for the first three kilometres and I didn't try and cycle too fast. After Proveysieux, the gradient stays at around nine percent, and the road narrows into a single track under the cover of trees and continues like that to the Col.


The view from Proveysieux	At the Col de Charmette

The top of Col was surprisingly busy with a large group of walkers getting ready to hike from a car park full of cars. As I started to descend on the single track road, three deer crossed in the distance. The biggest of the three, a stag was endowed with an impressive set of antlers, and they soon were gone into the undergrowth.


Descending towards St Laurent du Pont	About the cycle through the longest tunnel

For the first kilometre, the single track road was well paved and lined with think undergrowth that was full of colour. Soon after, the road was littered with potholes and after another two kilometres, a barrier blocked access for cars. After that, there were places where the road was reduced to little more than dirt track covered with stones and rocks. There were a number of tunnels with the final one being the longest. The road was straight and I could see the light at the end, and it didn't look too bad as I freewheeled into the dark. The final thirty seconds were quite nerve wracking as my eyes has adjusted to the dark, and I couldn't see any detail in the road so there could have been a hole or a rock and I would have never known. There wasn't and I stayed on the bike and continued slowly down the descent, getting shaken around by the terrible surface.

I filled my water bottle in St Laurent du Pont, and then rode back towards Grenoble over the 587 metre Col de la Placette. From this side, the Col is little more than a gradual rise for six kilometres before five kilometres of fast descending down to the valley and the Isere river. I didn't turn back towards Grenoble but instead made my way across to the bike path from Voreppe.

I rode through the lanes, past fields full of walnut trees, taking a brief detour to the quiet village of Vinay for water as my bottle was already empty. From Vinay I dropped down and crossed the Isere river, continuing on to Cognin-les-Gorges, a small village on the main road to Valence to Grenoble and the start of the 1421 metre Col du Mont Noir. The village is situated under the Vercors mountains, where mountainsides climb steeply above the village. The river has carved an impressive gorge through the range and Cognin-les-Gorges is beautifully placed at the entrance of the gorge.

The sky was cloudless and the day felt hot, and I filled my bottle from a tap in the village as well as covering my head. As soon I left the valley and started to climb, the road took me through woods and trees sheltered me from the sun and the temperature dropped a few degrees. This was the first time I'd ridden the Col so other than looking at the profile and the map, I didn't know what to expect.


The statue on the Col du Mont Noir	Riding throught the Gorges du Nan

Four kilometres of climbing later, I passed a statue situated on one of the hairpins. Trees hid the view and it seemed a bizarre place to place a three metre religious statue. It was only a kilometre of climbing till I then cycled through the Gorges du Nan.


The Gorges de Nan above Cognin les Gorges	Looking back down the Gorges de Nan

This was 300 metres of cycling along a road precariously built into the cliff with a substantial drop down to the river below. As with the Gorges de la Bourne, the Col de Romeyere and the Grand Goulets, it was another impressive road that makes the Vercors such a special place to explore and cycle around. Cognin-les-Gorges was already looking tiny in the valley below and the road left the views behind as I climbed under the cover of trees.

The three kilometres before Malleval were cycling alongside mountain meadows and lone houses before rounding a corner and I was into the village. There was a surprisingly large swimming pool for such a small village, busy with sunbathers and children running around. My problem was that I couldn't find a water fountain, except for a water coming out of a pipe in a wall. Beneath the outlet was a water trough, which was home to a dog. The labrador was completely submerged except for his head and it wasn't moving, escaping the heat. I had no choice but to fill my bottle there and continue up the climb.

From Malleval, there was no letup in the seven to eight percent gradient for the four kilometres to the Pas de Pre Coquet. I hadn't eaten well and was starting to suffer with sweat getting in my eyes and the gradient never seeming to ease. From the Pas I had another four kilometres of gradually easing gradients until the 1421 metre Col du Mont Noir. The area was busy with people, eating and hiking under the trees and escaping from the temperatures in the city. There were no views of mountain as the area was wooded, and it was only as I dropped down to the Col du Romeyere that I could see the Vercors mountains in the direction of Meaudre and Autrans.

I felt tired and thankfully only had only to descend from the Col to a friends house for a needed drink and barbeque. I should have planned the day better to prepare for the heat, as I'd only had one small bottle and didn't carry any money and only a couple of fruit bars. Next time.

29th June - On the Croix de Fer at Daybreak and a Windy Col du Galibier

With the Marmotte only a week and a half away, this year I had yet to ride any of the climbs on the route in preparation for the event. The Marmotte is one of the most popular events with cyclists from Grenoble, and it has a justified reputation of being a tough event. I was a little anxious as although I had more kilometres than the year before, I felt I hadn't trained in the mountains as I had last year. Just as long as this years event didn't have the rain, hail and cold that I experienced last year.

I left Grenoble at 4:30am, and parked outside Bourg d'Oisans to meet my cycling partner, Nicolas. We rolled along towards the Col de la Croix de Fer at just after half past five in the early morning twilight. The street lamps had just turned themselves off and it was the birds, and not cars making the noise.

The first half of the 2067m Col de la Croix de Fer is the hardest, and I span my legs in 39-26 to get to Rivier d'Allemont, five kilometres from the bottom of the climb. As we descended for a couple of kilometres after the village, the Belledonne range were golden as the sun touched the highest peaks.

Daybreak on the high peaks of the Belledonne range

Then followed the steepest section of the climb that only lasted a couple of kilometres, where the road rose steeply on the right-hand side of the valley. It wasn't too long till the Barrage du Grand Maison appeared in the distance. The two kilometres of climbing to the Barrage had easier gradients and the top of the dam soon arrived. Soon after, the first of many marmots ran out into the road and quickly disappeared as it realised I was there. On the final section of downhill I stopped to let a flock of sheep cross the road, before the final five kilometres climbed to the Col. There was nobody around and marmots were everywhere, usually sat on top of rocks watching me cycle past. Two mountain goats ran up the mountainside in the distance but didn't hang around and were quickly gone from my view.

The final run up to the Col took us past the Col du Glandon, which I quickly cycled up for some photos, and then returned for another three kilometres to the 2067m Col de la Croix de Fer. The final kilometre had thankfully been resurfaced and the battle with potholes was replaced by smooth tarmac. The mountains behind were lit up by the rising sun, where as the Aguilles des Arves and high mountains to the east and south looked hazy.

The view from the Col de la Croix de Fer looking back down the climb towards the Col du Glandon

The descent was on a good surface until we reached the ski resort of St Sorlin d'Arves. Here, the road was potholed and bumpy but improved after we left the village. We had to stop for ten minutes a few kilometres outside St Jean de Maurienne as work was being carried out on the road, and I took the chance to drink and finish off my last banana.

The 12 kilometres to St Michel de Maurienne went relatively quickly and we took turns riding at the front. In the village, a quick stop to fill the water bottle and buy a pain aux raisin, before starting to climb the Col du Telegraphe. The climb is only 12 kilometres and the gradient is less steep than the energy sapping gradients of the Croix de Fer and the Galibier. For much of the time, the trees hide any views, and it is only on a few hairpins where mountains can be seen.

After the quiet first climb, cyclists were out in greater numbers as well as cars and groups of motorcycles. My legs felt relatively good and I pushed for the final four kilometres, expecting the three other riders from work to catch me. I didn't stop at the top but freewheeled and ate before descending to Valloire.

The climb out from Valloire is steep for a kilometre and it didn't help that resurfacing work was being carried out. The workmen gave me a shout as I cycled past, before the road leveled out and four kilometres of easier cycling. I didn't try and ride too fast as I knew there was still another 12 kilometres to the 2646m Col du Galibier.

My legs started to feel tired as the road steepened again and I cycled up the left hand side of the valley, steadily climbing until the Plan Lachet, where the road turned around the end of the valley and steepened. I turned into a headwind and rode out of the saddle up to the first hairpin. Below me, and a few hundred metres before the Plan Lachet was Nicolas. He looked to be making excellent speed and it provided a kick for me to keep going without looking for an excuse to stop.

The next three kilometres were the hardest of the climb. The wind had picked up and was full on in my face, I was just about out of water and I was weaving all over the road trying to find something in my legs to get me through this section. There are no trees or places to hide from the wind at the higher altitudes on the the Col du Galibier so it was a case of dig in and make it to the top.

I filled my bottle at the cafe with four kilometres to the summit and the climb then seemed to get easier. As the road hugged the mountainside, I was out of the wind and the Col was in view above me. The snow that had been there the year before wasn't to be seen, just a desolate mountain landscape with clouds covering the high peaks.


The hairpins on the Col du Galiber with two kilometres left to climb	Nicolas arrives at the Col du Galibier

There was fresh tarmac after the refuge and the last kilometre was tough as the wind was throwing me around the road. As I rounded the last corner, I could see cars parked and cyclists milling around at the Col. I was quickly running out of energy, and I tried my best to look in control as I rode to the Col.

The mountains in the direction of the Lautaret looked grey and uninviting, and I returned to look down the northern ascent. Nicolas climbed the hairpins with apparent ease, and soon after, Richard and then Marc made there way to the Col. We didn't stop as rain was in the air, and it was a chilly eight kilometre drop down to the Col du Lautaret at 2058 metres.

After I downed a coke and chocolate bar at the Lautaret, we took turns at the front fighting the strong headwind on the gradual descent that took through La Grave and underneath the 3,900m peak of La Meije, before descending past the Barrage du Chambon and the climb to Les Deux Alps. There was a couple of kilometres climbing before the last descent to the valley and we rolled into Bourg d'Oisans for 161 kilometres.

Back to the Ride Reports