The Final Ride

The last day of the trip dawned bright, but slightly cloudy. It soon cleared up, though. For the last ride, Martin and I headed for La Berarde. I'd ridden up last Friday, as part of my preparation for La Marmotte. This time the idea was to have lunch there, and then head back into Bourg d'Oisans for an ice cream. There was also the small matter of gaining the additional 40 kilometres or so to get me past 1000 kilometres for the trip.

We set out around 10 am, and worked our way to Venosc, before starting the most difficult part of the climb, just below Plan du Lac. This section is above 10% for a couple of kilometres. We stopped for a breather just before the top of this section, where a huge rock, next to the road, casts a cool shadow across the road.

Taking a breather next to a huge rock

There are only two types of rocks in this valley. Those that have fallen, and those that are going to fall. This massive rock slide is across the other side of the valley from the road.

There is evidence of rock slides everywhere

When I arrived a couple of weeks ago, the road to La Berarde was blocked by rock falls. We passed a couple of places which looked like fresh falls that had recently been cleared.

Recently cleared rock fall above Saint Christophe

Once in La Berarde, it was time to begin the serious business of finding lunch. We opted for Le Fourney.

Le Fourney

Martin chose a Crepe, but I went for the Assiette Montagnarde, a mix of hams and cheeses with salad. Needless to say it was delicious.

Assiette Montagnarde at Le Fournay

While we were chatting after eating, an English couple approached us to see if we could sell them some Euros. It seems they hadn't realised that the restaurant didn't take credit cards, something not uncommon in the smaller villages. I was happy to oblige. It turned out that they were camping at Rochetaille for a couple of days, and didn't really know much about the area and what there was to see. I ended up showing them how to get up to the Col du Galibier, using Google Maps, naturally!

The road to Le Bararde

On the way back down, I realised that a whole section of the road to Le Berarde is actually built across a series of ancient rock falls.

Plan du Lac, lovely as ever

 We paused briefly at Plan du Lac to take photos, before the final descent to the valley.

Even the baragge looked good today

Once down, we headed for Bourg d'Oisans, and Gillys. They have an ice cream stall set up outside. It was time to devour a large cone, with two scoops, and to watch the world go by.

Gillys in Bourg d'Oisans

After that, there was nothing for it to ride back to Le Velo Jaune. I've ridden on 13 of the 14 days I've been here, covered 1027 kilometres and climbed a shade under 25,000 metres. That's just under three times up Everest from sea level. All those numbers are a bit more than last year too.

I had a shower, and set about the sad task of dismantling Coco to pack her into the car. It took a while, but with that done, loading up in the morning should be easy.

Shawn orchestrating pizza production

Pizza was the order of the evening for dinner. It was a fabulous way to end the holiday, watching the sun go down and the light ebb away, before turning in for my last night here.

The famous Le Velo Jaune pizza cutter in action!

Lunch in Deux Alpes

It definitely feels like I'm winding down now after the Marmotte ride on Sunday. After yesterday evening's heavy rain, which continued overnight. the cloud was slow to lift this morning. Just as well that I delayed riding. I discovered that Blogger had lost all of the text from the entry about the Marmotte day. I had to rewrite the whole thing! It took a while. On the plus side, I did check out the photos from the photographers en route, and chose one from the Galibier to add to the day's entry.

After another leisurely morning, the weather started to improve. I decided to head out to Deux Alpes for a spot of lunch. I've not had meals at lunchtime since I've been here. It would be a new experience.

After getting the bike ready and heading off up the gorge towards Lac Chambon, I turned right at the first junction, taking the road up via Bons. The road climbs high above the gorge in the forest. The ramps are at 8% and above. Today, I had plenty of power, and spun up the inclines fairly easily. Eventually, the road flattens and becomes a balcony, with spectacular views across the valley.

La Romanche, where it broadens at the barrage at Le Clapier

Looking west, the Romanche river broadens at the EDF barrage at Le Clapier, near Le Velo Jaune. It's possible to see the road to the Col du Lautaret as it starts to wind its way up the gorge.

The valley is heavily forrested lower down

 There are hamlets and villages dotted across the hillsides above the river.

The balcony road high above the main road to the Col du Lautaret

From the balcony road, the route of the road to the Col du Lautaret and the Galibier is plain to see as it winds its way up to Lac Chambon.

The main road winding up the gorge

Across the valley are a number of villages that make up the Auris commune. At the top left of the photo is the ski resort of Auris station.

Villages of the Auris commune, and the ski station above

On the far side of the balcony section, the road kicks up again, and finally joins the main road to Deux Alpes just outside Bons. From there its a simple climb via the numbered hairpins to Deux Alpes itself. Again, the gradients are 8% or so, and felt quite manageable.

Once in the Deux Alpes itself, the road flattens out. It's a pretty resort, and still busy at this time of year. A couple of times people stepped out in front of me without looking. Shouts of  'Attention' from me soon got their attention!

A nicely restored van of a type I didn't recognise in Deux Alpes.

I meandered through town until I finally found the Red Frog, where I would have met Martin last week, if the weather hadn't intervened. It's also where I did meet Angela for a dring, back in 2014. Since I had managed to miss dinner last night, I decided to have a full lunch.

BLT and Cappucino at the Red Frog.

It was very good. Later, however, it did confirm why I don't eat a proper lunch while on a full day ride.

The Red Frog

 While I was eating, Shawn and Martin turned up. They had come up to check out the end of season sales in the ski shops. They are both looking for equipment for next season. They joined me and we chatted for a while.

Architecture in Deux Alpes is typically, er, Alpine

Eventually it was time to ride down. I took my time, and kept stopping to photograph the views. This  will be the last time I'll be up here.

Mizoen, the village above Lac Chambon

The Outfall into Lac Chambon below Mizoen was running fast today

The road to the Col du Lautaret as it climbs alongside Lac Chamobon

The lower end of the relief road, now closed.

A few days ago, I photographed the upper end of the relief road, built a couple of years ago to get local traffic past the collapsed tunnel on the main road to the Lautaret. The lower end of it meets the road to Deux Alpes just above Lac Chambon. Sad to see its demise. We enjoyed riding on it last year.

The tunnel above Le Freney and the gorge of the Romanches

The descent into Le Freney is becoming quite familiar, as is the subsequent climb out and tunnels, before the final drop into Le Clapier.

Another very relaxing day. Just one more now before I have to head home.

Details of today's ride are on Strava.

Gentle Spin around the Lake

After yesterday's exertions, today was planned to be rather gentle. An early morning thunderstorm with heavy rain confirmed the plan. After a leisurely breakfast, I caught up with the blog entry for the Marmotte. During this, we finally carried out the 'degustation' we'd been planning for a few days.

Some time ago, I'd asked Shawn whether fig rolls were available in France. He didn't think so, but a couple of days later turned up with the nearest thing he could find. The bake was similar, but the filling was nuts and chocolate, rather than figs. We'd determined that we should have a tasting to compare the two products.

It turns out they are not at all similar. The French 'noisettes' are a really delicious, rich treat. They have lots of calories, which is good for bike food, but are so rich that I wouldn't be able to use them as an all-day fuel source. For the latter purpose, we agreed that fig rolls win hands down. It's a good job I brought plenty with me!

I went out for some retail therapy at lunchtime. There were a few things I needed to pick up. I decided to have a nose around the bike shops in town. I found a short-sleeved Lautaret/Telegraph/Galibier jersey in Cycles et Sport, and bought it, together with the Alpe d'Huez cap I'd looked at earlier. I really need two caps, so one can be in the wash. Then in Prompt, a relatively new shop in town, I found a tee shirt with the local climbs set out as a London Underground map. Genius! I had to have one, despite there being a spelling mistake which I spotted straight away. Apparently, I'm the first person to have seen it. It will be corrected in the batch for next summer, which means mine might be somewhat special! The error? The town of Mizoen, above Lac Chambon, is printed as Mizeon. Whoops!

I picked up a few things in Casino too, and got another fistful of paper as a receipt! I actually bumped into Shawn while I was in there. He was able to tell me where to find some of the stuff I needed, which was really handy.

After returning to Le Velo Jaune and unloading, I decided to set off for a gentle ride. One of the easiest rides in the valley is the loop around Lac Verney. What little climbing there is is concentrated around Lac Verney. The new cycleway, which runs alongside La Romanches, the main river, means that it's possible to get to Allemont and still avoid the busy D1091 for much of the way. Built earlier this year, the cycleway provides a quiet alternative.

The cycleway completed earlier this year

The cycleway emerges onto the road into Allemont just outside the town. From there the ride follows the route up to the Col du Glandon, up the barrage, across Lac Verney and round behind the hydro electric power station at Grand Maison. Thankfully the really steep part of the climb lasts only for a kilometre or so before the turning back to Allemont. The road runs above Lac Verney, through woods and past a house or two before reaching the town.

Typical rural house just outside Allemont

This part of Allemont is very different from the part on the main road. Down in the valley is the tourist part, with hotels, cafes and restaurants. Up here is more peaceful and rural. There are some massive, alpine-style houses too.

Lac Verney from Allemont

The town hall is up in this part of town too. I hadn't spotted it when we were here last year. It's a fine building.

The town hall in Allemont

So far the weather had been fine. It was overcast, and cool which was a blessing after yesterday. Then the first few drops of rain fell, and the thunder started. Within a few minutes it was raining quite hard. I took refuge in a public loo, which offered a bit of cover outside, until the worst passed. I headed on down to the valley and started to ride hard for Le Velo Jaune.

I was never going to outrun the storm, though. As I reached Rochetaille, the heavens opened, and I got properly soaked. At this point there was no point in looking for cover. I couldn't get any wetter. So with rain pouring down, thunder echoing around the mountains, and heavy traffic with headlights on, I put my head down and rode as hard as I could the remaining 10 kilometres or so back to Le Velo Jaune. I was properly soaking when I got back, but not particularly cold, which was a blessing. I put the bike away quickly, and then got inside and had a shower. Mercifully, most bike kit these days dries out pretty quickly. I did fill my shoes with tissues to get them dry though.

I meant to go into Bourg d'Oisans to get dinner, but it was raining so hard that I decided to wait rather than get soaked again. I started to write this blog entry, but almost fell asleep over it, so decided to get my head down for a bit. When I woke up, it was gone 10pm. I never did get to La Muzelle again.

La Marmotte

I've wanted to complete the full Marmotte course for several years. It's been my major 'bucket list' item. The course consists of around 175 km of riding, with four mountains and nearly 5000 metres of ascent. Last year, I managed three of the four climbs, but called it a day without the final ascent of Alpe d'Huez. Today I completed the whole thing.

I rode most of the day with Shawn, from Le Velo Jaune. We were concentrating on getting round the course, so there are only a few photos. We set off at around 7:15. It was sufficiently cool that I needed a jacket, and didn't remove it until well into the first climb. Progress was brisk along the valley. We detoured through Bourg d'Oisans, as that is the start of the official Marmotte, and headed along the main road to Allemont. There we had a comfort break before setting off for the first climb proper to the Glandon. For me this is one of the most difficult parts of the entire route. It's an unrelenting climb in the forest all the way to Rivier Allemont. A lot of it is around 10% and there are no hairpins to break the effort. Shawn pulled away up this section but we regrouped at Rivier Allemont, to fill bottles at the 'basin' and for me finally to remove my jacket.

After Rivier Allemont, the road plunges steeply down to cross the valley and to climb back up, even more steeply on the other side. This section had to be added when the hillside collapsed. The ground was too unstable to rebuild the line of the old road. It's a real slog at above 10% for over a kilometre before another short descent, crossing back to the original side. The steep climb continues until eventually, the road rejoins the original at a hairpin. From here on the gradients ease and the best part of the climb starts. The barrage at Lac Grand Maison is soon in view, and after a couple more hairpins, the road flattens high above the lake with spectacular views across it. A fast, open descent follows, before its time to zip up and look fresh for the photographer. After a couple more kilometres we reached the top of the Glandon, and the obligatory photograph (thanks Shawn). One down, three to go.

At the top of the Glandon (photo courtesy of Shawn)

Pausing only to feed and drink, we headed down the far side of the Glandon. Shawn was much quicker than me on the descent. I backed off and enjoyed the ride. It is steep and has lots of hairpins at the top, but opens out for a time, and can be quite fast. We regrouped at the 'basin' in Saint-Colomban-des-Villards, to replenish bottles, before the final descent into Saint-Etienne-de-Cuines where we hooked up again.

From here the route traverses the Maurienne valley to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, which is at the foot of the climb to the Telegraphe. The Maurienne valley is heavily industrialised. It also contains the main autoroute to Italy, and a main line railway, as well as a large river. The valley is initially wide, but at some points considerable ingenuity is needed to fit it all in. The road along the valley threads between huge industrial complexes and a vast marshalling yard at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, but becomes a bit more rural for a while before reaching Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne. Thankfully, the traffic was quite light. Try as I might, I wasn't able to hold Shawn's wheel for much of this section, and couldn't manage to lead any of it.

We finally reached the small car park at the base of the climb to the Telegraphe. This has a hand pump for fresh water, rather than a 'basin'. I filled my bottles, and Shawn made up energy drink from the powder he brought with him. We also ate, and I took my first caffeine gel.

Pit stop 1 at the base of the Telegraphe

Most of the climb to the Col du Telegraphe is in a forest. There are few views. It has a fairly constant gradient of around 9%. At one point, there is a large 'aire du pique nique', a term which must have proponents of the purity of the French language cringing. This too has a hand cranked pump for water, just like the one in the car park at the base. I don't remember seeing those anywhere else. Shawn pulled ahead on the climb. His prediction about mad motorcyclists came true with a vengeance on the climb. Sunday seems to be the day when they all want to treat it like a race track.

I stopped just before the top where there is the one opportunity to take a photo looking across the valley.

The main road to Italy in the Maurienne valley

When I reached the top, Shawn was already in the Relais du Telegraphe, the cafe on the left, and his order of chips had just arrived! I tried to order a cafe alongers, which is an expresso with additional water. I needed help. My stumbling attempt was more like cafe longeur, which wasn't close enough for the waitress to recognise what I was asking for! The cafe normally has a standpipe in its car park so that riders can fill bottles. It wasn't working this year. We decided that we probably had enough water to make it to Plan Lachat, where there is a 'basin'.

Two down, two to go.

At the top of the Telegraphe (photo courtesy of Shawn)

After a decent break for pit stop 2, and the obligatory photo in front of the massive straw sculpture of a skier, (thanks Shawn!), we headed down to Valloire. This town is ski resort in winter, and a base for sightseeing, biking and hiking in summer. It's usually very busy, and you have to be careful to avoid pedestrians who think nothing of suddenly stepping out into the road. This year was different. It was amazingly quiet. Maybe everyone was having lunch. Anyway, this turned out to be a problem. In the centre of the town is a rough cobbled section of traffic calming. Following Shawn, I realised too late that I wanted to slow down to smooth the ride, and that I needed my small ring. I changed down just as I hit the first cobbles and that was enough to unship my chain. Nothing for it but to stop.

Fortunately, I carry a sandwich bag for this kind of mishap. By turning it inside out and putting my hand inside, I was able to refit the chain while staying clean, and then seal the oily residue inside by turning the bag the right way around again. It only took a couple of minutes. A side benefit was that I found the 'basin' in Valloire. It was right where my chain came off!

Shawn was waiting for me near the church, which also has a 'basin' as it turns out. We headed out of Valloire for Plan Lachat. A little way out of town there is a small park on the left. At this time of year, with harvest festival just having been celebrated, there are enormous straw sculptures there. It seems to be an international competition. It's been here every year that I have. Very impressive. This section of the climb to the Galibier climbs the open valley above Valloire. It's pretty straight for most of the way, with only occasional hairpins. The scenery is spectacular, and takes the edge of the not inconsiderable effort needed to climb it. It is unrelenting. Shawn was well ahead on most of this section, but as the gradients started to ease towards Plan Lachat, my legs felt better and I sped up, even re-passing a couple who passed me earlier on the climb. We finally reached the 'basin' almost together.

The cafe at Plan Lachat

It's the Galibier climb, and it's stunning all the way up

Pit stop 3 at Plan Lachat

We refilled bottles once more and had a decent break, before heading up the final 8 kilometres to the summit. This section is hard, but has fantastic views. It's a series of hairpins and longer ramps across an increasingly bear landscape with rocks scattered everywhere. Last year I had to stop several times on this section. This year I did just once, above the cheese shop. Hey, it's France and yes, there is a cheese shop on Galibier. They were doing a roaring trade too, judging by the queue! I took my second caffeine gel ready for the final push to the top.

A bit further on, there was a photographer, snapping people going up and down. I held back to let a couple of cars go by, then tried my best to look like a cyclist as I reached him. Here's the result.

Posing for the camera and trying to make it look easy!

Mind you, with that backdrop, anyone would look good!

In just over an hour, from Plan Lachat, I ground my way to the top of the biggest climb of the day. Shawn took the photo.

Three down, one to go.

At the top of the Galibier (photo courtesy of Shawn)

Shawn had already decided that he wasn't going to ride up the Alpe at the end of the day. He would stop when he reached Le Velo Jaune at the end of the descent off the Lautaret. We left the top of the Galibier, planning to regroup at the Lautaret, which we did. Again, I didn't try and keep up with him on the descent, I just concentrated on enjoying it as much as possible before the final climb of the day.

In previous years this descent has been bitterly cold, with wind whipping across the top of the col. This time, though, it was very pleasant. The spectre of the final ascent of Alpe d'Huez did take the edge off my enjoyment though. At the Lautaret, I bade Shawn farewell as he headed home, then got my lights working (don't ask!) ready for the tunnels. I set off down the Lautaret which was busy, but mercifully truck-free, it being a Sunday.  I stopped in La Grave to top up my bottles. The next opportunity was going to be at Dutch Corner, hairpin 7 on the climb to Alpe d'Huez.

I rode on down to where the relief road, which was key to last year's trip, joins the main road, and stopped to remove my jacket. Then it was on down through the remaining tunnels and the gorge down to Le Clapier. It took a lot of will power to ride past Le Velo Jaune and along the valley to the foot of Alpe d'Huez.

I stopped in the car park at the roundabout, and had my final caffeine gel. Nothing for it now but to grind my way to the top. And what a grind it was. When I first rode the climb over a week ago, I had no trouble putting out 200 watts and spinning my way to the top, wondering what all the fuss was about. Now, with over 160 kilometres of riding behind me, I could barely maintain 160 watts. The first two long ramps seemed interminable. I stopped for water and food a number of times on the way up, and once even took off my shoes to relieve my feet. When I finally got to Dutch Corner I refilled my bottles, and doused my cap to help keep my head cool for the remaining effort. Things do get gradually easier above this point, but its fair to say it was a struggle all the way to the finish in the village. No final sprint today!

At the end, in Alpe d'Huez

I took the obligatory photo, and messaged Martin to let him know I had finally made it. Then it was time for the descent. By now the sun was setting, and having cooked on the way up, I knew it would be really cold on the way down. I wasn't disappointed. Even with a jacket I was shivering as I descended. This was more like coming off the Galibier on a really cold day. I was shaking so much it was hard to control the bike in places.

The Dutch may have hairpin 7, but these days, in honour of Geraint Thomas, the Welsh have taken over hairpin 14, further down the mountain. It's now known as Cymru Corner. Because of Thomas's nickname 'G', some wag has labelled this 'The G Spot'. Given that, I'm amazed any male Welsh fans managed to find it! Anyhow, I can safely say that on this descent, I shivered all the way to the G spot!

Finally I began to warm up, and once safely at the bottom, it was just a matter of time trialling the few kilometres along the valley back to Le Velo Jaune. I had a quick shower, and was just in time for dinner, which had been put back an hour for me.

So there we are. I've finally completed a full Marmotte. The final climb to Alpe d'Huez is one of the hardest things I've ever done on a bike. Chapeau to anyone who manages to complete this. The full Marmotte is a lot harder than the mini I did last year.

The main problem now is that my bucket list is empty. What next?

Full details of the ride are on Strava.

Lazy Day

With just a day to go before the attempt at La Marmotte, the idea was to have a very gentle day without too much riding. After a long breakfast and a little work on the bike, I set out with Martin to ride the Ornon again, as a gentle warm up. But first, we stopped for coffee in Bourg d'Oisans. Saturday is market day in Bourg, and the place was heaving. We met up with Shawn and Maria at Gilly's and had very relaxed coffee, before finally heading out through the crowds to ride the climb.

Market day in Bourg d'Oisans

The ride up the Ornon was very pleasant. I tried to pace Martin up it. He managed to climb non stop, arriving at the cafe at the top in just over an hour. I had an abortive attempt to photograph the horses about 2km from the top. They always seem to be just too far away.

We headed into the Chantelouve, where I had yet more coffee. It was a very pleasant way to have spent the morning.

We both wanted to ride a little more in the afternoon. I decided I would climb to the ski station at Oz, not far from Vaujany. Martin wanted to do something a little flatter. In the end, we decided to ride together to just above Allemont.

This basin must have one of the best views in the area

We parted company near Le Roberand, and I headed up towards Oz Station. I'd heard reports of this road being very steep in places, but it turned out to be a little easier than Alpe d'Huez, and quite a bit shorter. The road is wide, with well engineered hairpin bends, and only occasionally hits 10% and above.

The valley leading to the Glandon and Croix de Fer from the road to Oz Station

A glimpse of the road to Oz Station

There wasn't much happening in Oz Station when I got there. The cable car to Alpe d'Huez was running and a couple of mountain bikers came through on one of the trails. Otherwise it was pretty quiet.

The cable car runs all the way to the lakes above Alpe d'Huez

Oz Station has everything you'd expect of a ski resort

Piste bashers ready for next season. Once they get tracks, of course.

I rounded off a very gentle day with a quick descent back to Lac Verney, and a steady return to Le Velo Jaune, taking pictures on the way.

The mountains above Lac Verney

Oz village is well below Oz Station

Lac Verney in the afternoon sun

Allemont from the Barrage du Verney

Lac Verney

Part of Allemont above Lac Verney

The road back to Bourg d'Oisans

So much for the rest day. All I have to do now is the Marmotte tomorrow!