After yesterday's exertions, I was looking for something a little less challenging today. Martin invited me along to a ride he was doing with a group of friends. They all have businesses in the area. The plan was to head to Villard-Reculard for coffee, and then to ride to the Pas de la Confession, for the photo opportunity it offers!
Villard-Reculard is on the balcony road to the north of Bourg d'Oisans. We met up at the car park at the base of the Alpe d'Huez road, and headed north up the valley on the main road until the bridge, just after the junction with the road to the Col d'Ornon. On the far side of the bridge there is an access track to the newly surfaced cycle track that runs alongside the Romanches all the way to the outskirts of Allemont, avoiding the main road. It joins the road at another bridge, and from there, the next right turn is the D44, which leads up to Villard-Reculard. This road actually runs all the way to Huez village, offering an alternative, and quieter way to get to Alpe d'Huez. More on that later.
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| Rochetaillee, and the road to Vizille. I'll be using that in a week or so. To go home👎 |
The climb is pretty focused, though not quite as steep as the main road to Alpe d'Huez. Quite a bit of it is in forest, and the shade was very welcome. Temperatures reached the mid 30s later in the day. Nearer Villard-Reculas, the vegetation clears enough for views over the valley. Soon afterwards, the village itself is reached.
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| From the left, Martin, Jules, Sue and Will |
After a leisurely coffee/drinks stop, we headed on the additional couple of kilometres to the Pas de la Confession itself. On the way, there are views back over Villard-Reculas.
The Pas itself is a spectacular photo opportunity. Everyone made the most of it.
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| Will is not someone to let shoes with cleats get in the way of a good camera position! |
I took my familiar photo of the road that leads to the Col d'Ornon, mainly to make @Andrew Lewis jealous!
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| The road up to the Col d'Ornon. |
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| Photo opportunities in full swing! |
At the Pas de la Confession, the group split. Will and I headed for Huez, while the others went in search of lunch in Allemont. At Huez, Will headed down while I went on up to Alpe d'Huez. I rode through the village, and out beyond the Tour de France finish to the ski area above.
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| The valley on the left is the one that leads to the Col du Glandon and the Col de la Croix de Fer |
The road meanders past a restaurant and ski lifts, and finally ends in a car park just below Lac Besson. Lots of people come up here for hiking and picnics. I joined them, having a couple of fig rolls for lunch, and enjoying watching the world go by in the sunshine.
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| The top end of the cable car from Vaujany perched on the mountain at L'Alpette. |
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| Lac Besson |
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| Coco's newest friend |
While I was relaxing in the sunshine, Coco made a new friend. This butterfly seemed to be trying to drink tiny remnants of isotonic liquid from the outside of my bottle. It really didn't want to go, but in the end I had to encourage it to leave before I could continue my journey!
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| View to the north over Lac Besson |
Eventually, I decided it was time to return, so I headed down. I refilled a bottle at the basin in the village at Alpe d'Huez, then had a super descent all the way to the valley. Once again, there was not much traffic, and I had the road practically to myself. There was a head wind along the valley from the south again, so I had to work a bit to get back to Le Velo Jaune. All in all, it was a pretty good recovery ride!
Details of the ride are available on
Strava.
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