Col du Galibier. Would you like Alpe d'Huez with that?

The last two climbs on a Marmotte, are the Col du Galibier, and Alpe d'Huez. Admittedly, the climb of the Galibier is from St Michel de Maurienne, rather than Bourg d'Oisans, but it occurred to me that I could at least simulate the last two climbs, and test what it's like to climb Alpe d'Huez when tired.

So, I set off up the gorge to Lac Chambon, pausing only to photograph the back of the dam. From Le Velo Jaune there is no real chance to warm up. You're straight onto the most challenging part of the climb up the gorge. There are quite steep gradients, tunnels, and then a significant drop into Le Frenaye, before the final drag to the dam at Lac du Chambon.

The dam that holds back Lac du Chambon

Beyond the lake, the road runs through the tunnel I investigated on Friday, and then runs up the side of the gorge before passing the point where the refuge road, which was so important to us last year, joins the main road. This is the road they built to by-pass the collapsed tunnel and to allow local traffic to access the villages further up the Lautaret. It's sad to see its demise. Shawn thinks it will fall into disrepair, before it falls into the lake!

Sad to see the refuge road is no longer open

Once out of the gorge, the views open up. Spectacular alpine scenery is all around.

There are waterfalls all the way up the Lautaret

The prettiest village on the way up is La Grave. During the winter, it's the basis for skiing, with a cable car that runs up on to the glacier high above it. It's famous as a base for off-piste skiing, hiking and mountain climbing. It also has the last 'basin' before the Col du Lautaret.

La Grave is such a pretty village, it would have to have the cutest 'basin'

Basins are really important for cyclists. They provide free running, cool, drinkable water. You need to know where they are to replenish supplies, particularly in the summer heat.

What can I say? We're in the Alps. It's stunning!

Above La Grave there is another tunnel, after which the road skirts around the village of Villar d’Arène. There was a big festival going on, including lots of shooting. I thought at first people might have been taking pot shots at cyclists, but it turned out to be an organised event. Or rather, several. Shots were ringing out all across the valley.

Made it to the Col du Lautaret. Now for the Galibier.

Above Villar d’Arène, the valley broadens further, the road straightens and it's not long before the Col du Lautaret is reached. The road to the Galibier is a left turn off the main road which descends to Briançon and ultimately to Italy.

The magnificent Ecrins

Climbing away from the Col du Lautaret, there are stunning views of the Ecrins range. Thankfully, the cows which live on the mountain were all on the pasture, and not on the road this year!

This years crop of Reblochon on the hoof!

Near the top, the road to Italy is visible running away down the valley.

That's the road to Italy, that is.

And finally, after the last steep kilometre, the sign post marks the top of the Galibier itself.

I'm sure I took a photo just like this last year...

He looks pleased to have got to the top!

There is a tiny car park, but not much else. It's always busy with cars and motorcycles jostling for space to park and take in the views. It can be very cold at the Galibier itself. The wind tends to whip through the gap in the mountains. This time it was relatively still, and just fresh. I put on my waterproof top and had lunch up there before heading down again It was very similar to yesterday's I expect the party food will run out soon! A couple of claps of thunder convinced me it was time to leave.

The road down to the Lautaret

I stopped at the shop, about a kilometre down the road, just to see what short-sleeved cycling jerseys they had. I got my long sleeved Galibier jersey there last year. I wasn't over impressed with the choice, so didn't buy anything this time.

Back at the Lautaret it was already warm. I removed my waterproof and headed on down. It was a lovely descent, marred by only two things. The first was a very slow camper van, which I should have overtaken when I got the chance, but the road was quite busy. It quickly built up a queue of cars. I pulled over and stopped to let it go. I did catch it again on the way down, but shortly after, it pulled over to let the queue past. The second was just after exiting the tunnel below Villar d’Arène. I heard a noise, and a motorcycle pulled alongside to tell my my mobile had just fallen out of my saddlebag. Queue an emergency stop, a lot of fuming to cross the traffic, a worried ride back towards the tunnel, and some relief to see the case lying in the road. That quickly turned to panic, as before I could recross the traffic to retrieve it, a car ran over it! Luckily, it was empty. I found my phone right at the edge of the road. It now has proper battle scars, with a crack in the corner of the screen, but otherwise seems to be working fine.

There was more thunder on the way down the Lautaret, and it did rain a little, but nothing to make it worth putting on a waterproof. When I got back to the valley, I popped into Le Velo Jaune to let them know I was heading for Alpe d'Huez and to fill my bottles.

With more thunder rolling around the mountains, I headed off to find out what climbing Alpe d'Huez when tired felt like. The answer is obvious really. It's hard. I was much slower than on Friday, and had to stop a couple of times, but eventually I heaved myself to the finish in the village, which marks the end of the Marmotte course. With any luck, I'll be here next Sunday having completed that.

Back at the village finish in Alpe d'Huez. 

The crack in the screen of my phone is in the area of the selfie camera, which explains the washed out appearance of the top left of the image.

Then it was on with the waterproof again for a swift descent back to the valley. There was very little traffic about, and I could use a lot of the road in the hairpins and work up quite a speed. Lovely.

Just after the roundabout outside Bourg, the heavens opened and I got a thorough drenching on the way back to Le Velo Jaune. It was a novel experience to be riding in heavy rain. Details of the ride are on Strava.

After dinner, I went straight to bed. To say I slept well would be a bit of an understatement!