I had the rental van for a second day and yesterday's plan went so well that I decided to do the something similar today. The plan was to park on top of the Col du Glandon ride the mile or two up and over Le Col de la Croix de Fer ride down the north side of Le col de la Croix de Fer to Le Col du Mollard turn, ride up and over Le Col du Mollard to the valley floor then return to the van by going back up the route I had just descended. There was some cloud cover, but it was a nice day.
The view up Le Col de la Croix de Fer from near the top of Le Col du Glandon.
View of the north side of Le Col de la Croix de Fer. It's a big downhill from here.
Ski town in the valley on the north side of the col. The road runs down to and through the town.
I had a great descent to the right hand turn up Le Col du Mollard. This year's TDF had a mountain stage that went up Le Col du Glandon (my ride yesterday) and continued over Le Col de la Croix de Fer then up and over Le Mollard (my route for today). There was still plenty of paint on the road, local advertising, for the TDF and that made following the route easier.
Small town going up Le Mollard.
The roadside markers were in rough shape on Le Mollard - nothing left but a weathered grey tombstone.
Top of Le Col du Mollard
From the top of the Col du Mollard there was still a huge descent to the valley floor. The bottom of the Maurienne Valley itself is not all that pretty, but it is lined with some of the best climbs in the French Alps and Le Col du Mollard is one of them. It is heavily forested all the way to the bottom and that whole section is an endless series of switchbacks up through the woods.
The Maurienne Valley glimpsed through an opening in the trees.
The road back up - there is a long climb ahead of me.
One of the many switchbacks on the north side of le Mollard
I had a great climb followed by a nice six kilometer down hill on the south side of Le Col du Mollard. From there the climb up Le Col de la Croix de Fer is pretty mellow until you hit the ski town in the throat of the col. From there things get steeper.
Four Kilometers to the summit, next Kilometer averages 8% climb.
Switchback near the top.
Cows on road near the summit.
It was in the saddle for over six hours. It was a great route, 52 miles and about 8,300 feet of climbing. This will be my last big ride in the French Alps this year. Tomorrow I will box my bike and head to the Pyrenees. I will try and blog from there - the big issue is internet speed and connectivity. Thanks for following along! Chris
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