2012 Day 6 in France - Oz / Villard Reymond

Today the weather looked a little dicey so I decided to do a couple of tough climbs that were close to home.  Just before 11:00 I rode down to Bourg d'Oisans to run a couple of errands.  Here is the view up and down one of the streets in town.

As you can see the sky was a bit grey so I decided to keep things relatively close to the KOM Lodge.  From Bourg d'Oisans I rode over to the town of Allemont for lunch.  Then I began the climb up the steep road to Oz en Oisans, a ski station that is part of the sprawling Alpe d'Huez ski area.  The climb was 7.7 kilometers from the bottom of the hill.  Here is a picture of the start.

Yet another beautiful climb on a quiet road through the forrest.

And about two thirds of the way up you can see the ski station you are headed to up above.

Then you come into the ski area parking lot at the bottom of the hill.

Here is proof that I was there.

I went on up the hill to the end of the road.  I liked the name that they had given there snowboard stunt park - what the Eldora Ski Patrol used to call the Trauma Park.

They had some bizarre combination of a zip line course and a courage confidence-builder climbing course (one of those goofy things that you clip into about ten yards up off of the ground and walk across narrow planks and such between the trees there-by scaring yourself silly) set up in the trees.  I guess they want their Kamikaze Parc to be a year round affair.

Below is a picture of the road up to Oz that I took on the way down.  This was the first time I had ridden up this hill and it is typical of the beautifully paved backroads that they have around here up to all the small sub-ski stations and hamlets perched on the mountain sides.  These little roads are, to me, the main draw of the region, more so than the famous cols of the Tour de France.

From Oz I descended back to the Valley and after about eight miles of flats I headed back up the Col d'Ornan.  My plan was to do another classic climb to a small place in the mountains.  I took a side road off of the Ornan climb and starter up one of my favorite climbs - the 10 kilometers up to Villard Reymond.  On the way up I could feel autumn in the air and some of the trees had started to turn.

Looking down the hillside I could see the main Col d'Ornan road twisting its way up the col to the KOM Lodge and then the summit.

Have I mentioned how much I love these quiet, narrow, beautifully paves mountain roads?  They are like some sort of giant habitrail complex for cyclists.

The hamlet of Villard Reymond comes into site at the end of the road.  

The end of route 210/elevation marker in the Villard Reymond.

From Villard Reymond it is a short climb on a gravelly cow path up to the top of the ridge line.  From the top of the ridge you can look down on Bourg d'Oisans and across the valley at the 21 virages of the classic Alpe d'Huez climb as seen below.

I had a sweet descent back down to the main Col d'Ornan road followed by a short effort up the remainder of the climb to the KOM Lodge.  Another great day in the saddle: 53 miles with about 7,000 vertical feet of climbing and I did not get rained on.

2012 Day 5 in France - Le Col de la Sarenne

This morning Guy Little, my host at the King of the Mountain Lodge sorted replaced the rim tape on both of my wheels, so oh joy, oh rapture, oh unmitigated bliss, hopefully I will have no more exciting flats on high speed descents.  My confidence in my tubes restored, I was all set to tackle the Col de la Sarenne loop.  This loop is yet another way to sneak up on Alpe d'Huez without riding up the 21 virages of the classic route.  In the google map that I have reproduced in my last two blog entries the Col de la Sarenne is the green route.  But as I have mentioned, the route actually comes into Alpe d'Huez at a point higher than the finish of the classic 21 virages routes, marked by the black squiggly line on the Google map.  Here is the map from my Garmin for the day.

The Garmin software does not do a great job showing exactly where one is relative to the actual roads.  I actually rode on route 91 when I got to the bottom of the Col d'Ornan and followed it quite a ways to the east, towards Le Grave, after I had gone through Bourg d'Oisans.  But I did leave route 91 right after the big bend, and those squiggly lines below the orange line of 91 mark my ascent up Le Traverse road.  This is a back way up the Les Deux Alpes road and it was a way to get off the main road, avoid some tunnels on same, and get in some extra climbing.  It is a quiet narrow road up through a forrest.

Eventually, as usual, you pop out of the forrest and onto a balcony road.

All of this is before I cross to the north side of the valley and head up the Col de la Sarenne.  Eventually Le Traverse Road hits the main route up to Les Deux Alpes and I descended the main road back down to the valley.  Below is a picture from the descent.

At the bottom of the Les Deux Alpes hill you hit route 91 again.  The highway crosses a dam and you immediately head up the Col de la Sarenne climb.  The road is steep right from the giddy-up.  

I was listening to Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell' as I ascended through the forrest when I started hearing cow bells.  It was amazing how well the cow bells fit in with the music.

I did this climb last year after having only descended it the year before with Hank.  It is huge.  It features the locally famous house with the huge rock next to it.  The higher up on the alpine switchbacks you get, the smaller the house and the boulder get.

Finally the top of the col comes into sight.

From the top of the col there is quite a bit of up and down across the mountain top to Alpe d'Huez.  From there I descended the classic 21 virages route and rode back up the Col d'Ornan.  The total effort for the day was just over 47 miles of riding with just over 7,000 vertical feet of climbing.  It was another awesome day!

2012 Day 4 in France - Alpe d'Huez Encore

Things happen.  I had a pretty big ride planned for today.  I was going to ride up the Col de Sarenne loop which is another way of sneaking up on the Alpe d'Huez summit by going a ways up the Bourg d'Oisans valley towards La Grave then taking a left off of the main road, riding up over the Col de Sarenne, then dropping down into Alpe d'Huez.  Again, the handy Google map:

The Col de Sarenne loop follows the green line around, but this map is inaccurate as there is a way to take the loop right into Alpe d'Huez at the top of the squiggly black line.  That was the plan, at least until I left the King of the Mountain Lodge at around 11:00 AM.  

But, as I was saying, things happen.  About a mile down the Col d'Ornan I had yet another blow out on my front tire.  I change the tube, but at this point I was sure I had an issue with the rim tape.  I had thoroughly checked the tire itself for a shard of glass, or a thorn, or something like that, and the tire itself was fine, but some tiny divots had developed in the cloth rim tape that separates the tube from the rim.  These divots were small and they were located where the spokes screw into the rim.  My best guess was that the inflated tube was slowly being cut at the point of one of these deformities and eventually blowing out.  So I put in a somewhat tougher tube that I happened to have and gingerly rode on down the hill to a bike shop in Bourg d'Oisans.  At the bike shop a very helpful mechanic confirmed my prognosis.  He seemed to think I would be okay with the tougher tube.

I wasn't so sure, but I decided to go ahead and ride.  Instead of the Col de Sarenne loop I elected to just ride up Alpe d'Huez.  The Col de Sarenne is pretty remote.  Alpe d'Huez had lots of traffic and there is bus service.  There are also a couple of bike shops on top and plenty of other cyclists if I had problems. I also went ahead and bought another durable tube and a couple more CO2 canisters to inflate it with in case I suffered another flat.

My basic theory is: When in doubt, ride!  I was hedging my bets by riding up Alpe d'Huez.  If I had a problem I would not be in the middle of nowhere.  And so I started up the 21 virages yet again.  I love the views of the switchbacks and the town below at the bottom of the alpe.  

Once I got to the top of the Alpe d'Huez climb I decided to ride on up to the end of the road.  I was up there two years ago with Hank.  Below is the view back down on the town of Alpe d'Huez. 

This whole area is criss-crossed by ski lifts.  In the summer they use some of the lifts to take mountain bikers up the hill.  There is a huge network of mountain bike trails and hiking trails.  I also saw an equestrian center.  I stopped at a little chalet bistro, le plage a niege (the snow beach) and had the most expensive coke I have ever bought - 3 and 1/2 Euros - more expensive, I think, then at a Major League Baseball or NFL game.  At the end of the road you come to Lake Besson.

I reckon the climb from Bourg d'Oisans all the way to the lake was about 4,650 vertical feet.  I descended down the Alpe very gingerly and thankfully I did not have any tube blow-out issues with the front tire.  From town I rode back up the Col d'Ornan to the KOM Lodge, which I reckon is about a five mile climb and just over another 1,400 feet of elevation gain.  I consider it a bonus climb that I get to do almost every day.  Below is a view of the narrow street in Le Rivier d'Ornan at the end of which, on the right side, is the KOM lodge.  When I get here on my climb up the Col d'Ornan I am back at the barn!

Another great day of riding!  37 miles with about 6,000 feet of climbing.  Tomorrow, Le Col de Sarenne!

2012 Day 3 in France - Alpe d'Huez

On the day that the Pro Challenge bicycle race came through Boulder and finished on Flagstaff Mountain, our (Boulder's) little Alpe d'Huez, I decided to ride up the actual French classic.  But I instead of riding up the main route, the first 14 or so switchbacks I had ridden two days ago on day 1, I chose to ride up the Alpe one of the back ways, this time up through Allemont and then up several switchback on a beautiful forrest road that is much quieter than the main route.  One of the beauties of Alpe d'Huez is that there are several side routes, two of which have beautiful balconies roads high up on cliff faces that bring you on to the main route higher up on the climb.  As I started my descent for the KOM Lodge down to the valley floor I had a beautiful view of the balcony road I was heading to.  The road is the white line that slashes across the cliff face near the top of the photo below.

Here is a google map that I have cribbed before from the internet for this blog to give my loyal readers a better idea of the lay of the land.

Route D526 bottom left of the map is the Col d'Ornan, the King of the Mountain Lodge is located about five miles up the col from the valley floor, about two miles from the top.  The black squiggly line is the classic 21 virage route up Alpe d'Huez.  My route for today is the purple line that sneaks on to the main route about two thirds of the way up the climb in the town of Huez.  As I said, the climb on the switchbacks through the woods up from Allemont is much more peaceful than the famous main route.

After you climb up seven or eight long switchbacks you pop out on the shelf road.  Here is a view of the Col d'Ornan road that I come down and go up everyday when I ride on the Bourg d'Oisan / Alpe d'Huez side of the col taken from near the start of the balcony road.

The balcony road is two lanes as far as the tiny town of Villard Reculas.

Then, as you leave Villard Reculas, the road goes to one lane.

It stays that way for about two miles or so.  This one lane balcony road is the white line that slashes across the cliff face in the first photo of this post.   The road is one lane until you hit the town of Huez on the main route up the Alpe.   Here are two views of the classic route fas you come up to it on the balcony road.  The second photo shows my turn around point from day one, the old church at Virage 7.

From Huez you are about 7 virages and 300 meters below the actual ski station of Alpe d'Huez.  A funny thing about Alpe d'Huez is that there is a false finish line near a row of restaurant/bars and souvenir shops that have figured out a way to reel in the cyclist trade before they hit the actual Tour de France finish area.  To be fair all of the local races and time trials up the Alpe do finish here.  

And here I am, further up the hill at the actual TDF finish.

From the finish I descended down the classic route to Bourg d'Oisans where I ran into Guy, Craig, and little Alice from the lodge while I was buying some postcards.  I took advantage of that by catching a lift with them in the van back up to the lodge. Making today one of the few days that I didn't have to ride up the Col d'Ornan  to go home.  It was a fun day on the bike: 33 miles of riding and about 4,100 feet of climbing.  

That evening, back at the lodge, I had the surreal experience of watching the Colorado Pro Challenge bicycle race hit some of the roads and climbs that I do all the time back home.  Usually, I am in Colorado watching the TDF racing on some of the cols I have ridden in the Alps or the Pyrenees.  Seeing the incredible views of my favorite Colorado routes from a helicopter was great fun and the crowds along the race course were amazing.  

2012 Day 2 France - La Berarde

The area around Bourg D'Oisans is a recreational paradise. There are the two huge ski stations (station being the French for a ski area,) Alpe d'Huez, and a little ways up the road towards La Grave (a famous ski area in its own right) you have Les Deux Alpes ski station.  Every col (col being the French term for a mountain pass) seems to have ski lifts at the top of it.  In the summer the ski stations are very popular destinations for road cyclists like myself that ride up the long access roads and mountain bikes that use the ski lifts for downhill runs or ride on the many trails.  But there is much more to the area than that.  The region to the south of Bourg d'Oisans is a the huge Ecrins National Park, the largest national park in France.  There are all sorts of camping areas in the region and hiking is an extremely popular activity.       In the heart of le Parc National de Ecrins is the small alpine village of Le Bernarde.  It is a jumping off point for hikers, but it is a classic bike climb up from Bourg d'Oisans.

I did this ride two years ago when I was here with Hank and Ki Brandjten.  It is about a 27 mile ride from  the King of the Mountain Lodge to the hamlet of La Bernarde, the last 15 miles or so before one gets to La Bernade are up a beautiful mountain valley with quite a bit of climbing.  In the photo below you can see beginning of the switchbacks in the climb up to St. Christophe en Oisans, which is about the half way point on the road up to Le Bernarde.

I has some real excitement on my descent in these switchbacks when I came back down.  I was going about 40 mph when my front tire went fat.  Fortunately it didn't go totally flat right away and I was able to come to a stop just as the air stopped hissing out of it.  It seems like I have had a lot of practice changing flats lately.

Memory, as we all know, is a funny thing.  I remember the ride up to La Berarde with Hank as a pretty mellow affair, almost as a recovery day on the bike.  Such is not the case.  In the 54 miles or so of riding from the lodge and back I put in over a mile of climbing.  But it was a beautiful ride up to the town and a fun day on the bike. As always. it was more fun when I had Hank grinding up the hill with me.

Above the church at La Berrade.  Below the town itself.  No traffic is allowed on the main street, but there were plenty of hikers walking about in town.

2012 Day 1 in Francc

Je suis arrivé.  I have arrived back in France.  For the third year in a row I am back at the King of the Mountain Lodge and ready to begin another European bike safari.  My flights from Denver to Geneva went off without a hitch, but one again my internal clock is a little bit messed up my having to get up at 5:00 AM on Wednesday to catch my flight to Washington, Dulles, and then missing that night's sleep on my overnight flight across the Atlantic to Geneva which shortened that night by seven hours and put me in Switzerland at about 7:30 AM on Thursday.

Greg from The King of the Mountain Lodge picked me up at the Airport and by 11:00 AM I was at the KOM Lodge saying hello to Guy and Helyn and being amazed by how big their baby girl Alice has gotten.  A year makes a big difference - Alice is walking and starting to talk.

My plan for the day was to assemble my bike and in my sleep deprived state and attempt to ride up Alpe d'Huez.  But thankfully, while I was cobbling together my bike. it went from looking like it was going to rain to actually raining, and I thought that perhaps God in his mercy was sending me a message to give it a rest and wait for tomorrow to ride.

So I ignored all of the conventional wisdom of not going to sleep the afternoon you arrive in a new time zone and trying to adjust to local time by staying awake until that evening and around 1:00 I laid down to read for a while and promptly fell asleep while listening to the rain pounding on the skylight of my room.

But there is no true rest for the wicked and God was not granting me a reprieve.  When I woke up around 4:30 PM of that same afternoon the sky was blue and I still had several hours of daylight to get out the door for a ride.  Next stop, Alpe d'Huez!

I knew I would not have enough time to get to the top of the Alpe d'Huez climb and make it back to the KOM Lodge for dinner at 8:00.  I was curious to see how many of the 21 famous virages (switchbacks) of Alpe d'Huez I could ride before I had to turn around with enough time to descend and then ride the 9 or 10 kilometers back up the Col d'Ornan to the KOM Lodge in time for dinner.

The answer to that question was 17.  I took the two photos above from Virage 7, looking back down at the town of Bourg d'Oisnans and some of the lower switchbacks I had ridden up.  There are six more virages above my turnaround point at Virage 7.  Below is the view of the climb above Virage 7 and the town of Huez.  Higher up in the background is the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez where the climb ends.

It was hot during the climb, even after the rain earlier in the afternoon.  Like Colorado, the French Alps have had record heat this summer.  It was also hazy all through the day, during my drive to the lodge from the airport and during my ride, just like it has been hazy as of late in Colorado from the California forest fires.  I have no idea why it was hazy here in France today.

My total distance for my shortened first day ride was about 24 miles with 3,500 feet of climbing on Alpe d'Huez and the Col d'Ornan.  I felt pretty good and I only wish I had gotten out a little earlier and had had time to ride to the top of Alp d'Huez.

But I have almost two weeks of riding still in front of me here at the KOM Lodge, so I should manage to get up Alpe d'Huez several times.  It was a good day 1.