velotel
09-25-2012, 03:24 PM
In fact an awesome call. Col du Sabot, he posted a video from his ride on it earlier this summer. He’d mailed me asking if I knew it. Never heard of it. Found a profile, uh oh, 9% for 1290 vertical meters (4232 ft)! Those ‘average’ grades are kind of like the average income in a blue collar worker’s sports bar with some multimillionaire sucking down a beer in the middle of the crowd. Average grade 9%, profile showing sections way below 9%, pain on the road guaranteed. Figured I’d kind of ignore that ride. Then Maxn went and posted, video, a few shots. And then had to say it was maybe his new top of the hit parade. Damn! Tuning that ride out became difficult.
Time floated by, banged out some good climbs, summer closing down, autumn coming in all strong and aggro. Col du Sabot worming away in my mind. End of September getting close, too close. Check the weather. Looking good for Sunday. Okay, do it. The worst that can happen is it kills me. Better than getting hired to walk around in a mickey mouse suit at Disneyland. So I’m off. Give it my best and if I’m lucky, my best will be good. Definite doubts. The legs, that’s a lot of sustained steepness.
Park near the junction of the roads to Bourg d’Oisans and Allemond. Beautiful day. Not far off silver dollar status. The mountain Alpe d’Huez is planted on soaring up into a mostly blue sky. Clipped in, on the road, staring up, trying to figure out where in the heck this col is. All I can see is steepness. Like if there weren’t any trees this would be looking a lot like a canyon. Have yet to understand how the trees survive on these slopes. The village of Vaujany visible up on the mountain. A small ski station linked in with the Alpe d’Huez system. The road to Sabot passes through the village. Way up above and over to the left a bit I can see a swale under a ridge. The col has to be there. No other possibility. Looks like a bear of a climb. High and long.
Up through Allemond, zig-zag up the damn and across, turn left, the road for the Col du Glandon and Col de la Croix de Fer. Past the hydro power plant, road branching right, this is it. Instantly up. As in 9,7% for a K or so followed by a 10,4% for half a K or so. Then some slack, as in 8’s. All the way to Vaujany. Turns out the sports bar analogy isn’t so far off because there are a bunch of easy sections along the way. Short, but easy. They don’t show on the profile. Swallowed up by the overall. Means the hard is harder.
Not that I knew any of that when I swung onto the road to Sabot. I looked at the profile once, and promptly forgot all the details. Other than it’s steep and sustained. Like almost as hard Ventoux from Bédoin and harder than Izoard (south side), Arpettaz (the good side), Col du Pre (the steep side), even Col de Joux Plane from Samoens, though barely. Some serious company. Probably not as hard as Galibier north side but only because of Galibier’s sheer size. I was worried.
First ramp and I went straight to my biggest cog, a 27. No sense pretending anything. If I’d had a 29 I probably would have done that. From the junction to the col 1290 sustained vertical meters. Outrageously good road, pavement buffed and wide, lots of room for cars to pass, if there were any. There weren’t. Started looking forward to the downhill. Could be a good one. Stopped for a lot for pics. One big reason why I like riding alone. I can stop as often as I want and not bother anyone. Also gives my legs a break. Amazing how just a wee stop can refresh. On the other hand all these damn kodak corners can be a pain, hard to settle into a rhythm. Riding in a forest but the hillside’s so steep that the views don’t stop. I have no idea where the road’s going, other than up and into this increasingly narrow valley. Across the way perched on a cliff and jutting into the air like some sort of James Bond prop is the summit for the tram from Vaujany to the ski slopes. A wide, round hairpin to the right and I’m staring at a waterfall tumbling down the cliffs.
Arrive at Vaujany sooner than expected. Actually I didn’t have any expectations, just suddenly found myself in the village and rolling through with the legs feeling good. Small village on a steep hillside, the road zig-zagging through. All clean and neat and looking abandoned. Between seasons. Must be some ride in the tram swinging across the valley and up to the station high above. Some huge spans between support towers. Exited the village and still couldn’t see where in the heck this road was going. Grade relatively stable, as in sustained steep, not desperately steep. At last, a mini-break, couple hundred meters of easy pedaling. That feels good. Into la Villette, much smaller than Vaujany, pretty place, road steep, two zig-zags to get through the village. Which tells you what the hillside these villages are perched on is like. Exit the village, long straight, legs whining, road builders must have been in a hurry to get up the mountain. Over a small roll, pitch eases. Some sort of tennis complex to the right. Buildings look like they were designed to let the avalanches slide over and bury them.
Road pinches in, one laner, pavement rougher. Ramped up. I remember seeing this on the profile. Easy to see. Over 10% is in red. Lot of red from la Villette until way high as I recall. Fabulous road. Narrow, cars must have to back up to wide sections to pass. There aren’t many of those, mostly just the hairpins. I’m loving this. Not sure what happened but I’m riding really well. Lowest gear for sure but never straining, just powering up steady on a mission. Have to stop a lot. Probably too much truth to tell. The views are too delicious to neglect. I’m not past tree line but what trees there are are small and scattered. Must be the avalanches that do the house cleaning. Nothing but rolling fields across the hillside. Definitely autumn. The grasses all sere and golden-brown. Bushes in the distance splashes of dark red. I keep stopping, can’t help myself. Who knows when, if ever, I’ll be here again. I mean I’m 67, no sense towing a wagon full of delusions behind my bike. So I stop and shoot. And again. And again. Lots of cows. Most of them seem to be in full beach mode. Lying down, taking the sun, chewing cuds, watching this stupid cyclist sweat up the mountain. Never seen such relaxed cows. Must be the view. Autumn in the mountains. Not sure there’s anything better.
Still don’t know where the col is, other than higher. Land up close is more complex than it looked from the distance. I’m expecting a hairpin back to the left and instead the road crosses a dry drainage and swings way out on the opposite hillside. Hear a car grinding up the road. Look down, looks like some sort of pickup. The french following the americans. Never used to see any pickups, now they’re common as flies. This one isn’t moving any too fast. Huge view from up here. Can’t stop staring back down at this completely crazy road curling and twisting up the mountain. A paved road no less! Can’t imagine why they built it and why it’s paved. I’d buy ‘em beers if I could because this place is sublime.
Hook around yet one more switchback and bingo, I know I’ve got this puppy in the bag. Easy. Don’t know what happened. That wee bowl I burned way back at the start is ancient history by now so it’s not that. All I know for sure is that I’m riding way smoother than I ever imagined would be the case here. That 4x4 pickup rolls past, diesel engine turning slow. I almost fall off the bike. In the bed are two fat people, a man and a woman. They’re huge. No wonder the pickup is moving so slow. That is some load. Sure glad that’s not me. Like I said, the french following the americans.
Pitch eases off, I move over one cog, then another, then another. I love arriving at cols in bigger gears, rolling smooth and quick. Pavement ends, parking/turn-around packed dirt. Straight ahead a narrow notch with a trail. I keep going across the parking and on up the trail until it angles up too steep. Gorgeous. Way down below the reservoir along the road to Col du Glandon and Croix de Fer. I can just barely see the Col du Glandon. Wonder how many cyclists there are there today. There’s only one here, me. Hadn’t thought about it earlier but now I see the Sabot is higher than Glandon, two hundred meters or so. Can’t see Croix de Fer; mountain in the way. In the distance Mt Blanc. Most of it in clouds, only the lower slopes showing. I’d love to be here on a clear day with a tripod and a long lens. To the left the Belledonne chain of peaks, the ones I look at every day from my house. Only I’m looking at the other side. First time.
Plop down in the grass, eat, drink, shoot, look. Perfect. No hurry, all downhill afterwards. Wind picked up and is blowing hard through the gap. Looks like some weather coming in later, maybe in the evening. For now, no concern. Just soak it all up.
Time to go, layered up, both water bottles dry. Not bad, two and half bottles consumed during the climb. Might have to hit that fountain again, the one where I filled up earlier. Seems like a long time ago. Rolling, wind in my face, big air brake. Won’t last long. Soon as I’m out of the notch, the funnel effect is over. Acceleration mode, gravity pulling hard. I always say if you want to know if a grade is steep, go down it. Gravity never lies. This is steep. Turns out to be one of the most engrossing, entertaining descents I’ve ever done. From the col to the tennis courts the road’s narrow and jerky, the surface kind of like what you get on a desiccated apple. It’s not rough, just wavy only the waves are more scattered chop than waves. Hard to tell where the patches end and the original blacktop continues. Plus there’s gravel and sand on the road, washed down by recent rains. Or maybe it’s always there, I don’t know. Just enough traffic to clear two paths so it’s kind of like high speed, paved single-tracking. Surprising how much speed can be picked up in just a flash. Lots of concentration, studying the paths, switching now and then, finding the right speed for the bends without cutting the corner and ending up in the gravel/sand in the center or going too wide and having to tiptoe in looseness on the outside.
The switchbacks are slow. They’re tight with most of the time no clear path through the debris. I’m not aggro enough to push through hard; I just ease through then let gravity yank my chain afterwards. Which it does with enthusiasm. Brakes are getting more of a workout than they’ve ever gotten I think. The acceleration when I let go is pretty intense and can quickly overwhelm the tight line I’m following. Plus as narrow as this puppy is, meeting a car could be dicey. I’m dancing that line between speed and just enough caution to be hopefully on the safe side. Turns out to be a good call because I meet a few cars coming up. Lunch hour must be over. Young drivers, going fast. So am I. They move over a tad and I thread the space.
A stunning descent. Reminds me of the descent off Col de Sarenne down to the Chamon dam. Narrow, steep, technical descents, only this one is better. That’ll change next year; the TdF is apparently going over the pass and down to the damn and the entire road is going to be repaved. So much for hardly anyone knowing the Col de Sarenne exists. Col du Sabot will remain clouded in obscurity. And still be the better ride, at least for me.
Get to the tennis courts, the road widens, smooths out, I’m rocketing now. I knew this was going to be good. Lots of blind turns that I don’t know at all so pedal’s to the metal but lightly. Gotta leave a wee bit of margin and hope it’s enough. A total burn from there to the road to Col du Glandon. Cruise mode back to the car, no hurry. Easing along remembering. That is some ride. One to repeat. Some day. But only when the legs are very good. This time they were good. Car to the col, 1400 vertical (4600 ft), nice. Like I said at the beginning, great call Maxn. Thanks.
Some pictures.
Time floated by, banged out some good climbs, summer closing down, autumn coming in all strong and aggro. Col du Sabot worming away in my mind. End of September getting close, too close. Check the weather. Looking good for Sunday. Okay, do it. The worst that can happen is it kills me. Better than getting hired to walk around in a mickey mouse suit at Disneyland. So I’m off. Give it my best and if I’m lucky, my best will be good. Definite doubts. The legs, that’s a lot of sustained steepness.
Park near the junction of the roads to Bourg d’Oisans and Allemond. Beautiful day. Not far off silver dollar status. The mountain Alpe d’Huez is planted on soaring up into a mostly blue sky. Clipped in, on the road, staring up, trying to figure out where in the heck this col is. All I can see is steepness. Like if there weren’t any trees this would be looking a lot like a canyon. Have yet to understand how the trees survive on these slopes. The village of Vaujany visible up on the mountain. A small ski station linked in with the Alpe d’Huez system. The road to Sabot passes through the village. Way up above and over to the left a bit I can see a swale under a ridge. The col has to be there. No other possibility. Looks like a bear of a climb. High and long.
Up through Allemond, zig-zag up the damn and across, turn left, the road for the Col du Glandon and Col de la Croix de Fer. Past the hydro power plant, road branching right, this is it. Instantly up. As in 9,7% for a K or so followed by a 10,4% for half a K or so. Then some slack, as in 8’s. All the way to Vaujany. Turns out the sports bar analogy isn’t so far off because there are a bunch of easy sections along the way. Short, but easy. They don’t show on the profile. Swallowed up by the overall. Means the hard is harder.
Not that I knew any of that when I swung onto the road to Sabot. I looked at the profile once, and promptly forgot all the details. Other than it’s steep and sustained. Like almost as hard Ventoux from Bédoin and harder than Izoard (south side), Arpettaz (the good side), Col du Pre (the steep side), even Col de Joux Plane from Samoens, though barely. Some serious company. Probably not as hard as Galibier north side but only because of Galibier’s sheer size. I was worried.
First ramp and I went straight to my biggest cog, a 27. No sense pretending anything. If I’d had a 29 I probably would have done that. From the junction to the col 1290 sustained vertical meters. Outrageously good road, pavement buffed and wide, lots of room for cars to pass, if there were any. There weren’t. Started looking forward to the downhill. Could be a good one. Stopped for a lot for pics. One big reason why I like riding alone. I can stop as often as I want and not bother anyone. Also gives my legs a break. Amazing how just a wee stop can refresh. On the other hand all these damn kodak corners can be a pain, hard to settle into a rhythm. Riding in a forest but the hillside’s so steep that the views don’t stop. I have no idea where the road’s going, other than up and into this increasingly narrow valley. Across the way perched on a cliff and jutting into the air like some sort of James Bond prop is the summit for the tram from Vaujany to the ski slopes. A wide, round hairpin to the right and I’m staring at a waterfall tumbling down the cliffs.
Arrive at Vaujany sooner than expected. Actually I didn’t have any expectations, just suddenly found myself in the village and rolling through with the legs feeling good. Small village on a steep hillside, the road zig-zagging through. All clean and neat and looking abandoned. Between seasons. Must be some ride in the tram swinging across the valley and up to the station high above. Some huge spans between support towers. Exited the village and still couldn’t see where in the heck this road was going. Grade relatively stable, as in sustained steep, not desperately steep. At last, a mini-break, couple hundred meters of easy pedaling. That feels good. Into la Villette, much smaller than Vaujany, pretty place, road steep, two zig-zags to get through the village. Which tells you what the hillside these villages are perched on is like. Exit the village, long straight, legs whining, road builders must have been in a hurry to get up the mountain. Over a small roll, pitch eases. Some sort of tennis complex to the right. Buildings look like they were designed to let the avalanches slide over and bury them.
Road pinches in, one laner, pavement rougher. Ramped up. I remember seeing this on the profile. Easy to see. Over 10% is in red. Lot of red from la Villette until way high as I recall. Fabulous road. Narrow, cars must have to back up to wide sections to pass. There aren’t many of those, mostly just the hairpins. I’m loving this. Not sure what happened but I’m riding really well. Lowest gear for sure but never straining, just powering up steady on a mission. Have to stop a lot. Probably too much truth to tell. The views are too delicious to neglect. I’m not past tree line but what trees there are are small and scattered. Must be the avalanches that do the house cleaning. Nothing but rolling fields across the hillside. Definitely autumn. The grasses all sere and golden-brown. Bushes in the distance splashes of dark red. I keep stopping, can’t help myself. Who knows when, if ever, I’ll be here again. I mean I’m 67, no sense towing a wagon full of delusions behind my bike. So I stop and shoot. And again. And again. Lots of cows. Most of them seem to be in full beach mode. Lying down, taking the sun, chewing cuds, watching this stupid cyclist sweat up the mountain. Never seen such relaxed cows. Must be the view. Autumn in the mountains. Not sure there’s anything better.
Still don’t know where the col is, other than higher. Land up close is more complex than it looked from the distance. I’m expecting a hairpin back to the left and instead the road crosses a dry drainage and swings way out on the opposite hillside. Hear a car grinding up the road. Look down, looks like some sort of pickup. The french following the americans. Never used to see any pickups, now they’re common as flies. This one isn’t moving any too fast. Huge view from up here. Can’t stop staring back down at this completely crazy road curling and twisting up the mountain. A paved road no less! Can’t imagine why they built it and why it’s paved. I’d buy ‘em beers if I could because this place is sublime.
Hook around yet one more switchback and bingo, I know I’ve got this puppy in the bag. Easy. Don’t know what happened. That wee bowl I burned way back at the start is ancient history by now so it’s not that. All I know for sure is that I’m riding way smoother than I ever imagined would be the case here. That 4x4 pickup rolls past, diesel engine turning slow. I almost fall off the bike. In the bed are two fat people, a man and a woman. They’re huge. No wonder the pickup is moving so slow. That is some load. Sure glad that’s not me. Like I said, the french following the americans.
Pitch eases off, I move over one cog, then another, then another. I love arriving at cols in bigger gears, rolling smooth and quick. Pavement ends, parking/turn-around packed dirt. Straight ahead a narrow notch with a trail. I keep going across the parking and on up the trail until it angles up too steep. Gorgeous. Way down below the reservoir along the road to Col du Glandon and Croix de Fer. I can just barely see the Col du Glandon. Wonder how many cyclists there are there today. There’s only one here, me. Hadn’t thought about it earlier but now I see the Sabot is higher than Glandon, two hundred meters or so. Can’t see Croix de Fer; mountain in the way. In the distance Mt Blanc. Most of it in clouds, only the lower slopes showing. I’d love to be here on a clear day with a tripod and a long lens. To the left the Belledonne chain of peaks, the ones I look at every day from my house. Only I’m looking at the other side. First time.
Plop down in the grass, eat, drink, shoot, look. Perfect. No hurry, all downhill afterwards. Wind picked up and is blowing hard through the gap. Looks like some weather coming in later, maybe in the evening. For now, no concern. Just soak it all up.
Time to go, layered up, both water bottles dry. Not bad, two and half bottles consumed during the climb. Might have to hit that fountain again, the one where I filled up earlier. Seems like a long time ago. Rolling, wind in my face, big air brake. Won’t last long. Soon as I’m out of the notch, the funnel effect is over. Acceleration mode, gravity pulling hard. I always say if you want to know if a grade is steep, go down it. Gravity never lies. This is steep. Turns out to be one of the most engrossing, entertaining descents I’ve ever done. From the col to the tennis courts the road’s narrow and jerky, the surface kind of like what you get on a desiccated apple. It’s not rough, just wavy only the waves are more scattered chop than waves. Hard to tell where the patches end and the original blacktop continues. Plus there’s gravel and sand on the road, washed down by recent rains. Or maybe it’s always there, I don’t know. Just enough traffic to clear two paths so it’s kind of like high speed, paved single-tracking. Surprising how much speed can be picked up in just a flash. Lots of concentration, studying the paths, switching now and then, finding the right speed for the bends without cutting the corner and ending up in the gravel/sand in the center or going too wide and having to tiptoe in looseness on the outside.
The switchbacks are slow. They’re tight with most of the time no clear path through the debris. I’m not aggro enough to push through hard; I just ease through then let gravity yank my chain afterwards. Which it does with enthusiasm. Brakes are getting more of a workout than they’ve ever gotten I think. The acceleration when I let go is pretty intense and can quickly overwhelm the tight line I’m following. Plus as narrow as this puppy is, meeting a car could be dicey. I’m dancing that line between speed and just enough caution to be hopefully on the safe side. Turns out to be a good call because I meet a few cars coming up. Lunch hour must be over. Young drivers, going fast. So am I. They move over a tad and I thread the space.
A stunning descent. Reminds me of the descent off Col de Sarenne down to the Chamon dam. Narrow, steep, technical descents, only this one is better. That’ll change next year; the TdF is apparently going over the pass and down to the damn and the entire road is going to be repaved. So much for hardly anyone knowing the Col de Sarenne exists. Col du Sabot will remain clouded in obscurity. And still be the better ride, at least for me.
Get to the tennis courts, the road widens, smooths out, I’m rocketing now. I knew this was going to be good. Lots of blind turns that I don’t know at all so pedal’s to the metal but lightly. Gotta leave a wee bit of margin and hope it’s enough. A total burn from there to the road to Col du Glandon. Cruise mode back to the car, no hurry. Easing along remembering. That is some ride. One to repeat. Some day. But only when the legs are very good. This time they were good. Car to the col, 1400 vertical (4600 ft), nice. Like I said at the beginning, great call Maxn. Thanks.
Some pictures.