velotel
11-18-2012, 12:29 PM
Got a mail, subject one word : Noyer ; body : let’s ride. Ah yes, Col du Noyer. I’d suggested that earlier in the fall. A col he didn’t know. Didn’t work out. He’s got a wife, kids, job, the complete catastrophe in the famous words of Zorba. Translation, time constraints. Doing Noyer needed time. Saturday he had time.
Days are short now, an hour and a half of drive time meant an early start to make it happen. Cold morning, sky looking good. Found his new abode. We’re off, up into the Trieve, a fine place for cycling. Through Mens, small village in the heart of the Trieve. Nice place, old stone buildings, thick trunked shade trees, narrow streets. Wanted to start the ride there but knew that would add a lot of time to the loop. Too much probably. My form had dropped off. Lack of riding and especially lack of long rides. Plus I was riding with Maxn. He’s young, strong, fast, and I’d forgotten my bungee cord. Press on another 20K. Too bad really because the road from Mens was made for riding. Another time. Maxn and I look right at the same time, jaws drop. Kodak stop, out of the car, cameras whipped out, mountain shot. Beautiful. Really should be on our bikes but…
Car parked, clothes layered up. Up the plateau heading towards a narrow gorge slicing through the mountains. We’ll come out of that gorge later on. Turn left onto a small road, one-laner. Steep, twisting descent to a bridge over the river. Like diving into a freezer. The climb back out on the other side will warm us up. It’s probably as steep as the one we’re plunging down. Across the bridge and up, frost on the road edges, sometimes more than that. Back wheel slips once or twice. Ride past a hunter. Looks at us like we’re nuts. Tells us it’s zero degrees. Feels warmer going up. Hit the t-section, turn left, start 20 Ks of some of the most enjoyable riding I’ve ever had. Didn’t know that then. I’d never been on the road, by car or bike. But I’d known it was there and was sure it was a good one. If I’d know how good, I wouldn’t have waited so long.
Hadn’t rolled with Maxn since last year I think. Partly schedules, partly because after he started riding with the german road crusher then some young american flyer and was pounding out long rides and big climbs, I figured I’d be way too slow to even contemplate an outing with him. Time passed. Then his mail. I was worried about doing this with him. I wasn’t sure I had the form for the ride. I knew the climb to the col was hard. And my pace is relaxed, I like stopping and shooting pics. No problem, he was riding cool and I was riding better than I expected and the views were so delicious he didn’t mind my Kodak stops. The road’s perfect, the day too, riding with Maxn again is good.
Uh oh, a sign telling us the road is blocked! I figure it’s just some road work we can get by. Nope, it’s a tunnel sealed off with a concrete block wall. There has to be a way past. Going back is not an option. Off the bike, walk to where a path ought to be, and there it is. Perfect. Bikes shouldered, stroll past, air to the left, cliff to the right, easy. Not even a hundred meters. And there’s the road again. We’re off, rolling well. I stop for some shots, Maxn keeps going, slowly. Back on the bike, into a mild downhill. I’m steaming after Maxn, closing on him fast. A sweet round turn to the left, one made for lots of speed on a bike, open sight line, no cars coming. I dive in, take the inside line, leaned over, the perfect line. Only one slight problem, verglace! Rear wheel’s gone and I’m on the ice like I’m sliding into home plate with the winning run. Come to a stop, look up, Maxn is afoot too. Tells me he went down too. Even hard walking down to where he is. No great damage, off again.
Hit the route nationale but only for a K. No traffic. Not the season. Turn right, the climb is joined. Go past a sign announcing the following K at 3,2%. Maxn and I are both standing up in our lowest gears. We look at each other, okay. Stays hard into a hamlet and a left turn where the road goes all limp. Et violà the source of the 3,2%. Stays easy for a long time, a wandering traverse up across the contour lines. Views are ridiculous. The higher we go, the more ridiculous they become. If I was alone I’d probably stop more often for pics but Maxn’s pace feels good. Spot a picnic table up ahead. Hard to beat that, lunch with the grand view. Off again, pitch starts to get more serious again. And then some more. We can finally see where the col is. Getting there looks impressive. Hit a sign with the grade for the second to last K, 11,4%. Maxn is beside me and probably wishing he’d brought ear plugs I’m breathing so hard. He charges ahead, stops, pulls out his phone. Hell of a moment to call home. Oh, yea, an I-phone. I see why he stopped. Up ahead the final switchbacks, a clean, hard line zigging up the mountain like Zorro was here. Gorgeous. Photo stop. And off again. Grade’s easier. Still haven’t reached the next sign which means what we climber was over 12%! Hit the sign, 7,7% I think. You know it’s hard when almost 8% is a relief.
The col, round, road rolling over, mountains rising up in the distance like the sun coming over the horizon. Turn around, drop back for a picture. Back to the col. Maxn sporting a big grin. Checked a map on his I-phone, says the downhill is going to be a good one. It is. No ice, I’m running free. Sweet. Up across a small shoulder, big gear climb, flying along, a barricade of mountains to the right and in front. Down again, through one village, into another, fly through, bit in the mouth, eyes searching for ice. No ice. Through some remarkably perfect curves, bike leaned way over, carving through like a surfer on a big wave. Into a short tunnel, slow way down, amazingly no ice there either. Into the drop down the gorge, beautiful. V-junction. Road to the right the one we road earlier, only we’d cut across down through the gorge to get to it. Left road the one that will take us back to the car. An easy uphill. I glance at Maxn’s gearing, exactly the opposite of mine, little ring, small cog. I’m on the big ring, bigger cog. Both spinning at the same speed.
Out of the forest, onto the plateau where we started, slight downhill, I sit up, cruise along, taking in the views, thinking back over the ride. No question, one of the best loops I’ve ever done. And absolutely the most pleasant loop I’ve ever done. I mean the climb to the col was hard but it wasn’t all that long and the views were so entrancing that the time passed without noticing. But the rest of the loop was this amazingly enjoyable rolling cruise, some ups, some downs, lots of curves, narrow road, beautiful pavement, no traffic, nothing but pure pleasure. That’s a bit rare for me to be honest. Most of the time I seem to be doing rides dominated by long, hard climbs followed by fast, intense downhills. Which I love. This was different. Intensity traded for cruiserville. I like that.
Some pics, Maxn has already posted his video. The first shot is the mountain we saw from the car. Enjoy
Days are short now, an hour and a half of drive time meant an early start to make it happen. Cold morning, sky looking good. Found his new abode. We’re off, up into the Trieve, a fine place for cycling. Through Mens, small village in the heart of the Trieve. Nice place, old stone buildings, thick trunked shade trees, narrow streets. Wanted to start the ride there but knew that would add a lot of time to the loop. Too much probably. My form had dropped off. Lack of riding and especially lack of long rides. Plus I was riding with Maxn. He’s young, strong, fast, and I’d forgotten my bungee cord. Press on another 20K. Too bad really because the road from Mens was made for riding. Another time. Maxn and I look right at the same time, jaws drop. Kodak stop, out of the car, cameras whipped out, mountain shot. Beautiful. Really should be on our bikes but…
Car parked, clothes layered up. Up the plateau heading towards a narrow gorge slicing through the mountains. We’ll come out of that gorge later on. Turn left onto a small road, one-laner. Steep, twisting descent to a bridge over the river. Like diving into a freezer. The climb back out on the other side will warm us up. It’s probably as steep as the one we’re plunging down. Across the bridge and up, frost on the road edges, sometimes more than that. Back wheel slips once or twice. Ride past a hunter. Looks at us like we’re nuts. Tells us it’s zero degrees. Feels warmer going up. Hit the t-section, turn left, start 20 Ks of some of the most enjoyable riding I’ve ever had. Didn’t know that then. I’d never been on the road, by car or bike. But I’d known it was there and was sure it was a good one. If I’d know how good, I wouldn’t have waited so long.
Hadn’t rolled with Maxn since last year I think. Partly schedules, partly because after he started riding with the german road crusher then some young american flyer and was pounding out long rides and big climbs, I figured I’d be way too slow to even contemplate an outing with him. Time passed. Then his mail. I was worried about doing this with him. I wasn’t sure I had the form for the ride. I knew the climb to the col was hard. And my pace is relaxed, I like stopping and shooting pics. No problem, he was riding cool and I was riding better than I expected and the views were so delicious he didn’t mind my Kodak stops. The road’s perfect, the day too, riding with Maxn again is good.
Uh oh, a sign telling us the road is blocked! I figure it’s just some road work we can get by. Nope, it’s a tunnel sealed off with a concrete block wall. There has to be a way past. Going back is not an option. Off the bike, walk to where a path ought to be, and there it is. Perfect. Bikes shouldered, stroll past, air to the left, cliff to the right, easy. Not even a hundred meters. And there’s the road again. We’re off, rolling well. I stop for some shots, Maxn keeps going, slowly. Back on the bike, into a mild downhill. I’m steaming after Maxn, closing on him fast. A sweet round turn to the left, one made for lots of speed on a bike, open sight line, no cars coming. I dive in, take the inside line, leaned over, the perfect line. Only one slight problem, verglace! Rear wheel’s gone and I’m on the ice like I’m sliding into home plate with the winning run. Come to a stop, look up, Maxn is afoot too. Tells me he went down too. Even hard walking down to where he is. No great damage, off again.
Hit the route nationale but only for a K. No traffic. Not the season. Turn right, the climb is joined. Go past a sign announcing the following K at 3,2%. Maxn and I are both standing up in our lowest gears. We look at each other, okay. Stays hard into a hamlet and a left turn where the road goes all limp. Et violà the source of the 3,2%. Stays easy for a long time, a wandering traverse up across the contour lines. Views are ridiculous. The higher we go, the more ridiculous they become. If I was alone I’d probably stop more often for pics but Maxn’s pace feels good. Spot a picnic table up ahead. Hard to beat that, lunch with the grand view. Off again, pitch starts to get more serious again. And then some more. We can finally see where the col is. Getting there looks impressive. Hit a sign with the grade for the second to last K, 11,4%. Maxn is beside me and probably wishing he’d brought ear plugs I’m breathing so hard. He charges ahead, stops, pulls out his phone. Hell of a moment to call home. Oh, yea, an I-phone. I see why he stopped. Up ahead the final switchbacks, a clean, hard line zigging up the mountain like Zorro was here. Gorgeous. Photo stop. And off again. Grade’s easier. Still haven’t reached the next sign which means what we climber was over 12%! Hit the sign, 7,7% I think. You know it’s hard when almost 8% is a relief.
The col, round, road rolling over, mountains rising up in the distance like the sun coming over the horizon. Turn around, drop back for a picture. Back to the col. Maxn sporting a big grin. Checked a map on his I-phone, says the downhill is going to be a good one. It is. No ice, I’m running free. Sweet. Up across a small shoulder, big gear climb, flying along, a barricade of mountains to the right and in front. Down again, through one village, into another, fly through, bit in the mouth, eyes searching for ice. No ice. Through some remarkably perfect curves, bike leaned way over, carving through like a surfer on a big wave. Into a short tunnel, slow way down, amazingly no ice there either. Into the drop down the gorge, beautiful. V-junction. Road to the right the one we road earlier, only we’d cut across down through the gorge to get to it. Left road the one that will take us back to the car. An easy uphill. I glance at Maxn’s gearing, exactly the opposite of mine, little ring, small cog. I’m on the big ring, bigger cog. Both spinning at the same speed.
Out of the forest, onto the plateau where we started, slight downhill, I sit up, cruise along, taking in the views, thinking back over the ride. No question, one of the best loops I’ve ever done. And absolutely the most pleasant loop I’ve ever done. I mean the climb to the col was hard but it wasn’t all that long and the views were so entrancing that the time passed without noticing. But the rest of the loop was this amazingly enjoyable rolling cruise, some ups, some downs, lots of curves, narrow road, beautiful pavement, no traffic, nothing but pure pleasure. That’s a bit rare for me to be honest. Most of the time I seem to be doing rides dominated by long, hard climbs followed by fast, intense downhills. Which I love. This was different. Intensity traded for cruiserville. I like that.
Some pics, Maxn has already posted his video. The first shot is the mountain we saw from the car. Enjoy