velotel
03-13-2014, 01:51 AM
A gem of a ride. If it was closer to home I’d ride it regularly. And all these years living in ignorance. Not for lack of desire though. Twice before I’d driven off the plateau and turned up the valley to Albertville and Ugine with the intention of riding Col de l’Epine. Both times I got waylaid. The first time by the Col de l’Arpettaz ( I couldn’t resist its siren call) and the second time by the Balcon d’Arly up to the ski area of Crest Voland (a terrific ride). Seems Col de l’Epine didn’t carry enough weight to impose itself on my wandering eye of road lust.
Until Sunday. This time I left to ride the Epine and there was nothing (well, almost nothing) that would sway me from my course. A modest ride, summit isn’t even 1000 meters. lower than my house. Vertical from the valley 495 meters. Nothing to make the cocks of cycling stand up and howl. But there is the little option I stumbled into that makes it more interesting. I was approaching where the road crosses the stream flowing down out of the high basin and noticed a spit of a road going back to the right. And up, that was the important direction. My legs weren’t finished yet and I wanted more climbing, not a drop down the valley. So I took the turn. But I’ve jumped ahead.
The idea had been to ride Epine then Col de la Croix Fry and then maybe (big emphasis on that word) over Aravis. Drove to Ugine, parked, changed clothes, bike ready, bowl and roll time, onto the bike path linking Albertville and Annecy.
The first couple of pics below were taken on the path at the edge of Ugine. Note how the bike path is wider than the road next to it! We’re talking an autoroute of bike paths! A popular autoroute, especially on weekends and holidays. I was there on a Sunday during the winter/spring school holiday. I was also way later in the day than I’d originally had in my mind. In other words there were a lot of people enjoying the bike path. Lots cyclists in the mix. Some in full team race lycra, one even with aero wheels humming, some little kids so young their feet were on the ground propelling them forward. A fun warm-up. Big ring, small cogs, time trial mode with occasional interruptions for slower moving bike pathers.
Marlens, a small village on the other side of the valley on a slight rise. I could see the road to Epine traversing the steep hillside above the village. A sign near the bike path had an arrow and the words, Col de l’Epine. Perfect, the path was amusing but only for a while. The while had finished, time to go to work. The climb to the col turned out to be harder than I’d imagined. For no reason at all (maybe just wishful thinking) I had it in mind that this would be a cruiser climb. Probably is for those with bigger motors than mine. It wasn’t desperately steep, just steady steep, grades 7% to 8% for much of the vertical. Ramps from time to time that up the ante Just to keep everyone honest. No traffic. Or almost none. I think I got passed by two cars going up and one or two coming down. They all slowed as they went past. They kind of had to because the roadway is on the narrow side.
From down in the valley I could see what looked like bridges on the face of the cliff. Turned out they are indeed bridges over small streams but it’s not a cliff, but not far off being a cliff either. Gotta love it, bridges on the face of a cliff. Excellent views the entire climb. In the distance the Bauges Mountains looking very white. Maybe it’s just my eyes but snow on the mountains seems to make them steeper and higher and even more beautiful. Especially against a blue sky. Got to a round switchback to the right and had to stop. A classic kodak corner moment. Rode through the switchback and suddenly saw where the road was going, straight at an impressively high and steep mountain. Then everything clicked into place, realized I was looking at the back side of Mont Charvin, the Col de l’Arpettaz is on the opposite side on a shoulder. The view of this side of the mountain is superb. Particularly as it was buried with snow.
The grades eased, I moved down the cogs, arrived on the col. And stopped. Not because I was on the col, because of the view. Actually I was past the col and the road was still going up, but gently. What stopped me was the view to the left, into the heart of the Aravis mountains. Some wonderfully sculpted mountains defining the valley below. Beautiful.
Hit the high point and the road started a slow glide into a valley cutting into the mountains. Smooth going, no massive accelerations, a fast coast into a hamlet just before the road crossed the stream gushing with snowmelt. Across the way was a village complete with church. This is where I spotted the road angling back to the right. Which I took. No idea at all why, other than that I wasn’t ready for a descent yet.
No map in my sack so didn’t have a clue where in the heck the road was going, outside of to some bar that served food. There were a number of roads branching off to one side or the other with no indications of direction, except for signs for the bar. I followed the pavement that looked the most driven which turned out to be the direction for the bar each time according to their small signs. I’d wanted more climbing but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I was looking for just a bit more jaunt up the mountain; what I got was steep, sustained effort. Figured out later that I did almost 5 K averaging 9%. There were long stretches at 10%. Which meant there were long stretches at 8% but somehow those made less impression on me than the 10% sections.
What a gorgeous climb! Most of the time out in the open with big vistas around me. Didn’t matter where I looked, the view was superb. No idea what the geology of the Aravis Mountains is but whatever happened produced a striking relief. Kind of like huge waves of limestone were thrust up out of the crust into angles and tilted planes and striated, vertical cliffs. Then the glaciers did some sculpting to soften things up just a tad. And there I was in the midst of all this on my bike, alone on this crazy road going apparently nowhere other than up. Except it was also obvious that for some reason the road gets a good bit of traffic. Either the bar up ahead was something truly special or people were coming up for something else.
Turned out to be for something else. Well, maybe for the bar too but on that I can’t say because I never got to it. The road finally curled into a small forest on a northern exposure and instantly became covered in snow and ice that I decided I wasn’t interested in riding back down. Too steep to be fun with skinny tires. This was right after riding past maybe 50 parked cars, probably more. All parked along the roadway, which was a one-laner-plus-a-little to begin with. On a fairly steep hillside. The shoulder on the inside was tight and there wasn’t one on the outside. Which meant all the parked cars had transformed the road into a delicate dance of navigation for any cars going up or coming down. It wasn’t overflow parking for the bar. They were cars driven up by randonnée skiers, backcountry skiers. Apparently the basins above are super popular for randonnée skiing. One of the fields coming back to the road had seen so much skier traffic that it was hard packed and even had some small moguls! All done by backcountry skiers because there isn’t a ski lift anywhere in that valley. When I rode by quite a few were arriving back after their morning up high and their skis were rattling something fierce on the hard snow.
I rode by everyone wondering where the road was going and finally hit the snow and ice in the forest. I’d already ridden past and over quite a few patches of snow and ice lower down but this was too much on such a steep grade. Turned around, found a quiet corner in the sun where I could take a break before plunging back down the mountain. Leaned back on the fender of someone’s car, ate a sandwich, drank some coffee, watched the light move across the mountains. Heard the screech of a hawk or an eagle. Finally spotted it circling high over the valley. Must be a hard life being an eagle but they must have some absolutely exquisite moments too. Like right then, floating in a current of warm air high above. Would have offered him some of my Baileys laced coffee but I don’t think that’s what he had in mind. Would have liked to known what he was thinking just then. Probably he was too busy concentrating on being an eagle to bother with other thoughts.
Time to go down. Debated how many layers I wanted to put on. Spring had arrived and in the valley the temp had been climbing into late spring but up where I was at 1400 meters or so the air was cool. But not that cool. Adding my Vecchio’s wool jersey should be enough. No gloves, no hat. Decided to ride down everything I’d ridden up. Between shooting pics and lounging in the heat, the sun had moved well along to the west. Time to head back to the barn.
Couple cars of skiers passed while I was getting collected. Dallied a bit to let them get a lead. Rolled off taking it easy, watching for splotches of ice and snow. Would have been a fast descent without those but even with them, I was going pretty good. Closed on the second car and floated off the left rear corner waiting for an opening. A bend to the left, I was gone. Hard turn to the right. The next car saw me coming and gave me what space he could. It was enough, I was past. Up ahead two more cars. Burning down on them, ready to slide by, and all of a sudden we were back at the junction. That was fast! Everyone else went right. I went left, back to the Col de l’Epine.
The uphill back to the col was easy and fast. I think I stayed on the big ring. Got to a clearing just before the col and stopped for some last shots. Looked up and here came two cyclists. First and only ones I saw since leaving the valley floor. Then down to the valley. Good descent, not a great one, but good. Basically a long, fast glide just about all the way back down. Even the switchbacks are so wide and round that I whipped through them in a fast, sweeping glide. Otherwise most of the time the road was kind of a barely wiggling straight. The wiggles the road following the contours of the mountain. Down lower there was on section that was sweet, a series of linked back-and-forths. You know, lean left, lean right, lean left, lean right, etc. With open sight lines and gravity pulling strong so I flew through those.
Back into the village, onto the bike path, slight downhill all the way back to Ugine, small breeze on my back, could be very fast. Which it was at times, in between clusters of bike pathers in all their forms. The worst are the skaters, amazing how much width of the path they take up. Not a complaint, just an observation. I was feeling entirely too good to have any complaints about anything. Just a terrific ride and even better, I spotted some potentially interesting rides for later in the spring when the snow’s gone, a mix of pavement and dirt riding that could create some fun passages.
Col de l’Epine, one to check out if you ever have the opportunity. I know one member here who has the temerity to drive around Vermont in a 2CV has already done Epine. Don’t know from which side. Anyway, some pics. Cheers
Until Sunday. This time I left to ride the Epine and there was nothing (well, almost nothing) that would sway me from my course. A modest ride, summit isn’t even 1000 meters. lower than my house. Vertical from the valley 495 meters. Nothing to make the cocks of cycling stand up and howl. But there is the little option I stumbled into that makes it more interesting. I was approaching where the road crosses the stream flowing down out of the high basin and noticed a spit of a road going back to the right. And up, that was the important direction. My legs weren’t finished yet and I wanted more climbing, not a drop down the valley. So I took the turn. But I’ve jumped ahead.
The idea had been to ride Epine then Col de la Croix Fry and then maybe (big emphasis on that word) over Aravis. Drove to Ugine, parked, changed clothes, bike ready, bowl and roll time, onto the bike path linking Albertville and Annecy.
The first couple of pics below were taken on the path at the edge of Ugine. Note how the bike path is wider than the road next to it! We’re talking an autoroute of bike paths! A popular autoroute, especially on weekends and holidays. I was there on a Sunday during the winter/spring school holiday. I was also way later in the day than I’d originally had in my mind. In other words there were a lot of people enjoying the bike path. Lots cyclists in the mix. Some in full team race lycra, one even with aero wheels humming, some little kids so young their feet were on the ground propelling them forward. A fun warm-up. Big ring, small cogs, time trial mode with occasional interruptions for slower moving bike pathers.
Marlens, a small village on the other side of the valley on a slight rise. I could see the road to Epine traversing the steep hillside above the village. A sign near the bike path had an arrow and the words, Col de l’Epine. Perfect, the path was amusing but only for a while. The while had finished, time to go to work. The climb to the col turned out to be harder than I’d imagined. For no reason at all (maybe just wishful thinking) I had it in mind that this would be a cruiser climb. Probably is for those with bigger motors than mine. It wasn’t desperately steep, just steady steep, grades 7% to 8% for much of the vertical. Ramps from time to time that up the ante Just to keep everyone honest. No traffic. Or almost none. I think I got passed by two cars going up and one or two coming down. They all slowed as they went past. They kind of had to because the roadway is on the narrow side.
From down in the valley I could see what looked like bridges on the face of the cliff. Turned out they are indeed bridges over small streams but it’s not a cliff, but not far off being a cliff either. Gotta love it, bridges on the face of a cliff. Excellent views the entire climb. In the distance the Bauges Mountains looking very white. Maybe it’s just my eyes but snow on the mountains seems to make them steeper and higher and even more beautiful. Especially against a blue sky. Got to a round switchback to the right and had to stop. A classic kodak corner moment. Rode through the switchback and suddenly saw where the road was going, straight at an impressively high and steep mountain. Then everything clicked into place, realized I was looking at the back side of Mont Charvin, the Col de l’Arpettaz is on the opposite side on a shoulder. The view of this side of the mountain is superb. Particularly as it was buried with snow.
The grades eased, I moved down the cogs, arrived on the col. And stopped. Not because I was on the col, because of the view. Actually I was past the col and the road was still going up, but gently. What stopped me was the view to the left, into the heart of the Aravis mountains. Some wonderfully sculpted mountains defining the valley below. Beautiful.
Hit the high point and the road started a slow glide into a valley cutting into the mountains. Smooth going, no massive accelerations, a fast coast into a hamlet just before the road crossed the stream gushing with snowmelt. Across the way was a village complete with church. This is where I spotted the road angling back to the right. Which I took. No idea at all why, other than that I wasn’t ready for a descent yet.
No map in my sack so didn’t have a clue where in the heck the road was going, outside of to some bar that served food. There were a number of roads branching off to one side or the other with no indications of direction, except for signs for the bar. I followed the pavement that looked the most driven which turned out to be the direction for the bar each time according to their small signs. I’d wanted more climbing but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. I was looking for just a bit more jaunt up the mountain; what I got was steep, sustained effort. Figured out later that I did almost 5 K averaging 9%. There were long stretches at 10%. Which meant there were long stretches at 8% but somehow those made less impression on me than the 10% sections.
What a gorgeous climb! Most of the time out in the open with big vistas around me. Didn’t matter where I looked, the view was superb. No idea what the geology of the Aravis Mountains is but whatever happened produced a striking relief. Kind of like huge waves of limestone were thrust up out of the crust into angles and tilted planes and striated, vertical cliffs. Then the glaciers did some sculpting to soften things up just a tad. And there I was in the midst of all this on my bike, alone on this crazy road going apparently nowhere other than up. Except it was also obvious that for some reason the road gets a good bit of traffic. Either the bar up ahead was something truly special or people were coming up for something else.
Turned out to be for something else. Well, maybe for the bar too but on that I can’t say because I never got to it. The road finally curled into a small forest on a northern exposure and instantly became covered in snow and ice that I decided I wasn’t interested in riding back down. Too steep to be fun with skinny tires. This was right after riding past maybe 50 parked cars, probably more. All parked along the roadway, which was a one-laner-plus-a-little to begin with. On a fairly steep hillside. The shoulder on the inside was tight and there wasn’t one on the outside. Which meant all the parked cars had transformed the road into a delicate dance of navigation for any cars going up or coming down. It wasn’t overflow parking for the bar. They were cars driven up by randonnée skiers, backcountry skiers. Apparently the basins above are super popular for randonnée skiing. One of the fields coming back to the road had seen so much skier traffic that it was hard packed and even had some small moguls! All done by backcountry skiers because there isn’t a ski lift anywhere in that valley. When I rode by quite a few were arriving back after their morning up high and their skis were rattling something fierce on the hard snow.
I rode by everyone wondering where the road was going and finally hit the snow and ice in the forest. I’d already ridden past and over quite a few patches of snow and ice lower down but this was too much on such a steep grade. Turned around, found a quiet corner in the sun where I could take a break before plunging back down the mountain. Leaned back on the fender of someone’s car, ate a sandwich, drank some coffee, watched the light move across the mountains. Heard the screech of a hawk or an eagle. Finally spotted it circling high over the valley. Must be a hard life being an eagle but they must have some absolutely exquisite moments too. Like right then, floating in a current of warm air high above. Would have offered him some of my Baileys laced coffee but I don’t think that’s what he had in mind. Would have liked to known what he was thinking just then. Probably he was too busy concentrating on being an eagle to bother with other thoughts.
Time to go down. Debated how many layers I wanted to put on. Spring had arrived and in the valley the temp had been climbing into late spring but up where I was at 1400 meters or so the air was cool. But not that cool. Adding my Vecchio’s wool jersey should be enough. No gloves, no hat. Decided to ride down everything I’d ridden up. Between shooting pics and lounging in the heat, the sun had moved well along to the west. Time to head back to the barn.
Couple cars of skiers passed while I was getting collected. Dallied a bit to let them get a lead. Rolled off taking it easy, watching for splotches of ice and snow. Would have been a fast descent without those but even with them, I was going pretty good. Closed on the second car and floated off the left rear corner waiting for an opening. A bend to the left, I was gone. Hard turn to the right. The next car saw me coming and gave me what space he could. It was enough, I was past. Up ahead two more cars. Burning down on them, ready to slide by, and all of a sudden we were back at the junction. That was fast! Everyone else went right. I went left, back to the Col de l’Epine.
The uphill back to the col was easy and fast. I think I stayed on the big ring. Got to a clearing just before the col and stopped for some last shots. Looked up and here came two cyclists. First and only ones I saw since leaving the valley floor. Then down to the valley. Good descent, not a great one, but good. Basically a long, fast glide just about all the way back down. Even the switchbacks are so wide and round that I whipped through them in a fast, sweeping glide. Otherwise most of the time the road was kind of a barely wiggling straight. The wiggles the road following the contours of the mountain. Down lower there was on section that was sweet, a series of linked back-and-forths. You know, lean left, lean right, lean left, lean right, etc. With open sight lines and gravity pulling strong so I flew through those.
Back into the village, onto the bike path, slight downhill all the way back to Ugine, small breeze on my back, could be very fast. Which it was at times, in between clusters of bike pathers in all their forms. The worst are the skaters, amazing how much width of the path they take up. Not a complaint, just an observation. I was feeling entirely too good to have any complaints about anything. Just a terrific ride and even better, I spotted some potentially interesting rides for later in the spring when the snow’s gone, a mix of pavement and dirt riding that could create some fun passages.
Col de l’Epine, one to check out if you ever have the opportunity. I know one member here who has the temerity to drive around Vermont in a 2CV has already done Epine. Don’t know from which side. Anyway, some pics. Cheers