velotel
07-28-2015, 02:08 AM
A few years have passed since I last did this. Strange since it痴 right out my door, literally. One of the finest rides I know, period. Also one bear of a ride, maybe why I avoid it. Door to door comes in at 84 K, 2600 vertical meters (8530 ft) generously blessed with 9 and 10+% grades along the way. That痴 the easy direction. The opposite direction bites the legs with ramps up to 16%. That was the direction I did it the first time, maybe 15 years ago with a 39/26 for my low gear. Went into it blind, came out of wondering what hit me.
Sunday decided time to revisit this puppy. Out the door, down a bit out of the village, up a road I know well, the road to the Col du Coq, one of my after-work-in-the-evening rides. From house to col, 7 K, just under 6 K of climbing, occasionally on grades less than 9%. Two lanes, round turns, rarely straight and never for too long (well, there is one section that always feels long), and views. In the distance across the valley the Alps, in the face part of the time the vertical prow of the Dent de Crolles jutting into the sky, summit 2062 meters. Spectacular views up there on the summit. On a clear day you汷e staring at peaks from Mont Blanc in the north clear down to peaks above Gap in the south. Well worth the effort hiking up there entails.
Did an early start to avoid the heat as much as possible. We致e been getting saturated with highs in the 90痴 for awhile now. One reason I decided to ride all this, generous shade almost all the way. Dropped off the back side. Had to stop, put on my wind-breaking vest. Off again. A crazy descent, narrow road, a one-laner plus. Also a rough cob. Lot of logging back here which means huge trunk-hauling trucks. They crush the roadway wherever the soil underneath isn稚 solid. Makes for some dicey going for low cars and lots of jogging around for cyclists. It痴 also a fantastic gravity plunge. Double-digit grades will do that. A drop demanding concentration and strong handling skills.
A couple of K off the summit the road dives through a sharp turn to the left and into a climb for a K and a half or so. Super sweet riding through here, bends flowing together, some tight S-turns, some lazy S-turns, grades moderate. I watched Indurain through here once, he and everyone with him were on their big rings. I wasn稚. Over the top of a sort of plateau and into a plunge with grades maxing out at 16%. We汷e talking huge acceleration every time the brakes are released. Highly exhilarating. Followed by a long snaking romp down through a thick forest next to a creek still running strong despite no rain in weeks. Road narrow, jumping around, very fast except if a car is coming up.
Hit the bottom, cut onto another small road that contours across the hillsides to St Pierre de Chartreuse. Nice view looking across a valley at the town. Must be some sort of festival going on. There痴 a huge and very white tent in the park. Looks like the one used to roof the Denver airport, bit smaller though. I like St Pierre, comfortable village with nice older buildings. Stopped at the fountain and filled one bottle, topped off the other. Still early in the day and I致e spent most of the time in the shade but still hot enough that water is getting consumed.
Off again, Col du Cucheron, short climb, 3 K or so, 254 vertical, relaxed start that evolves into a K at 8% followed by K at 9,5% then a limp finish to the top. At least those are the numbers I致e seen. Either the numbers were exaggerated or I was having a good day because it rode easier. I wasn稚 complaining. Stopped for a drink and looked out over a long valley leading to the Col du Granier, 1134 meters, 5 lower than where I was standing. Between the two a drop of 520 meters followed by a mostly easy to moderate climb from St Pierre d脱ntremont to Granier. A somewhat boring climb in my opinion. Two full lanes with drivers giving cyclists their space, a wiggling straight up the valley, just a question of settling into a good pace. There is one section to make life interesting, a K at over 9% just after Entremont-le-Vieux. Otherwise nothing exceptional in terms of riding. Visually a delight. Soft contours, fields and forests, scattered farms and hamlets, and high to the right the massive ridge that on one end is Mont Granier, on the other the Dent de Crolles.
I go a different way, a little road not many cyclists know about, a one-laner contouring across the slopes above the road to Granier, 7,5 K, 350 vertical up, 225 down on a fantastic and magnificently hard gem of blacktop. This puppy is so sweet that every time I ride back here inside the Chartreuse, I suspect much of my motivation is just to ride this guy. I can see it from where I知 standing on Cucheron, or rather where it is. The road痴 too small and blended into the contours to see much of it.
The drop off Cucheron is fast and fun. Gravity plunge off the col, 9% pulling the bike hard for 2 K until a short uphill then down again, but gently, a big gear spinner. Road dives into a village, le Grand Chenevey, squeezes past some buildings, into a gentle curve to the right past a sawmill. I love the smell of freshly cut wood, almost slow down just to savor it. From there down into St Pierre d脱ntremont is steep and fast with some good turns but that痴 not where I go. A bit after the sawmill there痴 a road angling back to the right. Doesn稚 look much like a real road, more like an access to a farm and some houses. There痴 even a sign telling drivers it痴 only for local use. That痴 my road.
Slices across a steep hillside of thick forests, angles down to a big stream running full and fast, past another sawmill, over a bridge to a junction and a small village, St M麥e d弾n Bas (Lower St M麥e). To the right and higher is St M麥e d弾n Haut (yep, Higher St M麥e). Behind the villages is a wall of forest and rock cliffs casting a deep shadow over the valley. I go left and down, road sweeping through some fast S-turns, steep enough that I知 flying. Into a round, hard turn to the left carrying way too much speed, no way can I get through it. No problem because straight ahead is another road, a tight one-laner angling up the hillside, my road across the mountainside. I let momentum carry me as far as it can while simultaneously shifting to the small ring and up the cogs. Climbing mode for the next 4 K.
A classic mountain road draped across the slopes, carved into the hillside just enough for one lane and no more, switchbacks nested into hollows or on small ridges. And steep, 8, 9, 10% grades. Mixed forest and fields, pockets of houses and farms along the way, have to be mostly vacation homes now, too far from anywhere for commuting to work. No traffic. Well, almost no traffic. Got passed by one well-used looking sort of panel van, think 1950痴 Ford panel van only smaller and funkier. Road department痴 been here recently, patches of gravel laid over tar. Could make the descent interesting if they were on that side too.
Forgot to mention the views. Eye-filling, defining picturesque. Hard to find a place more beautiful than here inside the Chartreuse Mountains. I致e been told this is the wettest place in France which is why the forests are so thick. Flat doesn稚 seem to exist in the Chartreuse. Everything痴 steep, vertical relief dominating the perspective. Didn稚 stop people from farming here. Hillside farming, raising sheep, goats, cows and their requisite hay. Small farms, everything on an intimate scale. Summits are low, rarely passing 2000 meters, and then just barely, most around 1700-1800 meters, no grand alpine vistas here.
Arrive at the road痴 high point, 1000 meters plus, road squeezes past an old farmhouse nicely fixed up, decorated with flowers of course. A not nearly long enough section I love up next, the road descending but barely, curling across the slopes, pure one-laner, fields plunging down into the valley to the left. I usually let the bike romp here but not today; highway department痴 been busy laying down oil and gravel. Into the long descent to join the road to Col du Granier, fierce acceleration, feels like double-digit grades, floating the brakes to keep the speed down, gravel pinging off the frame from time to time.
Onto the normal road and into Entremont-le-Vieux. Out of the village and into the K at 9% which feels easier today. I知 not at all sure that痴 what the grade is, just what I致e seen on some profiles. Doesn稚 feel nearly that steep to me and if I think that, there痴 no way that痴 the grade. Believe me, 9% grades never go unnoticed by these old legs. After that it痴 the long roll to the col. For me not a particularly interesting ride, just the way to the col.
Col du Granier, 1134 meters, 865 meters above Chamb駻y, a col with a multitude of variations of routes up out of the Chamb駻y valley. So far I致e done 4 of them, the easiest the road up from the city itself, the hardest the road up from Chapareillan, the one I知 going to go down. Bunch of motorcycles lined up outside the restaurant on the col. Must be a fairly good place to eat because there always seems to be people there, lots if the weather is good. Definitely isn稚 for the views, too many trees and too low to see much though on clear days Mont Blanc is barely visible to the north.
I stop long enough to finish off another bottle of water then dive into one of the best plunges in the region. All that痴 missing is more length, more vertical. I壇 say that even if it was twice as long. Three, four times longer wouldn稚 be too much, that痴 how good this puppy is. One of those wonderfully dynamic drops, gravity pulling hard, spectacularly on the double-digits sections, a bit of everything, sweeping S-turns, round switchbacks, long arcs, straights where it痴 tuck low and hang-on. A drop demanding full concentration and good technique with blind turns that tighten unexpectedly, bumps and rolls in the middle of curves, and speed, lots of speed. The only constant here is the fun, the road constantly shifting.
Today it痴 unreal. Long sections of it had been recently repaved! Total smoothness! Fierce grip for carving the arcs. Intense speed and no traffic. If I could have I would have happily jumped into a tram with my bike to get hauled back to the top just to plunge down it again! Instead I turned right onto the final road of my tour, the road back to my house via the Plateau des Petites Roches. Meant not riding the final 3 K of the descent to Chapareillan. No loss because those are the least interesting K of the descent.
The plateau road is one of the region痴 gems, but somewhat surprisingly not done all that much. Don稚 know why. Maybe because there痴 so much upping and downing with grades that can be rude. If it comes at the end of a loop through the Chartreuse like the one I知 doing, the idea of riding the plateau can be the proverbial straw.
From the junction to my house, 30 K, 1048 meters of climbing (3438 ft), 567 meters of descending (1860 ft), grades from easy single-digits to low double-digits, road mostly lane-and-a-half, frequently closer to one lane. Views, stunning all the way. In other words an absolutely sublime ride. But maybe a wee bit less than sublime after having already done 53 K with 1608 meters of climbing (5275 ft) and 2088 meters of descending (6850 ft).
I swing right with some trepidation. I致e ridden this quite a few times over the years and never easily. I was sure today was going to be painful. And hot. Both water bottles were empty. No problem because I was sure I壇 find a fountain along the way. Road wandering up across fields and past islands of trees, I知 weaving up the road following the shade pockets. Getting close to the village of Bellecombe where I remember the road ramps up into double digits to squeeze past houses. Off to the left big views down into the valley and out towards the Alps. Normally fine views of Mont Blanc here but too much heat haze today. The heat is impressive. Up on the Col du Granier I heard someone say it was 35C (95F). It痴 hotter down here.
Into Bellecombe, up the ramp, went smoothly, watching for a fountain with water, not here, they汷e all dry. Past a restaurant where we致e eaten in the past, nice place, always ate well there. To the left the remains of crumbling rock walls of a small chateau or something perched above a cliff. Out of Bellecombe, small place, pitch has slacked off, move down the cogs, carrying a pace, the road sweeping across a steep hillside of meadows. Into a forest, hard turn to the left over a creek, road angling up then around to the right. Nice view looking back at Bellecombe and the Bauges Mountains in the background. Saint Marcel-en-Bas, small village perched on the mountainside, more hamlet than village, across more fields, views across the valley at the Alps, into Saint Marcel-en-Haut, bigger than en-Bas, but not much, also perched on the mountainside. At last, a fountain with running water. Needed that. Next village is a way to go and I知 dying of thirst.
That痴 pretty much how the plateau road goes, up across fields, through forests, constantly weaving, sometimes steep, sometimes sweet and easy, and always the views to the left. Through Saint Georges (yea, lot of saints along this road), small village in a sort of trough, flat riding, feels good. I remember well the next few Ks, great fun, the road jinking and swerving along, fast spinning, fast enough that I have to break for some of the turns, then up and across some big meadows and into Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, yet another small village but large enough to warrant its own church. Which isn稚 saying much because I致e seen some remarkably small villages equipped with churches. To the right and high above the ridge linking Mont Gravier with the Dent de Crolles on the other end, the ridge I致e been riding around all day long.
Up onto the big ring, down the cogs, picking up speed, a long straight into trees and into a short series of round turns, grades steep, gravity going to work overtime. Have to stop, the view too gorgeous to ignore. To the right in the distance my last hurdle of the day, Col de Marcieu, a col I know well since I maybe ride to it from my house on average at minimum once a week, year round. To the left the Alps across the valley. Well below me the road to Marcieu curling across the slopes. Between the col and where I知 standing there痴 maybe 7 K of as-good-as-it-gets cycling road, a paradise of spinning. At least until the last couple of K, the tollbooth, payment extracted for all the preceding joy.
But that痴 in the future, for now there痴 a bit of flyer downhill followed by a fine romp across the slopes. Road a one-laner, glued to the contours, generous shade for days like today. Sweeping curves, bike leaned over, carving through, sight lines excellent so I take all the road I need. Into a junction, the road to the left drops to the valley via as I recall a 3-K section at 12 or maybe 13%. I go straight into a romp across the basin, through a forest of soft firs, out into a meadow, road starts to climb, past a couple of houses and into a thick forest of broadleaf trees and conifers. Some tight turns, deep shade, steep grades, small creek gurgling down the slope and under a stone bridge. A joy of a road.
And all the time towering overhead the spectacular vertical cliffs plunging off the ridge linking Mont Granier and the Dent de Crolles. Kind of a crazy place. Cross a bridge over a small creek apparently fed by springs at the base of the cliffs and down a short, fast descent where I sit up and coast, resting the legs for the grand finale, a couple of K at 9 and 10% that always feels way harder than that. I coast up it as far as I can, putting off applying energy until the last moment. Okay, here I go, settle in, just take it slow, I値l get there. Well now, what痴 happening! The highway department must have changed the road; I知 riding smooth and easy. Fortunately I知 alone, no other cyclist sweeping past me to show how slow I am, just me feeling like a youngster charging up the mountain. Well, maybe not charging but still advancing smooth and steady, weaving along following the shadows.
The top, a place I知 glad to be, just over a 1000 meters. Just about the same elevation as all the other cols except for the first one, the Col du Coq, 1434 meters. From here back to the house is a road I致e ridden more times than I could count. A good romp, one I always enjoy. I知 rolling into St Hilaire and remember just up ahead along the road there痴 a basin with a stream of fresh water running constantly. Excellent. Get to it, stop, take my shoes off, sit down, swing my legs into the basin, stand in cold water halfway up my thighs, oh man does that feel good! I stay there, 5, 10 minutes, I don稚 know, refreshing the legs. Perfect. Back on the bike, on to the house, legs still tired but feeling good.
An excellent loop, one of the region痴 best, I really ought to do it more often I suppose. I mean it痴 out my door, what more could I ask for. Trouble is all those other fantabulous roads in the region crying out to be ridden. Too many, not enough time. That痴 what I call suffering.
Some pics. Cheers
And sorry about the weirdness in the formatting. Apparently something on the server doesn't like apostrophes. I really didn't type all the oddities.
Sunday decided time to revisit this puppy. Out the door, down a bit out of the village, up a road I know well, the road to the Col du Coq, one of my after-work-in-the-evening rides. From house to col, 7 K, just under 6 K of climbing, occasionally on grades less than 9%. Two lanes, round turns, rarely straight and never for too long (well, there is one section that always feels long), and views. In the distance across the valley the Alps, in the face part of the time the vertical prow of the Dent de Crolles jutting into the sky, summit 2062 meters. Spectacular views up there on the summit. On a clear day you汷e staring at peaks from Mont Blanc in the north clear down to peaks above Gap in the south. Well worth the effort hiking up there entails.
Did an early start to avoid the heat as much as possible. We致e been getting saturated with highs in the 90痴 for awhile now. One reason I decided to ride all this, generous shade almost all the way. Dropped off the back side. Had to stop, put on my wind-breaking vest. Off again. A crazy descent, narrow road, a one-laner plus. Also a rough cob. Lot of logging back here which means huge trunk-hauling trucks. They crush the roadway wherever the soil underneath isn稚 solid. Makes for some dicey going for low cars and lots of jogging around for cyclists. It痴 also a fantastic gravity plunge. Double-digit grades will do that. A drop demanding concentration and strong handling skills.
A couple of K off the summit the road dives through a sharp turn to the left and into a climb for a K and a half or so. Super sweet riding through here, bends flowing together, some tight S-turns, some lazy S-turns, grades moderate. I watched Indurain through here once, he and everyone with him were on their big rings. I wasn稚. Over the top of a sort of plateau and into a plunge with grades maxing out at 16%. We汷e talking huge acceleration every time the brakes are released. Highly exhilarating. Followed by a long snaking romp down through a thick forest next to a creek still running strong despite no rain in weeks. Road narrow, jumping around, very fast except if a car is coming up.
Hit the bottom, cut onto another small road that contours across the hillsides to St Pierre de Chartreuse. Nice view looking across a valley at the town. Must be some sort of festival going on. There痴 a huge and very white tent in the park. Looks like the one used to roof the Denver airport, bit smaller though. I like St Pierre, comfortable village with nice older buildings. Stopped at the fountain and filled one bottle, topped off the other. Still early in the day and I致e spent most of the time in the shade but still hot enough that water is getting consumed.
Off again, Col du Cucheron, short climb, 3 K or so, 254 vertical, relaxed start that evolves into a K at 8% followed by K at 9,5% then a limp finish to the top. At least those are the numbers I致e seen. Either the numbers were exaggerated or I was having a good day because it rode easier. I wasn稚 complaining. Stopped for a drink and looked out over a long valley leading to the Col du Granier, 1134 meters, 5 lower than where I was standing. Between the two a drop of 520 meters followed by a mostly easy to moderate climb from St Pierre d脱ntremont to Granier. A somewhat boring climb in my opinion. Two full lanes with drivers giving cyclists their space, a wiggling straight up the valley, just a question of settling into a good pace. There is one section to make life interesting, a K at over 9% just after Entremont-le-Vieux. Otherwise nothing exceptional in terms of riding. Visually a delight. Soft contours, fields and forests, scattered farms and hamlets, and high to the right the massive ridge that on one end is Mont Granier, on the other the Dent de Crolles.
I go a different way, a little road not many cyclists know about, a one-laner contouring across the slopes above the road to Granier, 7,5 K, 350 vertical up, 225 down on a fantastic and magnificently hard gem of blacktop. This puppy is so sweet that every time I ride back here inside the Chartreuse, I suspect much of my motivation is just to ride this guy. I can see it from where I知 standing on Cucheron, or rather where it is. The road痴 too small and blended into the contours to see much of it.
The drop off Cucheron is fast and fun. Gravity plunge off the col, 9% pulling the bike hard for 2 K until a short uphill then down again, but gently, a big gear spinner. Road dives into a village, le Grand Chenevey, squeezes past some buildings, into a gentle curve to the right past a sawmill. I love the smell of freshly cut wood, almost slow down just to savor it. From there down into St Pierre d脱ntremont is steep and fast with some good turns but that痴 not where I go. A bit after the sawmill there痴 a road angling back to the right. Doesn稚 look much like a real road, more like an access to a farm and some houses. There痴 even a sign telling drivers it痴 only for local use. That痴 my road.
Slices across a steep hillside of thick forests, angles down to a big stream running full and fast, past another sawmill, over a bridge to a junction and a small village, St M麥e d弾n Bas (Lower St M麥e). To the right and higher is St M麥e d弾n Haut (yep, Higher St M麥e). Behind the villages is a wall of forest and rock cliffs casting a deep shadow over the valley. I go left and down, road sweeping through some fast S-turns, steep enough that I知 flying. Into a round, hard turn to the left carrying way too much speed, no way can I get through it. No problem because straight ahead is another road, a tight one-laner angling up the hillside, my road across the mountainside. I let momentum carry me as far as it can while simultaneously shifting to the small ring and up the cogs. Climbing mode for the next 4 K.
A classic mountain road draped across the slopes, carved into the hillside just enough for one lane and no more, switchbacks nested into hollows or on small ridges. And steep, 8, 9, 10% grades. Mixed forest and fields, pockets of houses and farms along the way, have to be mostly vacation homes now, too far from anywhere for commuting to work. No traffic. Well, almost no traffic. Got passed by one well-used looking sort of panel van, think 1950痴 Ford panel van only smaller and funkier. Road department痴 been here recently, patches of gravel laid over tar. Could make the descent interesting if they were on that side too.
Forgot to mention the views. Eye-filling, defining picturesque. Hard to find a place more beautiful than here inside the Chartreuse Mountains. I致e been told this is the wettest place in France which is why the forests are so thick. Flat doesn稚 seem to exist in the Chartreuse. Everything痴 steep, vertical relief dominating the perspective. Didn稚 stop people from farming here. Hillside farming, raising sheep, goats, cows and their requisite hay. Small farms, everything on an intimate scale. Summits are low, rarely passing 2000 meters, and then just barely, most around 1700-1800 meters, no grand alpine vistas here.
Arrive at the road痴 high point, 1000 meters plus, road squeezes past an old farmhouse nicely fixed up, decorated with flowers of course. A not nearly long enough section I love up next, the road descending but barely, curling across the slopes, pure one-laner, fields plunging down into the valley to the left. I usually let the bike romp here but not today; highway department痴 been busy laying down oil and gravel. Into the long descent to join the road to Col du Granier, fierce acceleration, feels like double-digit grades, floating the brakes to keep the speed down, gravel pinging off the frame from time to time.
Onto the normal road and into Entremont-le-Vieux. Out of the village and into the K at 9% which feels easier today. I知 not at all sure that痴 what the grade is, just what I致e seen on some profiles. Doesn稚 feel nearly that steep to me and if I think that, there痴 no way that痴 the grade. Believe me, 9% grades never go unnoticed by these old legs. After that it痴 the long roll to the col. For me not a particularly interesting ride, just the way to the col.
Col du Granier, 1134 meters, 865 meters above Chamb駻y, a col with a multitude of variations of routes up out of the Chamb駻y valley. So far I致e done 4 of them, the easiest the road up from the city itself, the hardest the road up from Chapareillan, the one I知 going to go down. Bunch of motorcycles lined up outside the restaurant on the col. Must be a fairly good place to eat because there always seems to be people there, lots if the weather is good. Definitely isn稚 for the views, too many trees and too low to see much though on clear days Mont Blanc is barely visible to the north.
I stop long enough to finish off another bottle of water then dive into one of the best plunges in the region. All that痴 missing is more length, more vertical. I壇 say that even if it was twice as long. Three, four times longer wouldn稚 be too much, that痴 how good this puppy is. One of those wonderfully dynamic drops, gravity pulling hard, spectacularly on the double-digits sections, a bit of everything, sweeping S-turns, round switchbacks, long arcs, straights where it痴 tuck low and hang-on. A drop demanding full concentration and good technique with blind turns that tighten unexpectedly, bumps and rolls in the middle of curves, and speed, lots of speed. The only constant here is the fun, the road constantly shifting.
Today it痴 unreal. Long sections of it had been recently repaved! Total smoothness! Fierce grip for carving the arcs. Intense speed and no traffic. If I could have I would have happily jumped into a tram with my bike to get hauled back to the top just to plunge down it again! Instead I turned right onto the final road of my tour, the road back to my house via the Plateau des Petites Roches. Meant not riding the final 3 K of the descent to Chapareillan. No loss because those are the least interesting K of the descent.
The plateau road is one of the region痴 gems, but somewhat surprisingly not done all that much. Don稚 know why. Maybe because there痴 so much upping and downing with grades that can be rude. If it comes at the end of a loop through the Chartreuse like the one I知 doing, the idea of riding the plateau can be the proverbial straw.
From the junction to my house, 30 K, 1048 meters of climbing (3438 ft), 567 meters of descending (1860 ft), grades from easy single-digits to low double-digits, road mostly lane-and-a-half, frequently closer to one lane. Views, stunning all the way. In other words an absolutely sublime ride. But maybe a wee bit less than sublime after having already done 53 K with 1608 meters of climbing (5275 ft) and 2088 meters of descending (6850 ft).
I swing right with some trepidation. I致e ridden this quite a few times over the years and never easily. I was sure today was going to be painful. And hot. Both water bottles were empty. No problem because I was sure I壇 find a fountain along the way. Road wandering up across fields and past islands of trees, I知 weaving up the road following the shade pockets. Getting close to the village of Bellecombe where I remember the road ramps up into double digits to squeeze past houses. Off to the left big views down into the valley and out towards the Alps. Normally fine views of Mont Blanc here but too much heat haze today. The heat is impressive. Up on the Col du Granier I heard someone say it was 35C (95F). It痴 hotter down here.
Into Bellecombe, up the ramp, went smoothly, watching for a fountain with water, not here, they汷e all dry. Past a restaurant where we致e eaten in the past, nice place, always ate well there. To the left the remains of crumbling rock walls of a small chateau or something perched above a cliff. Out of Bellecombe, small place, pitch has slacked off, move down the cogs, carrying a pace, the road sweeping across a steep hillside of meadows. Into a forest, hard turn to the left over a creek, road angling up then around to the right. Nice view looking back at Bellecombe and the Bauges Mountains in the background. Saint Marcel-en-Bas, small village perched on the mountainside, more hamlet than village, across more fields, views across the valley at the Alps, into Saint Marcel-en-Haut, bigger than en-Bas, but not much, also perched on the mountainside. At last, a fountain with running water. Needed that. Next village is a way to go and I知 dying of thirst.
That痴 pretty much how the plateau road goes, up across fields, through forests, constantly weaving, sometimes steep, sometimes sweet and easy, and always the views to the left. Through Saint Georges (yea, lot of saints along this road), small village in a sort of trough, flat riding, feels good. I remember well the next few Ks, great fun, the road jinking and swerving along, fast spinning, fast enough that I have to break for some of the turns, then up and across some big meadows and into Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, yet another small village but large enough to warrant its own church. Which isn稚 saying much because I致e seen some remarkably small villages equipped with churches. To the right and high above the ridge linking Mont Gravier with the Dent de Crolles on the other end, the ridge I致e been riding around all day long.
Up onto the big ring, down the cogs, picking up speed, a long straight into trees and into a short series of round turns, grades steep, gravity going to work overtime. Have to stop, the view too gorgeous to ignore. To the right in the distance my last hurdle of the day, Col de Marcieu, a col I know well since I maybe ride to it from my house on average at minimum once a week, year round. To the left the Alps across the valley. Well below me the road to Marcieu curling across the slopes. Between the col and where I知 standing there痴 maybe 7 K of as-good-as-it-gets cycling road, a paradise of spinning. At least until the last couple of K, the tollbooth, payment extracted for all the preceding joy.
But that痴 in the future, for now there痴 a bit of flyer downhill followed by a fine romp across the slopes. Road a one-laner, glued to the contours, generous shade for days like today. Sweeping curves, bike leaned over, carving through, sight lines excellent so I take all the road I need. Into a junction, the road to the left drops to the valley via as I recall a 3-K section at 12 or maybe 13%. I go straight into a romp across the basin, through a forest of soft firs, out into a meadow, road starts to climb, past a couple of houses and into a thick forest of broadleaf trees and conifers. Some tight turns, deep shade, steep grades, small creek gurgling down the slope and under a stone bridge. A joy of a road.
And all the time towering overhead the spectacular vertical cliffs plunging off the ridge linking Mont Granier and the Dent de Crolles. Kind of a crazy place. Cross a bridge over a small creek apparently fed by springs at the base of the cliffs and down a short, fast descent where I sit up and coast, resting the legs for the grand finale, a couple of K at 9 and 10% that always feels way harder than that. I coast up it as far as I can, putting off applying energy until the last moment. Okay, here I go, settle in, just take it slow, I値l get there. Well now, what痴 happening! The highway department must have changed the road; I知 riding smooth and easy. Fortunately I知 alone, no other cyclist sweeping past me to show how slow I am, just me feeling like a youngster charging up the mountain. Well, maybe not charging but still advancing smooth and steady, weaving along following the shadows.
The top, a place I知 glad to be, just over a 1000 meters. Just about the same elevation as all the other cols except for the first one, the Col du Coq, 1434 meters. From here back to the house is a road I致e ridden more times than I could count. A good romp, one I always enjoy. I知 rolling into St Hilaire and remember just up ahead along the road there痴 a basin with a stream of fresh water running constantly. Excellent. Get to it, stop, take my shoes off, sit down, swing my legs into the basin, stand in cold water halfway up my thighs, oh man does that feel good! I stay there, 5, 10 minutes, I don稚 know, refreshing the legs. Perfect. Back on the bike, on to the house, legs still tired but feeling good.
An excellent loop, one of the region痴 best, I really ought to do it more often I suppose. I mean it痴 out my door, what more could I ask for. Trouble is all those other fantabulous roads in the region crying out to be ridden. Too many, not enough time. That痴 what I call suffering.
Some pics. Cheers
And sorry about the weirdness in the formatting. Apparently something on the server doesn't like apostrophes. I really didn't type all the oddities.