velotel
08-21-2017, 12:36 AM
9 years and 7 more teeth! I thought people were supposed to lose teeth as they get old. Not sure I’ve finished adding teeth either. 9 years, how much time has passed since the first time I rode the Madeleine north side. 7 teeth, how many teeth I’ve added to my climbing gear since then, from a 34/25 to a 34/32. Finally rode it again and it’s still one long, hard climb, additional teeth be damned. Not as hard as 9 years ago but that time I did it as a loop with 110 K and some 2500 vertical (8200 ft). Plus I had a headwind during most of the climb that got stronger the higher I climbed. Then the last 30 K down the Maurienne Valley was into a gale-force headwind. Like out of the saddle in a climbing gear going downhill! About killed me, several times. So much so that not once in the following years did I think about redoing the north side climb.
Until I drove down it recently, in a crashing deluge the wipers could barely keep up with. And kept thinking, damn, what a fine road! I really need to ride it again. So I did. A damned fine road indeed. Also excellent climb. And hardly other any cyclists! This was on a gorgeous Saturday, perfect temps for riding, a 2000 meter col, one the TdF has crossed 25 times over the years, and I saw maybe a grand total of 15 riders. That’s like almost zero. I mean the same day probably saw 300-400 riders doing the Alpe d’Huez, maybe more on the Galibier. The summit of Galibier can be so crowded you practically have to stand in line to get a picture of your bike in front of the sign! On Madeleine’s summit there were 6 riders, two of them on electric mountain bikes.
I’ve done the Madeleine a number of times over the years, always from the south, and hardly ever saw many cyclists on it. Most seem to ride the standard south road, the one the TdF rides. The south side works for me because it’s closer to where I live and because my preferred Madeleine ride is via Col du Chaussy then across the High Traverse, a dirt road linking across to Madeleine. But I now have to say that if the north side climb was closer, I’d do it from time to time for sure. A wonderful ride. Then again between it and the old south side road, one damned few cyclists do, that would be a hard call. The old road’s a beauty, a narrow, twisting, and damned steep track up the mountainside, a leg crusher of a climb and a massive spirit energizer, especially going down. The north road is more scenic, definitely easier, and way more civilized.
The approach to the north side climb is a good one, despite the narrow valley being a bit crowded with train tracks, a 4-lane divided highway, and a river. Kind of hard to believe with all that crowded into a relatively narrow space that there’s also a series of small roads weaving through hamlets and past farms and meadows where you have zero sense of that throbbing commotion not too far away. Makes for some bucolic warm-up time which I enjoyed by spinning along, saving the legs for what I knew would be a long climb.
The fun kicked off in thick forest on a two-laner. Up through some switchbacks linked by long traverses on mostly moderately hard grades, 6-7% range. I’m in the Alps so steepness is also guaranteed. As in even if a K averages 6-7%, that could easily consist of half at 5% and half at 9% or some sort of similar mix. Like the 1500-meter section down in the first part. The average grade for that K and a half is 9% but it’s actually sections of short, rude double-digit ramps and sections that are downright easy.
I knew it was going to be long but maybe not as long as it really is. Subtract the downhill portion from Col du Télégraph to Valloir from Galibier’s total distance and the climb to Madeleine is damn near as long as the climb to Galibier, and not much less in vertical either. I’d been climbing for what felt like a good bit of time and had yet to see even a slight glimmer of where the col is and that’s when it struck me how long the climb is. The sun was also baking hot so I’m doing the shadow weave up the road. Only there wasn’t much to weave through with the sun pretty much overhead. Drained one bottle of water before I was even far up the climb. No problem because I remembered there’s a good fountain in a village up ahead. And there it was with cold water running freely. Had to take a shot of the bike leaning against the fountain, duplicating a shot taken 9 years earlier. No idea what people living in the village do. The place is dug into a steep hillside with the only flat terrain terraced gardens and the road passing through.
I was deep into the long valley that leads up to the col when I finally had a sense that this was really going somewhere instead of just weaving back and forth up some steep, forested mountainside. This was where some thoroughly enjoyable 10 K of riding kicked in. Sometimes easy, like a K effectively flat and another K or so of slight downhill plus lots of low single-digit grades. But with some obligatory muscle sections too, the 9% and 10% K’s. Or so the kilometer posts announced. Got to one post showing the next 1000 meters at 9%. Then the next post said 10%. I groaned. Not because of the 10%, because I was rolling along at a good clip on my third cog. This was not 10%. I mean I’d love to think I can do 10% grades on my third cog but no way. Which meant the grade right there was considerably less than 10%. Which meant up ahead I was going to pay the price on some fierce ramps. Simple mathematics.
I keep flying along, even contemplating moving to the fourth cog! The further I go, the more worried I become. Clearly the penalty ramp was going to be brutal. Like I started imagining something up around 15-16%! Didn’t happen. Instead I arrived at the next K-post. And sure enough the altitude on the post was exactly 100 meters higher than on the last K-post. A 10% grade. Right! I just rode a K at 10% on my third cog. Don’t ask, I have no idea. I mean yea, I had a tailwind, or more like a tailbreeze. Definitely not enough to push this old body up the hill that fast. As I recall that next K post showed 9% and I definitely didn’t ride it on my third cog. I even checked a couple of times to see if maybe I still had one more cog to move up onto! A clear sign that either the grade is way steep or the strength fading.
No forests, just scattered groves of trees surrounded by sweeping meadows. And I can see where the col is. Looks far away, vertically and horizontally. In fact so far away I even wonder for a moment if I’m going to be able to get there. Must be running out of fuel, better eat something. Spot a pocket of shade up ahead. Stop, lay the bike down, drain the water out of one bottle, shake the other, not much left there either. Been sucking down the water. Pull out the pain chocolate I’ve been saving for the summit. Eat half, start to put the rest back in the pack, nope, eat all of it. Glance up at the col and notice a bit further up the road another K post. Cool, means only 6 to the col.
A couple ride by. He looks like he’s at least 60, can’t tell for her. He’s also definitely pretty thick, a polite way of saying he looks kind of fat. And they’re definitely faster. Riding electric mountain bikes, spinning and chatting their way up the mountain. And no, I don’t feel an iota of envy. Different strokes.
A gorgeous day, cooler now that I’m up high, soft breeze swirling over the meadows, This is one beautiful valley. And seemingly barely touched by civilization, outside of the road and scattered barns and farmers’ sheds. What’s crazy is that just over the ridge to the left is a major ski area complete with lifts and housing and all that ski resorts consist of. A few of the lifts are barely visible in the distance but only if you look for them. I’ve even skied there, long ago. Yet in this valley nothing but meadows and streams and hunting hawks.
Into the final basin. Up ahead I can see the road switch-backing out of the basin with two long traverses across broken cliffs and steep hillsides. Almost there, just settle in, spin it out as best I can. Through the last pair of switchbacks and into the final curving straight to the col and I move down one cog, two cogs, three cogs! Hell I’m almost ready to move onto the big ring! Wind on my back, easy grade, col just ahead, and I’m flying. Love finishes like this.
Parking lot full of cars. Nothing interesting. No exotics, no old classic sports cars, just regular cars, and motorcycles. But not so many of those. The Madeleine isn’t on the classic alpine col loop. I stop, shoot some pics, think of getting a beer but first check the time. Oops, no time for a beer. Supposed to be back at the house in an hour and a half. No way but such is life.
I was looking forward to this descent all the way up. I was sure it would be a fun one. I was right. Mostly fast, nothing technical, some good gravity plunges but way more time on that cusp between spinning out the big gear and tucking in tight for some speed coasting. I’d tuck until my body needed a break then spin like a mad squirrel in a cage then back into a tuck. Lower sections had some sweet, fast back-and-forths. I love those kind of combinations.
Hell of a ride, one to keep in mind for another year. Definitely not going to ignore it again for so long.
Until I drove down it recently, in a crashing deluge the wipers could barely keep up with. And kept thinking, damn, what a fine road! I really need to ride it again. So I did. A damned fine road indeed. Also excellent climb. And hardly other any cyclists! This was on a gorgeous Saturday, perfect temps for riding, a 2000 meter col, one the TdF has crossed 25 times over the years, and I saw maybe a grand total of 15 riders. That’s like almost zero. I mean the same day probably saw 300-400 riders doing the Alpe d’Huez, maybe more on the Galibier. The summit of Galibier can be so crowded you practically have to stand in line to get a picture of your bike in front of the sign! On Madeleine’s summit there were 6 riders, two of them on electric mountain bikes.
I’ve done the Madeleine a number of times over the years, always from the south, and hardly ever saw many cyclists on it. Most seem to ride the standard south road, the one the TdF rides. The south side works for me because it’s closer to where I live and because my preferred Madeleine ride is via Col du Chaussy then across the High Traverse, a dirt road linking across to Madeleine. But I now have to say that if the north side climb was closer, I’d do it from time to time for sure. A wonderful ride. Then again between it and the old south side road, one damned few cyclists do, that would be a hard call. The old road’s a beauty, a narrow, twisting, and damned steep track up the mountainside, a leg crusher of a climb and a massive spirit energizer, especially going down. The north road is more scenic, definitely easier, and way more civilized.
The approach to the north side climb is a good one, despite the narrow valley being a bit crowded with train tracks, a 4-lane divided highway, and a river. Kind of hard to believe with all that crowded into a relatively narrow space that there’s also a series of small roads weaving through hamlets and past farms and meadows where you have zero sense of that throbbing commotion not too far away. Makes for some bucolic warm-up time which I enjoyed by spinning along, saving the legs for what I knew would be a long climb.
The fun kicked off in thick forest on a two-laner. Up through some switchbacks linked by long traverses on mostly moderately hard grades, 6-7% range. I’m in the Alps so steepness is also guaranteed. As in even if a K averages 6-7%, that could easily consist of half at 5% and half at 9% or some sort of similar mix. Like the 1500-meter section down in the first part. The average grade for that K and a half is 9% but it’s actually sections of short, rude double-digit ramps and sections that are downright easy.
I knew it was going to be long but maybe not as long as it really is. Subtract the downhill portion from Col du Télégraph to Valloir from Galibier’s total distance and the climb to Madeleine is damn near as long as the climb to Galibier, and not much less in vertical either. I’d been climbing for what felt like a good bit of time and had yet to see even a slight glimmer of where the col is and that’s when it struck me how long the climb is. The sun was also baking hot so I’m doing the shadow weave up the road. Only there wasn’t much to weave through with the sun pretty much overhead. Drained one bottle of water before I was even far up the climb. No problem because I remembered there’s a good fountain in a village up ahead. And there it was with cold water running freely. Had to take a shot of the bike leaning against the fountain, duplicating a shot taken 9 years earlier. No idea what people living in the village do. The place is dug into a steep hillside with the only flat terrain terraced gardens and the road passing through.
I was deep into the long valley that leads up to the col when I finally had a sense that this was really going somewhere instead of just weaving back and forth up some steep, forested mountainside. This was where some thoroughly enjoyable 10 K of riding kicked in. Sometimes easy, like a K effectively flat and another K or so of slight downhill plus lots of low single-digit grades. But with some obligatory muscle sections too, the 9% and 10% K’s. Or so the kilometer posts announced. Got to one post showing the next 1000 meters at 9%. Then the next post said 10%. I groaned. Not because of the 10%, because I was rolling along at a good clip on my third cog. This was not 10%. I mean I’d love to think I can do 10% grades on my third cog but no way. Which meant the grade right there was considerably less than 10%. Which meant up ahead I was going to pay the price on some fierce ramps. Simple mathematics.
I keep flying along, even contemplating moving to the fourth cog! The further I go, the more worried I become. Clearly the penalty ramp was going to be brutal. Like I started imagining something up around 15-16%! Didn’t happen. Instead I arrived at the next K-post. And sure enough the altitude on the post was exactly 100 meters higher than on the last K-post. A 10% grade. Right! I just rode a K at 10% on my third cog. Don’t ask, I have no idea. I mean yea, I had a tailwind, or more like a tailbreeze. Definitely not enough to push this old body up the hill that fast. As I recall that next K post showed 9% and I definitely didn’t ride it on my third cog. I even checked a couple of times to see if maybe I still had one more cog to move up onto! A clear sign that either the grade is way steep or the strength fading.
No forests, just scattered groves of trees surrounded by sweeping meadows. And I can see where the col is. Looks far away, vertically and horizontally. In fact so far away I even wonder for a moment if I’m going to be able to get there. Must be running out of fuel, better eat something. Spot a pocket of shade up ahead. Stop, lay the bike down, drain the water out of one bottle, shake the other, not much left there either. Been sucking down the water. Pull out the pain chocolate I’ve been saving for the summit. Eat half, start to put the rest back in the pack, nope, eat all of it. Glance up at the col and notice a bit further up the road another K post. Cool, means only 6 to the col.
A couple ride by. He looks like he’s at least 60, can’t tell for her. He’s also definitely pretty thick, a polite way of saying he looks kind of fat. And they’re definitely faster. Riding electric mountain bikes, spinning and chatting their way up the mountain. And no, I don’t feel an iota of envy. Different strokes.
A gorgeous day, cooler now that I’m up high, soft breeze swirling over the meadows, This is one beautiful valley. And seemingly barely touched by civilization, outside of the road and scattered barns and farmers’ sheds. What’s crazy is that just over the ridge to the left is a major ski area complete with lifts and housing and all that ski resorts consist of. A few of the lifts are barely visible in the distance but only if you look for them. I’ve even skied there, long ago. Yet in this valley nothing but meadows and streams and hunting hawks.
Into the final basin. Up ahead I can see the road switch-backing out of the basin with two long traverses across broken cliffs and steep hillsides. Almost there, just settle in, spin it out as best I can. Through the last pair of switchbacks and into the final curving straight to the col and I move down one cog, two cogs, three cogs! Hell I’m almost ready to move onto the big ring! Wind on my back, easy grade, col just ahead, and I’m flying. Love finishes like this.
Parking lot full of cars. Nothing interesting. No exotics, no old classic sports cars, just regular cars, and motorcycles. But not so many of those. The Madeleine isn’t on the classic alpine col loop. I stop, shoot some pics, think of getting a beer but first check the time. Oops, no time for a beer. Supposed to be back at the house in an hour and a half. No way but such is life.
I was looking forward to this descent all the way up. I was sure it would be a fun one. I was right. Mostly fast, nothing technical, some good gravity plunges but way more time on that cusp between spinning out the big gear and tucking in tight for some speed coasting. I’d tuck until my body needed a break then spin like a mad squirrel in a cage then back into a tuck. Lower sections had some sweet, fast back-and-forths. I love those kind of combinations.
Hell of a ride, one to keep in mind for another year. Definitely not going to ignore it again for so long.