Riding in the Alps - ADVICE NEEDED

[LegendRider]

A friend and I will be staying in La Grave, France (near Alpe d'Huez) for eight days in July. Our objective is to ride as many of the famous Tour climbs as possible.

Is there a good online source for routes in the Alps? MapMyRide has a few that start from La Grave, but not as many as I'd hoped. Also, what type of maps are best for plotting routes (and where might I get them).

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[sg8357]

Michelin 1cm = 2km regional maps,

They rate roads by amount of traffic, scenic sections are marked,
paved or Jobstian goat track, 3 categories of climbs, where the
good eats are.(Red Book)

http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/int/france2.htm#p32

Some people like the IGN maps better, I've haven't tried them.

Omnimap is very good for obscure maps.

[Kirk007]

search fro grenoble bike routes. There is (or at least was) a site that had a lot of different routes. Suggest considering the Vercours to the South of Grenoble as well as the high Alps. Lots of cool rides.

[Karin Kirk]

I wish I had seen this site before I went - it was exactly what I'd been looking for, with profiles, maps, photos http://www.cyclingcols.com/

I use the Michelin maps as well.

You are going to have a blast. Don't forget all of your forum friends - post pics and ride reports please!

[dave thompson]

Pictures please, as Karin said. Without pics you didn't go!

[velotel]

If your desire is to do cols by riding from la Grave, the selection becomes limited. That said, you'll have available: Col du Sarenne (the back door to Alpe d'Huez, very steep, very lovely, best as a climb due not a downhill), Alpe d'Huez of course and all the various rides out of Bourg d'Oisans (la Bérard, etc.). Those are close. Same with the Lautaret and the Galibier. A bit further afield are the Glandon and Croix de Fer. If you're strong and ambitious, you could do the Izoard from la Grave also. That would be a long ride though if you do an up and back from Briançon instead of a loop it would be much shorter, but still long. There's also a very fine climb to the Col de Luitel, slightly shorter and slightly steeper than Alpe d'Huez but vastly more agreeable with a nice option to boot followed by Chamrousse. The rest of the cols you'll have to either plan on spending all day on the bike or driving.

A couple of good sites for info are:
http://ciclismo.sitiasp.it/motore.aspx?quanti=100&ID=0&da=az&come=af&lingua=ita&commenti=False
(info on cols everywhere in Europe)

http://www.cols-cyclisme.com/france/liste-p1.htm

You can also go to my site (which I've not updated in a very long time) that has lots of cols on it : velotel-touring.com

La Grave is wonderful though not necessarily ideal for a cycling base. Don't hesitate to ask more questions if you want; I live here and have a bit of knowledge on the area.

[SHOCK]

This is a great site to check out...

http://grenoblecycling.com

He has a bunch of helmet cam footage from a bunch of the Cols.

When will you be over there? Maybe we can hook up for a ride?

Scott