3 pictures

[velotel]

that have nothing to do with cycling at all. Just the sunrise this morning. Then again the mountains are the Alps so maybe there's a wee bit of a link with cycling.

[Karin Kirk]

Love that. But to get the full effect, you have to imagine it with tasty espresso and a croissant while you plot out your rides for the day. Mmmm. Happiness.

[oliver1850]

Nice pictures. Are the peaks along the Italian border, or closer?

[velotel]

Nice pictures. Are the peaks along the Italian border, or closer?
Those are the Belledonne Mountains on the opposite side of the valley from where I live. I shot the pics from my house. Not really visible because they're in the dark but behind the Belledonne, visible in the break in the range, are the mountains on which Alpe d'Huez is. Alpe d'Huez is further to the right and basically at the end of the other ridge of peaks. Italy is still somewhat further though oddly enough it is visible, in a manner of speaking. Mont Blanc is visible from the plateau where I live, but not from my house, and the side of Mont Blanc that we see is the italian side.

[Serotta PETE]

very very nice....thanks for sharing, :beer:

[roguedog]

Ah. what a lovely sunrise. Thanks for sharing.

[AngryScientist]

you are living the dream over there velotel!

keep up the great riding and photos.

[Ti Designs]

This has me rethinking a decision I made this summer. I go on all these rides, get lost on most of them and encounter things you probably can't imagine. That sky is a good example, being there was probably more spectacular than what you could come up with by closing your eyes and trying to picture it. The problem is my photos always fall well short of what was really there, and always having the camera takes away from what I'm doing. Well, that and I tried to take hand held video from the front of the tandem while on Acadia and nearly died... There are people who make photograph second nature. On most of the forum rides I've been on I've watched BumbleBeeDave document the ride. Not enough credit is given to those who can do that - thanks Dave.

The pics are spectacular, I would still rather be there...

[bobswire]

Gorgeous pics wish I were there. These can't equal the splendor of yours but I'll be heading here this coming week for some R&R. Took these on my last trip.

http://i40.tinypic.com/2re5tz8.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/30hq3ix.jpg

[AngryScientist]

i really like that first one bob.

[Ti Designs]

Or maybe I just suck with a camera...

[oliver1850]

Those are the Belledonne Mountains on the opposite side of the valley from where I live. I shot the pics from my house. Not really visible because they're in the dark but behind the Belledonne, visible in the break in the range, are the mountains on which Alpe d'Huez is. Alpe d'Huez is further to the right and basically at the end of the other ridge of peaks. Italy is still somewhat further though oddly enough it is visible, in a manner of speaking. Mont Blanc is visible from the plateau where I live, but not from my house, and the side of Mont Blanc that we see is the italian side.


Google Earth shows a quite dramatic looking drop into the valley east of you. Is it as shear as it appears? What's the elevation difference between you and Crolles, and how many km to get there on a bike? St. Pancrasse looks like a great place to live.

[rab]

Well, that and I tried to take hand held video from the front of the tandem while on Acadia and nearly died...

If I was your stoker I probably would have been freaking out seeing this!

[velotel]

Google Earth shows a quite dramatic looking drop into the valley east of you. Is it as shear as it appears? What's the elevation difference between you and Crolles, and how many km to get there on a bike? St. Pancrasse looks like a great place to live.
Yea, there's a good drop between here and the valley floor, almost 2500 vertical feet. I refer to the valley, the Grésivaudan valley, as my half pipe. I ride down from here, cross the valley, ride up one of the many roads in the Belledonne to what's called the Belledonne balcony, ride back down another road, cross the valley, back up to the plateau. To my great disappointment the momentum I gain in the descent totally fails to carry me up the other side.

From here to Crolles is maybe 10 - 12 ks I suppose but that depends on which road I take. I've got a choice of four roads that link the plateau to the valley. Actually two of the roads blend into one for the final climb to the plateau.

The most popular road up is the one that, with a left turn at the edge of St Pancrasse, goes to the Col du Coq. A hard climb from valley to col. Here's a link to the profile for that climb.

http://www.cols-cyclisme.com/images/courbes/913.gif

Cheers

[vqdriver]

Gorgeous pics wish I were there. These can't equal the splendor of yours but I'll be heading here this coming week for some R&R. Took these on my last trip.



yosemite when the seasons change is magic.

[Ti Designs]

If I was your stoker I probably would have been freaking out seeing this!


The saving grace being a stoker is that there's so much you never see. On the same trip we were out on the park loop road around 4:00am, it's dark, the road tandem can cruise at 30 and I've got both headlights on full but they're not enough. Then I start to think of how many deer we've seen and how quiet the bike is...