Col du Noyer

[velotel]

5 years had slipped by since I last rode Noyer. Too long. One of the best loops I’ve ever done. Marc, an old friend, wanted to do a road ride, without dirt. Col du Noyer leapt to mind.

Noyer had me a bit worried. Between time lost with a leg in a cast, more time lost for surgery, my form sucked and Noyer’s south side has some brutal ramps. I’d ridden it twice in the past, and suffered. My form was worse this time. Plus I was older.

A gorgeous day, a ride of dreams, and a good friend to do it with. Parked in a field overlooking a lake, bikes out, clothes changed, bowl and roll party time. Immediately made a wrong turn. Quickly rectified. On to the good turn, a fast, steep plunge into a gorge to a bridge followed by a steep climb up the other side to the road that would take us to the road to Noyer.

Funny start, we rode 6 K with around 180 vertical meters of descending and climbing just to get to a point 1000 meters straight across the gorge from the car. But 6 glorious K on a narrow, twisting road with traffic all but unknown. Like the next 24 K would be, wonderful riding on small, nervous roads. Plus 5 K of dirt roads and single-tracks, and a wee bit of hike-a-biking. The first short hike-a-bike I knew well, a rough trail skirting around a tunnel closed off at both ends by concrete walls. First time I did this loop was with Max and we were flying along when we got to a sign announcing the road was closed. I blew by it telling Max there’s always a way around road closures! So we’re smiling and ripping down the road and whoa, tunnel totally blocked.

Well damn! To the left of the tunnel a narrow band of trees along the edge of cliffs above the gorge. I stroll into the woods, et voilà, a foot path. Bikes shouldered, scrambling over rocks, 5 minutes later we’re past the tunnel and back on the bikes, weaving down a rock-strewn road to the junction with the normal road. Perfect. That’s now my default route.

Marc and I arrive at the tunnel. I hop off the bike and head into the trees with my bike on my shoulder. Marc laughs, like he’s riding with me so of course nothing’s going to be standard. Past the tunnel, down the old road to the normal road. Normal in the sense of paint and guardrails from time to time, otherwise a small, tight two-laner. A junction, the two-laner going straight and down, a fattish, rustic one-laner veering right. We go right. Gaining elevation but so slowly that it’s barely noticeable. To the right a wall of rock and peaks towering overhead, to the left across the valley the summits of the Ecrins National Park.

Rolled into the village of Lesdiguières past the ruins of what was once a huge chateau built by a protestant nobleman during the war of religions. Not much left of it now but enough to see it was enormous, and in the middle of nowhere.

The road’s all but flat, the valley steadily widening. Blow through the village of Le Glaizil, so small I could have held my breath from one side to the other. Across more fields, then a junction, the clearly more used road going straight and down, a ragged one-laner going right and slightly up. Went right into more Ks of flying past fields on a fat one-laner.

Another junction, again the more used road going left and down, a small, tired road straight ahead. I blow straight through the junction assuming the tired road will keep on going. It doesn’t. A long curve to the right and up the mountain, surface deteriorating. Ended at a worn-out looking farm. And with that I remembered having done exactly this once before. But that time I turned around and went back to the junction and headed down. This time I’d noticed a dirt track going left and was sure it went where we wanted to go. Looked at Marc, he said let’s do it, skinny road tires or not.

A generous double-track glued to the contours through woods and past fields. From time to time a short, steep climb where the surface was loose and each time I thought maybe Marc’s keenness for what we were doing might fade. No way, he was charging, right behind me, never a slip, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Ended at a wide flood path with a foot path heading across but no sign of anything on the other side. Also an obviously used double track just before the drainage descending to the left. Maybe a crossing a bit lower. We headed down to take a look and all of a sudden a dirt motorcycle’s coming up the track. It came from somewhere so we kept going. The trail ended at a fence, a vague track on the other side.

Crossed the fence, did some athletic riding through woods on barely visible tracks to a field. No trail whatsoever. Off the bikes, hike up the slope to find the double-track we rode earlier. Found it, at the top of the field. And right then an older guy came rolling up on an e-assist full-suspension mountain bike who told us, yea, the track goes all the way to the village of Noyer. That’s where he was going. He’d show us the way, though he was looking a bit askance at Marc’s skinny tires.

Return to the drainage, hike-a-bike time, cross the flood zone then up through the woods on a steep, switchbacking foot path. 5 minutes later we hit a smooth, flat single-track coming in from the right. Went left, smiling and shifting down the cogs. Didn’t last nearly long enough. Curved up and right and out onto the edge of fields decorated with giant rolls of hay waiting to be collected. A double-track dropped down the edge of the field to another dirt farm track traversing up and across the slopes next to a line of trees. Fields a golden yellow under a hard, blue sky, the valley spread out with huge views towards the Ecrins, and in front of us a smooth, fast dirt track.

Wonderful riding, smooth dirt next to cut fields of hay sweeping across the slopes. Hit a lane of asphalt and we were in the village of Noyer at the base of the climb. Our e-guide told us there was a fountain straight ahead past the turn to the col where we could fill up. A nice pool of water under the flowing water. Shoes off, legs up to the knees in cold water, pure luxury.

Time to get serious, the climb to the col. (Keep in mind that all observations on grades are coming from a 74-year old rider. My hard isn’t your hard.) Narrow road curling up a steep mountainside then traversing rock cliffs for the final assault. And steep, steeper than the numbers on the K posts, like the second to last K. Post shows 11,3% or something like that. Normally a pretty brutal grade, especially coming at the end of a climb. It’s worse than that because within that K are sections at 8, 9%, pushing the rest into the teens.

A constant mix of easy and steep, steep and steeper, easier and leg-wasting rude. Finding a rhythm can be frustrating, unless you’re like me and go to the lowest gear and stay there, even on the easy pitches. Rolling rest areas. I like photographing where I ride so I stop. Sometimes more rest stop than photo stop.

Full-on southern exposure, air somewhere over 30°C (90F and up), most of the time with a hard wind that felt like light air conditioning. In the cliff section there were pockets of totally still air with heat radiating up from the blacktop and off the rock cliffs. Riding in a pizza oven. Had to stop in one. It was fall over or stop. I stopped. Emptied the last of my water, stared up at the ridge where I knew the col was, finally started off again. Must have been a pause that refreshed because I ended up riding the rest of the climb in good style, all things being relative.

The views saved me. In the far distance the summits around Barcelonnette and to the left the peaks in the Ecrins National Park. Below a tilted, rolling plateau of meadows and forests stretching into the distance to a low ridge and the Col de Manse. That’s where Beloki crashed and crushed his career while Armstrong did his improv ride across a meadow. I kept stopping to take more pictures and stare down at that vast checkerboard of farms and fields and forests thinking there’s got to be a fantastic network of small roads and tracks to explore down there.

The last two switchbacks look like Zoro signed his name in the cliff. Somewhere in the top slash the grade started to ease. The wind was crashing into the cliffs and swirling in crazy currents, sometimes in the face, next instant on the back, or maybe slamming in from the side. Could be a brutal finish if it’s a headwind in the final few hundred meters. The gods smiled, a tailwind, pushing me up the road.

I love this col and the view looking west. Reminds me of Colorado, especially in the late fall with swaths of orange and yellow under a brilliant blue sky. I’d ridden the col four times, twice from each direction, but this was the first time with everything green. Also the first time with the restaurant on the col open. And busy, but most everyone inside. Too much wind. A celebratory beer sitting under a blue sky on one of my favorite cols. Plus some eye candy parked along the road, a cherry Austin Healey and an almost equally cherry E-type Jag, both circa 1960’s. A pleasure to look at but I wouldn’t have traded my bike for either of the cars.

And down, at times crazy fast with the wind pushing on our backs. Mostly just a hold-on, tuck, and go descent, but with a few linked sweepers and a couple of round switchbacks to keep things interesting. Up a slight grade onto a hill overlooking the Devoluy basin, a huge bowl surrounded by long ridges of soft summits.

Marc and I were in speed mode, riding the wave down into the basin, down through the ever-narrowing valley, out the basin’s only exit, a defile slicing past walls of rock. Up a slight grade in the woods with the wind still pushing us along then out onto the plateau where I’d parked. Fantastic day! Around 60 K of glorious riding with some 1525 vertical meters (5000 ft).

Is this new version with the dirt and the short climbing hike-a-bike worthwhile? Absolutely. I’m already contemplating when I can do it again. Partially because from where I parked to the village of Noyer is so much fun, partially because I can’t believe I was so slow up to the col. Go back with better form, see what those grades do to me. Plus there’s this interesting dirt option on the Devoluy side I want to explore. Col du Noyer, one my best-of-the-best loops.

[simplemind]

Great photos of an obviously great route. Looks like a lot 'o fun.

[morrisericd]

Thank you!

[choke]

That looks like a great way to spend a day. Merci.

[yarg]

That's some "road" ride, looks glorious.

[velotel]

Originally Posted by yarg

That's some "road" ride, looks glorious.

It is, knowing you a little I thing I can guarantee you'd love it. One of my favorites before the new addition but now moved up the theoretical list some more. Cheers and hope you're having a good summer on the bike(s).