Col du Joly, yet another best of the best

[velotel]

Had to look up in my photo archive for the last time I rode it. Five years without a return! What the heck was I thinking! An awesome ride to a gorgeous place. I knew that, it’s even in my book, Switchbacks, Vol I. Ignored it anyway. Nuts. Won’t happen again. One of the best of the best, in every respect.

Rode it because I wanted to check out a trail that leaves from the col but as soon as I was on my way up the road to the col I was going like man is this a great ride. Last time was with Max and we did a long version, an out and back from Albertville, around 80 K and 2300 vertical meters (45 miles/7500 ft). This time was way, way shorter, 25 K and 870 vertical (15 miles/2854 ft). Combination late start and leaving some margin for exploring. Might be getting lazy in my old age too. Actually the ‘might be’ is giving myself too much slack. Anyway left the car in the upper valley.

Made for a sweet start, a K and a half of spinning up this valley and gaining not even 50 vertical meters, with a wind on my back! A fine valley, broad, gentle, U-shaped, lush prairies and scattered chalets and barns with a small road up the middle. To the right a steep, north-facing slope of dark timber, to the left a long, high ridge with green fields and groves of trees sweeping across the flanks to an angular summit at the head of the valley, the Aiguille Croche, 2487 meters. There’s a trail that traverses the slopes under the mountain’s summit linking Col du Joly with Col de Véry. Véry was somewhere up on top of the ridge to my left. Almost a month earlier I’d ridden to Véry to check out that end of the trail. Now the other end.

Hit the base of the real climb where there’s some sort of hydro-electric generating station with two huge pipes coming down from a reservoir that was created where there was already a natural lake. The concrete dam creating the reservoir is visible right above and apparently there’s no steel in the concrete and now there’s some concern for the dam’s integrity since cracks have been found in the support pillars. If it went we’d be kissing Beaufort and probably much of Albertville goodbye. Probably raise hell in Grenoble too. Still full of water so I guess things are good.

Good on the road too. Narrow, mostly rustic asphalt but no pot holes, some switchbacks, never straight, draped over the contours, steep ramps now and then, steady climbing. Then it goes all limp, drops into a small swale, curves through and climbs again. Magnificent views, all green and blue and the air sparkling and I’m laughing out loud, thinking far out. I’m here, on this glorious road, climbing well, surrounded by mountains, and I’m seventy friggin three years old! Gotta love it. I mean it wasn’t like I was knocking down records for speed or anything like that, not even close. But I was there, on a bike, riding smooth, just flat enjoying the hell out of where I was. Excellent.

Into another dip, longer this time, even tempted to move onto the big ring, but don’t. I know it’s not long and followed by more steepness, even some ramps of pain, short ones. And the views just keep expanding out. The reservoir in full sight now. Wonder what it looked like over there when it was just a lake. I can see the trail I came to check out stretching across the slopes. There’s one section after a long traverse where it turns and dives straight down hill to slip under and around a jutting ridge. Definite hike-a-bike for me if I do it one day. Probably quite a bit of that in fact, at least for me, but have to say that’s one fine looking trail. Hell even if it’s a few K of hike-a-bike, it’ll still be worth it because the hiking bit looks easy and before and after is nothing but sweet riding, including a long section of trail riding to get to Véry. Another day, do it with someone maybe so my wife’s more relaxed. She gets nervous when I do these things alone.

Last couple of K to the col, sort of an extended pay station for what’s to come, the in-your-face view of Mont Blanc. And there it is, behind a parking lot full of cars and people standing around pointing their phones at the mountain. The parking area, no way I can call it parking lot, was full of cars parked rather haphazardly and some trying to maneuver their way out of the maze. The other side of the col is a pretty big ski area with lifts and access roads scattered across a big basin (skied there years ago, great powder, skied it once with Mat my son too) and people either walking or riding mountain bikes on the dirt roads. The side I rode up is part of the ski area too but it’s so low key forgetting there are a few lifts there is easy. And no development at the bottom, maybe because of the dam up above. There’s also a restaurant on the col with a big deck that seemed pretty full. In other words a busy place.

And three recent vintage Mustang GTs, doors open, cars in a line. Not familiar enough with Mustangs to know their vintage but I think very recent, one maybe even the latest or the one before the latest. Looking at them in that setting I couldn’t help but think sure as hell those who designed and specced them weren’t in their wildest imaginations seeing the cars on this road! Must admit to a bit of fondness for the sound of their V8s though and they are rather handsome.

But not enough to stop and check them out. Instead I spot a trail heading up the ridge towards the trail I wanted to see. Steep single-track up a grass hill. Humpy enough to demand some tight control. No idea why but there’s something about steep climbs on dirt that instantly dials up some hidden power switch inside me and all of a sudden I’m in the groove, whatever tiredness I’d felt earlier totally forgotten, just a smooth focus on driving the bike up the hill. I love it.

Get to the top, perfect spot for a break. Plop the bike down, plop me down, pull out my sandwich, water, and of course the magical Iphone camera which so far I only use as a camera, no phone card inside. Beautiful. Below me is this turquoise pool, some sort of waste water treatment center for the ski area I suppose. Easy to ignore because on the other side of the valley is the mass of Mont Blanc, which from this side isn’t all that spectacular to be honest, outside of its obvious height. It’s the other sides, the Chamonix and Courmayeur sides that are spectacular, all ice and snow and rock cliffs. Still a pretty cool sight that was a pleasure to look at while resting the legs and eating my sandwich. And back on the other side of the col way beyond the restaurant I can barely see the trail my son Mat and his riding buddies rode with Blaise on their Chamonix to the Med mountain bike tour in June. Started in Cham, rode up through the ski area to the col then off on the trail disappearing into the distance and over another col, down to a lake, up and over Col du Pré then down to the hotel in Arêches, a crazy long day. Well beyond me so I drove support. Hell of a tour.

Okay, time for the plunge, back down what I came up. I remembered it was a seriously fun descent, or I was pretty sure it was. It is. And more. Fast, twisty, surface all humpy with cracks and following every contour on the slope. Pass my first car, then another. I’m in the groove. Blow by another car and spot another up ahead, a sort of utility van like the one I drive, only a different brand. And he’s carrying some speed, like he’s probably a local.

I’m right behind him, floating off his back left corner so he can see me in his mirror. We come hauling into a series of tight curves and he slows and instantly I jump and start hammering and thread the needle to get by. Soon as he sees me he slows slightly and I’m gone.

This road was made for bikes! It’s perfect, a slightly generous one-laner with lots of blind turns forcing cars to slow a bit. A classic wild mouse descent for bikes, the StonerBike pure sweetness, the tires carving, absorbing the roughness, and I’m hitting all the notes, gotta love it.

Hit the short section that was down coming up and the guy goes by. Over the top and I catch him again and float there following his lead, waiting. He’s fast and good so I’m content watching his line. We catch up to another car, with a slow driver. No way the van can get by him on this road. We come into a hairpin and the van pulls right and lets me by so now I’m floating off the next car. Into a hairpin to the left and I dive inside and accelerate past and with that I’m off and flying. Like I said, this road was made for bikes. Just fantastic.

Col du Joly, won’t let it slip by for so long this time around. A definite have-to, one of the best of the best. Some pics, and just for the hell of it one of me, including either a thumb or a finger which I didn’t see in the screen, and one of lunch, a very high tech super sophisticated brimming with energy lunch in fact, direct from my kitchen.

[pncguy]

I almost cried reading this. Your descriptions convey your experience very well. And it wasn't until today that I realized you wrote Switchback. Okay, off to buy a copy.

Thanks again, as always, for posting these treasures.

[bironi]

Beautiful road.

[velotel]

Originally Posted by pncguy

I almost cried reading this. Your descriptions convey your experience very well. And it wasn't until today that I realized you wrote Switchback. Okay, off to buy a copy.

Thanks again, as always, for posting these treasures.

Thank you, much appreciated. The only place you'll be able to find a book is here http://velodogs-publishing.com, only a few left apparently

[thwart]

Great post (as usual).

Glad to see you took off your helmet for the pic...