The Cycling Thread

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Dipper

That's a pretty impressive max speed you had there Mavi.

I know, something about my Garmin & France

Day 2
So after breakfast down the vally and turned off for the Col de la Morte (climb of the dead)

I knew it was going to be a tough day, as I was in bottom gear right at the start of the climb & still 12km to go, my legs were still in shock after the first days ride!

La Morte was a tough climb, with no easy bits at all, but at least it was cool climbing thanks to the tree cover, but this also made it difficult to gauge where you were, as there were no markers. plenty of 7 - 10% grade. But we made the top and after a drink & some food we headed downhill, with a great descent, very few cars on this road at all.



Stopped off at Valbonais only to find the whole town was shut! So no food for the rest of the ride, only half a Powerbar

We continued on the climb the Col d'Ornon which although it wasn't too steep, it was long drags to each turn, although we did have a slight tail wind.

Once over the top, there was a fantastic 10km descent into Bourg d'Osains, another 96km ride over. Stopped off at a roadside cafe for food, then I fell off, the only downside to the day. No major damage done



http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221168746

We stayed here for 2 nights and again I can recommend it, its out of town, but its a good warm up ride to all the climbs and Lynn & Alan know their stuff. Great food & great accom

http://www.bourgdoisansbandb.com/index.html

[Luckypants]

Mav, we stayed just up the little side road that turns up the Veneon valley by that B&B on our cycling trip. Its about 8km up the road at Venosc.

[Dipper]

We've holidayed in this are a couple of times and it's stunning, I could never get over the local's tackling these hills mid summer in relentless 30 degree sunshine. Mavi what gearing were you using to do this?

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Dipper

Mavi what gearing were you using to do this?

Compact 50 - 34 on the front & 30 - 12 on the back, but if I'm honest I preferred my triple set up from last year, as these climbs seem to be longer than most of the Pyrenean ones I did with Luckypants.

With the triple front I had a 30 front with a 29 or 28 rear, which meant that the gearing was a few inches less than with the compact set up. It seemed to suit my climbing style better, as I'd spin the gear rather than grind up the climbs.

Apart from some really good climbers passing me, the only other ones passing me were using triple front set ups.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by maviczap

Compact 50 - 34 on the front & 30 - 12 on the back, but if I'm honest I preferred my triple set up from last year, as these climbs seem to be longer than most of the Pyrenean ones I did with Luckypants.

Wow that's low, but yeah it certainly did suit your high cadence style.

I use a 50-34 compact on the front and a 27-11 on the back. I wouldn't say I grind up hills but my natural cadence is a lot lower than Mav's. I would say that apart from the monsters like the Tourmalet in the Pyranees, the Alpine climbs are longer, so the higher gearing suited me better.

[maviczap]

Day 3 Alpe d'Huez

Doesn''t need introduction does it, 21 bends with the first 3 being particularly steep. I'd forgotten how steep they were, as I'd made my then pregnant wife walk up to the first one in 1997.

Here's the first ramp onto the climb.



Took me at least 3 bends to get my breath back, which is quite a way up.

Its not a particularly hard climb, there's a couple of parts where it flattens out a bit, only near the top does it get difficult again. But then counting down the bends helped my motivation, especially once they get to single figures.

Don't let this picture fool you, I'd quickly returned to the saddle after this shot!



Great weather and a fabulous descent to Bourg for a well earned beer afterwards, a nice short day compared to the previous two!



http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221522542

[maviczap]

Day 4 - Col de la Croix der Fer

Abandoned - set off after breakfast, got to the roundabout at Bourg and it started to rain, went to cycle shop in Bourg chaps bought overshoes & leg warmers. Now ****ing it down, rode 10 miles, saw some Brits cycling the other way who told us to turn back. Enough for me, rang the broom wagon who picked us up and took us to our next destination up via the climb we should have done. We didn't see one cyclist on the way up and at the top it was 5 deg.



Joel in red was from Florida, and didn't find the temperature to his liking when we stopped at the Glanon for a quick photo. The Glandon is part of the climb to Croix der Fer, you turn right 2.5km from the top of the Croix der Fer.

Here's the hotel where we stayed, quite modern & a good cycling breakfast.

www.hotel-saintgeorges.com

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by maviczap

We didn't see one cyclist on the way up and at the top it was 5 deg.

Yuck.

I'm enjoying reading about your trip though

[Dipper]

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Yuck.

I'm enjoying reading about your trip though

+1, great write up.

[maviczap]

Cool

Day 5 - Col du Glandon

So after yesterday's non ride, it was back on the saddle. What I hadn't written about was the group of shell shocked & bedraggled riders who arrived at the hotel later on that day. Turned out that they'ed ridden over the top of the Col de la Madeleine in a snow storm! The leader of the group said in all his years of running cycling tours he'd never been so scared! The Madeleine is at similar altitude to the Glandon & 500m lower than the Croix der Fer, so I'm glad we abandoned.

So set off from St.Jean de Maurienne to the start of the climb, as usual my fellow riders set off at far to brisk a pace for my liking, but things evened up o the start of the climb. After the previous days rain the weather was ok, quiet mild a the bottom. The climb isn't too bad at the bottom & I was quite comfortable setting a nice tempo, andthere were even some places where it flattened out to get a brisk pace on (between 10 - 12km). Then the length of the climb & the gradient start to kick in, and also the altitude, where I stopped for a gel & to put my toe covers on as it was getting colder.

Still I plugged on until the final 4km where I recognised the last bit where I'd seen David Millar struggle to get up, which seemed to go up forever, and then the last 2km were the hardest climbing I've ever had to do, we'd seen it the day before where a Polish HGV was attempting to do what we'd just done on our bikes!!!



Yes, that's fresh snow on the hills behind!

Still it was a good ride and once we'd donned our race capes, a great but cold ride back to Bourg was our treat for all the effort. I wish I'd taken a breather & just gone up to finish the Croix der Fer, but that's easy with hindsight.



see how it kicks up at the end

Our hotel for this night was the Hotel Oberland, which has loads of cycling newspapers & memorabilia hung up on the walls. But I can't recommend it,as the room we stayed in hadn't been upgraded since the 1960's. Shame because its a real gem of a place and the food was good. The fact it hasn't even got a website shows the owners aren't ploughing any money into the business and shows how stupid cyclists are by staying there. Te owners have a regular captive clientele who will pay & put up with this.

Apparently this is typical of many French hotels.