Last stage of the Tour de Hume

The rain continued last night but we woke to a dry, sunny and reasonably cool morning (reasonably cool meaning about 20 degrees at 7.00am!  The owners of the B&B were at a wedding yesterday and not coming back until this afternoon so I had been tasked with going to the Boulangerie for supplies (we had been left the rest of the stuff). The queue at 7.30am was long and everyone seemed to have extremely complicated purchases to make, so I had time to contemplate how many different ways there might be to describe what is essentially a baguette. By the time I got served I used the time honoured method of pointing!

We set off earlier today to make the most of the cooler temperatures and this time went down the valley for 8 miles to La Chambre to the start of the climb of the Col de Madeleine. Today we were heading more or less north so got a lot of welcome shade on the first part of the climb. The Madeleine is known as a real beast of a climb - 12 miles long with an average gradient of 8%. In reality there are no easy pitches. On other climbs we have had a tough climb out of the valley then quite a gentle pull through to the final climb to the col - this one just climbed relentlessly. It got hotter, but the best part of the day was the lack of traffic, not a single motor home passed us all day, a few motorbikes, but no giant convoys, and just a few cars. Even cyclists were quite thin on the ground and most of them were British!  We had a 'pain o chocolat stop at about half way but apart from that just kept pedalling to the top, via a totally deserted ski resort which had a slightly worrying sign up saying that today the Avalanche risk was significant.

When we finally popped out at the top (which makes it sound much easier than it actually was) it was quite busy and it would appear that most people tackle the col from the other side, which is longer but only has a gradient of about 5%.  It was a very pleasant temperature on the top and we spent some time there enjoying lunch and the views - over to Mont Blanc on the north side - plus chatting to a variety of cyclists who appeared at intervals. It was so relaxing that we had to drag ourselves away as some large clouds were starting to build up. We retraced our route stopping at intervals to let our hands recover from gripping the brakes and to allow the rims to cool. As we descended it got hotter and hotter, so by the time we were back in the valley we were afraid we might actually melt. 

A final dash along the valley got us home, with 5,700ft of climbing in our legs (to add to everything else). I am beginning to understand why most groups come over for 4/5 days, knacker themselves and the go home - I reckon 2 weeks in this heat was a bit of a big ask. I am looking forward to some autumnal weather at home.  While we have enjoyed the trip I did rather miss the 'moving on' aspect of a touring holiday and the feeling of being on a journey - however watching 2 tourers with fully laden bikes labouring up the col as we were going down, I appreciate that in this area you really can't have your cake and eat it.

Apologies and thunderstorms

Sorry about yesterday - 2 weeks of temperatures near or above 30 degrees (90F in old money) and more exposure to full sun than I am used to left me feeling a bit unwell and when it came to 'blog time' I went to bed instead. Unfortunately the  windows here can only be opened when you are up, dressed and present in the place since they open on to the pavement of a reasonably busy street at hip height - so it is impossible to cool the room down to a sensible sleeping temperature. Our room at Velo Jaune was also on the ground floor - but was so isolated you didn't need to worry about burglars too much! 

Anyway, after the double col day on Thursday we decided on an easier day yesterday so got up a bit later and faffed around a bit before heading off for a short, and supposedly easy bike ride. Had my navigation not gone a bit haywire (we left the map behind!!) it would have been almost impossible to complete in our fatigued state. Luckily (as it turned out) we did the route in reverse which meant the climb was on a much gentler gradient, while the descent involved 18 hairpins - 17 of which came in 2km!!  By the time we got down my hands were in spasm trying to keep the speed manageable - it was very steep. For followers of the TdF we were riding the Lacats / Mont Vernier route, which appeared on the Tour for the first time in 2015. The road is so narrow that no spectators were allowed so it probably won't be a regular addition.

We got back and sat outdoors under a shelter watching The Vuelta on Eurosport, complete with incomprehensible French commentary and then just stayed put with our books / wine / views while deciding what to do today. Not many photos on such a quiet day

So what about today I hear you ask. We both woke up feeling a bit more energetic and planned a rather optimistic day - ride 9 miles up the valley from St Jean de Maurienne to St Michel de Maurienne (it would appear the Maurienne family have a hot line to the Vatican), then ride 21 miles to the Col to Galibier via the Col du Telegraphe and return, so about 60 miles with over 7,500ft of climbing. Two basic errors - we should have driven the bikes to St Michel and we should have set off sooner - but in the end it was the weather that scuppered our climbs, plus the traffic. We got up the Telegraphe with no real drama, although it was still nearly 3,500ft of climbing, and after the obligatory col photo we rolled down to Valloire, which was only marginally better than the 'Valley of the Damned' so became the 'Valley of the semi-Damned' (sadly no donkeys).

We stopped to take stock and noticed large thunder clouds building all around. Having very little gear with us if we did get caught and considering that we were heading up to around 8,500ft, we took the sensible (cowardly??) decision to beat an orderly retreat, back up over the Telegraphe (having to climb back up of course). The traffic was terrible all day, hundreds of motorcycles screamed past in both directions and at one point we were passed by 10 monster motor homes in a convoy. Not so many cyclists but a lot of Brits, including one group called 'Rusty Spokes', who when I chatted to them seemed to be very like our Thursday 'Old Time' cyclists.

Not doing the whole route gave us time to enjoy some 'straw art', which made me wonder how much free time French farmers have, plus we met a group from the UK parked up at the Col, all driving red and white 2CVs with names like Dilly and Dotty (the cars not the people). They were driving from Newhaven to Monte Carlo in 12 of these vehicles with an entire spare car being carried on top of a Fire and Rescue vehicle..........

We got back to base earlier than usual and have sat and listened to thunder roaring round us, the mountains swathed in black clouds with the odd rainbow appearing from time to time. As my Dad would have said 'He who fights and runs away lives to fight another day'. Our last ride tomorrow to the Col de Madeleine, so fingers crossed for the weather.

Pictures of today's ride, with all its cultural input- 2 of which appear at the top for some unknown reason........

2 for the price of 1

This refers to both the fact that I didn't post anything yesterday and to today's ride. We left Le Velo Jaune yesterday and drove over the Glandon pass (at over 6,000ft) before dropping down to the next valley. We are staying in St Jean de Maurienne, which gives us access to some different cols. however yesterday was a rest day so all we did was walk 5k and sit around a lot as it was unbearably hot. The place we are staying is a bit peculiar and as the only window in the ground floor room opens directly on to the pavement of a reasonably busy street there is no sensible way to get fresh air, so we didn't sleep very well.

We have discovered that in the 2 towns we have stayed in, and all the bar restaurants we have visited for cold drinks on our rides, have taken rudeness into the realms of an art form. If the Olympics are ever awarded to Paris they will probably make it a demonstration sport. The place we ate last night was no exception and the food was truly awful, so we scarpered without leaving a tip and are probably now on a hit list for the local Mafia (we are close to the Italian border it seems).

Anyway today we managed two cols, mainly because the second was lower than the first and only required a short extra ascent. We started climbing straight from the B&B and carried on in the same vein for 18 miles, adding extra ascent every time we had to drop to cross a river. We finally made it up to the Croix de Fer, which at around 6,800ft made a climb of over 5,500ft and some dirty looks from the other half of the team (he loves it really but will never admit it in case I am encouraged to go mad on the next route). It has been a sweltering day so we stopped for cold drinks on the way up, then had lunch at the top before heading down and back up to the Col du Glandon. We saw 4 rather strange concrete pillars clustered together above the road and on going up to have a look we discovered they were set up so that you could line up a view of Mont Blanc. Annoyingly we saw it yesterday but couldn't stop, whereas today it must have been obscured bu cloud or heat haze.

We finished with a long descent, steep in places, back to the valley - stopping in a couple of places to let the rims cool down - and then had over 6 miles along the valley bottom on a rather busy road to get us back. The Mechanic is having another one day strike tomorrow so we need to start planning what we are going to do. Currently sitting on the terrace contemplating the infinite.........

Lakes, mountains and views Part 2

So having caught up with yesterday (below) on to today - our last in Bourg d'Oisans as we move to a different valley tomorrow. This was the 8th day in a row of exercise so we decided not to be too ambitious (where have you heard that before!). We rolled out of here and after about 5 miles on the flat we were on the first climb of the day - Col d'Ornon. The sun was shining from a clear blue sky and the views were much clearer as the change in weather seems to have cleared the heat haze of the previous week. The climb was about 7 miles long, but nothing too steep so we were able to keep going quite comfortably before cresting the top at over 4,000ft. We then rolled down into the next valley and went exploring on a small road that had an increasingly bad surface as we laboured up to the village of Le Villard for lunch. Here we found a well surfaced road running back down into the valley about 2 miles further up than the one we took, so at least we had a safer run back down.

I can reliably inform you that cold Croque Monsieur is not the most appetising food, but as it was all we had we didn't dwell on that little known fact. To make today into a circular route would have involved rather a lot of main road riding and as the way we had come was so beautiful as well as nearly traffic free we were happy to retrace our steps (or should that be pedal strokes). The views are completely different when you reverse direction and this time we found a bar at the top that was able to manage 2 cold drinks without a drama.  A lovely run down and we were back after 4,500ft of climbing ready for dinner and looking forward to a different set of climbs to tackle after our move tomorrow.k

Lakes, mountains and views

No idea what happened to yesterday's post - I can only assume it is bouncing around somewhere in the ether. Since I can't be bothered to recreate the whole thing I will condense the essentials. We were walking yesterday and for the first time there was little or no sun all day - the upside being that it was significantly cooler. We were planning a 'rest' day with a short stroll up to Lac Lauvitel, but somehow (as so often seems to happen to us) we ended up with a 7 hour epic which involved some fixed chain pitches, plus scrambling on our hands and knees across some unstable scree slopes - this was just to get to the start of the route up to the lake! Sadly the views weren't great but we climbed up to around 5,000ft to reach the lake and made a circular walk by coming back another way. At the bottom there was a large bar / restaurant with outdoor seating (in fact all the seating was outdoor) and no customers. We decided we fancied a cold drink and asked for 2 Coke Zero, having ensured they had some in the fridge. We were sent to sit down and wait to be served by a shuffling comedy French bar owner - who proceeded to disappear without any drinks appearing.

We eventually heard banging of cutlery and plates and eventually he shuffled back out with 2 Croque Monsieur and no drinks!!!  I couldn't face a return match so we asked for water, then pretended to eat the unwanted food while actually putting it in a bag to have for lunch today. To add insult to injury the equivalent of 2 toasted cheese sandwiches cost the gross GDP of a small country.........

Keep right on to the end of the road......(literally)

It is difficult to train for a 17 mile climb of 4,000ft in Bristol, especially in temperatures of 30 degrees! However the Humes are never deterred by minor details like this, so after waving off our new fellow guests (Dutch riders ticking Alpe d'Huez off their bucket list) we set off straight up the back road from the B&B for 17 miles - so no navigation issues. The road is only maintained to about 1,500ft in winter and even before that there was a chunk of road that had broken off and plunged into the valley below. The road was down to single track with a piece of string across the gap, which was unlikely to stop anything. Concentrates the mind........

The worst of the climb was in the first 10 miles, after which it became a steady drag through the most fabulous mountain scenery, with no permanent residents in the last 7 miles to La Berarde, where the road simply stops (although the guide book says there is only a shepherd's hut at La Berarde there were three restaurants and a shop open in the summer to cater for the cyclists!). The 2 big oddities of the day were a field full of donkeys, which looked remarkably like the donkeys wandering through the VoD yesterday - although in the interests of fairness I am not exactly an expert in donkey recognition. The other was the motorcycle which pulled up beside us. Big bloke driving and sour faced woman riding pillion, with a small dog in a fabric shopping bag tucked under her arm!!! She got off and let the dog out for a sniff, the stuffed in back in the bag and they drove off.

This evening we were eating in the town as our hosts were having a night off cooking. We arrived to find an absolutely mahoosive car boot sale under way, 2 ginormous bouncy castles and tat further than the eye could see. Be still my beating heart.........

Photos of a fabulous ride

On top of the world!

Or 8,648ft to be precise!  Due to the presence of some dangerous tunnels we took the bikes part way, using a temporary emergency road, which has been built to replace the main road, closed since a tunnel collapsed. (The tunnels I referred to above are dangerous due to being narrow, dark and busy). It was a bit overcast when we started as can be seen from the summit photo, but it gradually cleared and we got some stunning views in all directions - we are planning to do the climb from the other side next week - the more traditional TdF route. The top was busy with motorcyclists and a charity ride from the UK (Royal Marsden breast cancer care) all in rather eye watering 'barbie pink' kit - with motorists getting in everyone's way as some bright spark had parked in the entrance to the small turning area and disappeared. Chris would have been happy to stay and watch the resulting chaos for the rest of the day - but we had another mountain to climb, so headed back to the car and retraced  our route over the emergency road to park at the Chambon barrage, where we had lunch before heading off, uphill again, to the village of Les Deux Alps - hereafter referred to as 'The Village of the Damned' (VoD for short). It is a huge place, but was basically shut, not a stray cat, all the shops were closed, the Tourist Office was shuttered and all bar 2 of the cafes were firmly closed (including the Irish Pub - so obviously not an authentic place). Despite all 4 supermarkets being barred and shuttered we managed to get a cold drink in one of the 2 open cafes before doing a sightseeing (!!) loop and coming back to the Main Street to be surrounded by about 20 donkeys wandering along, all saddled up but no riders......We left quickly, returning by another vertiginous balcony road, with a dramatic drop-off to our right, but no cars so we were able to ride well away from the edge.

Our 4 Middlesbrough cyclists left this morning, to be replaced by 2 Dutch lads, which might at least mean we get to bed a bit earlier after a bit less wine!!

Time to recover

The Mechanic is on strike!  Cycling was not to be considered, so a gentle walk appeared on the agenda - although some may argue that 'gentle', 'walk' and 'Hume' are words not often found in the same sentence. We drove the 3 miles to Bourg d'Oisans and left the car (the only walking route being along the main road, which has a bike lane but no pavement. We had decided on flat walking (or to be more precise I was instructed accordingly), so we set off along the river on a good track, which soon veered off into some trees, which gave welcome shade although the path was actually quite boggy in places due to marsh land around it. We were soon climbing up to a waterfall, which fortunately was worth the effort, then continued along the path, which was now part of GR 54 (I think - may have got the number wrong). Thîs was wooded and eventually started to run along and above a fast flowing river, with incredible noise as it raced over the rocks.  We had lunch sitting on rocks right at the water's edge and couldn't really hear each other above the noise.

Eventually we popped out on a road about 5k from here and had no option but to walk down it. Not busy but very exposed to the sun and extremely hot. We staggered in to the B&B for cold drinks on the terrace, then had to get back on the bikes to ride into town and collect the car. By mistake I had left a vat of suncream in the back and it is now a vat of liquid. We tackled the local supermarket for some lunch supplies and were amazed at the anarchy that reigns (we have observed this in other places, but assumed it was just a one-off occurrence). The self service area is permanently closed off (French unions protecting jobs), the basket only checkpoint is not understood by the tourists and is regarded with disdain by the French, weighing and pricing the fruit and veg is hampered by the fact that items have no label on them e.g. 4 types of apple available but no indication of what type they are - which you need to know in order to enter them on the machine. I always feel as if I have been in a wrestling match by the time I escape - usually minus the one item I really needed. Now relaxing while the outdoor pizza over is being fired up for dinner.  

Heat, hills and punctured legs

So today being Thursday we decided to tackle Alpe d'Huez wearing our Bristol Thursday Old Timers cycle shirts. The climb including 21 hairpins has a sort of mythical status for many cyclists, but in reality is just long and not particularly steep (relative to many others round here). As we aren't planning a repeat trip we stopped to take pictures and enjoy the spectacular views every 6 bends or so (depending where is was safe to do so). We had been warned that the apparent summit, complete with finish line and mock podium, is not in fact where the TdF finishes, so we carried on for a further 2k or so to a rather deserted street with a few other cyclists milling about. I'll be very interested to watch the next time they do the Alpe on the tour having seen the route myself - the finish being rather busier on the day!!  The village of AdH (or the small part that is actually open in summer) was packed with sweaty blokes, with the odd equally sweaty woman scattered through the crowd, all discussing bikes, gearing ratios, power outputs and the quality of the beer.  We headed upwards to Lac Besson (which is at around 6,900ft) and then returned to AdH for lunch and to buy a couple of bike shirts to mark the occasion (end of season discounted of course). We didn't go back down the hairpins but cut across a fabulous balcony road with stunning views over the Oisan valley. It got progressively hotter as the day went on and by the time we dropped into the valley it was stifling, which necessitated a stop for cold drinks and coffee eclairs in Bourg before heading back to our place. 

Pictures today are of the climb and the scenery. The Mechanic is now officially on strike so no plans for tomorrow - yet!!!!

Swapping 2 wheels for 2 legs

This seemed like a good idea at the time, but after 3,000ft of ascent straight up an apparently perpendicular cliff we were 't so sure. It was really hot but fortunately most of the climb was in the shade of the trees and by the time we finally popped out at the Col de Solude there was some cloud to cool things off - plus of course we were significantly higher up! I carried on up to the Col de St Jean (another 500 feet) while Chris staged a sit-in at the picnic table until I got back. After lunch we thought we had a nice downhill walk to Villard Notre Dame, but the path immediately headed back up for a further 300ft and then undulated along before finally descending to the village. From here we had planned to take a footpath back to Bourg d'Oisans but after taking one look at the nearly sheer track that was waymarked we opted out and walked down the twisting Tarmac road. It took an hour and a half and we saw three cars in total. I wouldn't have wanted to cycle down as the road is extremely narrow, has 4 unlit tunnels and the drop off the side is about 2,000 ft of vertical rock face. Even walking we were glad to get back. Our hosts were having the night off cooking so we ventured into Bourg to eat. The first thing you notice is the extremely high proportion of blokes around with testosterone fuelled bragging going on all around. There are a few couples, mainly older, sitting in the corners trying not to be noticed.  We fell in a sort of half way house, cyclists but neither young nor particularly loud (Chris might not agree with that).  The photos today aren't great I'm afraid - one tree looks much like another and vertical drops are hard to capture on film........

Not sure what we'll be up to tomorrow - the mechanic is muttering darkly about a rest day. Already????

What goes up continues to go up.........

So Day 1 of the Tour de Hume and, perhaps foolishly, we decided to do a route with 6,600ft of climbing. This involved starting up Alpe D'Huez to the 16th hairpin (starts at 21 and counts down to the top) then turning off and riding along the Auris balcony road which is a vertiginous road cut into the side of the mountain and twists round high up above the valley with fabulous views of the surrounding mountains. It eventually tops out, followed by the inevitable descent back down to the valley floor before we headed up a nine mile climb to the Col de Sarenne at 1,999m (or 6,600ft in old money). After the initial steep climb back out of the valley the climb was just long and steady (very long) until we finally managed to reach the top. The climb up had been virtually traffic free (as was the balcony road) with only a few cyclists to show we were on a recognised route. From the Col we descended to Alpe D'Huez which seemed a bit weird, but was very welcome after all the uphill stuff. Here we had an epic fail - approaching from an odd direction we did several circuits and were unable to find anything open, the summit of the TdF climb or the route down via the 21 hairpins. Trapped in a ski resort that was like a vision of hell, we eventually took a road signed Bourg d'Oisans and managed to join the main road between hairpins 2 & 3. We found the descent tiring as we constantly on the brakes and you could probably have fried an egg on the rims of my wheels - but we made it down safely with time to visit the local pharmacy to try and buy dental floss. Frankly I thought my mime of dental hygiene should have won an award (who actually knows the French for dental floss???) but it seemed to create some confusion amongst the staff and other customers.

Back here we have enjoyed tea and cake on the balcony and an excellent meal cooked by our hosts and eaten with them and the other cyclists, a really sociable way to holiday while being able to cycle on your own during the day.  Photos are various of the ride / scenery

Le Velo Jaune

Le Velo Jaune is where we are now established with 4 other cyclists (of about our vintage) from Middlesborough. We had a great night's sleep thanks to efficient air con and a quiet room, so woke ready to tackle more French motorways. We have now travelled around 575 miles in France, 550 at least on motorways. Verdict - very expensive with the tolls, very efficient with only 2 miles of minor roadworks and no congestion. Lots of rest areas (as opposed to service areas) which gave opportunities for leg stretching in rural conditions with far fewer car/ people. We got to Bourg d'Oisans (after an unscheduled circuit of Grenoble 😡) at lunchtime with high temps and full sun. We had a refined lunch of bananas wedged into a baguette, eaten while sitting on a kerb outside a closed restaurant........

Our accommodation for the next 8 days is Le Velo Jaune, a B&B with optional evening meals. Just 3 rooms and owned by a couple of British blokes who only bought it at the start of this season. We are 3 miles outside the village so eating here is the easy option, but we did cycle back in to stock up with fruit / snacks for the rides. The rooms here are certainly basic, but the lounge / dining area / balcony are to die for - all available to guests at any time. We are currently watching the highlights of the Vuelta with the othe cyclists. The evening meal was fabulous, all homemade and plentiful - just wish we had ridden further so we could enjoy it to the full!

Cycling proper starts tomorrow and we have a circuit of over 65 miles planned with 6,600 ft of ascent. Lots of photo stops planned.........

Below is a view on the ride back from Bourg, Chris in relaxed mode last night and our accommodation