Malta riding and sights to the 20th September

Steep descent to Gnejna Bay. What the climbs lack in length many make up with angle.

Gnejna Bay

Golden Bay - towers old and new. The Knights of Malta built originally 13 limestone towers around the island within sight of each other, so that if the islands were under attack, a warning signal could be sent along the towers back to the capital.

Road north of the village Manikata.

The coast road south of Salina. A popular flatter stretch of road offering a 10km loop. Used for the local triathlons.

Climb to Mosta

I rode with the Mosta Cycling club on the last two Sunday mornings. These are from the 18th

Malta riding 20th September

Malta doesn’t claim to be a destination for a training cyclist; with its small size, narrow roads, almost as many registered cars as inhabitants, and a reputation for bad roads and impatient drivers. Where indicators are seldom used and roundabouts are organised chaos!

But in reality the drivers have so far been no worse than Melbourne drivers, with most giving me plenty of room. The roads so far that I’ve ridden are mostly okay, with only a smaller number better suited to training for the cobbled Paris – Roubaix road race, and I’ve ridden 60 – 70 km days without having to ride the same road twice in the day.

There is a small road and MTB racing scene on the island, with a calendar of races in the cooler months. It was with the islands oldest cycling club – the Mosta Cycling Club that I rode with on their regular Sunday morning ride. Since it was the off season, it was mostly at a leisurely pace and they took a scenic route via the south west coast so I could see some of the sights. We then continued on just below the old city of Mdina before riding a lap of the Coast Road to St Paul’s bay where we stopped for a social break. I obviously hadn’t acclimatised yet to being on the island and even in the heat I had an Espresso, where as everyone else has a cold drink.

The only serious incident so far has been when I hit a patch of Maltese ‘black ice’ taking a corner on Monday. I took the corner at a speed that would normally be fine elsewhere, but this corner was a glassy smooth piece of tar which I quickly discovered had zero friction. The bike went straight out from under me and I slid a good distance on my left side. Luckily the cars going both directions were far enough away so could stop in time.

I did well putting myself between the bike and ground, so the bike was relatively unscathed. Unfortunately though I’m now down one pair of bib shorts, sporting a nice red, seeping 8cm diameter section of missing skin on my left hip plus grazes on my triceps and knee, and expect given how sore my hip is a nice bruise to go with it.

To Malta 15th September

The alarm sounded at 5:15am. I had already packed the bike case in the car the previous night and only had to dress and take my packs down.

Annoyingly the car GPS wouldn’t acknowledge Lyon St Exupery airport as a destination, so I just went with Lyon and hoped the turnoff to the airport would be clearly signed.

At such an early hour there were thankfully no cars on the first stretch down the mountain, as the road was mostly a single lane and with many blind corners! A short distance later I was thankfully on the Autobahn. After having driven on very twisty back roads the last couple of weeks, the speed limit of 130 km/hr on the freeway was positively flying!

I made the toll gates and got in the correct lane so was able to pay a cashier. The airport turnoff was impossible to miss and I arrived at the entrance after just under 1 ½ hours driving. Unfortunately I still hadn’t seen a petrol station and needed to return the Peugeot with a full tank! I took a turn off to the nearest suburb of Lyon in the hope of finding one but found nothing. But just after I made the turn away from the airport, I thought I saw over the top of the corn fields what could be the roof of a petrol station. It took a while to find somewhere to turn around and find a gap in the now heavy traffic to head back.

To access the petrol station I had to drive through the whole airport but at least it was there and open. Fifty euros later and one more lap of the airport I was able to drop off the car which had served me well. I had travelled just over 1000km on mostly very narrow roads without any incidents.

 The airline had changed the itinerary. It wasn’t a direct flight as originally listed, instead it stopped in Marseille. Those of us travelling through had to stay on the plane for over an hour before continuing on to Malta. And due to a ground crew strike in Marseille meant it took a little longer to get the plane serviced, refuelled and finally away.

It had been far too long since I was last in Malta and so it was good to finally land. This leg of the trip is primarily to catch up with my wife’s relatives and family friends; many of whom were at the airport to greet me. But I do plan on building the bike and getting in some rides for training, but also as a great way to see the islands.

                                                                                                               

Presles and the Gorge du Nan 14th September

 I woke to low clouds and wet roads; it had rained overnight and looked like more rain may still fall. As it was my last riding day in France, I was to go out regardless once I had breakfast and fitted my new seat.

Gorges de la Bourne

 

I donned my rain jacket and rolled down the now familiar Gorges de la Bourne. By the time I reached the turn off to the village Presles, the sun was out and I was kicking myself that I didn’t put on any sunscreen! The climb to the plateau and Presles was along a very narrow winding road with very steep pasture either side. Then towards the top it was flanked by the large limestone cliffs of the climbing area known by the same name as the village I was headed for and travelled through a couple of short tunnels cut into the cliff.

Road to Presles

Now up on the plateau I was in the clouds and mist again. Once at Presles, it was only a short distance to the equally small village of Le Fas and the start of the descent back down off the western escarpment to Izeron. As the roads were wet and quite technical I took it very easy, but was still soon enough at the bottom and riding the short distance to the start of the next climb up the scenic Gorges du Nan.

Gorges du Nan

The climb first made its way up through dense forest, till enough height was gained for the road to traverse high up on the left side of the gorge with great views in both directions. By the time I’d made the head of the valley it was back into the mist and as I was headed for the highest col in the area I still had some climbing to do. With limited visibility; all I could do was focus on my breathing and cadence and soon enough I’d reached the Col du Mont Noir 1421m. It was with a touch of sadness I commenced the descent to the hotel, as this pass signified the last col for this trip to France.

Into the mist

Other than losing my rear light to the rough descent, it passed without incident and I was back at the hotel..After lunch I started packing the bike and my bags for the flight to Malta in the morning.

Ride details:
Distance 68.37km
4528m elevation

Three star roads 13th September

The goal was to get in as many three starred Michelin routes in the Vercors as possible. To do so required a convoluted route ascending the west side of the escarpment a couple of times. Due to the number of roads crisscrossing the plateau, I could do this without riding the same roads twice in all but a few very short sections.

The initial descent from Rencurel was to the picturesque village of Pont en Royans via the Gorges de la Bourne which was the first of the rides three star roads. Initially it followed a tight gorge with a couple of short tunnels and sections of single lane road traversing cliffs before lower down opening up and was dwarfed by the large limestone cliffs on either side.

Cliffs towards the bottom of the Gorges de la Bourne

Pont en Royans

Next on the agenda was an ascent of the Combe Laval. Unfortunately the most spectacular section of this route was completely closed for road works! Instead we were detoured via a quiet road over the Col de l’Echarasson 1146m; a pleasant ride but not why I had come to the Vercors. I was able to ride down a short way from the top, so could at least see why this road gets its three stars.

Combe Laval road takes the left side of the valley

I got to see it better from the other side of the valley, as I descended back down via the road opposite. I was now headed to the Grand Goulets, the third three star road that I was to ride. Disappointingly here the most spectacular section was permanently closed to all traffic, the only option now was a new 1700m long tunnel. 

Road to the Grand Goulets

From the small village Les Barranques en Vercors at the far end of this tunnel, I continued to the very small roads marked on the Michelin map to link the Col du Maupas and the Col de Carri. It was now that I discovered that the Michelin maps don’t just show sealed roads, but also show farm tracks!

Valley road to the Col du Maupas

A few kilometres before reaching the Col du Maupas, the road turned to gravel. I was initially lured on due to its smooth surface and the thought that it surely couldn’t be more than a couple of kilometres. Unfortunately the surface progressively deteriorated till I even had to dismount and jog the roughest section.

The road

At one point the track forked where I was originally going to turn right up to the Col du Maupas. I didn’t take it though, as it looked worse than the track I was on. Plus the sealed road couldn’t be too far away if I continued straight on. Thankfully I did finally reach the road to the Col de Carri, even if it was twice as far as I’d originally thought!

Once back on tar the pass came soon enough. As I had now approached the Col de Carri via the east rather than west as planned, I decided to continue west and ride an extra loop over the Col de Lachau further south. It was a scenic loop through pine forests and some open fields till I reached the col and after a fast descent the road followed the wide valley through the towns La Chapelle en Vercors and St Agnan en Vercors.

Descent from the Col de Lachau

 It was shortly after passing through the later and with still over 20km still to ride that I heard a crack. I knew straight away I had broken my saddle! Sure enough the left saddle rail had snapped clean through behind the seat clamp. Luckily this meant I could still sit on the nose of the saddle and didn’t have to ride the rest of the way standing.

Towards Rencurel

When I arrived back at the hotel, I asked owner where the nearest bike store was. With one more full day left in France to ride, if there was a shop close enough I could drive down to buy another saddle first thing in the morning.  Grenoble would be the first option if not for the road works and detours so he suggested a store in St Marcellin. In fact he called them up to see if they had road saddles which they did and better yet they were still open till 7pm.

Due to the time, it was going to be tight. I had 35 minutes to get there, on roads the owner suggested would take 30 minutes if you knew them. It was worth a chance, so I entered the address in the car GPS and started down the Gorges de la Bourne I rode earlier in the day.

The Peugeot Partner for what was a people mover handled the curves surprisingly well and I did make St Marcellin with a couple of minutes to spare. The store though was primarily a motorbike shop which had limited stock of bicycle parts and even more limited number of road saddles. In fact they only had a total of four saddles to choose from... I ended up buying a Selle San Marco Ponza saddle with steel rails; no way will I break any more saddles this trip!

Ride details:

Distance 151.36km

5649m elevation

Next stop Vercors 12th September

I was on the road again, this time to the Vercors; a mountain area just to the south west of Grenoble. Although it lacks the big cols and mountains of the Alps, it does have a number of three star rated roads on the Michelin maps (the highest rating given) due to the scenery and terrain they pass through.

To get to Rencurel where I was staying the last few days in France, I decided to take the scenic route straight north on the back roads via the larger town Die. And once I’d punched in the destination on the car GPS I was off.

The country on the drive is very rugged, with little villages along side small streams. It is very dry through this area with the locals farming small plots among the rocky hills.

Village on the way

There were one or two moments where I stopped and referred to my back up map to confirm I was actually on the right roads, as some I was directed to use were very narrow lanes. Fortunately traffic was light so I only had a few interesting moments with oncoming traffic.

At the town of Die is the start of the drive up into the southern end of the Vercors. The road headed over the Col de Rousset and looked like a worthwhile climb if staying in the southern end of the range. I was headed to the northern end so kept the Peugeot moving. 

Hotel Le Marronnier in Rencurel was recommended to me and caters primarily to cyclists and motorcyclists who come to ride on the winding roads in the area. The facilities are suitable and as soon as I’ve unpacked I got out on the bike for a quick ride.

Rencurel

I decided to ride over the Col de Romeyere which is only 6km above the hotel and then continued down off the escarpment to the village St Gervais. From here it was a nice winding ascent past waterfalls and cliffs. In one section, the downhill traffic normally takes the original road that traverses the cliff and a tunnel for uphill traffic. Unfortunately recent rock fall took out a section of the external route so I had to take the 500m long tunnel both directions. It is unlit so fortunately I heeded the hotel owners’ advice and took lights.

East side of the Col de Romeyere

Waterfall on the west side of the col

View of the climb

It was nice jaunt on what otherwise would have been a rest day. In the end it was a short 40km ride with over 2000m elevation gain thrown in for good measure.

Ride details:

Distance 40.14km

2074m elevation

The Windy Mountain 11th September

I had originally toyed with the idea of joining the Club des Cingles and ride Mont Ventoux by all three sides in one day. But I've ridden enough cols in the last three and a bit weeks and my hotel has a pool and lovely garden.

So only rode the one ascent via Bedoin which is claimed to be the hardest side. The ride around Mont Ventoux from Buis Les Baronnies to the start at Bedoin was an enjoyable roll past vineyards, olive trees and typical Provence architecture. From Malaucene to Bedoin the road wove through dry forest and the ever present glimpses of Mont Ventoux at various points.

Road to Malaucene

Road between Malaucene and Bedoin

Perhaps due to its overbearing presence, the friendly waves and bonjours from cyclists out on the roads in the Alps have been traded for stern faces and strange looks when I offered a friendly bonjour and a wave.

The timing mark for the 22.7km Bedoin ascent is right on the edge of town, so it’s game on as soon as I’ve rolled through. The initial kilometres are very tame only ramping up to 5.9% by the 6^th kilometre. From here to kilometre 17 is the business with the easiest kilometre in this stretch 8.6%, quite a few in the 9-10% and one km at 10.8%. And unlike Alpe d’Huez with its hairpins offering brief respite, here the road barely turns so a constant effort was required.

Throughout the climb I was constantly passing cyclists. They all had their head down and in their own world of pain and some glanced across at me passing. A few realizing that I was riding and not just surviving offered some encouragement with an Allez or two, most though just dropped their heads a retreated back into their own thoughts..

Steeper section

I keep riding a solid tempo and surprised myself when Chalet Reynard appeared earlier than I expected. This was a good thing as the Chalet also marks the end of the steepest section and start of the easier section to the summit.

Here though is where the exposed lunar section starts and with the literal translation for Mont Ventoux being windy mountain I wasn’t disappointed. But although windy it was coming from the south so was never into my face.

Home stretch

The 50m-high telecommunications mast on the summit clearly marked my destination and it felt like it took forever to finally make the steep right hand bend to the finish by the tower amongst the crowds and stopped the clock at 1:28:26. I’d  upped my effort in these kilometres given I was closing in, so on summiting I rolled to the side of the car park and promptly spent the next ten minutes dry retching; the joys of a hard effort.

Summit tower

Given it is a Sunday, the summit is swarming! With the strong wind I quickly started to get a chill so started the descent as soon as I was able. I’d decided to go down the Malaucene to check it out for next time and as it would be a shorter return home

It’s a very fast descent in places and I clocked over 90km/hr along one stretch, before more hairpins meant a more sensible speed down to Malaucene and the last kilometres back to the hotel and pool.

After relaxing I walked through the lovely old city of Buis Les Baronnies a couple of times before I settled on a small restaurant where I enjoyed had Tagliatelle with Salmon and followed with a petit espresso.

Small village Mollans-sur-Ouvèze on the return to Buis Les Baronnies

Ride details:

Distance 99.32km

2310m elevation

On the road to Buis Les Baronnies 10th September

From now till I leave, all my stays are only for a few days each so I’m on the road again. This time I’m travelling across to Buis Les Baronnies, a small village just around the corner from Mont Ventoux.

To see parts of France I hadn’t previously been, I again stick to the smaller roads. But I am still so close to where I’d been previously! Just before the turn off to Dignes les Bains I had to stop. From here above an arm of Lac de Serre Poncon, I could make out the cliff line of Ceuse. This was a cliff where I spent five weeks rock climbing during my previous road trip to France back in 97, so it was an emotional moment remembering back.

View to Ceuse

Soon enough I am back focussing on the narrow roads but first lunch. In one of the small town before Dignes Les Bains I stop at a pâtissière for fresh bread and a fruit tart. I enjoyed this French style by just stopping by the road at noon.

Lunch

From the town of Forcalquier, I took the narrow roads around the north side of Mont Ventoux to the hotel. Here I have made a great find! The hotel is in the centre of a very old town and the hotel has a pool and large garden at the back to relax. Pity I’m only here for two nights as I really feel comfortable here.

Dinner is a vegetarian Pizza a few doors down. Not as good as the pizza in Briancon, but good enough.

Tres Cols 9th September

It was always going to be a tough ask backing up yesterday’s big ride with another three big cols.  But to get in as much riding as possible during my time in France meant that some hard rides over consecutive days were going to be necessary.

This was a loop listed in the local tourism office cycling guide and given it linked in the Col de la Cayolle 2326m, the Col des Champs 2080m, and the Col d’Allos 2250m sounded too good to pass up.

My legs were as expected very weary; fortunately the Col de la Cayolle makes it height gradually over much of the ascent. Initially the road rose through a tight gorge and over numerous arched stone bridges, then through small villages and pastures dwarfed by the hills on either side.  

Road to the Col de la Cayolle - looking back at one of the bridges

Mid climb up the Col de la Cayolle

The col is sighted a couple of kilometres from the top as the road has made its way above the trees. There are a couple of sections here around 8%, but relief is soon at hand once the pass is reached.

Top of the descent south off the Col de la Cayolle

As per usual, a fast descent led down to the small village of St Martin d’Entraunes where I was able to refill my bidons before heading up to the Col des Champs. Another climb that wasn’t too challenging till the last few kilometres of exposed hairpins.

Last kilometres of the Col des Champs

From the top of this climb, I had the displeasure of descending the worst road down the other side to Colmars. It was a very unpleasant 12 kilometres of rough, potholed hell. With the dappled light through the trees, it was near impossible to read the best lines. All I could do was stand in the pedals, keep a loose grip on the drops and hope for the best. Even a dual suspension mountain bike would have been challenged here!

Thankfully it wasn’t too long, so once on the main road back out to the col d’Allos I was able to try and relax again. By this time though, the last couple of days were taking their toll and I started to suffer. My focus was just on ticking down the distance to the top which lead the final 24km back to town. This worked till I reached the ski resort and saw the final 6 kilometres.

Last switchbacks on the Col d'Allos

Till now I recalled the gradient over this climb wasn’t too bad and indeed these kilometres were only 7%. But seeing the road snaking its way up above definitely dampened my resolve. To add to the stress, I was passed on the way by numerous vintage sports cars to the ski resort and they were using this last section of the climb as a special stage! Open road, in many places only one car wide and these guys barrelling past. I must say they were very respectful, but as you could hear and see them a mile off and if their arrival coincided with a narrower section I happily stopped and waved them through.  This was the most beneficial option for them and me as I had cracked.

I did make the col d’Allos and immediately descended the couple of hundred metres to the Refuge, where I ordered a Coke and an Apple pastry. Once devoured, all that I needed to do was rollback into town.

Descent off the Col d'Allos to Barcelonnette

Given the descent down the Col des Champs, I’d be inclined to recommend this loop in reverse. The Col d’Allos from Barcelonnette looked worthwhile, the other side to the Col des Champs is a good road so the descent would be better that way and the climb up the Col de la Cayolle looked nice as well. Maybe next time…

Ride details:
Distance 120.07km
4673m elevation