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

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

The highest paved road in Europe 8th September

For each week, there has always been one day more challenging than the rest. Usually due to the distance to cover, the number of mountains to climb or the elevation gain. This ride ticked all three boxes and was definitely going to test me.

The first col was to be the Col de la Bonette 2715m followed by the short loop up to the Cime de la Bonette 2802m. This climb on its own is a challenge with 1587m elevation gain over 24km. But I wasn’t going to just ride out and back; I was continuing on a 184km loop over two more passes!

The second pass was to be the Col de la Lombarde 2350m above the Ski resort Isola 2000. This pass also marks the border with Italy which was where I was to descend. From the valley below, I would follow the main road up the 30km uphill grind back into France over the Colle della Maddalena 1996m (known as the Col de Larche when approached from France). From here it would thankfully mostly downhill over the last 31km back to Barcelonnette.

The morning was perfect with clear skies and a chill in the air. I wanted to get out reasonably early as I knew this was a big day. Even with arm warmers, it was a cold first 10km up the main valley to the town of Jausiers; the location of the turnoff and start of the climb to Col de la Bonette.  

Looking back down mid climb on the Bonette

Thanks must go to the French and their zeal for road resurfacing and bless them for their love of hot mix. The whole ascent was to be on a lovely fresh silky smooth layer of bitumen. It initially wove its way up taking the left side of the valley through steep pastures and open forest. Then halfway the way was blocked by a cliff band which the road negotiated by a series of hairpins and a precarious traverse. Once through we were soon above the tree line and it opened into a huge basin with the road snaking through the path of least resistance.

Upper basin

The distinctive pyramid shape of the Cime de la Bonette didn’t come into view till around 4km to go and these last kilometres eased in angle offering a chance to recover before the final steep climb above the col to the high point on the Cime. Given its claimed status as the highest paved road in Europe, it was swarming with tourists. So I only stayed long enough for photos before donning my waterproof jacket to block out the wind on the 26km descent to Saint Etienne de Tinee.

The distinctive but not particularly attractive Cime de la Bonette 

I did stop a short way into the descent where the road passes through an abandoned army barracks. As whilst researching my trip, I’d read about murals soldiers painted whilst at Camp des Fourches (built between 1896 and 1910 and manned till after WW2) and wanted to look for them. Only one of the many buildings still had intact paintings and clearly showed the entertainment the soldiers longed for while in this isolated outpost.

The descent continued through Saint Etienne de Tinee to the town of Isola. The climb to the Col de la Lombarde started with a couple of tough kilometres which tested the legs after enjoying a very long descent.  It continued up a tight valley, swapping numerous times back over the inviting stream. Nearer the ski resort Isola 2000 the angle eased and the cooler air made the heat more bearable. I tried to find water or somewhere to buy some food but only found builders constructing busily before the ski season begins.

Leaving Isola

There was only 5 kilometres left to climb to the col from the resort and soon enough I was amongst the usual tourists. The descent into Italy was on a very narrow and rough road. It demanded an intense concentration, not only for the hard braking and corners but also for oncoming vehicles. Much of the way down it was barely wide enough for the oncoming car and I squeezed as hard as possible to opposite verges.  Then there were the motorhomes… I’m continuously amazed at the roads these get driven up!

Last section to the Col de la Lombarde

Descent off the Col de la Lombarde in Italy

Once down on the main road the last climb began. Though nowhere near as steep as the previous two climbs or as high it was still going to be a long slog. A short way along there was a road side café with an ice cream board displayed. I went with what I knew; a Coke and a Magnum Classico. If not for the biting flies I’d probably still be sitting there.

Unfortunately the wind picked up and it wasn’t in my favour. The road was mostly a straight run into this cursed wind till above the town of Argentera, where after around signed tornante 20 I lost interest in reading the signs. Instead, the Marmotte’s living between the bends were a good distraction; odd creatures that look like a very overweight gopher. I’d read they are big and dumb enough to take out cyclists by running in the way on descents; given I had only seen the odd Marmotte during ascents and that I probably could have walked faster at this point they were just the distraction.

Tornante

Above these hairpins the road straightened and eased in the last few kilometres to the col. Here were just a few trucks and a small store selling liquor. Probably a throwback to where this was a manned border crossing and it was most likely bustling with people queuing at the border to bring back cheap alcohol.

Descent of the Colle della Maddalena

There was now just one last obstacle between me and home; a short section of road that is marked as closed to cyclists. The only options if I was stopped here were to either hitch past with the bike or take a dirt track that took a ridge opposite. From what I could gather, the reason why the road is closed is that it runs under an unstable hillside and they don’t want a cyclist slowing traffic. But as my direction was downhill and I kept a car within sight without trying there was no risk and was pointless. I was still relieved when I made the other side and was able to ride back to town.

Ride details:

Distance 183.69km

5784m elevation