Into the Alpes

After my ride to Grenoble last Saturday, it rained for three days straight. I did not even look at my bike during those 3 days.

On Wednesday, the sun finally reappeared. Not just me, but I think the entire city of Chambery was happy to see the return of some nice weather. So I got out for a leisurely 2 hour ride just to knock the rust off and get limbered up a bit. With the weather on Thursday expected to be even nicer, I decided that tomorrow would be the day to try some serious bicycle riding. After finishing the ride, I got some lunch and then went down to the rental car office to line up a vehicle for tomorrow.

I slept pretty good despite the anxiety of this big day of riding coming up and I was very pleased to see that the day was going to be perfect for riding. The sun was out and the wind was very calm. But first things first. I needed to run an errand this morning. With the use of the rental car, I took the box I packed my bike in for the the plane flight over to the real estate office to store for me. If not for the rental car, I was going to have to carry it to my new apartment all the way across town later this week. By storing it at the real estate office, I will only have to carry it about three blocks when the big move occurs Saturday afternoon. After completing this task, it was off toward Grenoble and beyond. I was a little nervous about getting through Grenoble. The last time I tried it, I had a GPS unit in the car with me. This time, no such luck. At least I had my bearings about me this time, so I figured that with a good old fashion map and some dead reckoning abilities I would have a pretty good chance of not getting too lost. And that is the way it worked out. Once past Grenoble, it was on to Bourg d’Oisans and the classic beginning of the Climb to the top of the Alpe d”Huez.

The Alpe d’Huez might be the most iconic bike ride in the world. It is famous for being ridden in the Tour de France many times and won by the most famous bicycle racers in the history of the Tour. It is not that long of a ride, although the riders of the Tour usually have ridden about 90-120 miles prior to the climb of the Alpe d’Huez and usually over several HC (Beyond Category) climbs before they even get to the base of the climb itself. The climb of the Alpe d’Huez is only 14 km or about 8.8 miles long, but it goes straight up hill. 1279 meters or about 4,195 feet straight up. It has 21 famous switchbacks and I am determined to ride each and every one of them.

From my parking spot, there is about a one km warm up of level road before the road turns left and goes skyward. From this vantage point, it seems almost impossible to think about getting to the top, but I have an advantage. I know that the hardest portion of the ride is the lower portion, so all I have to do is survive the first few kilometers and it should be a piece of cake, right? And I also know that the road flattens around most of the hairpin curves so there is a brief opportunity to rest for a few seconds during the ascent. So off I went. The first km went very nice, but making that first left turn, I went anaerobic immediately. The thought had always been there, but now I confirmed in my mind that this was going to be a very hard ride.

The 21 switchbacks are numbered at each hairpin curve so you have a pretty good idea where you are at all times during the climb. They were not really going by very fast for some strange reason. 21, 20, 19…. You just have to think about this like eating an elephant. One turn at a time. 18, 17, 16. I was riding at a pretty even pace, but I wasn’t even half way to the top and I could feel the fatigue already. Luckily, there are a lot of people riding the road today so there is always someone to try to catch and take your mind off the muscle fatigue in my legs.

Onward it went until 4,3,2, 1! The top! Well, not exactly. Once you get into the ski village of Alpe d’Huez, there is a “Finish Line” marker. But anyone who knows the route from watching the Tour knows that this in not the finish. I think it was put there by the local businesses and cafes to get people to stop, celebrate, and buy stuff. But I know that you have to keep going through the tunnel and up to the actual ski station to ride the entire route. Thankfully, the gradient of the road moderates quite a bit for this last km and I could kind of relax and begin to revel in the conquest of the Alpe.

To say that I brought the Alpe d’Huez to its knees would be a gross mistake. Marco Pantani’s record of 37 minutes is still safe after my attempt. It took me about an hour and 10 minutes. To make a point I suppose, I rode it in a 39-24 gear, saving my 26 rear cog just to say that I did not need all of the gears at my disposal. And also, I did not dope or use EPO. Take that Marco, Lance, and everyone who cheated.

I lingered at the top just long enough to take a few photos and then headed back down. There was still more riding to be accomplished today. Once again in the car, I headed up valley to the village of La Grave to get a quick lunch. I have heard of La Grave. There was a famous skier, Doug Coombs who set up a ski business here for extreme skiers. I know of Doug Coombs because he went to Montana State University around the same time as I went there. Looking up at the mountains from the sidewalk cafe I had lunch at, I can see why the skiing would be “extreme”.

After lunch, I drove up to the top of the Col de Lautaret and then down the back side to the town of Le Monetier. I parked there and rode back up to the Col de Lautaret. This was planned out during my earlier recon the area. Riding up to the Col from La Grave required riding through some real narrow tunnels and I really did not want to do that. The ride up to the Col de Lautaret is pretty easy. From where I parked, it was about 13 km to the top and I think the max gradient is only about 5%. You can spin up it pretty easily. If you are going over the top or turning around, it is a true summit of a climb, but for others it just a place on the map. From the Col de Lautaret, you can continue climbing to the Col du Galibier and that was what I was going to attempt. I say attempt because I can really feel the fatigue in my legs at this point and i wasn’t certain that I was going to make it.

The Col du Galibier is fairly steep and high. It was only 8 km long from the Col de Lautaret, but it is generally the highest point of theTour de France in the years when it is included in the route. I did not mess around with this climb. I used the lowest gear I had from the beginning and hoped it was going to be low enough. The climb began with a series of switchbacks that ascended from the Col de Lautaret and rose fast. From there it made a series of long traverses up into the surrounding snow fields and then up into the high peaks. Although the fatigue has there, I was able to keep turning the pedals over fairly comfortably. I kept looking for clues as to where the top was, but every time I thought I knew where it was, I could see more roadway way above meaning a lot more climbing still ahead. Finally, I came top the Cafe du Galibier so I knew that I was getting close. This was good news and bad news. Good because I was getting close to the top and bad because i knew the steepest part of the climb was the last km. I was going to make the summit at this point no matter what though. And then, magically, I could see the parked cars and the people up ahead and knew that I was there. A 1162 meter climb from Le Monetier up to 2642 Meters in altitude.

Now the really good news. I could coast back to the car without a single revolution of the pedals if I wanted (or needed) to. It was ALL downhill from the Col. I did actually pedal down the Col De Lautaret because it was a straight road and not crazy fast, so I made it to the car in really good time.

So all in all, it was a really exciting day of riding. I only rode around 72 km today, only about 45 miles long, but about 2440 meters of climbing or around 7,560 feet. The Alpe d’Huez and the Col du Galibier in a single day. I will remember this day forever. A real dream come true for me.