Author: Will

Col de la Colombiere is the closest “famous” climb to me – just over 30 minute drive away. It was in the Tour last year and I will be cycling it again with a couple of friends on July 17th, in this year’s Tour de France. Strangely, at the bottom it was signed as CLOSED – although I was pretty sure there would be no snow remaining. In the event, it meant less traffic on a beautiful Sunday – and there was just a little snow at the side of the road. View Larger Map The last 3kms are very…

Probably the most scenic ride of the year. The route starts on the eastern edge of Lake Geneva in Montreux (home of the famous Jazz festival). I began at the Freddy Mercury statue on the lakeshore and the work began immediately. My book had warned me that there was a stretch at 20% early in the ride. Remember 10% is very difficult and 15% almost impossible. I actually hit my highest heart rate of the ride doing about 3 kilometres an hour. It’s an amazing route snaking above the city with unbelievable views of the lake and the Alps. This…

April was a great riding month. The weather was near perfect. I am pretty pleased to do so many big rides after surviving my minor surgery and I am feeling about 95% recovered. Lots of great rides, not least of which were two big rides in the Jura mountains, notable for the for being virtually car free. Col de Richemond and Col de la Biche and Col Hunting I am feeling pretty motivated and may increase the challenge.

Cycle Route 836465 – via Bikemap.net Courchevel is a very posh ski resort (David Beckham stayed here with wife Posh) in the Trois Vallées region of the French Alps. It was the finish line for stage 10 of the 2005 Tour de France, won by Valverde but where Armstrong took back the lead on the way to winning his final Tour. You may think you are finished when you reach Courchevel 1850 – which strangely is at 1,750 metres . But the road continues up to the “Altiport”, an airport for the rich and famous, at 2000 metres. Note in…

Col du Grand Cucheron is at the entrance to the Maurienne Valley. This sparsely populated valley extends for perhaps 40 or 50 miles, with huge mountain ranges on either side. thus there are very few ways out of the valley, and it is the beginning of several of the greatest climbs in France. Just before my exit, there was a road sign detailing the status of 7 Cols. Cucheron was open. Col du Galibier, Col du Glandon, Col de la Madeleine, Col de l’Iseran, Col de la Croix de Fer, Mont Cenise, ALL CLOSED – still plenty of snow around…

The Col du Grand Colombier is easily the most epic climb in the Jura Mountains – but the Col de la Biche right beside, is known as its crazy cousin. And just a little bit further along, the Col de Richemond might be the nice little brother. Starting in Bellegarde, this loop started with the Col de Richemond. I don’t know how else to describe it but pleasant. Not too steep, through the woods, on a quiet road; But don’t underestimate it. It is still 750 metres of climb. There is a memorial for French resistance fighters killed in WW2…

A great hilly loop from home to Chilly and back – quiet, scenic, fast roads. More than a thousand metres in climbing without searching for an alp.

A long (30 km) climb from Lake Annecy on a quiet roads up the back way to Le Semnoz – the mountain that dominates the west side of Lake Annecy. The route is about 30kms (the first 9 are flat) starting near Annecy along the bike path and climbing from less than 500 metres to almost 1,700 metres with a couple of downhills along the way. I climbed the first part with a nice guy from Annecy while we discussed famous climbs and tomorrows French elections. At the Col de Leschux (900m), he descended home and I continued up some…

Col du Grand Taillet is one of my favorite climbs – surrounded by mountains a little south of Thonon and Evian. It winds up mountain on a quiet road and there are always a couple of hair-turns directly below. At the Col you can add 4 more kms up to a well known panoramic belvedere called Trechauffex with views of lake Geneva. I climbed Treschauffex last summer but today my goal was to continue on and climb back to the car via the Col du Corbier – a new climb for me. A great loop. Route 2,857,786 – powered by…

In the Alps, you can always find snow – if you go high enough. We have skiied many times at Flaine – its probably the highest resort near Geneva. It was 25°C (77°F) at the start, but i knew the 21 km route with 1,350 metres of ascent would lead me to cooler weather, so I brought a jacket. Lucky too, because to my great surprise, about half way up it finally dawned on me that the reason for the light traffic was because there was still skiing. Amazing. About a km from the top I passed our usual parking…