Author: Will

What a ride. It started as a quiet, flat ride along the beautiful Lake Annecy bike path with Doreen. But after 20 kms we came to the start of the Col de la Forclaz. I had watched the 2004 Tour de France up this Col. Its a short (8.5 kms) but terrific climb along a VERY steep road. Probably steeper than anything Doreen has ever climbed with a few short stretches in the teens and two full kilometres AVERAGING 11% and 11.5%!I felt pretty good and went ahead. Sweating waterfalls but really enjoying the effort. At the top I grabbed…

Third huge Tour de France climb this week. This giant will bein Tour next Thursday. One of the few climbs where Armstrong struggled. For More CHALLENGE UPDATE: My 21st +1,000 Metre climb of 2006

After two good climbs on the weekend, I took tired legs up the difficult but great Col de la Colombiere. This is probably the closest famous climb, only about 30 minutes away from homeSee below: The last three kilometres are brutal along a thin ledge up to a nice restaurant (bacon Omelette!!). View Larger Map

Today Doreen joined me in climbing the mountain behind us. Starting from home, it’s a 38 kilometre loop with about 1,000 metres in climb.Well done.

Classic Hors Categorie Climb deep in the French Alps. It will be in the Tour de France next week. My cycling magazine describes the last two kilometers as the finale from hell. STEEP: View Larger Map View in Google Earth

High above the village of Samoen is the Plateau des Saix and the Samoen "1600" ski station. The route is in the opposite direction but starts at the same spot as the more famous Joux Plane (in this year’s tour de france). I parked a few kms away in Morillon so I would have a few flat kilometres to warm up. This is another short but super steep climb on a scenic, quiet road. An 8 km stretch averages a painful 10% with one kilometre at 12.7% (YIKES!) and two more over 11%. It was very hot and I certainly…

Doreen and I hiked up to the tiny glacial lake tardavant, high above La Clusaz ski resort in the Aravis Alps. Super hot but still some snow and ice on the lake (about 2,100 metres high).

Despite having climbed many of the hardest and biggest routes in France, there is a climb that starts from my backyard that I have been scared to attempt.Our new house is at the foot of a little mountain – Le Salève – that overlooks Geneva and blocks our view of Mont Blanc. It stands alone between the Alps to the South and the Juras to the north. There are five ways up and the direct route is STEEP. Its a short climb but four kms in the middle at 10.5%, 12%, 13%, and 12%. This is leg numbingly steep. Starting…

Joux: Mountain Forest A super scenic climb in the Porte de Soleil ski region (largest connected ski area in the world) that starts at Morzine ski-station. I climbed the South route to the Col and onto Avoriaz a couple of years back during a heat wave and had descended today’s north route and knew it was nice. Not too hard but 3 or 4 tough kilometres. Early in the ride is a beautiful Alpine lake. Its a beautiful narrow valley with more tree cover than usual for this sort of ride. About half way up the hairpins start in earnest. …

Probably the most famous climb in the Juras. There are four very steep ways up this monster. To become a Confrérie des Fêlés du Grand Colombier (translated: Brotherhood of Loons (freaks, crackpots) of Grand Colombier) one needs to climb all four in one day. YIKES …. I am a decade past being able to do that as each climb is a challenge in its own right. One route has parts with a grade of 22%! Trust me 11% is very hard, 22% near impossible. Cyclists are sternly told not to descend by this route. It’s just too steep. Although just climbing…