Author: Will

38.5 km Easy ride with Doreen on a hotter day than we’ve seen in a while. Total distance 7,037 kms will-davies.com

35.8 km Moderate effort local ride before storms moved in. Only 3,001 kms to go! Total distance 6,999 kms will-davies.com

35.0 km Easy recovery ride on the least hilly route I could find. Total distance 6,963 km will-davies.com

52.7 kms Flaine (France) is one of our two favourite ski stations and is only about 45 minutes away. Thus, I know the road very well. It had always seemed a bit intimidating driving the route especially right from the bottom, but since I knew it was easier than Mont du Chat, now seemed a good time to try it. Starting at the very bottom just off the autoroute (490 metres) , it is a pretty long climb (+22kms) and relatively hard averaging just under 7%. But it is a superb route that snakes up a jagged alpine setting.…

3d Satellite View of Today’s Ride – click to Enlarge. MOM: We stayed in Aix-Les-Bains when you visited. The nice hotel with flowers etc. Where you had that huge fish stew with the crazy waiter. 😉

44.9 km Think of that really short steep stretch on your local ride that you hate because it’s just a bit too hard. Now imagine it’s 13 kms long. I have had my eye on Mont du Chat for a couple of years. But partly due to fear, and partly because it is not a famous Tour de France climb (it appeared only once in 1974 when Poulidor dropped 5x champion Merckx going up only to be caught on the descent), I have avoided it. But it was recently included by a French magazine on its list of the best…

26.8 kms BAAAAAAAAAAAHH! Total distance 6,830 kms will-davies.com

36.2 km Relaxing early ride (to avoid the rain) with Doreen. Total distance 6,804 kms will-davies.com

48 kms We climbed the legendary Col de la Colombière today. I am not sure why I have never climbed this hill – as it is only 45 minutes from home and features often in the Tour de France. We climbed the harder north side. It is 17 kms with about 1,100 meters of ascension. It keeps getting harder with the last 3 kms easily the hardest with stretches of 12%! After i finished the climb I descended about 7 kms down the other side and climbed back up succesfully timimg it so I met Doreen at the top.…

66.3 kms Hard ride from home around the Vuache mountain. Total distance 6,720 kms will-davies.com