Author: Will

This is a great route (map at bottom). If you have climbed Alpe d’Huez, you may have looked across the valley and seen an amazing little road carved into the cliffs above Bourg d’Oisans. I’d avoided it for years, but with my new found “tunnel courage” I finally went to explore. 🙂 The climb starts from the back of Bourg d’Oisans and heads up immediately. A sign warns of four unlit tunnels, but I was prepared with 3 lights — wooohooo! And these were indeed dark tunnels. The longest was just under 400 metres, but uphill. Two tunnels also had…

On a beautiful Sunday morning, Doreen said she wanted to cycle something “special.” So we headed a little south and I introduced her to the fabulous Lacets (hairpins) de Montvernier. Dating from 1934, this fun little road features 18 hairpins in quick succession to climb up to Montvernier. It is impossible to photograph all the hairpins while cycling it. But it is a blast to ride. But a few years back I found a trail (see map below) across a field to a cliff look out that scares the hell out of me. But one can see the entire road.…

Some of my favourite climbs are up to alpine lakes. I didn’t know anything about Lac de Taney, except on a map I could see there was a Col de Taney just before. That was enough for me to go take a look. The climb starts in Vouvry, in the Chablais region of Switzerland. It climbs into the Alps in the opposite side of the valley from Aigle. I brought my Mountain bike, expecting there might be some unpaved stuff (and there was). The first 9 or 10 kilometres are on a big, fairly quiet, well-surfaced road, with plenty of…

I love cycling climbs up to high altitude dams/lakes. These are some of the most neglected big climbs in the Alps, all with the reward of stunning views at the summit. See here for a summary of my 15 favourites. That article will soon be edited to include a 16th. 🙂 Cycle Route 2602800 – via Bikemap.net Starting in Modane, I headed up on a little road behind town. After perhaps four kilometres I turned onto a fantastic even quieter road (marked as “Cycling Route 30”) that heads up to Aussois via several 19th century forts. You can take the…

Above: Grey beard is thirsty at Col de l’Iseran Nothing better than a beer at the summit of a big cycling climb. Glacier de Mont-de-Lans (3158 metres):

The high Alps cols are starting to open – woohoo. It can be fun to climb a col just as it opens, as usually a little snow is still around.

An adventurous but fabulous climb to Oropa and the closed road above

A very nice loop in the Valle d’Aosta, Italy. While in Italy, Valle d’Aosta has French roots. Historically, it was part of the Kingdom of Savoy for most of the last millenium. It is the smallest and most sparsely populated region in Italy. Almost the entire population speaks Italian, but 75% also speak French, and 50% speak a Franco-Provençal dialect: Valdôtain. It is on the south side of the Mont Blanc tunnel, and frankly it feels like just one giant valley, with a bunch of side valleys, all surrounded by high Alps. Yes, great for cycling. I started in Saint-Vincent,…

My wife and I spent the day in Fribourg enjoying Stage four of the Tour de Romandie and its many festivities. We had debated whether to watch atop the one climb, but given the cold and damp weather, we decided to visit the start/finish area. This was the perfect choice as it gave us plenty to do while the riders completed six circuits of the course. Below: A giant screen and beer/snacks area: We arrived just as the race started and saw the peloton pass before the “real” start. I don’t know if it was reported but Voeckler must have…

Beyond beautiful vineyard region with castles perched everywhere.