Two rides on the Le Bourg D'Oisans
by Matt Boulin
Ride 1 – Alpe d’Huez
This ride was sparked off by seeing a fabulous photograph of the famous Alpe d’Huez ascent. 27 hairpin bends going up what seemed to be a vertical wall; 1000 metres of ascent, what more could a man want? I’d imagined that the views would be great and there was a little bit of me that wanted to see how I would fare climbing a Tour de France icon. The mountains on the other side of the valley seemed much higher than the one I was going up but as I slowly climbed they became level and eventually lower! Each hairpin had the name of a famous Tour de France winner painted on it. Everything was contriving to make me feel like I was doing something difficult. One long haul later, with lots of photo-stops (one for each hairpin seemed about right) I was on top at an elevation of 1850.
A ski station in summer is interesting as there is lots of noise from the construction going on and all the concrete ugliness normally covered by snow is revealed. I rode around a bit taking in all the activity and revelling in the relatively flat terrain. I then rode a bit beyond the resort to sit at the top soaking up the views of the snow-capped mountains and contemplating the possibilities for the descent.
Finally it was decision time. Do I gain the reward of all that climbing with a high speed descent down the way I came up, or do I take the back road out? I had read that the back road was interesting and in fact went over another minor pass before descending to the valley below. I had also heard that road racers complained that the poorly made surface was hard on their narrow tyres and fragile wheels. Sounds fun.
So off I went. The road quickly deteriorated as expected with lots of potholes and loose gravel. On the contrary the ambience improved as the traffic dropped to about 1 car per hour and the man-made noise abated so that cow bells could be heard. Within 10 minutes it felt like being in deepest France – la profonde. Passing near a small farm (Rocher du Goulet) I became aware of a flock of sheep being moved on the hill. I stopped to watch and whilst sitting there I spied a track snaking away over the hillside. By passing a little further up the valley I was able to cross the stream to gain access to a track that led to the track and view that I had seen. This proved to be absolutely delightful. It went over the broad Col de Cluy (1801m) with stunning views of the mountains beyond.
These mountains were quite a bit higher and mostly covered in snow. There were one or two walkers around but mostly I was alone. Once over the col the track joined a unmade road that contoured around the mountain. Not a comfortable ride on my narrow racing tyres but well worth it. This went on for about 3 miles. I finally joined a very narrow metalled road (D211) that seemed more like a balcony running along the edge of the valley for a few miles through Armentier before it finally dropped to join the original climb.
Ride 2 – Circling the Foret de Dom du Besse
Starting at a height of 1041m at the junction of the D213 with the N91, this junction is a popular one with lots of road cyclists as it features in lots of Tours. I ride across the Barrage du Chambon which creates a lovely lake with a backdrop of soaring mountains and blue skies. As I often do, I am overtaken by “roadies” but I am safe in the knowledge that for the next few hours they will still be going much faster than me as I will be going up!
Just after the barrage I turn left towards the village of Moizen. After a kilometre of switchbacks at 1 in 10 gradient you arrive at the village. This is a very nice hilltop village surrounded by mountains. Carrying on through the village the road continues to climb with only one slight downhill section to relieve the legs.
With all this climbing the views are starting to open out. I fork right for Besse, pass through a really interesting gorge made entirely of shale and then the road really starts to climb in earnest with switchbacks all the way to Besse. If instead of forking right I had carried straight on that road would lead to the “back way” to Alpe d’Huez.
Besse itself is a very nice village with a few shops for ice creams and a fountain to fill water bottles from. Besse is a little Swiss in appearance with lots of flowers and chalet type houses. So Alpine really, not Swiss! We are now at 1541m and you can see the mountain flank ahead with the unsurfaced road criss-crossing across the face. Covered in grass it looks very gentle compared with the snow covered mountains al around it.
Leaving Besse there is a kilometre of flattish road that leads to a campsite, then over a bridge and the road turns sharply and starts to climb again – and it doesn’t stop climbing now until the top. It’s a relentless climb; a bit like climbing Mt Ventoux. The paving ends after the first hairpin but the unpaved surface is pretty good. If it was wet it would be a very slippery surface. Although the climb is very hard work you are rewarded by really tremendous views over the back of Alpe d’Huez – and of course it is therefore necessary to stop often to take pictures.
After I cross the treeline there is absolutely no shade at all and the temperature is around 27 – 30ºc. All hard work. A few short sections have to be walked because a) the surface is too bad, b) its just too steep to ride even in the lowest gear c) it makes a refreshing change for tired legs.
Finally up and over the top (approx 2270m) – with the obligatory photo – to a basin of meadows with cars and people having picnics! They must have come up some other way! The ride back went down in a very similar way to the previous ride. The road ran along above the valley with fantastic views across to snow covered mountains, which if you spent too much time admiring would ensure that you would have a much closer and sooner look at the bottom of the valley. Especially as the road was “surfaced” with loose shale and had absolutely no kerb or barrier stopping you from careering off the edge! A really lovely ride down with views all the way completed a very rewarding day out.
Map used was IGN 3335ET
Matt Boullin
(Ecully, France)