Final Reflections

This had been a very tough tour and most days I was right on my limit. The heat had been a major debilitating factor but also the big Alpine climbs are I think, longer and a bit steeper over longer distances than what we had experienced in the Pyrenees the year before. It was quite an endurance test and in hindsight an extra day to spread the climbing would have helped. Chris was imperious and his regular weekly evening mountain biking on the Mendips throughout the previous winter had clearly helped with his superior fitness. This year Phil, although clearly very fit, was not as strong on the bike as in previous years and I was much closer to him on the climbs particularly in the early part of the week.

Writing this blog a couple of months after competing the tour has helped put what we achieved into some kind of perspective. Although at the time I was a bit disappointed that we hadn't completed the official Raid route in its entirety it now seems insignificant and the memories are of stunning views, fresh Alpine mountain air, lots of excellent food, some  strong debates about all things Brexit, politics,life and the universe and being comfortable in the company of great friends.

Day 6: Beuil to Antibes, 56.1 miles 2,044 ft of ascent (climb as recorded on Strava seems dubious as it was mostly downhill!)

Over a pizza and several beers the previous evening we decided we couldn't face much more climbing  after the five very hot and hard days we had ridden to arrive in Beuil. We poured over my maps and agreed that once we hit the Vars valley we would deviate from the official Alpine Raid route and head straight down the valley to Nice rather than tackle the last few climbs in the Esteron range of the Alpes d'Azur.

To get to the Vars valley we first had to descend the narrow and spectacular Gorge du Cians. The river descends 1,600m in just 25 Kms and the twisty balcony road is cut into the sides of the sheer red shale cliffs. There are numerous tunnels hewn out of the rock. I was glad we were on the right hand side of the road with the river on our left as the drops looked very steep and the barrier by the side of the road offered little protection.

Upper reaches of the Gorge du Cians

Tunnels cut through the rock

Looking back up to one of the narrow points of the gorge

We met a herd of sheep coming up the gorge and the sheepdog took a fancy to the smell of the sun cream on my legs

Sheep dog taking a fancy to my legs

Sheep strewn across the road

Once we hit the Vars valley the road followed the river and the railway line- Chemins de Fer de Provence. It was a good road gently sloping downhill and for the first time on the trip we were able to ride chaingang or paceline style.

We stopped at a very popular roadside boulangerie, doing a roaring Sunday morning trade just north of St Martin du-Var. Phil felt Chis hadn't had enough cakes on the trip so bought him a giant strawberry tart to make up for it.

Chris tucking into a giant Strawberry and Cream tart.

We followed the River Var almost to its mouth just to the west of Nice airport. As we got nearer to the coast the road became a dual carriageway and very busy. Phil got ahead as Chris and I dithered as to which way to go but eventually we found the coastal cycle path which wended its way round to Antibes - the official end of the Alpine Raid. We arrived at our Hotel at just after 1pm giving us an afternoon to celebrate and enjoy the Med. In the evening we rode into Antibes to dine at an excellent fish restaurant - fitting food for our location.

Celebrating the finish in the Med-much to the amusement of the onlookers

Chilling out!  

The Cap d'Antibes

Day 5: Jausiers to Beuil 66.1 miles,11,405 ft of ascent

There were a a large number of cyclists staying at the Hotel Bel Air and all were tucking into hearty breakfasts at the early slot. I hope we left enough for the rest of the guests who probably didn't appear until much later that morning!

Jausiers is at the bottom of the epic climb of the Cime de la Bonette, which claims the title of the highest road in France, if not the country's highest col. A sign at the bottom says it's the highest paved road in Europe but according to Wikipedia, Pico de Veleta in Spain is higher. To get to the summit involves 23 kilometres of climbing which took almost 3 hours (how do you replicate that in the UK?). It proved to be a very enjoyable climb. The first half was at a comfortable 6 to 7% and then after a slight dip the second half ramps up to 8 to 9%. The views were stunning and the scenery on a grand scale as the lovely smooth road twists through a coarse, prehistoric, boulder strewn landscape with patches of snow still lying around. When you reach the Col de Bonette at 2,715 metres there is a wickedly steep loop purposely constructed to claim the highest road in France. At the back of the loop we took a footpath and climbed to the top of the mountain and the stunning viewpoint. 

Climbing the Cime de la Bonette

Striking views back to the Ecrins

The Summit Pillar

Panoramic view from the summit

Looking down on the road loop which circles the summit

Views out to the South

As usual care was needed on the descent to avoid any straying motorbikes crossing the middle of the road. We passed some dramatic waterfalls and stopped in the small town square of Saint Etienne de Tinee for an early lunch. 

Waterfall on the descent

As its name suggests the town lies beside the river Tinee and is surrounded by high mountain slopes forested in pine and larch trees. We found a cafe in the central square after the first restaurant didn't seem interested in our custom. The square is actually a pair of adjoining squares, surrounded by brightly painted buildings, including the 18th-century Saint Etienne church (yellow) and the town hall (ocre red).

We then followed the sweeping Tinee valley downhill for 18 miles, losing a huge amount of height to Saint Sauveur sur Tinee following a separate cycle path away from the road for quite a bit of the route. The heat of the day increased, leaving us with one major climb left to conquer of our tour, the Col de la Couillole. This is not that high, especially compared to what we had been over, at only 1678 metres, but it still involved 1168 metres of climb due to the height that we had dropped from the top of the Cime de la Bonette. The col was the finish of stage 7 of this year's Paris to Nice race (the race to the sun) and was won by Australian Riche Porte. 

Although not quite as bad as yesterday's Col de Vars it wasn't far off and I struggled on the 16 Kms of climbing at an average of 7.3%. Phil texted me to say there was a cafe at the village of Roubion, but somehow I missed the first turning into this hill top village and took the second and failed to find it. I did at least find a water fountain and was able to replenish my bidons. Re-visiting the climb in Strava's virtual flyby mode it can be seen that Phil stormed up the second half of the climb and was actually 2 minutes faster than the polka dot shirt of Chris even though he was still someway behind him going over the summit. A sweeping short descent took us to our Hotel in Beuil. 

Col de La Couillola- no one around to take a photo of me (resisted a selfie!)

Day 4: Cesana Torinese to Jausiers, 72.4 miles 11,749 ft of climb

We didn't make it up to the Colle di Sestriere (the 6th checkpoint) as we were too hot and exhausted the previous evening and it would have now meant going back on ourselves, making an even tougher and longer day. As a result we effectively blew our chances of successfully claiming an official medal for completing the Alpine Raid. However, life is not all about medals and after all we were on holiday!

Comfortable night at the Hotel Chalet Casa, Cesana

We awoke to crystal clear blue skies - it was evident it was going to be another scorcher. The Col de Montgenevre links Briancon in the upper Durance Valley in France with the Susa valley in Italy. It's featured on the tour ten times since 1949. It starts off quite steep at 8% and 9% for the first couple of kilometres and then eases off going through a long tunnel of several kilometres into Claviere- which was an official training site for 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. There was a strong military presence at the border- a sign of the state of high alert France is currently on.

Phil uncharacteristically faffed this morning and left his water bottles behind at the Hotel and had to go back for them so was a bit behind Chris and I when we stopped at the town of Montgenevre for coffee. He made up the time well and was first away for the descent.

Entrance to the Olympic training centre of Claviere

Ski Jump Sculpture by the roadside in Clavier

Chris near the top of the Col de Montgenevre- marked by the Oblesisk in the background  erected in 1804 celebrating Napoleon Bonaparte

The descent to the fortified Roman city of Briancon (the highest in France) is along a very busy road but the views across to the Ecrins range of mountains were stunning. Briancon is a very picturesque town and I recall exploring the town as a family when we camped up the road at Serre Chevalier in 1999.This time we skirted around its edges as we sought the road to Cervieres.

The Col d'Izoard (2360 metres) is a Tour de France icon and has been crossed on the Tour some 34 times since it's first appearance in 1922. This year, for the first time it featured as a summit finish. As soon as you leave Brinacon the road is quieter and starts to climb gradually at 4%, through forest up the lovely Cerveyrette valley to the village of Cervieres with the road at times almost touching the raging river. The next section gets serious as the road suddenly ramps up to 8% and 9% with vicious ramps of 20%. Out of the trees the landscape is barren and surreal. The summit has a lunar feel that defies comprehension. It is perforated with the sepia-coloured spires of Cargneule rock ( a yellowish-brown heavily deformed Dolomitic limestone). We stopped for a drink at the busy cafe frequented mainly by motor cyclists and cyclists and had our cards stamped (somewhat academic now).

The monument at the Col d'Izoard

The very steep descent on the south side is through the extraordinary Casse Desert, a barren mountain side with spiky rock pinnacles amid rocky scree. The Col d'Izoard was host to many great duels in the 1950s between the legendary Italian Fausto Coppi and the French great Louison Bobet and there is an easy to miss Coppi-Bobet monument a Km or so below the summit.

The Casse desert

Phil sussed out a lunch stop for us near Chalp and I had a burger which was nice at the time but then proceeded to reverberate around my stomach all the way up the Col de Vars.

Burger for lunch with Cheddar Cheese!

The next 20 Kilometres were all downhill with the road hugging the spectacular Guil gorge all the way down to Guillestre. And then bang, we were climbing again up to the Col de Vars (2108 metres). The temperature was well into the late 30s and my tyres were sticking to the tarmac. There was little shade and with my mouth dry and hands welded to the lever hoods with a mixture of sweat and energy gel, I had to keep reminding myself that I was on holiday and was supposed to be enjoying myself. I caught up with some Welsh lads also touring but with one of their wives driving a support vehicle with all their overnight kit (message to self noted!), They reported that Phil was only just ahead and they had witnessed him almost immersed in a stream cascading onto the roadside. A viewpoint provided a resting point with spectacular views back to the Barre d' Ecrins (4,102 metres) - the first ever 4,000 metre peak that I climbed back in 1999.

Bottom part of the Col de Vars looking back to the Barre d'Ecrins

How I ever got up the Col de Vars I'll never know - I must have received help from on high (I know Sue was praying for me each day) - for it was one of the low points of the tour and indeed my endurance sport history. Chris, the white knight/angel was waiting for me at a cafe in Ste Marie. The stop, Oranginas (the soft drink of choice on this tour)  and ice cold water in my Bidons seemed to spur me on and the last section through the Ski resort of the Station de Vars and the upper Change valley passed quite quickly and I finally made it to the summit (6523 out of 6599 cyclists on the Strava segment Col de Vars Guillestre - almost the lantern rouge!).

Fourteen miles of little pedalling in the shade of the Forest down to Jausiers saw another day ticked off and by the time the third beer had been consumed that evening the day didn't seem half as bad and the nightmare of an afternoon frying on the Cod de Vars was already a distant memory.