Farewell Europe, till' we meet again

Finally a break in the rain here in the French Alps, we headed off on our final ride in the Marienne Valley before we head towards Geneva, to fly back home.

Dave as always, plots the route and what a great ride it was.  Col du Mollard, a climb of 19.2km in length with an average of 5.5%, nothing too hard, through beautiful green canopy, narrow quiet road, no traffic. Switchback central, right from the start, we were heading up, a total of 56 switchbacks, (Dave counts them) very evenly graded, until the trees open up onto Alpine meadows, with a small ski resort in the distance.  Being our last ride here, Dave was in fine form, climbing a steel bike but couldn't reach the seat and couldn't pass up an opportunity to poke his head and hands out of this hand carved fellow.


Weather was predicted to rain again from midday, so it was a short stop before we donned our jackets for the descent. On one side of the Col, brilliant blue skies, then to the north, heavy clouds.


The descent down to St Jean de Maurienne was really good, smooth roads as they prepare for the Tour de France coming through on July 2nd.  Glorious views.  It was so nice to finish out trip without lots of motor bikes and traffic.  Back tiny roads, are our thing.

I leave Europe with no regrets, I have climbed a total of 53,092 metres in elevation and cycled over 3,172 in kilometres.  Very pleased that I achieved Mont Ventoux and Col du Tourmalet.  Definitely the two hardest rides here for me, but have surpassed the elevation of Mount Hotham four times.  

This holiday has given me the confidence I lacked, in tackling big mountains.  So that is really pleasing, I may be slow, I never ride over 70% of my capacity, so I can back up riding time and time again.  For me, it's not about being fast, it's the whole journey of discovering an area, my cycling ability, setting goals and achievements.

We have already started planning our holiday in 2025, Spain is a definite as are the Pyrenees.  We just simply love the lifestyle of a cycling holiday.

Thank you for reading, I hope you haven't been too bored.  I have enjoyed telling you how it is, no bullshit, just me and the bike.










Comments

  1. St PaulJune 26, 2024 at 10:31 PM

    You must almost be back. I was inspired to ride Mt Ventoux from Bedoin on FulGaz last night, but unfortunately although I kept going, the internet played up and I had to do in two stages, one immediately after the other.
    Second problem was that because it just does not flatten out, it took me a little longer than I thought, and I had to finish at Chalet Reynard (the intersection with the Sault road) as State of Origin was about to start, so still the last 6kms to go (the bit that looks like the moon).
    See you soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. St PaulJune 26, 2024 at 10:32 PM

    Perhaps Tourmalet next week if I live that long

    ReplyDelete

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