Charmant Som

Today was the big day: test my newly stretched and rehabilitated knee. I'd been having more and more problems until finally a few weeks ago the pain had been so intense (IT band -- I'm sure many of you have experienced it too) that on a ride up to Porte, I couldn't go any further and resorted to pedaling with one leg to get home after abandoning the climb. No problem on the flats, but it proved to be a major pain in the ass on the one small climb I needed to get over to get home. Anyway, I've been working on it and on cleat position ever since, and did a test ride earlier in the week -- the standard lunchtime loop, with 600 or so meters of gain. No problems there, which was awesome, so I decided to try for something bigger. I threw caution into the wind and went for the exact same itinerary at which things had fallen apart for me last time: col de Vence, col de Porte and possibly further. After rolling through Grenoble, things were feeling good: no issues. Then the climb began, and ... no pain!! Speed was respectable, and I was in the zone on the steeper section before col de Vence. Then came the flat section, up the valley via Sappey and to Porte. I stopped there to hydrate and readjust cleats slightly, and then on to Charmant Som. Charmant Som isn't a huge climb -- another 360 or so vert meters, but they are steep, and it comes after the HC climb to Porte, so it always feels pretty tough. The road snakes through trees and under the odd derelict ski lift, and eventually you emerge from the trees and into a beautiful alpine pasture, with sweeping views in all directions of the Chartreuse. Awesome. At the very top, there is cafe/restaurant




which sells fruit tarts, coffee, and the usual good stuff (also available at col de Porte, by the way), but the 10E bill that I usually leave in my saddle bag was nowhere to be found, so it was descending time. Down via Sappey, across the col de Vence, then towards Quaix

and home.