An Amazing ride

I had been hearing about the Cormet de Roselend for years, and particular about how beautiful it was, but never made it up there. Hank had been telling me about the area for a few years -- and not just Roselend, but also col du Pre and Cormet d'Areches. He had formulated a cunning route that would involve all of those cols, and assured me that it would be fantastic. The only catch was that it would also be 100km and roughly 3000 meters of climbing, i.e. a hell of a ride. So after one abort due to weather, it was on today, and what a ride it was. Some of the most stunning scenery I have seen, and well worth visiting even if you don't ride a bike. The ride started in Beaufort, where the climbing started immediately, up through a wooded valley


past a dam

and then into a beautiful open valley surrounded by tall peaks


and eventually turned into a steep dirt track that seems designed to thwart the less adventurous road bike riders. It really isn't that big a deal as long as you pay attention to your lines though. This can be difficult when you are surrounded by the scenery though. Then it was down the dirt upper section




which turned into an insanely fast switchbacked downhill.
At this point, one of our ride partners (Seb) discovered that his tires had been shredded by the rocks, and his rear tire exploded with an impressive report as we entered the small town of Granier.

After doing a field repair of the tire, Sylvain and Seb descended to look for another tire (Not easy, considering it was Sunday), and Hank and I continued on the glorious shelf road that takes you through small towns with baroque churches. All the while, with sweeping views of mountains. Eventually we descended to Bourg Saint Maurice and waited for the others to find the tire. I gorged myself on a gigantic ice cream, in the mean time. From there, it was up the beautiful valley yo the Cormet de Roselend. Spectacular, but so damn hard -- especially with the wind. At the col

I bought a sandwich and coke, inhaled them, then bought some cool minerals and crystals for the kids at a temporary stand. After ten or fifteen minutes Seb arrived, and then Sylvain after another fifteen or twenty, and then Hank, looking a bit shaken. We had made it up the hardest part. Next, more glorious scenery


and a small climb up to a cafe where we had beers, then a spirited descent back to the car. An amazing ride indeed.