Routes out of Bourg d'oisans

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  • popette
    popette Posts: 2,089
    Hi Heavymental! 6 weeks til we go to Bourg now :) and really looking forward to it. Love reading about the rides that we might be doing not too long from now.
    I have a question: is it possible to ride flat roads from Bourg? I had planned to go and take in as many hills as possible in preparation for the Etape but not sure I'll be able to do that now (I need to have a cardio version done in about 5 weeks time (shocking my heart back to a normal rhythm - which was why I felt I was having an asthma attack on really steep hills with my HR at 232!)) so I'm not sure what state I'll be in by then. I'm still riding now but have to stay off hills.
    By that stage I may be back to full cycling again but will be good to know that there are flat routes so that I can still take my bike and get some cycling done. (That was the whole point of going after all!)
    Anyone know any flattish routes?
    http://www.2010etape.blogspot.com
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,553
    Unfortunately you'll struggle to find any decent flat riding around Bourg d'Oisans. The main road heading north is fairly flat for about 5 kms towards Allemond but then it drops downhill pretty much all the way to Vizille just south of Grenoble. All other roads out of Bourg d'Oisans go uphill.
  • popette
    popette Posts: 2,089
    mmmm - that's a shame but I may be fixed by then anyway. We will have a car so could drive to a different start point for flattish routes. Stupid question really isn't it?: any flat cycling to be found IN THE ALPS !! he he :lol:
    http://www.2010etape.blogspot.com
  • heavymental
    heavymental Posts: 2,091
    popette wrote:
    Hi Heavymental! 6 weeks til we go to Bourg now :) and really looking forward to it. Love reading about the rides that we might be doing not too long from now.
    I have a question: is it possible to ride flat roads from Bourg? I had planned to go and take in as many hills as possible in preparation for the Etape but not sure I'll be able to do that now (I need to have a cardio version done in about 5 weeks time (shocking my heart back to a normal rhythm - which was why I felt I was having an asthma attack on really steep hills with my HR at 232!)) so I'm not sure what state I'll be in by then. I'm still riding now but have to stay off hills.

    Hi Popette, thats doesn't sound like much fun, hope it all goes well and you manage to take on some of the steep stuff too. Otherwise, just do it French style, couple of miles pootling followed by coffee and pastry before heading home :D I'm looking forward to hearing how you got on and any recommendations you have. I'm spending alot of time idly looking at maps and have picked up alot of ideas from this thread but it'll be nice to hear how you got on as we'll be in exactly the same place a few weeks after you!

    Long shot, but does anyone happen to know if the Grand Goulets road in the Vercors is open yet? Last year my French sign reading let me down and we rode a long way up before hitting the road closed signs and had to turn back and go a long way around to get back to the car.
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Popette - so sorry about your heart wobble - hope it gets sorted smoothly. Cycling on flatish roads in teh Alps is possible if you follow the valleys but they are usually busy and uphill in one direction!
    A few hours south brings you to teh countryside between Ventoux and Nyons which although isn't flat is much more gentle, quiet & sccenic. You also have teh whole of teh Cote du Rhone to go at...
    :wink:
  • nick hanson
    nick hanson Posts: 1,655
    popette wrote:
    mmmm - that's a shame but I may be fixed by then anyway. We will have a car so could drive to a different start point for flattish routes. Stupid question really isn't it?: any flat cycling to be found IN THE ALPS !! he he :lol:
    Sorry to hear of your problem,hope it's sorted soon?
    Not really any flat routes,you'd have to travel to Grenoble,then do some riverside routes :( .
    Must admit it's why i quite like the Pyrenees,as the valley routes tend to be of a lower altitude than the Alpine routes,&flatter,but the big climbs,in terms of metres gained,match the Alps
    so many cols,so little time!
  • popette
    popette Posts: 2,089
    hi - thanks for the messages. I go for some tests on Wednesday. I'm sure that it'll be fine - I just want to get started with treatment, get it all right and then hit the hills again.
    I've been out tonight and did 28 miles with avg speed 16.9, keeping my HR to around the 125 mark and backing off it it got higher than that. On the flat is fine, as you have an option to slow down a bit - there is just no escape on a 20% hill is there? and that's when I see those ridiculous HRs. I've still not given up on Alpe D'huez - I can stop for a breather at every hairpin if necessary. :)
    http://www.2010etape.blogspot.com
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Yes Popette you can take it easier on the hairpins but its the bits in between that will send your HR up!!
  • xover_runner
    xover_runner Posts: 228
    I'm at Alpe D'huez in a couple of weeks. One of the routes I am planning is start at St Martin D'Arc then Galibier-Col Du Lauterat-D1091 back to AlpeD'Huez. Looks about 60 mikles so should be a nice day in the mountains. Anyone done this? any advice.

    cheers
  • craigenty
    craigenty Posts: 960
    I take it you are being dropped off in St Martin? If so, yes, a fantastic route. In effect you'll be doing "half" of the Marmotte route. Telegraphe, Galibier and The Alpe. Approximately 93km.

    From St Martin you're only about 1km from the foot of The Col du Telegraphe so you might want a quick spin in the valley first to get warmed up.
    Craig


    http://www.veloventoux.com
    Check us out on Facebook
    http://tinyurl.com/6nx8afo
  • popette
    popette Posts: 2,089
    Heavymental - this place is amazing. The house is wonderful, it has everything that you could possibly want. We've had a great time and would love to come back here again.

    I made it up Alpe D'huez - I got dropped off at the first church so missed the really steep sections on the first 5 hairpins. Made it up the rest going about 4mph and kept my avg HR around 120. It was a really fantastic day, probably the best ride of my life. There was a huge charity event on today and the climb was full of dutch riders, doing as many climbs up as they could in a day. The road was lined with supporters and we were cheered for most of the way. I stopped on one hairpin (one which had a really frightening sheer drop - I have to keep telling myself not to look down) and got my photo taken and then they gave me a bit of a push back up. I'm not going to make the Etape this year but I felt like I got a real taste of it today. Just brilliant!

    hope you enjoy it as much as we have.
    http://www.2010etape.blogspot.com
  • russell_in_france
    russell_in_france Posts: 124
    Long shot, but does anyone happen to know if the Grand Goulets road in the Vercors is open yet? Last year my French sign reading let me down and we rode a long way up before hitting the road closed signs and had to turn back and go a long way around to get back to the car.

    No, it's still closed. I cycled nearby in last weeks Challenge du Dauphine event. I'm not sure it'll ever be open again. They have built a tunnel now which arrives at the same spot as the Grand Goulets and hut off access to the gorge. I just hope that they do leave the top of the gorge open for walking and cycling as it is one of the wonders of the Alps.

    Russell
    www.grenoblecycling.com
  • heavymental
    heavymental Posts: 2,091
    Great to hear! Thanks Popette! Thats reassuring and really looking forward to it now :D:D Glad to hear you had a good day on the Alpe. Its an amazing place isn't it and sounds like it was made extra special when you were there. Gives you a nice taster for your next trip doesn't it. Did the cardio version thing all go ok then?

    Thanks for that Russell. Even if they finish it soon I guess we don't want to be riding through the tunnel then so its best to miss out that road altogether? Is that what you'd suggest or is it worth going that way? We turned back and went around via Choranche last time which was a nice route although we were tired due to not anticipating the extra mileage caused by the road closure.

    By the way, I asked the question here rather than on your pages as I had a virus warning pop when I looked on yours. Sure its fine now but just mentioning it.
  • russell_in_france
    russell_in_france Posts: 124
    Thanks for that Russell. Even if they finish it soon I guess we don't want to be riding through the tunnel then so its best to miss out that road altogether? Is that what you'd suggest or is it worth going that way? We turned back and went around via Choranche last time which was a nice route although we were tired due to not anticipating the extra mileage caused by the road closure.

    I'm not sure if the tunnel will be open to bikes and I guess it's not going to be the most pleasant place to cycle. The best way up onto the plateau will be from Pont-en-Royans, climbing towards Villard-de-Lans - it's not steep, and even my wife is happy to cycle here. At least way, you can continue towards Villard or turn south towards the Col de Rousset or the recommended Col de la Machine for the views.

    I also heard the the Col de Romeyere is closed at the moment due to another landslide, which is a real shame. We do still have the Col du Mont Noir so there are possibilities to ride the impressive roads up there.
    By the way, I asked the question here rather than on your pages as I had a virus warning pop when I looked on yours. Sure its fine now but just mentioning it.

    Yes, somebody hacked my website. I saw this and spent a day getting it clean. Every HTML page, and every PHP page had been updated to point to a site somewhere in the world with bad stuff on. I do apologise if it affected you, but it was out of my hands. I deleted and reuploaded everything, reinstalled the forum, gallery and blog, and then had to ask to Google to get them to check the site and add it back to the search engine once they were happy that it was clean. It's clean now, and I also personally check every account that wants to be part of the site.

    Cheers, Russell
    www.grenoblecycling.com
  • heavymental
    heavymental Posts: 2,091
    Yep, I think thats the route we'll be taking. We did it last year, riding from St Martin en Vercors to the Col de Machine via the Col de Carri, through the Combe Laval and down to Pont en Royans before returning via Choranche....after a fruitless trip up to the roadworks at the Grand Goulets! Was a very nice 50 miles or so.

    What a bummer on the website. Glad its up and running again now though. Its a great site. Thanks for making the effort.
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    At last booked my hol for the summer. We're getting ferry across on Sat 19th July, driving down and stopping half way in a Formule 1 or Etap style place, then finishing up in Bourg on Sunday 20th ready for Le Tour to come to town on 23rd/24th.

    Will get some rides in while I'm out there, although the OH has warned me to go out early so as not to impinge on the families holiday :D . Not sure I'll manage some of those mega routes you guys have talked about, but will at least have a go up Alpe and ride out around the area.

    Is there anywhere in the area to hire MTBs? I'm a bit nervous about taking our lad out on the road so will probably try to find an easy trail, but will need an MTB rather than my road bike.
  • ecrinslodge
    ecrinslodge Posts: 45
    Have a look at: http://www.bikes-oisans.com/cycling-oisans-88.html Here they have a fantastic guide book of the area that you can order. Our guests use it religiously.
    Specialists in Bike Holidays
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    ecrinslodge wrote:
    Have a look at: http://www.bikes-oisans.com/cycling-oisans-88.html Here they have a fantastic guide book of the area that you can order. Our guests use it religiously.

    thanks for the tip.
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    Book arrived today. Not read it thoroughly yet, but it looks great.
  • st68
    st68 Posts: 219
    hi there im staying in ribot 12th hairpin on the alpe 1st week in august went last year i rode the alpe obviously up to the croix der fer col de ornon les deux alps villard reculas to alpe duez telegraph & galibier beautiful stunning scenery this year im gonna ride col de izoard col de madeleine as well as some of the previous routes ive mentioned they are all quite tough but well worth every drop of sweat the weather varies due to the nature of the mountains but was generally good for my week now im hooked pyrenees and ventoux next year enjoy it its great :wink:
    cheesy quaver
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,553
    st68 wrote:
    hi there im staying in ribot 12th hairpin on the alpe 1st week in august went last year i rode the alpe obviously up to the croix der fer col de ornon les deux alps villard reculas to alpe duez telegraph & galibier beautiful stunning scenery this year im gonna ride col de izoard col de madeleine as well as some of the previous routes ive mentioned they are all quite tough but well worth every drop of sweat the weather varies due to the nature of the mountains but was generally good for my week now im hooked pyrenees and ventoux next year enjoy it its great :wink:
    And breath! :shock: :wink:
  • heavymental
    heavymental Posts: 2,091
    Had a great week. Raining on the Saturday we arrived but cleared up and had a perfect week. Checked out some of the rides suggested here. Loved the alternatives to a straight up and down of ADH. the route through Villard Reculas is lovely and from the top over the Cold De Sarenne was beautiful. Probably the highlight of the trip actually as I didn't think it would be that spectacular once we got over the Sarenne. A real hidden gem.

    Hardly touched the car all week except for a trip out to the Galibier. Didn't get around to revisiting the Vercors but found so much to do in the area around Bourg we didn't feel we needed to drive anywhere.

    All in all a brilliant week. Not too happy to be back....Russel you're a lucky man. Any jobs going in Grenoble? Seriously!
  • tourdoisans
    tourdoisans Posts: 2
    This company offers cycle hire online

    cycle hire bourg d'oisans and alpe d'huez

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