Descend Glandon or Croix de Fer?

pollys_bott

Hi;

Have a week booked near Bourg d'Oisans in June and have been granted one day sur velo by SWMBO. I have in mind an out-and-back loop from Bourg taking in the Glandon and Croix de Fer and am wondering if anyone who has ridden both could post on their experience: ie is it better / safer / 'nicer' to descend the Glandon and come back up the CdF or vice versa? I'm leaning towards the latter solely because of all the posts I've read on the Marmotte going down the Glandon and it not being a particularly pleasant experience, but is it an un-pleasant road only when it's full of thousands of Marmotters or is it un-pleasant full-stop?

Cheers...

mrushton

The Glandon leads onto the CdF. Once at the top, a slight descent then the summit of the CdF is about 2km further on. You can then descend back to St.Jean du Maurienne or head for La Toussuire. Otherwise you can climb the CdF, turn round, head back down and turn right and you get 2-4-1 because it's only 1km to the Glandon summit

pollys_bott

mrushton wrote:

The Glandon leads onto the CdF

Yup, I get that - maybe I didn't phrase it well, so: I'm climbing up from Barrage du Verney; is it a nicer ride to go down the Glandon / D927 to La Chambre, across to St-Jean-de-Maurienne then back up the D926 to the CdF; or the other way round?

Thanks

richa

Pollys,
Glandon descent is ok, the issue at the Marmotte is due to (i) numbers, and (ii) speed. Should be fine solo.

You could omit Maurienne valley, descend back to Bourg and try the Col d'Ornan which is often recommended. And of course there is always AdH.

http://www.tourdoisans.com/ for ideas.

airwise

I would descend the Glandon if it were me.

The descent of the CdF has a nasty tunnel on it and a lot more traffic in high season. By contrast the Glandon is deserted.

The climb of the CdF from the North is also the more classic approach. The climb of the North side of the Glandon is somewhat less attractive as you spend a lot of time is trees and the view is always seemingly behind you.

peejay78

out of interest, have you done any other riding in the area? there are other routes you could perhaps try for a day; the sarenne via the balcon route is pretty amazing, there's a fantastic climb up to deux alpes through bons, the galibier and lauteret, etc.

i did the croix de fer in the summer, rode from bourg out and up past the barrage. i had it in mind to carry on and do the marmotte route, but decided i didn't have the legs for it, so came back down the same route. it was the fastest descent i've ever done, at one point peaking at 60mph. it's open and clear with a good line of sight. i'd recommend it.

mattpage

Both good, but I'd go down the Glandon. One of the best descents I've ever done.

oldhairylegs

RichA wrote:

Pollys,
.......descend back to Bourg and try the Col d'Ornan which is often recommended. And of course there is always AdH.

I would also recommend the Col d'Ornan descent.
Did it during the Marmotte week last year and it was fantastic We will definitely be going back for some more this year!

The descent back to Bourg off the Glandon is also a good one - put a film of it on You Tube, which may be of interest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q8JtYtCG1M

pollys_bott

Thanks everyone, good advice and ideas there...
Peejay - I am an Alpine cycling virgin and being in the Bourg area has me poring over Google maps and flicking through that Mountain High book like a kid in a sweet shop Spoilt for choice would be the mother of all under-statements. I've seen a YouTube video of the Sarenne ride via the balcony roads, looks incredible; have always fancied the Izoard for the bonkers geology and Galibier and AdH are just, well, you know... I think I'll just have to be the perfect husband all year and earn myself a week out there in 2013

peejay78

the thing to remember is that the Alpe D'Huez is like the headliner at a heavy metal festival; big, brash, loud, ugly and visceral, and yet strangely compelling and demanding to be seen. there are nicer, more beautiful, challenging rides in the area.

my favourite climb was definitely the sarenne. you can then go across to villard reclusas (i think) and even do the ornon, or the croix de fer, before heading back to bourg.

to tickle your fancy:

http://traumradfahren.wordpress.com/201 ... e-sarenne/

http://traumradfahren.wordpress.com/201 ... r-glandon/

ratsbeyfus

There's a great guide to ascents in the area published by the Bourg tourist board.

http://www.bikes-oisans.com/oisans-trail-cyclo-21.html

Kléber

Yes, there are so many other rides to try. If you want, on the return when you come to the bottom of the Glandon, before the big lake and the dam, take the turning on the left and you can climb up to Villard Reculas and then cut across towards Alpe d'Huez where you will join the climb roughly 2/3s of the way up and you can descent back to Bourg. It'll give you another climb and it's worth avoiding the boring valley road.

dsoutar

Also just to confuse matters further, have a look on Russell of Grenoble's pages. Lots of little hidden gems

http://www.grenoblecycling.com/

pollys_bott

Ended up doing a 100km loop south over the Col d'Ornan-Valbonnais-Sievoz-L'Alpe du Grand Serre-Sechelienne-Bourg... really enjoyed the ascent of Col d'Ornan and I know it's a relative tiddler in the great scheme of things (11k of 6%) but was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable I found it, especially given the lack of riding I'd done in April & May. Hardest part was the constant headwinds being funnelled around the valleys! Had planned on tackling the Croix de Fer but the day before I rode there was fresh snow on the peaks around our campsite (RCN Belledonne, well recommended) at Rochetaille and they're not much higher than the CdF so lowered my sights a bit... still, always next time... and want to ride the road to La Berarde, drove up there later in the week, what a journey!

Le Commentateur

That's a nice loop, the approach to Grande Serre is very scenic.

Done it twice but in the opposite directions, once as part of the Vaujany sportive and once on a day when it was too rainy to go to the higher cols – in fact the part between Grand Serre and Ornon seemed to have completely different weather, nice and sunny, whereas all the rain seem trapped in the Romanche valley (which I had to return to on the descent of the Ornon).

Le Commentateur

As for the original question, I would descend Glandon, take the old valley road (D74) through the hamlets to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and climb the col du Mollard (the D80 road, an easy gradient wooded climb but endless hairpins) that joins the Croix de Fer about halfway up.

matty boy 80

Le Commentateur wrote:

As for the original question, I would descend Glandon, take the old valley road (D74) through the hamlets to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and climb the col du Mollard (the D80 road, an easy gradient wooded climb but endless hairpins) that joins the Croix de Fer about halfway up.

+1 for the Mollard, excellent restaurant just the other side of the col.

Matt

pollys_bott

Le Commentateur wrote:

in fact the part between Grand Serre and Ornon seemed to have completely different weather, nice and sunny, whereas all the rain seem trapped in the Romanche valley (which I had to return to on the descent of the Ornon).

Funny you should say that, it was overcast and dank to the top of the Ornon then got out nice all the way round back to the valley where it was still relatively poor. On returning to the family the point was forcefully made to me by the wife that she'd been stuck in the van with the kids most of the day because of the weather..!