The massive detour!

So point A was were I was last night, point B is where I wanted to go. The red skull and cross bones are where the road is closed. The blue lines ended up being the only options. Choices, choices.

So last night I found out that a tunnel was collapsing due to the side of a hill falling down. It was right inconveniently placed on the one road linking Bourg d'Oisans with Biancon, where I wanted to head to. I had a look at a few things last night but was just too tired and needed sleep so didn't get a solution. This morning over breakfast though it was a real ups and downs moment.

So apparently the side of the hill is literally falling down due to seismic growth of the mountain or something. Although I found a rough English translation to the issue I think I grasped the guts of it correctly. The hill was moving at 5cm per day, and had caused cracks in a tunnel and rock slides and things. Basically though this is the only road through these parts. The other road options were over double the distance and a lot more climbing than I wanted to do on an easy day (my legs were feeling it yesterday so I thought I had better have an easy day to allow them some rest).

Researching I found out that there was a bike path. Awesome! Is it sealed or gravel? As long as it isn't too gravelly rose can take it. Unfortunately, further research found the path to be fully closed as they were tar sealing this and making it into a single lane road as an interim measure. Gutted.

Then I found there was a ferry that takes people across the dam around the closed road. Awesome! However, further research found that now the hill was moving at 25cm per day, and the ferry had stopped in case when the hill went (they are expecting it all to fall in soon) a large wave could endanger the ferry. Gutted.

The issue has really impacted local business in the area, and there is a real concern what winter, the high season, will bring if cars can't get through and are not willing to take a detour. Anyway, for locals, when the ferry stopped they put on a helicopter daily so businesses can remain open etc.

So, bite the bullet huh, do a massive detour. One way takes me back the way I came and two days cycling to get to Briancon, and two hard days. The way to the south will be slightly easier for climbing, slightly longer for the distance though. Probably also two days considering what time in the morning it was. I had already whittled the last remaining 'must do' climbs down to three; the Izoard, Cime de la Bonette, and really hope Agnel. If all I care about, and with this detour I think this is the case now, I don't need to get to Briancon, I just need to get to these climbs which are further south than Briancon. Decision then was easy, the south I go!

The road leading out from Le Freney d'Oisans

So off I went. My legs had felt a little tight this morning, which is the first tiime so far, but once I started pedaling they felt fine. I headed down to Bourg d'Oisans before turning off to head over the Col d'Ornon. It is a Tour climb and seems popular in the area. It was only around 12kms long with about 700m of height gain so not too bad. The gradient also was kind also, hovering around 7% with only one cheeky bit.

For most of it you are skirting up the side of a hill, until it all opens out to farmland. Not a bad climb if you are in the area, but not breathtaking like others. When almost at the top the clouds were being blown over the top of the col, creating a really awesome view.

Once at the top, I dressed up expecting it to be a bit chillier on the way down with the cloud, and heading off. It was a nice descent with good roads, and thankfully it was only about 500m into the downhill and the sky turned blue again. Impressive, as it seemed I was watching clouds be formed thinking about it afterwards.

Once at the bottom it wasn't too far until I turned off for the second pass. I had no idea what it was called at the time, it was just a short cut over a hill that cut a lot of distance off. I knew it was going to be steep, but I was not expecting 7km of 11% or more. There was an occasional 8% to get your breath back, but it was steep. I did feel the legs on this one!

Unceremoniously, the top is just a hairpin. No sign or anything, but as the road heads down straight after the hairpin it is a safe bet you are at the top. The only thing there were a lot of hunters cars.

Heading down was a nice feeling, as I believed all my climbing for the day was done and it was flat for the remainder of the ride. Unfortunately, no. It was rolling hills. It is common in NZ to have rolling hills but not here that I have seen and man they caught me off guard. I dislike them at the best of times as you struggle up, then a short downhill not long or steep enough to stop pedaling for, over and over again. Add to that today when I was feeling a bit down on power in my legs and it was tough going for sure. Still, it make the time pass.

I was wanting to get as far as I could today, but there was another little pass that was thrown at me. I was wanting to cut the corner so not have to go through Gap. It seemed to take a lot of distance off. In my haste in planning this morning I did not look very closely at the road and low and behold, when I arrived at it, I was unsure if it was there, or if it even was maybe it hadn't been used since Napoleon march through here. So, I continued on to Gap but had not looked a the route to know what to expect. It was only a short pass but it was enough to tell me my legs would be happier to stop in Gap. So I did.

The unexpected pass

So that was my day. Was not about searching for passes to climb, it was just about moving out of necessity to get around the detour. Just goes to show how important some of these passes really are if it means an extra 100+ kilometres if one closes down.

Tomorrow I will plan for now.

Highlight: Either the first road down from Le Freney this morning, or the top of Ornoon. Both really cool.
Lowlight: Finding out the road was closed and there was no other options near by. My face must have been classic!
Lesson Learned: These passes are for more than just cyclists to have fun on. It really does sound like those towns in the area heavily rely on them for tourists and the like, but also for necessities like food. Never thought about that before.