Rain delayed but one of the best climbs to date!

Rain, rain go away...

Well today started out as planned, until it rained just as I was on the road. I waited it out before heading off to see the best dressed stop/go man I have ever seen, saw some famous ski fields (again), got sleeted on (better than rain!) and have a new best ride to date. So all up, after a rubbish start it all turned out aces!

So was a bit of a slog to get on my way this morning - unsure why. But I did get off and underway by 0930 which isn't my worst time yet. Unfortunately, just as I had put the bags on Rose and started heading out of town it started to spit, then drizzle, then smash it down with rain. The weather report had said it was only supposed to be 'partly cloudy' for the day with current fog. Looking out the window I could imagine that to be the case, so was not prepared for it. I saw a supermarket, and make a quick dash to get inside and stock up.

I was hoping by the time I was done the rain would have passed, but alas no. I did manage to finally track down some baking soda for my shoes though so that was a win. Interesting what I would class as a stock item is not in other countries - anyway, I digress. So seeing it still teeming down I just thought, not today, not again. I looked around and just so happened to see a McDonalds close by and felt a sense of relief. Not only a place to hide from the rain for a bit, but also some familiarity and comfort (maybe?). I am not a McDonalds eater normally, but it was just nice to have something that was not, well, foreign to me for a change. I could switch off for a bit from that side of things. It is actually only the second McDonalds I have seen since Munich, and I can recall thinking after seeing the first one "why would anyone go around the world and go to eat what they can get at home?". I am now eating my words and understand.

So it wasn't until just after 11am by the time the rain stopped and I got on my way. I felt better and more motivated, maybe it was just what  needed.

The road out from Bourg St Maurice was quite busy, but there was a nice shoulder for cyclists so plenty of room. The road is actually part of the bigger Route de Grand Alps so is busy with cyclists apparently. I didn't see many. To be honest it was just quite a normal road with nothing unusual for the first 20kms. The only caveat to that was the best dressed stop/go man I have ever seen. No overalls and working boots for this man, it was Gucci jeans and fancy shoes for him. And I don't think he was the boss either as he was taking orders from the other stop/go guy. Anyway, gave me something to think about for 10 minutes or so while a guy in a cherry picker was jackhammering the rock walls on the side of the road.

He even had a fancy watch on

There were a few road works going on which slowed things down and made the ride a bit harder as you legs cooled and warmed up again after every stop. The road itself was around 5% most of the way up to Tignes, a famous ski field (well famous to me anyway). It looked like there were three villages for the field, and there were chairlifts just going everywhere. One of the villages, just by the dam, was amazing in that it was perched right on the edge of this huge cliff. Was incredible.

Hard to see because of the light sorry but there is Tignes

Things start to get a bit interesting from here. It is flattish as you skirt around the lake, in and out of tunnels as you follow a gorge up to Val d'Isere. There is just more things to look at and the road starts to get lot quieter. The tunnels can be dark and hard to see in but I had prepared and had my lights ready.

Then you hit Val d'Isere, another very famous ski field. The town was just another world and very fancy and classy. It looked like everything was pretty much closed except for the building and renovations that were going on. It was just an eye opener and you could just imagine what it could be like in the winter.

Up until here the rain had been a bit off and on, just light, not heavy enough for me to have quandaries about if to wear my jacket or not, but just enough to get you wet and a little cold. At Val d'Isere though it started to get a bit warmer and the sky seemed to have a bit more blue in it.

Things got really interesting from here! First you head out of Val d'Isere and the gradient starts to stand up a bit, nothing much, 5 or 6% as you head straight for a dead end in a valley. You then turn back on yourself and start to head up some switchbacks up the face off the ski field. Back and forth you go as you climb on up with Val d'Isere slowly getting smaller and smaller as you go.

Heading for the dead end

This takes up around 9kms of the climb as you ride under and around all the chairlifts. With about 4 or 5 kms to go you come off the face of the hill and on to a bit of a plateau. You are still climbing of course, but you start heading way from one side of the mountain, moving to the other. The cloud started coming back in on me here, and the tempriture started dropping really quickly as well down to 5 degrees at the lowest. With arm warmers on I was fine, but my feet felt a little cold but I thought they could manage until the top. Close to the top it did start to sleet on me, it wasn't heavy but it was kind of cool as something different (little pun there for you).

Because off the cloud I couldn't really see where the top was but knew it was coming. More often than not there is a flurry of steepness just before the summit and this climb was no different. It is like the engineers ave tried their best to keep a nice gentle gradient all the way up and then just before the top they run out of road so just make a direct route straight up using what they have left. It wasn't too bad on l'Iseran as it came up to 7-8% with a max cheeky bit at 10%, but it still is a bit of a shock to the system.

Deserted

This is another of those deserted summits. Although there is a restaurant it was well and truly closed when I was there. There is a sign though...

The whole way from Val d'Isere (1,850m high) you are in the alpine, rugged peaks, rocky outcrops, tussock. When the clouds moved and gave you a peak of the surrounds it was just amazing scenery!

I put all my additional warm clothes on, had a snickers bar, talked to some guys from Holland who asked if I new their nephew who was in Auckland (they were joking thankfully), and headed off down the hill. It wasn't long before I was under the cloud again, things warmed up and you could see blue sky again.

I would have too say, even though I really enjoyed the way I came up that if I had only the choice to up and down one side I think I would choose the south side (the way I came down). It seemed to just have a bit more variation in the road ad scenery. I actually just kept stopping on the way down to take pictures so it took ages to get to the bottom.

I was intending to also have a go at Mont Cenis as well today but due to the delay and taking my time at the top and the way down l'Iseran I decided not to.  So, when I reached the bottom I just carried on to one of the villages at the bottom of Mont Cenis. Along the way, which I was expecting to be downhill in its entirety, I came to a small uphill. Only small, just enough to be in the way kind of thing. Then at the top was this sign...

Well wasn't expecting that! Obviously it was meant for going the other way but hey, I'll claim it.

So I stopped at the town I was expecting to. It looked like a ghost town. Not run down or anything, just literally like people had just walked away from it moments earlier. Everything was closed. I meandered around until I stumbled on the information centre and was pleased to find a list of accommodation in the area. Of note is that the information centre was closed and due to reopen mid December. Anyway, the list did not make pleasant reading as most places were closed until late September. It did seem though there were a couple still open in the next town, and when I say "looked like" there was just not closed or due to open comments next to it.

So on I went to Lanslebourg Mont Cenis and as luck would have it one was open. Thankfully my experiences in Italy have paid off and the game of hide and seek with accommodation didn't frustrate me like it did in the beginning of this adventure.

Today was a really awesome day, and itt just goes to show how things can change even if it looks bleak at the beginning. Tomorrow I will have a go at Mont Cenis (I haven't made any daily targets in the last week I don't think) and one other side climb as I head around to Le Chamber where I will stay for a few days - it has lots of climbs close to it so I can base there and go on day rides (thanks for the hot tip Scotty).

Highlight: Finding baking soda!!! Actually, in the last 36 hours my French has been understood in most occasions so maybe I am finally learning a little. The only time I was not understood was when a guy asked what room I was in and I said "un" (one), and he was all confused so I showed him my key and he clicked and said "un" in a more guttural nasal way, obviously trying to teach me.
Lowlight: Was quite 'blah' this morning, was not nice and if it wasn't for the rain and the decision to have a coffee in McDonalds probably would have felt like that all day.
Lesson Learned: Sometimes just stopping means you can go further.