Sore feet but a stunning day

High altitude fishing. Unsure what he was trying to catch but the view is worth it!

Such a stunning day weather wise, and a stunning climb to match (with a couple of other good ones as well). I had to give way to cows, saw a man fishing in a pond at 2,000m altitude, and have sore feet from wearing my icebreaker socks.

So I awoke this morning to see the hills covered in snow, blue sky's and no wind. Perfect! I was secretly hoping the snow would wait for me to get up the hill before melting away; I could already see that it had melted a bit overnight. Having learned previous lessons I dressed up warm, including putting on my 'house socks', a pair of icebreaker merino socks, to try and keep my feet warm (they are the first to feel it followed closely by my hands).

On getting outside I decided to reconsider my secret thoughts and wished for the sun to blaze as hard as it could. Even at 9am the sun was not above the surrounding mountains yet so the temperature was below chilly to say the least. Off I went though in the hope of my 'it's only cold when you don't pedal' quote ringing true. It didn't, but luckily by the time I hit Saint Jean de Maurienne 10kms down the road the sun was above the hills and was quickly warming the place up. I road through Saint Jean to the next village, Villargondron, where the climb for the Col du Mollard started. I chose this route as on the map it looked to have great switchbacks on the way up, and it allowed me to make more of a loop out of my day.

The switchbacks were great and the route was a great choice. It was a climb though in open forest though so there was not much in the way of views as you ascend on up. The road was very quiet, in good condition, and was fairly constant at 6-7% gradient almost all the way up.

Once you hit Albeiz le Jeune the gradient eases a little and the surrounds open up to meadows and farmland. As this is not the popular way up there are no signs for distance to the top or gradients, but the route is well signposted. You will also know when you are close to the top as there are a few cheeky 9% ramps in there just before the top.

Watch for the roaming cows

I also saw a fox today, first time ever, but the sound of the camera turning on scared it away. Anyway, once at the top you are in the middle of farmland with nothing much else but a water fountain you can fill your bottle from. As you can see as well, no snow.

from there I went back down the 'proper' route up, thee one with the signs leading you up. This is not the quickest way to meet the Col de la Croix de Fer road, and there is another road that allows you to keep more height, but I wanted to give as much of the Croix de Fer a go as I could. The road down was a bit touch and go in places, and brand new in other places so the descent kept you on your toes.

I met the Croix de Fer road with 24kms of it still to climb. It was a wake up call! As soon as I got on the road the gradient went straight to 10% and stayed there for a bit. Then went up even higher. I think I am more of your Jan Ulrich diesel engine type, where I like a bit of a warm up to get up to speed then stay in the rhythm. I always struggle going from downhill to steep up hill. Anyway, it doesn't stay steep for long before coming back to 8% so you can get your groove on.

Then with about 16kms still to go you hit a 2km downhill - after all that work! It then flattens out and comes back up into a climb, but at only 3-4% for quite a while. As you go you start doign the maths in your head and realise the further you go at 3%, the steeper it will be at the end. With 9kms to go you can see whats coming, and where you get the remaining elevation from - a mountain face face covered in switchbacks. With 6kms to go you head through the town of Saint Sorlin d'Avres and thats when it starts to catch up on you, straight back to 10%. All around this area though you have amazing views and lots to keep your mind of the gradient.

Once on the switchbacks you are home and hosed and before long you pass a man fishing in a pond if you are lucky and then you pop around a blind corner and see the iron cross (translation of Croix de Fer, although unsure if the cross that adorns the top is related to the name as they are quite common in these parts).

So after a bite to eat off I went again back down the same road. The Col du Glandon was only 2.5kms down the road, but I will climb it from the bottom in two days time before ticking that one off. The descent was really fantastic. The roads were fairly good, nice corners, and the first descent so far with multiple corners in a row (instead of switchbacks where there is a straight in between corners). Was really fun!

I pulled off that road onto the road that took me to the third climb for the day, up to La Toussire. The road up was quite similar to Mollard's in that the gradient was quite constant and hovered around the 6-8% range for most of it. A word to the wise, if you want to follow the way the Tour went then don't follow the signs to La Toussuire, instead follow La Corbier. It is a few kilometers longer and takes you through the massive high rise buildings you can see a long way off that look well out of place on the side of a mountain. Just saying.

I actually didn't know this when I was going up and followed the signs. It wasn't until a few kilometers after I had turned off that I realised the distance to go signs had stopped, then had a bit of a look on the way down and found out where I went wrong. Well, not really wrong, I still ended up at the correct finish line, I just went the more direct route.

The ski village of La Toussuire was amazingly dead. Everything was shut up and not one was around. I guess I arrived in between seasons again. It is eerie though riding through a town that is all but vacant.

From there is was back down the hill to Saint Jean, turn left and push into the afternoon wind that picks up everyday from the same direction. I thought those types of wind were only by the sea?

And what would a day in these parts be without a shot of more Tour memorabilia?

So a great day, but the slight additional thickness in my merino socks caused my feet to be quite sore by the end of it and not that much warmer at the beginning of it. Croix de Fer was just awesome and a great climb. The other two were pretty good but I would put Mollard over La Toussuire because of all those switchbacks on the climb up.

Tomorrow I will head on up Telegraph and the Galibier. Really looking forward to these two!

Highlight: You know, as corny as it sounds I think the fox was quite cool. I haven't seen much wildlife at all on this trip except the bell wearing cows and a couple of deer on the road once (but you see them in New Zealand). That is the first time I have seen a wild fox I think.
Lowlight: Even though I am glad because I didn't freeze today, would have been cool to be in the snow again today. Maybe tomorrow when I am at 2,650m high.
Lesson Learned: Do it Belgium styles if you want warm feet and put some old wooly socks over the outside of your shoes.