Testing the waters after tummy trouble yesterday

Nice day for it!

Well after a day of tummy trouble yesterday and not eating anything all day, today everything seemed fine. Just to make sure I only did a small ride and thankfully all seems well! Had a great day up to the Col du Grand Cucheron, saw Obelix (from Asterix and Obelix fame), and Rose sat in a meadow.

So apprehensively I headed to breakfast this morning, but unlike yesterday today I was actually hungry and felt like eating, and eat I did! Feeling better, I still thought I had better take it easy as after not eating yesterday I am sure I would be running low on calories. The Col du Grand Cucheron was chosen as it was an easy ride to the base of the climb and was relatively low at only 1,190m. As I rode out through La Chambre it was nice to see all the decorations still around from when the Tour came through earlier in the year.

As you head up the valley to the base of the climb you follow a river and are on a slight downhill the whole way.

Once you get to La Corbiere though, the climb starts. It is an easy beginning with only a slight 4% incline as you head out of town. It is a nice beginning that lulls you into a false sense of security. The fun starts though as soon as you make a sharp left about 3kms from La Corbiere when things get a bit frisky with an immediate 8% ramp. It is just teasing though as it isn't long and you are back down to 2% as you head through meadows and a small village.

However, it is a false flat and before long you are feeling a bit of drag even though it still looks flat. It is not though, the gradient comes up the 4%, then 6%, then pretty much 7-10% for the rest of the way. You head into a bit of a forest for the remainder of the climb which blocks a fair amount of the views, but the climb is steep enough to keep you focused on the road.

You do get some nice shade from the trees as you go up, which makes it all the more comfortable as you push against the 10% gradient. The writing on the road must be old though as the climb itself hasn't been used for a few years in the Tour I believe. There are none of the nice signs every kilometre on the way up that tell you how far to the top or the gradient to expect, but there are two street signs that lead th way; one at 8kms to go, and one at 2kms to go. The climb is short enough though that the constant reminder isn't overly needed for motivation.

Once at the top, there is the obligatory sign available for photos and a nice little picnic area where there is a gap in the trees big enough to take in the views.

After a muesli bar and a cookie I headed down for the very pleasant decent. The road looked in really good condition but as you descend you can feel a few bumps in the road. I found it was easier to sit just out of the saddle to keep things stable.

Once back down into La Corbiere it is back on a slight uphill following the river back to La Chambre. This time passing through the town I found Obelix. Random.

So a short ride but a good test for the tummy, and everything seems good! Tomorrow I will have a look at Col du Chaussy (via les Lacet de Montvernier) and then Col de la Madeleine. Really looking forward to the lacets! 

Highlight: Tummy is all good!
Lowlight: More noises from Rose :-( Sounds like spokes under strain when I push hard every now and then. Hope it's just the new wheel still settling in.
Lesson Learned: Rest works in healing :-)