Cycling across the French Alps the hard way: Day 7

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Day 7 - Jausiers to Puget-Theniers

Total climbed today 6,990 ft; total to date 44,942ft

Out of Jausiers/ Barcelonnette there are three potential pass routes south – Cime de la Bonnette, Col de Cayolle and Col d’Allos. Cayolle is the col designated for the Route des Grandes Alpes, but I also need to be mindful of Judith driving the car: all 3 routes are on much smaller roads than previous passes and there are some pretty big drop offs with no safety barriers. We drove up Col d’Allos and down to Foux d’Allos the ski resort on the other side as I knew from skiing here before there was an easy road out. I then cycled back up to the col and down to meet the start of the Col de Cayolle. One of the photos you can see the road down from Col d’Allos – twisting along the edge of a cliff for a couple of miles. Very wild. Cayolle is a beautiful pass – a long gentle ride up a gorge and then finally up and over the top at around 7,600ft. It’s much warmer this much further south and the vegetation has changed with the dryness. Dryness is not a term to be associated with yesterday afternoon – as with the previous 3 days clouds were gathering by 3 and by 5 pm there was a major thunderstorm going on. I had planned to try to ride from Cayolle to Bonnette on a rough connecting track but the weather and a local farmer saying the track was still blocked with snow changed my mind about that. Ended up with 2 hours ride in heavy rain down the valley and then an hours climb up to 3,000ft and the village where Judith had found an auberge to stay at. Spectacular ride up (yet another) gorge and then over the col at the top, very unpleasant again as another thunderstorm had developed with lightning everywhere.

Today (July 1st) is the last day – thunderstorms forecast again but by then I hope to be installed in a hotel near Antibes. The route is a break from the official Grand Alpes route as it finishes in Menton further east. I’m going to take the very small back roads over the last mountain area between here and the coast – promises to be beautiful and very challenging. More later!

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Some more info on the charities and what they do

THE GRENADA NATIONAL PATIENT KIDNEY FOUNDATION

The Grenada National Patient Kidney Foundation (GNPKF) was established in 2007 with the primary aim of funding the dialysis treatment of Grenadian kidney failure patients each of whom is living with a life threatening condition. There are two dialysis machines on the island so far but until the formation of the GNPKF there was no means of funding the treatment of patients on a regular basis. The Government of Grenada makes a small contribution to the cost of treatment of patients in need and plans to increase dialysis resources to patients in the long run. Patients with end phase (stage 5) chronic kidney disease require a minimum of 3 dialysis treatments per week in order to be able to survive. The procedure is extremely costly – around EC$664 per patient per dialysis treatment or EC$8,645 per month per patient. Currently the GNPKF is only able to fund 1 or 2 treatments per week for 3 patients, with 2 or 3 additional patients needing treatment soon. So far the Foundation has been able to treat 8 patients but recently 3 of those patients have died, their deaths at least partly attributable to the limited dialysis available to them.

Chronic kidney disease is caused by a variety of factors but most common are diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure) in addition to genetic and infectious causes. In turn one of the prime causes of diabetes and hypertension is obesity. A secondary aim of the GNPKF is preventative – by educating Grenadians to the risks of obesity for example, which can lead to the development of medical conditions and ultimately to chronic kidney disease and the dependence on dialysis.

Considerably more funding is required to meet the basic needs of dialysis and chronic kidney disease patients to ensure their ability to lead productive lives and ultimately their survival. The GNPKF President says “Our endeavour is to meet the needs of all Grenadians whose lives depend on dialysis and to do so we urgently need more funding. All help is welcome”.

WYCOMBE HOSPITAL STROKE SUPPORT FUND

Some facts and figures

Did you know that each year in the UK over 130,000 people have a stroke?
Nearly 1/3 will die within the first 30 days
A 1/3 will make a recovery within 1 month after intensive rehabilitation
A 1/3 are permanently disabled and need long-term rehabilitation
Stroke has a greater disability impact than another other medical condition
A quarter of a million people are living with long-term disability as a result of a stroke in the UK.

Stroke can affect anyone.

Each year over 10,000 people in the UK have a stroke under the age of retirement – that’s more than 200 a week, it is not just a disease that affects older people. One day you are fit and independent, the next you are disabled and dependent.

Early intervention is vital

There is no miracle cure for stroke but research over the last few years has shown that people managed on a specialist stroke unit are less likely to die and are more likely to regain independence.

About the fund

The Stroke Support Fund was set up in May 2004; it is a Wycombe based charity covering the South Buckinghamshire area. The development of this charity came about from the conscientious staff that work with stroke patients at Wycombe Hospital.

The charity raises money for equipment, training for staff who would with stroke patients, assessment equipment, literature and many other items that benefit our patients. So far we have been able to purchase lifting equipment, specialist seating and wheelchairs, a bladder scanner, specialist exercise equipment and been able to send many of its staff on specialist courses. We are aiming to purchase a new monitoring system for patients in the first 24 hours after stroke. This equipment will cost around £25,000.

Please click here to send me a donation email and a request for information

Cycling across the French Alps the hard way

THE ROUTE

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Day 7 - Jausiers to Puget-Theniers

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Some more info on the charities and what they do

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