Day 6 - Mont Dauphin to Jausiers

A very frustrating day! First of all a long cimb up Col de Vars which was very hot and long - after previous climbs I thought this one would be easy but I guess theheat made it much harder. The other nightmare was the cloud of flies continually circling around my head and landing at any opportunity - drove me mad and it was a great relief to descend and leave them behind. Spent half the effort getting up the mountain trying to swat the stupid things. Just after getting to the valley floor and making for the next town (and turn off for the next pass) ran straight into a road block - road closed for next 3 hours as some sort of rockfall prevantative maintenance was taking place high above the road but this meant while it was going on large boulders were landing on the road. There was simply no other way round - this area was a very steep sided gorge. I gave up and went back up to the road to the very small local village and had a beer at the local bar. 4.30 the road finally reopens but by this time the storm clouds are gathering and therewas no point trying to start on another climb. Big thunderstorm tonight but should be bright and sunny in the morning. I'll see how I'm feeling then and decide what to do....

Today : Col de Vars. Total height climb 4,041ft today, 37, 960ft in total

Day 5 - Col de Telegraphe to Mont Dauphin

Day 5 – Valloire to Mont Dauphin. Sorry for the slight break in blog posts - Saturday was a rest day from cycling after the first 4 days. Ended up doing a 5 hour hike instead, not exactly restful for the legs but at least different.

An epic day today with two huge passes – Col Galibier (8,665ft) followed by Col D’Izoard (7,740ft). Total climb around 8,000 ft. The legs are aching again. Galibier is steep and regarded as the real classic on the Tour de France, but doing Izoard after was much harder. This climb starts quite easily (though very hot today) but ends up as around 10 miles of steep grind. The descents off both are also exciting with narrow road and plenty of hairpins into the valley below. After Izoard you descend into a gorge with spectacular views and drops into the river below. A fantastically scenic ride. Tonight we are staying at a hilltop fortress town built around 1700 called Mont Dauphin which is a Unesco site. An amazing piece of history.

Figures to date: total climb 33,900 ft. Total distance 292 miles Total hours in the saddle: about 34 Total sore bits: quite a few!

So far on this trip the weather has been no problem at all - just a little bit of rain at the end of day 4. Contemplating cycling over a pass in a blizzard is not a pleasant thought. The temperature has been at extremes between the tops of the passes and the deep valleys - from just a few degrees at the top to around 30 C at the bottom but this was expected anyway. Hopefully the weather will hold up for the next few days, it is already feeling hotter as we get closer to the South of France.

Tomorrow: Col de Vars and (maybe) Cime de la Bonnette – regarded as the highest piece of road in France at around 9,500 ft

Day 4 - Col D'Iseran to Col de Telegraphe

Habits hard to shake -once again started and finished on a col. Massive descent down from Iseran to a 30 mile ride down a long valley (with a big headwind - actually getting blown around the road a couple of times and even though going down hill often felt like going up!), still descending and then straight up the side to another, lower col but the prelude to something much bigger. To put more perspective on the day the total descent was around 6,500 ft, or twice the height of Mt St. Katherine's. Then a 2,300ft climb up to the col over about 12 miles - so back up to St Katherine height once more! Total height climb so far 27,100ft - and my legs are hurting but not quite as much as yesterday, so things are looking up. What's getting bad is the weather - rain started just before top of Telegraphe and at this height it's cold! Tomorrow we're hoping to have a rest day but our planned stop in Valloire was slightly altered by the invasion of about 4,000 quad bikes in the resort for a weekend racing event - not exactly a peaceful place and hardly a room to be found anywhere. Rain is forecast for tomorrow too - and then thunderstorms after. It's not pleasant cycling in rain but at the tops of the passes this can be snow and make getting over them very nasty. Hoping it will not get as bad as this. Here's some photos of today, off to bed. Plan tomorrow - hiking, Sunday - Galibier, another big climb.

Cormet de Roseland - Col D'Iseran

I appear to be developing a habit of cycling from col to col instead of town to town. This is mainly from the need to find accommodation earlier in the day than later - Val D'Isere is one of the biggest ski resorts in France but right now it's like a morgue with a small scattering of hotels open and barely one restaurant (not a great meal last night). The summer season starts in a few days but right now there's simply no-one here. Eerie!

Very tired yesterday so again left post until this morning. Started yesterday at top of Roseland and flew down to Bourg St Maurice (15 mile descent!) then left onto main road and about 20 mile ride up to Val D'Isere. Although never very steep the hill is almost constant and very wearing. Just before Val D'Isere the road passes through a section of tunnels - very cold inside and a couple unlit, unnerving when you've got no lights and the road surface is very rough inside. Once at Val D'Isere managed to find a sandwich at a bar and then contemplated what to do - my legs were already feeling v tired but the bar owner said bad weather was coming so I set off again. It's about another 12 miles to the top of the col and although not that steep it's relentless. The last mile or so was the hardest - air noticeably thinner and a steeper section. Fantastic views opening up all the way and saw plenty of marmots, with a bike you almost get up to them until they spot you and rush off with tail flying. The top was....cold. Bitter wind blowing and with the restaurant closed I just stopped for a couple of photos and don jacket and gloves before an adrenaline rush 12 mile descent back to Val D'Isere. Gentler day today - descend other side of Iseran and maybe end up in Lanslebourg or Valloire. Latter means climb up Col du Telegraphe but that's easy compared with the cols the last 2 days. Total climb to date: 21,400ft

Day 2 - La Clusaz to Cormet de Roseland

Too tired last night to update - food and crashed but woken like clockwork (ha!)every hour when church bells next door went off. Must remember to find a hotel not right next door to the church...

3 cols yesterday and each a level harder than the last - but starting with the easiest first. Aravis just a warm up at around 1,000ft climb, long descent then Col de Saissies with another 3,000ft drag. The downer here (literally) was finding the road closed and aving to take a diversion - down another 1,000ft before climbingback up on a road much steeper than the main road. By the time I got to Beaufort and lunch I coud quite easily have quit for the day. To make acommodation easier we decided to stay in Beaufort for the night - it's a beautiful medieval town and I would see how far I could get up Cormet de Roseland. Well the answer is all the way but I must have been close to breaking the record for the slowest climb. Near the base of the climb you look up and see thousands of feet up a near vertical slope crash barriers for a road near the top. Must be a different road - no way this road can go up there. Yep! And still another 1,500ft to climb after that but truly stunning scenery around a large lake and then on up again through a gap in some cliffs into alpine meadows - above the tree line now. The ride back down is spectacular but hair raising, especially when you hands start to cramp from holding the brakes for so long. Legs are feeling pretty stiff today but at least will start with a long descent to Bourg St Maurice. Today will either be relaxed and gentle or another killer - just have to see how the legs feel when I start pedalling....

Total climbed yesterday - 8,245ft, total so far 15,160, not bad over 2 days!

Day 1 - Morzine to La Clusaz

Cols climbed today - Joux Plane and Colombiere

Total height climbed - just under 7,000 ft

Distance - about 60 miles.

A fantastic first day with a cold start but once you start cycling uphill you soon warm up. The problem at the top is the wind - strong this morning and really cold when you're sweating from the effort. I've got a lovely pair of sexy black tights I put on to go down hill.... And very glad of the jacket I bought. Joux Plane is very scenic - herds of cows wearing large bells around their neck wandering across the road. You hear the bells for miles after you pass. Snacking on wild strawberries growing beside the road. Quick warm up drink at top and down to the valley. Massive steak frites in Cluses, the town at bottom before starting up Colombiere. Much bigger, longer climb and last 3 miles get a lot steeper. Serious sweat in the eye stuff! Now consuming 5 course dinner in a cosy hotel in place called La Clusaz - big ski resort but then every place round here seems to be a ski resort. Back up team also on 5 course meal but buttons may need adjustment....

England - and the new bike

First training run with the new machine – Specialized Tricross. Bit of a hybrid really – looks more like a road bike but with all the gears of a mountain bike. You’re meant to be able to use it off road too, so I put it to the test yesterday over the South Downs and climbed a very rough steep track over the hills to get home. With bigger wheels it’s tougher than a mountain bike up the really steep climbs. The Downs are a beautiful place to ride but the hills are insignificant compared with the size of the stuff I’ll be facing next week. Training rides therefore comprise a route that takes you up and down as many hills as possible within the shortest distance. So over 26 miles I managed 2,000ft of climbing. And the verdict on the bike: great so far.