I realise that for the last eight weeks I have bored you silly with superlatives on how great the scenery and riding in the mountains is so I am going to simply say that today's ride over the Col des Saisies then up to the Cormet de Roselend was equally as good as any of the others that have come before it.
Being the last mountain ride of the trip I planned a long and tough ride for today. I got up just before dawn and drove to the village of Flumet not far from here. According to the car's thermometer it was about 2C when I got started so I was rugged up in my winter cycling gear (it seems an eon ago when I was struggling up the Col du Portillon on a 30C+ summer's day in the Pyrenees).
At 15km long the first climb was a fairly challenging ride up the Col des Saisies and I got there a little after 8am. At the top I stopped for a photo when a guy in a small white van pulled over and asked me if I wanted him to take a picture of me at the top. I declined but his real motive became clear when started talking about bikes and where I was riding. We compared the relative merits of Cannondales versus Lapierres (the bike brand equivalent of US versus France). I advised that I was heading for the Cormet de Roselend another 35km away, then would be returning the same way. After he looked at me in disbelief he quickly warmed to the idea but suggested a more scenic route for my second (return) ascent of the Col des Saisies. On my map he showed me a small road going up the other side of the valley. I had spent months looking over maps and never spotted it, let alone contemplated riding it. It was great fun even though I only understood about half of what he was saying.
After a frigidly cold descent down the Col des Saisies and through the town of Beaufort, I started on the 20km climb up to the Cormet de Roselend. The magic number on this climb was 8, that is 8%, which was the gradient on most of the kilometre markers along the road. The consistent gradient was excellent as I could get into a climbing rhythm, only interrupted to let a herd of cows go by, and a flattish 2km section when the road reached and went around a reservoir about 2/3rd of the way from the top. At the top the views were (insert your favourite superlative), however it was still pretty cold so I did not hang around long and quickly returned back down the mountain.
At the foot of the descent I found the alternative option that my French friend had shared with me earlier that day and the route proved to be exactly as promised. It was a single lane road through some villages that tourists simply bypass and the views across the valley to the road I had ridden down that morning were beautiful. My legs were getting pretty sore by now so the ascent was slower this time, however when I got to the top I had a big grin as I was simply loving and making the most of this final ride. It was all smiles down the last descent back down the 15km to the car in Flumet.
Today's ride was a great way to end my Tour de France climbs pilgrimage. While it was sad this was the last ride, at the same time there was a strong sense of accomplishment and happiness that I had completed all the rides that I had set out to do. All of the rides have been fun, and sometimes exhilarating and inspiring. I also leave the mountains with a deep appreciation of what the Tour riders go through, and knowledge of each of the major climbs that will ensure I enjoy watching the Tour each year even more.
Thanks for following my riding blog and sharing the adventure with me.
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