In the end there were only 2 guests for the final trip of the season but we had a great week. There was rain on 2 mornings otherwise we enjoyed superb weather, the mornings were cool and daytime temperatures in the mid 20's.
Simon arrived on the Saturday and we were able to ride up to the Valmorel ski area then back up to Meribel. This is not a road we would normally use but Simon stayed with us in 2011 and it was nice to show him a route he hasn't been on before. In the afternoon I picked up Andrew from Geneva airport.
We got to ride a number of our classic climbs including Col de la Madeleine, Cormet de Roselend and Col du Petit St Bernard.
Ben and Simon climbing the Madeline with Mont Blanc in the background.
'Due caffee machiatto per favore'. Coffee stop in Italy at the top of the Petit St Bernard. The cans of coke are a different shape, why is that?
The highlight of the week for Simon and Andrew was the ride from the Maurienne Valley over the Col de Telegraph, Col du Galibier before the final climb up Alpe d'Huez. Despite it being less than 100km in distance this is a big day on a bike with over 3000m height gain across the 3 climbs. Both Andrew and Simon were able to ride well for the whole day and finished strong on Alpe d'Huez. I also had local rider Ben helping us for the day and he had a ride managing the climb up the Alpe in under 56mins. On Alpe d'Huez you can choose between the Tourist arrival or continue on the established Tour de France finish, Ben's time was to the TdF finish, not bad after having climbed the Galibier already
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| Is that Bradley Wiggins at the top of the Galibier? |
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| Top of Alpe d'Huez - chapeau. |
So that is the 2012 season over for Cycle Hame. We are working on our 2013 trips, we have posted details for the Tour de France Alps week and the Marmotte sportive week and have already taken bookings for both of these trips. Keep an eye on our 2013 Calendar as we will be adding more dates over the next few weeks.
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