2016

We're going crazy, we sign up for a gran fondo...

This year Climbing for Life joined forces with the gran fondo Les Deux Alpes. And we thought "why not?", a new challenge was born.

We arrived on wednesday, and stayed in the village Les Deux Alpes. Les Deux Alpes is a disappointment: it's an ugly and bombastic ski village.

On the first ride we explored the Col de la Berarde, an even climb for getting the legs used to climbing again. The climb is a dead end, so not much traffic, and follows the Vénéon river. It is beautiful! At the end there is a possibility to eat and drink. After this climb, on the way back, we needed to climb Les Deux Alpes for the first time.

The second day, the organizers of Climbing for Life had planned a timed ride of Alpe D'Huez. Alpe D'Huez is a mythical col, but it has the same disadvantages of Les 2 Alpes: you end up in a ski resort. We counted down turn after turn (13), and after 1h24m we reached the top. A blowout during the descent startled me. The overheated brakes were probably the cause. Fortunately the blowout was not at full speed. We were able to fix the tire and continue to a second climb of Les Deux Alpes.

The last day of our stay was the gran fondo: 173 kilometers with 4000 altimeters. Two days of good weather, but today it was rain, rain, rain... The descent was started together, but once down it was every man/woman for himself/herself. The first climb of the day was the Col d'Ornon. A great climb to start: not too long and not too heavy. The second climb, Col du Parquetout, was completely different. Due to the wheater, this climb was a torture for a lot of riders. The narrow and steep roads reminded me of the Mortirolo. Then towards the Col de la Malissol and then meander to the top of the Col de la Morte, also known as Alpe du Grand Serre. The descent to Séchillienne was very wet and cold. The intention was to climb to the fifth bend of Alpe d'Huez, but due to the rising fog that was no longer allowed when we arrived in Le Bourg d'Oisans. After a last climb of Les Duex Alpes I arrived after 9h41m at the finish: what a day! I ranked 281 of 295 finishers.

Achievements

• Col de la Berarde 1708m • 3.6% • 27 km • Profile
• Les Deux Alpes 1660m • 6.8% • 9.1 km • Profile
• Alpe d'Huez 1840m • 8% • 13.9 km • Profile
• Col d'Ornon 1379m • 6.2% • 10.5 km • Profile
• Col du Parquetout 1395m • 8.9% • 7.4 km • Profile
• Col de la Malissol 1158m • 5.2% • 5.7 km • Profile
• Col de la Morte 1380m • 3.8% • 12.4 km • Profile

In 2016 the odometer stopped at 6763 km. The altimeter reached 22758 m.