What's New in 2008
 6th December - Cold and wet in the French Alps with a good covering of snow on the mountains.
I've added some new Cycling Wallpapers to download on the Wallpaper page with a Lance Armstrong theme to celebrate the return of Lance in the 2009 Tour de France, as well as a Dauphine Libere wallpaper and some Grenoble Cycling Page themes with a mixture of races and mountain photos. Do let me know if you have any comments and if I should add some more.
27th October - A final weekend of sunshine before the snow arrives, and I took to opportunity to visit the mountains above Chamonix - without a bike. Situated in the northern French Alps, Chamonix is just over two hours from Grenoble, and is a town that sits at the foot of the 4,807 metre Mont Blanc. I walked from the Col de Montets and climbed up through the Aiguilles Rouge Natural Reserve to the Lac Blanc and Lac Noir. Amazing views of the mountains and numerous Ibex on the first part of the walk.
You can see all the photos in the gallery here.
22nd October - The
Tour de France 2009 route has been announced today and you can
find a detailed itinerary on the Tour de France website here.
No Alpe d'Huez in 2009 but there is a spectacular penultimate
stage which will finish at the summit of the Mont Ventoux in
Provence. There are seven mountain stages, with three stage
finishes at altitude. The Tour de France 2009 starts on Saturday
4th July and finishes on Sunday 26th July, with 21 stages and
3,500 kilometres of racing. If you want to follow the Tour de
France in 2009, the towns of Bourg St Maurice, le Grand Bornand
and Annecy will be the places to base yourself in the French
Alpine region before you head down to Provence and the Mont
Ventoux.
9th August - Bryan from Chalet
Michelle gave me a call to try this weekend. He has two
guests who are visiting for the first time from Kenya, who are
looking for people to ride with. Zakayo Ndbri and Mwangi Samwel
want to become the first black African cyclists in the world,
and have come to France to try and beat the record for the fastest
ascent of Alpe d'Huez. They are looking for competition over
the next week on the Alpe d'Huez. They have already ridden the
ascent in 43 minutes, which is astoundingly quick. If you, or
if you know somebody who will be able to ride with our visitors,
please contact Bryan.
Read more about the inspirational story behind Zakayo and Mwangi
visiting the French Alps on their website - www.theafricancyclist.com.
6th July - Perfect conditions yesterday for the 2008 edition of La Marmotte. It was the sixth time I'd ridden the event, and the first time I'd ridden since 2004. I joined more than 7000 cyclists on a 174 kilometre tour of the Alps. With 5000 metres of vertical climb and a route that took in the Col du Glandon, Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier and finished in the ski resort of Alpe d'Huez, it was a great day in the mountains. You can see my video diary on YouTube here. Remember to click the high quality option.
30th June - With less than a week to the 2008 Marmotte, I rode la Vaujany event as preparation with a 109 kilometre route taking in three climbs. Family commitments meant I couldn't ride the full event, but it was still an enjoyable day on the bike with stunning views on quiet roads with some great people from around the world for company. You can see the video of the ride on my Youtube Channel here - remember to click the high quality option. As for the Marmotte, I realised that it's going to be a tough day on the bike.
13th June - It may have been Friday the 13th, but the weather finally broke to give us a sunny and dry afternoon on the Alpe d'Huez. For the second year running, my team from HP conquered the Alpe d'Huez. You can read a little more about the day, as well as see the video on the Blog here.
9th June - Stop Press - The 2646 metre Col du Galibier is now open, and we're just waiting for the 2770 metre Col d'Iseran to open now. The weather has been cool and grey since the start of May so let's hope that things start to improve in June.
6th May - The route for the 2008 Dauphine Libere has been announced with a route taking the riders through the Alps with the final stage finish in Grenoble. The climbs include the Col du Joux Plane, the Croix de Fer, and on the final day, racing through the Chartreuse and over the Col du Granier, Col de Cucheron and Col de Porte. More details of the route and race can be found on the official website of the race.
Official 2008 Dauphine Libere Website
The Dauphine Libere is a fantastic race to follow, and it is well worth spending a week following each stage through the fantastic scenery in the Dauphine region. All this without the crowds of the Tour de France, and the chance to get close to the riders.
5th March - I'm now back from a month in New Zealand, having spent a wonderful time on the other side of the planet. It's a beautiful place with so much to see and do, and feels remarkably empty after spending so much time in Europe. Here are a selection of photos I took over the month. It would be a fantastic place to tour on a bicycle.
Now it's time to get back on the bike and to start preparing for the summer. It's only four months until the Marmotte.
1st January - Happy New Year, and best wishes for 2008. It's a typical winter in the French Alps with early snow in the mountains around the city allowing many of the local ski resorts to open early this year. It's also been a good winter for anybody keen enough for cycling, with cold temperatures but many sunny days.
My main goal of the summer will be to ride the Marmotte event for the sixth time with some of my old club from Cheltenham in the UK. With some time in New Zealand early in the year, I'll be looking to start my training in March to be ready for the event at the start of July. Wherever you are, I hope your training is going well and that you've got your goals for the year in the diary.
26th September -
I spent the weekend on the south coast with three friends from my old club, Cheltenham Cycling Club, and we spent four days exploring the mountains around Menton. Highlights for me included Lance Armstrong's favourite climb, the Col de la Madone, as well as the Col d'Eze and the Col de Turini.
You can find photos in the Gallery here.
23rdJuly -
Yesterday, I rode the 225 km Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes, an organised event which started near Grenoble in Vizille at 5:30am. Other groups had already left at 2:00am and 3:30am. The route took me over the Col de la Croix de Fer, Col du Mollard, Col du Telegraphe and finally the 2646 metre Col du Galibier, totalling over 4,600 metres of climbing. It was a brilliant day, the Galibier looked stunning, I met some great people, and my legs amazingly kept going to the end and I finished in 9 hours and 57 minutes. No photos this time, but I wrote an account for the diary that also includes video diary from the ride. You can read and watch here.
15th July -
As part of my build up for next weekend's Brevet de Randonneur des Alpes, I rode the 2067 metre Col de la Croix de Fer, the 1630 metre Col du Mollard, and the northern side of the Col du Glandon, on a hot summers day here in the Alps. In total, 135 kilometres with over 3,500 metres of climbing and all went well until the 20 kilometre climb to the 1924 metre Col du Glandon. I suffered like I haven't suffered for many years on the second half of the climb as it was hot and my legs were tired on the steep gradients. You can read about the ride, check the map and see photos here .
30th May -
Three news climbs for me today around Bourg d'Oisans. Firstly the 1680 metre Col du Solude, a climb to the south of the town with a number of unlit tunnels and a few kilometres of dirt track at the top. The second climb was to the village of Oulles, and again, a quiet road with lovely mountain views. Finally, the high point of the day was riding to the 2,100 metre Col du Sabot above the ski resort of Vaujany. Steep gradients with fresh snow at the top and a view over the Col du Glandon. All of the climbs are within easy reach if you visit Bourg d'Oisans, and all are well worth riding - today, we didn't see one other cyclist on any of these climbs. You can read the ride report in the diary here which also includes an online map and photos.
10th May -
Today I rode one of those rides that I've been wanting to cycle for a long time. I started from Valbonnais near La Mure and climbed to the Col de Parquetout. It's only seven kilometres but with a gradient that reaches 15 percent in places, I had tired legs at the top. I then descending to Corps and rode the 15 kilometre climb to Notre Dame de Salette. To finish, I rode back over the Parquetout from the easier direction. You can see photos in the gallery here.
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