The best week of your life - Ride the Grand Tour Cols

[huw williams]

Does anyone fancy a trip to the big French cols in September

If you've never ridden the classic tour climbs this could be your chance to do them all in one go. Just imagine it - you'll come back and be able to bore everyone on the club run with tales of how you've ridden them all...

My intention is to ride Alpe D'huez, Croix de fer, Glandon, Deux Alpes, Galbier, Ornon, Vaujeney and Lautaret in one week. (Actually I intend to ride them all in a couple of days but that's just me - you do how many or few you feel like at the time). A week is plenty of time to do them all and even have a rest day or two if you're so inclined

There's no worries about being fast enough or staying with the group - just do the hills at your own pace and regroup in the cafe's at the top. Then ride descents so long you wouldn't believe possible

King of the Mountains can accomodate 8 of us for a week commencing 23rd september - their small hotel is situated at the foot of all of the big climbs and we might even get a lift over to ride the Ventoux for anyone who hasn't had enough already

Prices are in the region of £375 per person for the week which includes breakfast, afternoon snack and dinner including wine and beer. Which amounts pretty much to full board plus drinks for just over £50 a night - you needn't spend another euro once you're there, all you need do is turn up and ride. The food is excelllent by the way

I'm posting this now to see if there's enough interest to book it and because flights will be cheap if booked this far in advance - as a guide Ryan Air is offering Stanstead to Grenoble at £70 return plus taxes at the moment - transfers the other end will be handled by King of the Mountains and take just over an hour.

So come on, who's up for it? You've been promising yourself you'd ride the Tour climbs for years - this is your chance. Break the piggy bank, blow all your Surrey-league prize money and get out there.

P.S. If more than 8 people are interested, there's a similar hotel near Bourg D'oisans who will gladly handle the ACC overspill

Post here if interested and I'll organise it

H

[mlocke]

If there is enough interest and my girlfriend lets me I am interested

[Andrew G]

Would definately be interested but temperature and time could be tricky. Could probably make it the first week of September, but sadly will be tied up at work otherwise.

BTW at a guess what's the weather like there at that time of year? I fear it may be too hot for me anyway, even with my factor 50.

Sounds a great trip though.

[Ian A4size]

[quote]but sadly will be tied up at work

[David Lombari]

I could definately be interested Huw.....leave it with me.

[Rob C]

In case anyone is interested

this was probably the best week (of cycling) in my life...

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/user/robslhtri

Ignore the first few activities as they happened upon my return to the U.K

[Andrew G]

I am up for this, got clearance from work.
Cheers,
Andrew.

[mlocke]

Hi All

I have just got the week off so if it goes ahead I dont have to mess about later.

More importantly my girlfriend has agreed but I could regret this later when she has me doing allsorts for her.

[Maria David]

Sounds like it'll be a good trip and fun packed too !

Huw, does that mean you will be doing the course of the Vaujany and the Marmotte cyclosportives in 2 days ? If so, respect and even more respect that you're going back there again !

By the way, you have missed out the col de Sarenne that is just to the East of Alpe d'Huez. It's of medium steepness, but the key feature is tha it's not a tarmacced road - just a dirt track. Why not ride it on a single speed with inner tubes wrapped over your shoulders and you can really recreate the tour de france spirit in it's classic form !

I'm planning on riding there later this year, but not sure if it'll late August or during September and I'll only be passing through on the way to the coast. Who knows, our paths may cross somewhere along the Galibier !

[huw williams]

"does that mean you will be doing the course of the Vaujany and the Marmotte cyclosportives in 2 days?"

Quite possibly - but not nescessarily two consecutive days

As for the Sarenne dirt track, you can keep it

Hope you can make it out there at the same tme as us

[Snoop Doug]

This sounds like a fantastic opportunity and one I was going to try to "sell" to Mrs Snoop. I hadn't quite worked out how....turns out I'm quite glad I kept me powder dry. I got a very unexpected surprise at work today. I won a five star trip to Beijing and Hong Kong! We fly out on Sept 22nd. Let me see now, five days busting my ass on the bike or an all expenses paid trip to a country I've been fascinated by for years....?

Enjoy the mountains - really keen to hear how this goes as I would dearly like to give it a go some day.

Snoop

[Matt Robbins]

Huw, I would definatly be interested...can't give 100% yes at the moment but would be able to confirm in a week or so...

[mlocke]

Hi All,

Apologise but I dont know too many people on the clubrun as so many people turn up each week but............

Are the people who are interested in this trip regulars on the clubrun?
If yes, what group do you normally go with?

Just interested in what I may have got myself into!

[huw williams]

Don't worry - they're all regulars and good riders, but the beauty of this trip is there will be no groups you have to ride too fast to hang onto - its a series of big climbs in and out of valleys which you can ride at your own pace. You can't even get lost if you end up riding on your own as you basically ride in and out of the same area.

So to sum up so far we've got interest from:

Huw
Amy
Dave Lommbari
Mlocke
Andrew Green
Matt Robbins

Don't need to confirm it yet so let me know as soon as you can if its definite. That leaves a twin room available in the chalet - anyone else up for it?

[Matt Robbins]

Huw,

Really sorry, on closer consultation of bank statements and bosses it's a no go for me....

Cheers,

Matt.