..HOME | CONTACT US | JOIN | ABOUT | Tel: 0870 8712000 ........................British Cycling, National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street, Manchester, M11 4DQ
..
HOME | CONTACT
US | JOIN |
ABOUT
| Tel: 0870 8712000 ........................British
Cycling, National Cycling Centre, Stuart Street, Manchester, M11 4DQ
|
Raid Alpine 2003
I had booked the above trip along with my fiance Richard through Graham Baxter Sporting Tours. They send the entry form for the event off for you. We had chosen to travel by coach which took two days due to the company’s ‘no overnight’ driving policy which meant a stopover in Paris then we arrived in Thonon les Bains a day later where we met up with the other people who had travelled by air (you can book your own flights to Geneva instead of travelling by coach but you have to arrange your own transfers). On arriving in Thonon, Jonathan, our guide, picked up a hire car which would be our support vehicle throughout the week. It would follow the route the bikes went, as the coach would often have to take the long way round as it wouldn’t be able to get over many of the alpine passes because they are too narrow. Bikes were quickly assembled once we reached the hotel and after our meal, we had an early (ish) night, although we were itching to start riding after two days sat on the coach. There were thirty-eight riders on the trip plus our guide and the coach driver, Michael. People had come from as far afield as Australia and America to do the Raid. There were a few Audax riders who were used to covering long distances and there was one other woman apart from myself – Helen who was a Chief Inspector from Liverpool. She had ridden 8000 miles in preparation for the trip since the previous October and a found myself worrying a little that I hadn’t done enough.
It would have been nice to start off with a flat section to get the legs turning but oh no! We started climbing almost immediately and the first col (Col de Roch) at 940 metres, although quite short was fairly steep and a bit of a shock to the system so early on. Richard had agreed to stay with me for the first day as he had done the trip before so would show me where to go. I was reaching for the granny ring almost immediately as was everyone else as we had nearly all set off together. The weather was extremely hot and it was important to keep eating and drinking, especially drinking. Within the next 27 kilometres we had climbed 3 more cols (des Moises 1118m, de Terramont 1098m and de Jambaz 1027m) and I was beginning to seriously regret coming on this trip and wishing I had done a lot more training. The big climb of the day was still to come – the Col de La Ramaz at 1557 metres which doesn’t sound that high but was very steep. I found myself climbing off and pushing (shame!) near the top as it kicked up and was quicker than riding – I just couldn’t get on top of the gear. The Tour de France had gone over this climb some three weeks earlier and the names of the riders were painted on the road. Richard Virenque had made the climb look so easy on TV! We reached the café just before the last steep bit for a much needed coke and sandwich and to refill our bottles and get bananas from the support car. Once over the climb, we stopped at a bike shop on the other side to get our stamp. At the start of the trip you are given a control card which you have to get stamped at ten places (shops, bars, garages) along the route to prove that you have been over the climbs. Unfortunately, the French word for stamp is “tampon” so everyone was a bit embarrassed asking for “un tampon s’il vous plait” After the Ramaz was a much needed downhill for 15 kilometres to Taninges where the coach was parked with more water. The heat was almost unbearable and as you dropped into the valley it felt as though someone had switched an oven on. Two more cols followed then another short downhill and then the last long climb up to the hotel. At Megeve which was about 10 km to go, I popped and had to walk for intervals. In the last 2 km people were sat on the grass verges at the side of the road trying to grab whatever bit of shade they could before the last grind up to the hotel. Richard gave me one last push and we finally reached the Hotel Armaillis after 6 hours and 36 minutes of riding and I was absolutely shattered and covered in salt. I knew I hadn’t eaten or drunk enough and my heart rate monitor showed I had burned a total of 5396 calories. I hoped I wouldn’t pay too dearly for this later in the week.
Today was even hotter than yesterday and from the hotel, the road went straight up again over the Col des Saises at 1633m. I’d set off and almost reached the top of this climb but felt sick and had no power in my legs – payback for yesterday, so I told Richard to carry on alone and I reluctantly turned back to the hotel to get on the coach hoping that I would recover enough to ride the rest of the week. I also had a nosebleed once I reached the bottom! Richard took my card to get stamped as there was only one control point today which was at the bottom of the col des Saises (which I’d nearly climbed so it wasn’t really cheating!). The rest of the group, including Richard, had to then ascend the Col du Pre which is viciously steep and goes up to 1703m and then the Cormet de Roselend at 1968m. They then had a nice long downhill to where the coach was parked at Bourg Saint Maurice then a 30km climb to Val D’Isere. Richard passed the coach at 12.20pm after having caught and dropped all but one of the other riders and was having a stormer without me slowing him down. By this time I felt much better and was tempted to drag my bike out of the trailer behind the coach and ride the last 30km, but the temperature was well over 40°C and it was all uphill so I decided to save myself for later in the week. The coach reached the hotel at about 3pm and only three riders were back. Richard was the first back but said he had struggled in the heat on the climb. We also saw another of the strong riders being pushed up the final bit because he has also blown his doors off. Within fifteen minutes of arriving at the hotel, there was a torrential downpour and I thought how welcome this must be to all the other riders struggling up the climb. It turned out however that most of them had missed it as it had only rained at the top of the mountain. Later on that evening, there were spectacular lightning strikes and thunder. The scenery was so beautiful up there and you could see snow on the mountain tops and the lightning lit them up as it crackled between them. Day 3 – Tuesday 5th August This was supposed to be an “easy” day as it was the second shortest and there was a “sweet” downhill at the end which took you all the way down into Italy.
I’d made it and didn’t feel too bad. It had only taken me an hour and 28 minutes from the hotel to the top of the climb. I’d packed my camera today so I had my photograph taken at the top next to the sign while I waited for Richard who had set off half an hour behind me but hadn’t caught me (ha ha!) He arrived about ten minutes later so I took a photo of him on the way up. There were patches of snow on top of the col even though the temperature was about 30°C! Then it was downhill for 32km, dropping over the Col de La Magdeleine on the way down. We were descending pretty fast (over 40mph – well that’s fast for me) and we dropped through a deserted village which Richard said they used in the war to hide from the Germans (I don’t know where he got that bit of information from!) The next and final climb of the day was the Col du Mont Cenis at 2081m. This was horrible and seemed to drag on forever. At the top was a beautiful lake and a pyramid shaped building at which more photographs were taken. I was flagging by this time and revived myself with a quick coke and Richard had a beer (he said he asked for a coffee but something must have got lost in the translation (or so he says!)). Then it was the “sweet” descent into Susa (Italy). We seemed to be descending forever and again it was like riding in an oven the temperature was so high. We passed the unmanned border control at 45mph and arrived in Susa at around 12.30pm after 4 hours 20 minutes riding. We even beat the coach there so we found a little café to have a nice salad and a beer for lunch. The coach arrived about 2 with our luggage and we helped Michael unload everyone’s bags into the foyer and then got a welcome shower in our room. In the evening, there was no dining facilities in the hotel so we were taken out to a restaurant for our evening meal. As we were walking there was a massive thunderstorm and torrential rain which was up to our ankles in minutes, so we sprinted to the restaurant and got there looking like drowned rats! Later on there was some sort of procession on, and a firework display at midnight, but we were worn out by this time so went to bed about 11pm.
Richard and I decided not to ride today as I had a slight saddle sore, we were both tired and it was supposed to be a holiday after all! It did mean missing out on the medal awarded to finishers as I wouldn’t get my stamp on the Col D’Isoard, but if I had ridden, it may have compromised my ability to ride for the rest of the week. Another reason was that the Tour de Femenine (Women’s Tour de France) was due to come over the Col du Vars and down past our hotel, so the road was going to be closed from 2-5pm. We had planned on sitting in a café with a coffee and watching the race go by. For the rest of the group, they were made to pay for yesterday’s final long descent by way of a brutal looking climb up Montgenevre – it was hard work on the coach! Then it was a descent into Briançon and then the Col D’Izoard (2360m) where they got their cards stamped. There is also a memorial to Fausto Coppi at the top. After descending, they then had to climb halfway up the Col du Vars (2108m) to our hotel at Vars Ste Marie which again looked very steep from the coach. There was another (optional) route which involved climbs up unmade roads over the Colle delle Finestre and Sestriere before doing the route as described above. Julian and another guy called Simon took up this option but it took them another six hours and they arrived back at the hotel at about 10pm! We arrived at the hotel at 11am as the coach couldn’t get over the Izoard, unloaded the bags and then sat down to a lunch of steak and chips with pepper sauce and the odd glass or two of vin blanc. Then we got our bikes out of the trailer and rode to a café at the top to wait for the Tour de Femenine to come through. At about 3pm, another thunderstorm broke out and it started raining. We were thinking that the descent looked pretty greasy and dangerous and we later heard that the race had been diverted due to a landslide further round the course. We got back to the hotel just before the lightning started but all the other riders were still out there and got caught in it. One guy said he saw lightning strike a tree ten feet away from him and it catch fire! I think we made the right decision not to ride today. I was also “advised” not to ride tomorrow as there would be a 24km climb involved and it would be “too hard” for me. This made me even more determined to ride it.
The first climb of the day was up to the top of Col du Vars at 2108 metres high but as we were already half way up and had ridden up the previous day, this wasn’t too bad. I set off at 7am to avoid the heat later in the day. A long cold descent followed and I was longing for someone to join me for some company. Nobody did so I pushed on alone and before I knew it I was at the foot of the Col de Restefond, the 24km climb. It climbed steadily and I couldn’t understand why anyone would think it would be a problem. Not long after, I was halfway up at the café after passing two Frenchmen. My plan from there on was to stop at every 2km sign and have a rest, bring my heart rate back down to below 160bpm, have a drink and some food and carry on, but I only needed to stop twice as it kicked up steeply in places. The rest of the time I could keep it going at around 7-8 mph. I reached the top after passing two mountainbikers and a Swiss guy and still no-one out of our group has passed me! I was the King (or Queen!) of the Mountains! At the top of the Restefond there is an extra loop called the Col de la Bonnette which, at 2802 metres is the highest col in Europe. Basically the road goes onwards and upwards for another 1.4km and then loops round, arriving back at the same point! In total, it had taken me two hours 19 minutes to do this climb. Richard arrived 25 minutes later and we descended together for about 30 kilometres into St.Etienne. There we had a baguette and a coffee before we started our final climb of the day (7.5km) up to our hotel in Auron. This was a pretty steep climb, my baguette was coming back to haunt me and my heart rate reached 209bpm but we managed to reach the hotel after 5 hours 17 minutes riding, just in time before the now almost compulsary thunderstorm started. We had beaten the coach again as he had to do a long detour to get to the same point. That evening, we dined out at a restaurant again and then hit the sack fairly early as tomorrow was going to be the longest day.
Richard and started off together today at 7am again as it was going to be a long one. The first 20 miles were downhill and we took it steady, averaging 25mph as it was freezing. We ate breakfast at the bottom of the first climb – a banana and a cereal bar, then it was up the col de la Couillole at 1678m and 6km - quite a nice climb to get the blood flowing into the legs again (if there is such a thing as a nice climb!). It went up through a few tunnels and the last 2km was a bit draggy but we seemed to gain height fairly quickly. The support car arrived just as we hit the summit so we filled up our bottles then descended to the first stamp point of the day at Beuil. It was a petrol station so we bought a can of coke and added that to one water bottle for extra energy. Next came another fantastic descent for 22km down a gorge with such beautiful scenery, it took your breath away. We were flying through tunnels and round hairpins and there were a few sketchy corners where rocks had fallen down the sides of the gorge onto the road. We made it to the bottom in one piece then it was a quick blast down a dual carriageway to where the coach was parked. At this point, we’d only covered just over 50 miles and I was a bit tired and considered getting on the coach but I was determined to finish what would be my longest ever ride. I soldiered on and we stopped at the next village and bought bananas and biscuits, filled our bottles up in the spring and Richard made me eat some pizza with mushrooms on (I hate mushrooms but was so hungry I ate them). It was seriously hot now and we soaked our gloves in the fountain to try and keep cool, and set off again. The next climb, col de Saint Raphael, was no problem – I was powered by pizza and literally flew up it. We then dropped down through some small villages, past a smelly ostrich farm (!) and kept filling our bottles up at each village as we were drinking so much. Eventually we reached a village called Aiglun. Then the real pain started! From then on, it was a nasty gradual climb over three more cols with very little shade. I’d blown my stack a little bit and resorted to walking for short periods, but we were joined by three more members of our group, Helen, Simon and Walker who passed us so I sat on the back of them and eventually felt strong enough to go through and lead over the descent. There followed another long descent and we dropped everybody. At least my descending skills have improved on this trip. We then arrived at the last stamp place at St Vallier de Thiey which is 10km from Grasse. There were a few others sat in the bar who had either only ridden from the first coach stop or had got a lift in the support car. Then it was more downhill and a few false flats into Grasse. We had been out for just under ten hours and the riding time was 8 hours 50 minutes so I was fairly pleased with my effort. My heart rate monitor said I had burned over 10,000 calories so it was time to refuel immediately with more pizza and a kebab (shared with Richard!). The hard work was now over – I was so tired, I almost fell asleep in my dinner!
Today was an easy day and we set off at 10am at a leisurely (slow) pace all together behind the support car with the coach following on behind (I’d hate to have been a driver who was behind us all). It was mostly a downhill run to the coast and we finally reached Antibes after 1 hour 20 mins (I could have done it in about 50 minutes) and packed our bikes into the trailer. We were then allowed two hours to have lunch and hit the beach before the first leg of our journey home which took us to Aix en Provence (for those travelling back by coach). Others were flying back direct from Nice. Those who had gained all their stamps were presented with medals at that evening’s dinner. If you didn’t get all your stamps then you get three years to complete them all. Overall, I enjoyed the holiday but would need to do a lot more training
in future. I learned a lot about how far I can push myself and that
you need to keep eating and drinking all the time on the bike or you
really suffer. The heatwave was a big factor though and it would have
been much easier if it had been a little cooler but overall, I rode
493 kilometres in just under 21 hours which isn’t bad for a weekend
mountainbiker who’s only owned a road bike for about seven months!
|
|
The
Raid Alpine is a randonee which runs from Thonon les Bains (near Geneva)
to Antibes on the coast. It is a 44 col, 744 kilometre traverse of the
Alps taking in 18,187 metres of climbing (!!!)
