Grade: E to H
Distance: you choose
Road Conditions:
Route:
Maps:
Description:
Grenoble is a low leveled town (220m) located between two rivers: Isère at the north, le Drac at the west. They merge at the north western corner of the town. The resulting river, Isère goes round the Vercos mountain range, of which western limit it marks. Then it streams south westwards and at the end throws into the Rhônes near Valence. Grenoble and its suburbs are surrounded and dominated by three high mountain ranges:
The two first ranges are old mountains made of limestone and part of the so-called Préalpes. Their highest peaks overcome the 2000 m elevation (2365 m for the tallest one, the Grand-Veymond). Vercors features roughly a 1100 m high tableland in its north and west part where is mostly concentrated the population, while its south-east part is characterised by a very wild and protected area at about 1600-1800 m elevation bounded by the highest peaks of the range, along the east. This area is mainly accessible by trails or no through roads (pleasant for mountain biking). With regard to the Chartreuse the landscape shows broad and round hills covered by large mountain pine forests. A series of peaks and cliffs mark its border all around.
In the other hand Belledonne, as part of the Alps, features higher and sharper mountains of which highest peaks (nearly 3000 m) remain covered with snow nearly all the year.
Further south of Grenoble extends the Trièvres, hilly land at about 800 m elevation, boarded along the south east by a mountain range, the Devoluy. Beyond the Vercors and the Trièvres extends southwards the Provence, the South East part of France.
All of these areas (except partly Belledonne) are accessible via sealed roads. Many of them feature a long and fairly steep slope from the Isère valley. The typical example is the road to le col de Porte (literally the gateway pass, to get to the Chartreuse inside); it starts from Grenoble to reach the col (pass or gap) at the elevation of 1340 m, 15 km farther. At the west of the town are the St Nizier de Moucherotte’s and Lans en Vercors’ roads that run to the Vercors plateau (tableland at about 1100 m) and its snowfields in winter. These roads are as long as the road to le col de Porte but less steep. Riding up these roads needs a low geared bike and take a regular and slow pace. As far as I am concerned I prefer these roads than undulating ones like in Britany or some around Canberra, where you need either change constantly gear or engage a high one and try to keep it by forcing. The roads I have just presented support a rather heavy traffic, especially at the start and the end of the workday, and in tourism season. They can be avoided thanks to pleasant small roads. For Chartreuse a road, farther west (col de Clémencière - Sarcenas), runs parallel to the other one until hitting it 3 km before the col. Upstream Isère river, further North East than Grenoble, there is four other uphill roads serving the plateau des Petites Roches (900-1000 m elevation) and three cols (col de Coq, col de Marcieux and col de Granier). The plateau stands below an impressive cliff and overhangs the Isère valley. It presents great views on the Belledonne massif across the valley. An undulating road runs along the plateau and links the uphill roads. The cols de Coq and de Granier allow going to Chartreuse inside.
Across the valley the road network presents a similar pattern over Belledonne range except there is no through road further up than 1260m; Belledonne stands like an impassable barrier.
With regard to Vercors South East, along the Drac valley, a long and high cliff boards the range making impossible its access by roads. In the other hand the western border, downstream Isère, has a few pleasant (uphill) roads accessing the Vecors plateau, between St Quentin sur Isère at the North and St Romam sur Isère at the south. To reach them from Grenoble, either you follow the Isère downstream on flat and scenic cyclepaths and minor roads (to warm up before a hard climb), or you catch the train for Valence with your bike at Grenoble’s railway station and get off in one of the stations between Moirans and Valence. The most northern road (Montaud one) has been cut by a landslide; but you can go through by carrying your bike. The others are also quite spectacular, winding a lot and they allow you breathtaking views on gorges. One of them has the particularity to come back 200m higher exactly at its vertical point, after a long hair-pin bend. After reaching the plateau the land becomes rather flat. You can come back to Grenoble by the two eastern and wide roads. They offer you large views over Grenoble and the western side of Chartreuse.
The south of Grenoble, between the Vercors and the Alps ranges offers a lot of possibilities: aerial roads along the Drac and its different dams, running then into the Mateysin’s plateau (1100 m); roads over the hilly and scenic Trièvres (around 800 m); roads crossing the superb mountain range of Devoluy (the highest point on the road is 1445 m but the peaks around reach the height of 2800 m). To avoid riding in the southern Grenoble’s outskirts, poorly friendly towards the cyclists with its traffic and pollution, you can catch the train for Veynes/Gap/Briancon and get off at Vif. You may decide to stay on board, as the train runs along a very scenic landscape. It can carry you, and your bike, in Provence after the Luce la Croix haute col (Veynes, Gap) or at its route end to the middle of French Alps. From Briançon (the highest town in western Europe, 1200 m) you can climb some of the highest and famous cols in Alps (cols de Mongenèvre 1850 m, Izoard 2361 m, Agnello 2746 m, Lautaret 2058 m and thereafter the magnificent Galibier, …).
Now I will tell you about the most delightful rides in bike: these are rides in summer through mountains passing cols of which elevations are as high or higher than 2000 m. All around the landscape is dramatic and vegetation free except a thin alpine grass with some flowers: impressive cliffs, very large peaks of rocks often covered by the snow, gullies with very clear water streaming fast. The view is at the same time very open, no forest to limit it, and limited, by the mountains, but that mountains ! you feel ridiculously small. However beware the weather. In mountain dramatic change in temperature and weather condition may occur over some hours, turning the heaven into hell, regardless of the season. When the weather is very hot the descent, over distance as long as 30 km, can be very enjoyable, provided you master it enough and you take care of the cars.
Let me describe the most notorious and mad ride challenge in Grenoble (a local Fitz’s hill challenge): Le Brevêt de Randonnées des Alpes. Since the 20’s it takes place every two years at around July 14th (the next one is scheduled in summer 1999) and is open to everyone in good condition. Usually it gathers more than 3000 riders of all ages and both sexes. They are split in different categories depending on their ambition and their age. The sportive one consists on few hundred cyclists decided to complete the ride in less than twelve hours time. This category starts at 6 o’clock the morning while the others start between 2 and 4. There is a tourist category which do the loop in two days and spends the night in a hostel at halfway.
Well, what is this tremendous ride ? It starts from Grenoble, goes round Belledonne via Vizille (at the south east), pursues upstream the Romanche river towards famous ski resorts (Alpes d’Huez, les 2 Alpes, Vaugeney, l’Alpes du Grand Serre, …). The first fifty km are smoothly going up, on rather flat roads. Then the road starts to rise in earnest for the first col (col de la croix de Fer, 2065 m) for 30 km (oddly this climb includes also a sharp and short descent to avoid a rock falldown). Just after the col, follows a long and sometime very fast descent (which includes some climbs !) downwards the Maurienne valley (530 m). Some km on a flat road prepares you to climb a 2nd ranked col (le col du Telegraphe 1566 m); then a smooth descent leads you to the town of Valloire (1400 m). From there the road resumes its ascent over a few km, followed by a relative break. After that, and by the time you feel the legs a bit stiff, remains the most serious bit of the challenge; 8 km of very steep and regular road (about 9 % maybe 10 %) to reach one of the highest and beautiful col on road, le col de Galibier (2664 m). Up there usually you find patches of snow along the road to refresh you. Yet the ride is not over by far. A long descent ensues, via le col du Lautarey (2058 m), interrupted by flat and even uphill stretches (not very serious but at the time you will find them extremely difficult). From Bourg D’Oisans you will join the road you took for the way out in the morning, and then go back to Grenoble, the end of this superb challenge. The total distance is about 250 km, bust most remarkable is the overall climb: 4650 m.
This ends the chapiter of Grenoble’ s out and about. I hope it has given you the wish to visit this region with your bike.
I make the profit to tell you good bye. By the time this article is published i will be back to Fance, in Paris (not a very pleasant for riding bike, compared to Canberra).
Xavier Chavanne