Alpe d'Huez

Rob987

Hi all,

I will be visiting Bourg d'Oisans next Friday with a few friends. We have booked some racing bikes for 3 days. I'm fairly experienced (I have a Trek Madone 5.2 for a few years now) and have been doing a reasonable amount of km's recently including last weekend - 80kms from Naas/Hollywood/Wicklow Gap/Enniskerry. I do almost exclusively mountain cycling in Ireland.

My questions are:

- what is Alpe d'Huez really like? At 14km and 8% average gradient, on paper it doesn't sound all that bad, at least for someone who regularly takes on the Dublin mountains;
- I note that Galibier, Glandon etc are in the vicinity. How does one get to those climbs from, say, the top of Alpe d'Huez?
- nightlife in Bourg d'Oisans. I'm assuming it's not "heaving" but it does seem quaint. A quick search on the net reveals 10 pubs and 15 restaurants.

Am staying in Huez village which is c. 4 km from Bourg d'Oisans so will use that as warm up time for Alpe d'Huez...This is certainly the fulfilment of a long held cycling ambition

Rob

bcmf

in relation to hills in Ireland. They are mere foothills compared to what you will see in France/Alpine etc

niceonetom

Rob987 wrote: »

- what is Alpe d'Huez really like? At 14km and 8% average gradient, on paper it doesn't sound all that bad, at least for someone who regularly takes on the Dublin mountains;

I LOLed.

If 1100m of continuous accent doesn't sound bad to you, you probably haven't really thought about it properly. "average 8%" is a lot worse than it sounds. There are long portions over 12% too btw.

If you do your cycling in the Dublin mountains then the longest climb you're used to is probably less than 4km, always with little let-ups. The Alps are a different thing all together. They're fcuking HUUUUUUGGGGGEEEEEEEE.

That said, I can't recommend cycling l'alpe enough. There are harder and more spectacular climbs (in that valley) but there are none as glamorous or evocative.

Rob987 wrote: »

- I note that Galibier, Glandon etc are in the vicinity. How does one get to those climbs from, say, the top of Alpe d'Huez?

Using a map most likely. Be aware that a 100km route through the alpes will feel like a 200km route through Wicklow, so don;t be too ambitious with the milage of routes. Use mapmyride.com or something to give you an idea of elevation changes - they matter more than horizontal distance.

The Galibier is well worth doing though it's a MONSTER. If you can get to Saint-Michelle-de-Maurienne (sp?) you can do the Telegraphe, descend into Valoire and climb the Galibier then do a 50 km descent into Bourg. That's basically the second (harder) half of the Marmotte, and would be a hell of a cycle. If you're staying in Huez though, you'd have to climb the alpe again.

Rob987 wrote: »

Am staying in Huez village which is c. 4 km from Bourg d'Oisans so will use that as warm up time for Alpe d'Huez...This is certainly the fulfilment of a long held cycling ambition

Well Huez is about two-thrids of the way up the alp from Bourg so you'll be doing your "warm up" at about 70kph on one of the fastest descents I've ever done. Not ideal for the legs, but great fun.

Freddy687

I have to agree with Niceonetom, 8% in the alps is much tougher than it seems.
Did this years Etape, Mont Ventoux is 7.6% average. Reality is that first 5Km are a 3-4% and the last 17Km is near 10% not let up.
The alp is 22 bends half are going to work for you and the other against, inside of the hairpin.
This climb would be like doing 10 hill repeats on Slieve Mann, with no nice downhill to recover.

blorg

Alpe d'Huez is not that bad if you are taking it on fresh. Just pace yourself and don't kill yourself at the start (the start is the steepest bit, that is not to say it flattens out, it doesn't.) If you can string mountains together in Wicklow you will be fine.

Naas/Hollywood/Wicklow Gap/Enniskerry doesn't sound like stringing together though, there isn't much hard climbing in that. Have you done the Wicklow 200? That would be good prep.

We were there last October having not done that sort of thing before and we managed fine. We had done serious climbing in Wicklow though, Sally Gap-Kippure-Wicklow Gap-Slieve Maan-Shay Elliot-back up Sally Gap sort of thing.

To be honest staying in Huez is probably not ideal as you will have a bloody tough climb on the end of any day you do anything else- if you will have a car I would suggest leaving that parked down in Bourg (there is a car park just on the roundabout at the bottom of the Alpe) so you have the option...

blorg

What Freddy says is very true about the gradient, "average" does not tell the story... To put it in perspective the Wicklow Gap from Hollywood has an average of 1%. 4% average from Laragh. You can compare some of the Alpine ones on that site BTW.

As to the difficulty though Ventoux at the end of 150km or whatever it was would be a hell of a lot tougher than taking it fresh. I certainly found the Alpe easier in October on its own than I did last month at the end of the Marmotte. That is not to say they are easy but they are doable without the extreme incredible pain you have facing them at the end of a long ride.

Key is don't underestimate and pace yourself. Climb slowly. A compact with a 27 on the back is a minimum, a triple would be even better.

mattym

A group of 7 of us went over to Bourg for 3 days in May. We were staying right at the bottom of the L'Alpe. I hadnt done much serious training up until 3 months before i went and got up the L'Alpe ok. i'm a big lad (6'2" and 15 stone) and found it tough but on a triple its certinally doable. I had a 32 26. As Blorg said, its not an ideal place ur staying. Some climb from Bourg home in the evening:). As for other climbs, we started off for the Croix De Fer one morning and got to within a few km of the BOTTOM of it and had to turn back. We were climbing from a lovely village called Allemont (excuse the spelling) and then were told that we were still miles from the bottom. When looking at a map over there keep in mind that the distances dont have to be big to take hours to cover. A nearer climb that we did was the Col De Ornon, not as hard as the L'Alpe but we got to climb a Col, we all went home happy.....

NeilMcEoigheann

also its hot, and you need water. bourg as a moderate night life it has pubs cafe bars and restaurants, some of the bars are more clubish but not really. it will hurt cycling home. a good loop with stunning scenery. Huez is at F/B the start of the climb is below A at 721m, its all up hill from there. C is i think were the end is. for your timing. then follow the road east. this road is tarmac but has some gravel on it but is perfectly fine to ride carefully on, similar to some of the main roads in wicklow. you then come to the col du sarenne 2000m and then this
descend steeply until D where you will see a sign for le deux alpes. (a nice climb with an optional cable car down off the top into another valley the bikes can come too.)
follow the incredibly steep road north from le freney d'oisans keeping ascending a few km before E the road crests and reveals a fantastic view of bourg d'oisans
and then you just join back onto the Huez road at a small group of houses and go up... hope you really enjoy your trip. and i hope this helps....
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=D211&daddr=Avenue+des+Jardins%2FD211+to:Route+d%27Huez+to:Route+de+la+Poste+to:Avenue+de+l%27Etendard+to:Avenue+du+Rif+Nel+to:D1091+to:45.051696,6.058617+to:D211&hl=en&geocode=FVigrwIdFCZcAA%3BFbjgrwIdBHJcAA%3BFXQKsAIdfHdcAA%3BFYgOsAIdjn5cAA%3BFYoOsAIdIKZcAA%3BFfAWsAIdJKJcAA%3BFYZUrwIdPKJdAA%3B%3BFd7drwIdbGlcAA&mra=dme&mrcr=3,4&mrsp=7&sz=13&via=2,3,4&dirflg=w&sll=45.057638,6.096039&sspn=0.05481,0.154324&ie=UTF8&ll=45.069217,6.062737&spn=0.027399,0.077162&z=14
buy a 1:25000 scale map in bourg i think they are made by ign and the detail is fantastic. worth it a 1:50000 will cover all up to the col d'criox de fer

redmenace1

Hi Rob - what the other posters advise is about right. I have the pleasure of riding a lot of the big cols in France over the last five years & provided you don't underestimate them, you should be fine.
I was on L'Alpe in June for my second visit & its tough but doable.
Give yourself plenty of scope (don't go up in heat of day, hydrate properly & dress correctly) and you will be fine.
If you are goin further a field, allowing for where you are based, makesure that you have proper gloves, rain cape, leg warmers, hat etc. The cold at the top of climbs can be vicious. You physically could not descend in poor weather without proper clothing. It makes the climbing a bit harder, carrying all that stuff, but believe me you could be in serious bother without it. I froze my bo***cks off this year, even with all me gear on on a few of the monsters!

niceonetom

NeilMcEoigheann wrote: »

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=D211&daddr=Avenue+des+Jardins%2FD211+to:Route+d%27Huez+to:Route+de+la+Poste+to:Avenue+de+l%27Etendard+to:Avenue+du+Rif+Nel+to:D1091+to:45.051696,6.058617+to:D211&hl=en&geocode=FVigrwIdFCZcAA%3BFbjgrwIdBHJcAA%3BFXQKsAIdfHdcAA%3BFYgOsAIdjn5cAA%3BFYoOsAIdIKZcAA%3BFfAWsAIdJKJcAA%3BFYZUrwIdPKJdAA%3B%3BFd7drwIdbGlcAA&mra=dme&mrcr=3,4&mrsp=7&sz=13&via=2,3,4&dirflg=w&sll=45.057638,6.096039&sspn=0.05481,0.154324&ie=UTF8&ll=45.069217,6.062737&spn=0.027399,0.077162&z=14

+1 on that!


I think that's the route we did on our first day last October. It was a blizzard on the Col de Sarenne, but then sunny again once we descended. Brilliant day. We started and finished in Bourg, but there's no reason why the OP couldn't do it from Huez - except for splitting the alpe into two parts, one at the start of the day and one at the end.

For comparison I think that 60km loop is likely to take as much out of you as any 120km loop you could devise in Wicklow.


[edit] I absolutely second what redmenace1 says about clothing. You will really suffer on these descents unless you are well insulated even on a warmish day. If it's cold or wet then descending without good gear is lethal.

blorg

Yes we went around the route Neil posted there, it was very nice. We went over the Ornon after the Marmotte last month (where Barrabus beat me in a sprint to the top.) Here are some photos of the area from both October and last month, just to get you going.



Oh- another important thing, weather can be very variable up the high mountains, bring thermals for possible cold/wet descents.

Beached

HI,
I stayed in Bourge d'Oisans two weeks ago for one night. I rented out a road bike in Cycle et Sports for 35 euro for the day. I found the alp de Huez cycle a struggle, and had to get off and rest (take photo's;)) every 2k or so. I found the heat in france to be very warm and would recommend doing the cycle in the evining or early morning.
I cycled up in the evening. Its pretty steep at the start (and i mean the very start, just round the bend from the campsites). Pace yourself is the most important thing, i was pushing too hard at the start while all the time realising that ill never do 14K at this rate. It gets a bit easier around the first village for a while.
The most annoying thing were the flies that pace up the climb with you, there was a whole swarm of them by the time I reached the top. This was possibly an evening thing.

One thing to note though, is that there is a finish sign in the Alp de Huez village. I stopped at that and turned back. When I drove up the next day, i found that the official tour finish is further up at the top of the village, Maybe someone could clarify this.

Bourge D'Oisans is a pretty small village. No problems with parking. After spending a few days previously in Avignon, we expected the same opening hours. We couldnt find anywhere to eat after 10 the evening we stayed.
All pubs were shut at 12 i reckon. Its a sporting paradise, i guess most people are in bed early enough, it was also midweek

We drove the Glandon the next day also. Beautifull drive, very long though. The Croix de Fer is pretty close to the Glandon (3-4K maybe) but we never headed in that direction. There is a beautifull lake halfway up the Glandon, the views there are fantastic.

To summarise though, Alp de Huez is doable,
Bourge D'oisans is not a party town.
And its pretty easy to get to the Glandon and Croix de Fer from Bourge D'oisans. They are well signposted.

Caroline_ie

As a mediocre-ish female cyclist I managed to go up the Alpes d'huez and Galibier, at a lower pace than the guys, but I was able to pace myself pretty well and did not suffer going up at all. I had the music playing in the way up for entertainment purposes.

blorg

Beached wrote: »

One thing to note though, is that there is a finish sign in the Alp de Huez village. I stopped at that and turned back. When I drove up the next day, i found that the official tour finish is further up at the top of the village, Maybe someone could clarify this.

Yes, the finish up up Avenue du Rif Nel, the place you stopped was probably the end of Route d'Huez where there is often a banner about something or other that looks like a finish. There are two more hairpins, both unnumbered after that point. One through a tunnel to the left just after that banner and then one more after that. You then have to take a right which is marked "route du Tour" or something, straight through one roundabout (going downhill and then flat now) and then right at the roundabout at the end and it ramps up to the actual finish.

The right is not at all obvious, you have to pay attention. When we did it we all went straight, missing the right, and up to the very top of the town and then DOWN to the finish

This is the route

Beached

Gives me an excuse to go back again next year and cycle it properly No photo's). They even have a podium (like the community games ones) for photo's, where i thought was the finish.
Things did get a little confusing before the last two hairpins with signposts and stuff. Just keep following the Route du Tour signs.

parkerpen

When I hear this name, all I can think of is Stephen Roche, winning the tour de France in 1987. Not to forget Sean Kelly. Two great Irish men.

2 Wheels Good

Agree with the guys, 8% is harder than you'd think from experiences here. Did Mont Ventoux (twice) last week. From Bedoin, the tour side and from Malaucene. It's just the length, and heat that can get you. Drink lots and get your own rhythm and it'll be fine.
Passed and was passed by lots of people, sometimes you'd come across someone at your own pace but that was rare enough. Hoping to make it to Alpe D'Huez next year!

blorg

I think there is a tendency to see "8%" and think, I know X climb in Wicklow that is 8% when I look down at my computer... Thing is though that it is generally just an 8% section (maybe for as little as 100m) while in the case of the Alpe the 8% is an average over 14km. The Alpe isn't even the worst of the climbs near Bourg BTW, I think the Telegraph-Galibier combo would get that accolade.

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

I think there is a tendency to see "8%" and think, I know X climb in Wicklow that is 8% when I look down at my computer... Thing is though that it is generally just an 8% section (maybe for as little as 100m) while in the case of the Alpe the 8% is an average over 14km. The Alpe isn't even the worst of the climbs near Bourg BTW, I think the Telegraph-Galibier combo would get that accolade.

I haven't done Alpe d'Huez, but here is a thought experiment...

It takes about the same effort to cycle up an 8% gradient at 10kph as it does to cycle along the flat at 32kph, and (obviously) over three times as long. And that miserable 10kph will involve grinding away at 60rpm in a 34-27.

To simulate this effort in the Irish climate, wait for a really hot windless day then do the whole 45km ride at 32kph in the 50-12 combo wearing all your winter clothes.

Raam

Lumen wrote: »

I haven't done Alpe d'Huez, but here is a thought experiment...

It takes about the same effort to cycle up an 8% gradient at 10kph as it does to cycle along the flat at 32kph, and (obviously) over three times as long. And that miserable 10kph will involve grinding away at 60rpm in a 34-27.

To simulate this effort in the Irish climate, wait for a really hot windless day then do the whole 45km ride at 32kph in the 50-12 combo wearing all your winter clothes.

I know you are only having a laugh, however I'll throw this in anyway...
at least on the flat you can coast for a bit and not loose too much speed or expend as much effort to start moving again. No such luck on a climb.

blorg

Rider weight would also factor majorly in there. Subjectively I think your numbers are off, for me anyway cycling for an hour on the flat at 32km/h would be (substantially) easier than climbing Alpe d'Huez at 10km/h.

Lumen

Raam wrote: »

I know you are only having a laugh, however I'll throw this in anyway...at least on the flat you can coast for a bit and not lose too much speed or expend as much effort to start moving again. No such luck on a climb.

Indeed. But furthermore, since your lowest gear is probably 39-25, your 60rpm @ 8% would mean 12.4kph not 10kph, and your equivalent effort on the flat is 35kph in a 53-11 or 53-12 gear. Which isn't exactly comfortable to sustain for over an hour. And that's for a steady 8%, an average 8% is even harder.

blorg wrote: »

Rider weight would also factor majorly in there. Subjectively I think your numbers are off, for me anyway cycling for an hour on the flat at 32km/h would be (substantially) easier than climbing Alpe d'Huez at 10km/h.

You're no doubt right, but have you tried 32kph at 60rpm for over an hour? I can't imagine it's very comfortable.

edit: feck it, how about I just go to the Alps myself and find out.

Rob987

niceonetom wrote: »

If you do your cycling in the Dublin mountains then the longest climb you're used to is probably less than 4km, always with little let-ups. The Alps are a different thing all together. They're fcuking HUUUUUUGGGGGEEEEEEEE.

That said, I can't recommend cycling l'alpe enough. There are harder and more spectacular climbs (in that valley) but there are none as glamorous or evocative.

Ok, I get the picture My two compatriots are cyclists also. One of them a mountain biker who is seriously fit. I reckon we'll be ok, though from all your posts I'm not under any illusions.

My thanks in particular to NiceoneTom, NeilMcEoigheann and Blorg for the rather disturbing commentary and photos.

Allez, courage!!!!! I will send photos once I come back.

Rob

TinyExplosions

blorg wrote: »

Rider weight would also factor majorly in there. Subjectively I think your numbers are off, for me anyway cycling for an hour on the flat at 32km/h would be (substantially) easier than climbing Alpe d'Huez at 10km/h.

Fully agree there. I don't think there's any real analogue over here for just how different/difficult the climbs in the Alps are.

Having said that, if you're reasonably fit, and stubborn enough you'll get up them in the end. I'm a fat b**tard, and manage it ok (it's tough, but ok)