[Closed] Alpine road riding for beginners

Carry plenty of clothes with you. You might feel hot on the way up but once you start a 10 mile descent from over 2000m altitude you can get very cold very quickly.

Plenty to go at round Bourg D'Oisans aside from the Alpe. The local tourist board has a helpful website including a downloadable guide with loads of routes in it.

If you want somewhere a bit more attractive you could try the Beaufort area/Cormet du Roseland.

If you can make a circular route I'd say go for it - much more fun that retracing your steps. Decent lunch to break the day.

Make sure you have low gears.

If I were you though I would also spend some time in a more accessible area where you can do decent day-rides, the cols really are brutally hard IME (though I've mostly toured in big mountains ie with panniers).

You say you aren’t very fit and don’t have much road riding experience... so you’re diving in at the deep end! You will likely find the descents as testing as the ascents is my tip.

Make sure your brakes are working. check again. That net on the second or is it third hairpin of the ADH is there for a reason.

but seriously, Bourg d'oisin has more than enough for a beginner. you can make a day out of riding ADH. a good two hour climb, a nice long lunch at the top, take pics, pose on the podium and then either reverse your steps or take the alternative descent.

Get used to climbing very, very slowly with no end in sight. Get used to descending very, very fast with consequences if you get it wrong.

ADH is beautiful and will likely be full of other riders doing the same as you.

Take breaks on the way up. every second hairpin for example.Take at least two litres of water.

As above, take layers and a gilet plus arm-warmers in your pockets. when you have sweated out that two litres plus of water you get very cold at the top especially when hitting speed on the way back down.

Enjoy it, it's brilliant.

Cheers.  I am a bit worried about coming back down.  We've both got cable disks (BB7s). Should I be concerned?

None of it's any steeper/faster/more dangerous than what you'd find in the UK, either up or down.  In fact, probably less so since those big cols were planned and made by engineers rather than just a random horse trail that got a layer of tarmac at some point in the last century.  What it is is much much MUCH longer.  And also hotter.

Should I be concerned?

No. People go up and down these things on £99 bikes wearing flip-flops and speedos.

There are some beautiful dead-end roads that take you into the Ecrin range in the Borg d'Oisans area. Cols are a focus of course but if you want a truly beautiful out-and-back, try the road to La Berarde. Or the D219 death road, gravel climb across the top, down to the Col Ornon. Not a huge ride but really memorable, very quiet too as everyone else is strava-ing Alpe D'Huez which tbh is a fairly average climb if you take away the race history. It's just not that interesting otherwise, imo.

A general tip to see the best of the Alps is to try to climb from the north, as most of the southern sides have ugly ski towns further up that I'd rather ride through at 30mph plus than look at while climbing. The Northern sides tend to be more remote feeling.

The challenge if you're not that fit is that one col takes you into another valley, it'll take 2 cols and a stretch of valley road to get back to your start point. 2 cols in a steady day can be done by anyone with base fitness but it could catch anyone out if the weather is bad or you have an off day.

Croix de Fer is a stunner, the climb from the south B-d'O side is tough but dramatic although the ride back via the Mauriennes, just be careful routing on the N90 valley - there's quiet options at the side or under that road but valley roads in that area can be grim. Beware of the N side of the Glandon nearby, proper hard I thought. Was my 2nd of the day but still, a tough climb.

Col d'Iseran is incredible. It's high, not easy, but worth doing. South side is prettiest.

The Izoard is beautiful. The Agnel is very quiet. Roseland is well worth it, definately fit that in if you can.

Ive descended one alpine col in my life, the final descent of the 2016 tour into morzine. It was biblically wet and I had rim brakes and didnt die.my as long as you arent a a reckless dick its not hard.

Going up however..brutal.

Definitely take more clothes than you possibly think that you will need, both on your ride and on holiday. You will rarely be cold on the way up, but the the descents can be very chilly. Just a pertex gillet is sometimes not enough!

This pic was taken early September last year on Cormet de Roseland. Same trip, same time previous year we were boiling in 30+ degrees.

Otherwise don't worry. The hills are rarely very steep, the views are incredible and the cafes are great.

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My first Alpine climb was Le Semnoz from Annecy (not the direct route) it's a good climb with easier gradients at the bottom and then some challenging stuff further up. Annecy is a great location too for a few days and if you've got a taste for it you can move up the road to some of the classic climbs mentioned above. Cormet de Roselend, Madeleine etc all stunning.

https://www.cycling-challenge.com

Used this website a lot. Daydream at work to it far too much too!

I’d recommend you have a practice descent before the Alpe.

i almost went straight over my first hairpin (off Avoriaz) because I kept the brakes on...

technique I found was a ) look where I was going b) release the front brake as soon as possible (Trail the rear if you have too) c) keep the outer foot/pedal/crank down and push on it as you go round. ETA: d) watch out for car drivers cutting the corner....

the alpine climbs generally aren’t too steep (11-ish percent iirc) but the do tend to go on a bit. I found a compact (50 34) with a 25 was ok up to about 15%...

This thread is great,  We are going to the Massif Central next week for a week, then Borg d’Oisans for 9 days, then a week in Annecy.   I found the route guide on the Borg d’Oisans tourist information page which I'll try match up with Jameso's tips.   Anybody got any must do routes around Murol in the Massif Central ?

Biggest tip I can give on ascending is take it very very easy. Unless  you have a power meter and know what you can sustain for an hour start off slowly. I made the mistake of going off far too hard and was gassing after 2 km. The alp I did was about 8 km at 12 % and I trained to do it on a 1km hill of similar gradient doing repeats. Not having a minute freewheeling every km makes a big difference..I found to my cost!

Bourg St Maurice would make a great base...

If you do the Iseran, which is stunning, set off from Val D’Isere as the valley road is busy. If strong, or later in the week, then descend down to the village the other side for an omelette before pedalling back (steeper, but shorter)

Cormet de Roselend and Petit St Bernard are both good and on your doorstep... a quick run down the valley and you also have la Madeleine

The climbs are big and working them into loops is difficult

My personal view would be that out and backs could be a good way to start... if you go too deep on a climb, you can just roll back down, rather than have to climb over another big hill. You can also decide to take pics on the way up or the way down and concentrate on either climbing or descending

Some great advice,  thanks all.  I'm thinking a double Bourg holiday. Half in St Maurice and half in D'Oisans. We know St Maurice well and there are a couple of good campsites. We don't know D'Oisans at all so I will do some research.

Out and back seems more sensible at least to  begin with. I'm set on the Cormet de Roseland as it looked gorgeous on the tour and Mr TW wants the bragging rights of doing Alps d'Huez. Still researching everything else.

I'm really pleased no one has suggested doing some training or losing some weight.

The Alp D’Huez is iconic but busy and pretty steep if you aren’t fit. As suggested above - ride to Berarde is not as tough - although it has some 10% sections - and it’s super quiet. It’s starts just along from Borg d’Oisans.

As people have said here. Start what feels very gently at the bottom - you will be riding +2hrs on some of the big climbs. Also stop, take pictures and enjoy the view.

Get some really low gears. If you are unfit 34t front and 32t biggest cassette is a minimum of lowest gear.

Going downhill you will be fine just don’t drag the brakes the whole way down and as I said above - take your time. Also wrap up well it maY be cold in mid September. Stop and enjoy the views.

cormet de Roseland is one of the most scenic climbs - enjoy.

If staying in BSM, check out the Thai place on he left on the road to Seez... apart from meeting Cadel Evans - who seemed much more chilled these days - the food is delicious

All of  the  above , plus  learn to eat on the go. I would  much rather  munch on a banana / bar / flapjack and keep on spinning than stop, dismount , eat , cool down , drop HR , drop blood O2 etc. Then get back on bike and  get going again on a 9% gradient. You could be 1km futher on by then .

Descnding is ace . I try to get all the braking done in as straight a line as  possible , then twist hips, unweight saddle, drop outside heel ,  tuen in smoothly, push inside bar down and look at your exit. Geodesic ( same radius as corner ) is slower but safer where  traffic is involved or you dont know the road.  Racing line faster , but with associated risks

You can use  a Garmin to tell you how tight a corner is , but  its beyond me to switch between a map 20" away and a braking point in 50mtrs at 40mph

I would hire  some carbon bling for  the day as well. Be nice  to ride up on a 7kg mean machine , with appropriate  gearing

Col d’Izoard is stunning, head up the south side if you can and see La Casse Deserte and Bobet/Coppi monument.

You can do it as a big loop with lunch in Briancon after the descent, or if that’s too much you could park up in Guillestre and take the valley rode to the foot of the climb and return same way. Very nice around there.

AdH is one to tick off and certainly tough, not the prettiest though!

I would echo the above about clothing (I found out about this the hard way and early stages hypothermia is not fun and makes getting the soup into your mouth interesting).

Gearing wise if you're not natural roadies then 50/34 front and 11-32 back will allow a gentle winch uphill towards the top. If your gearing is not working for you most of the towns at the bottom of the named climbs should have a hire shop with something suitable to rescue the trip.

The other top tip is concentrate on the next small target (corner, false flat) cycle to that and then pick the next. Don't look up as it can get disheartening if you're struggling 800m into a 1200m climb. The ups are more than compensated for by the downs, getting them right can be fun (read terrifying) and is a whole new skillset.

 the bragging rights of doing Alps d’Huez

Only really available to those who do it under an hour : ) (I didn't)

Look up the Col de Sarenne if you do Alpe d'Huez, it turns a fairly average but famous climb into the start of a really lovely loop back to B'd'O. Return via Route de Roche Auris (another exposed 'death road' kind of section - but not really dangerous).

Col de Sarenne is great but IMO it's better done in ascent and then descend Alpe D'Huez because the road surface is pretty poor on the Sarenne and there tends to be a load of sheep wandering around on it.

Col de Sarenne is great but IMO it’s better done in ascent and then descend Alpe D’Huez because the road surface is pretty poor on the Sarenne and there tends to be a load of sheep wandering around on it.

I saw the aftermath of a proper nasty crash on that. I believe they resurfaced it for the Tour and this was before that. I assume they got rid of the cobbled drainage overflows that ran across the road?

I’d suggest ‘must do’ climbs are col d’ ornon (its pretty easy but takes you into a stunning valley that’s not too high at around 1300m ). The ‘balcony’ Route which you take  from la garde (bend 4 on AdH ) is a stunning ride about 600m above the valley floor and gives a pretty easy loop back to Bourg) . Also as James has mentioned the climb to la berarde is beautiful (but I’m biased, I live in a village on that climb). Plenty of campsite options in Bourg , our favorite was always colpourteur which is probably closest to the centre of town. Don’t bother decending the Sarrene from AdH it’s sketchy, a great option is to go through Huez village on the way down and follow signs to Villard Reculas , you’ll go across the Pas de la Confession and end up in Allemont. From there take the new bike path along the river back to Bourg, it’s a lovely smooth ride that’s normally wind assisted in the pm)

I have a hotel in le Sauze (not a pitch as you have the camper!) have a look at heading to barcelonnette (ubaye) area,

there are 7 big cols from here, famous ones such as vars, ( last years tour), col de bonette ( one of the highest roads in Europe) and Cayolle which is nice and quiet and super beautiful.

Plus you can get a certificate if you complete all seven ( you collect a card from tourist info and get a stamp from the top)

Don’t bother decending the Sarrene from AdH it’s sketchy,

Fair point, if you're on a road race bike yes. Most of my riding there in recent years has been on a larger-tyred road bike.

I find alpine hill riding more enjoyable than UK hill riding as the gradient is steady and you know what’s coming.

Having said that start off much slower than you think.

Also Day 1 choose an easy ride and gradually build the length/col difficulty up.

Decending is great fun again compared to UK as you tend to be able to guess the bends.

Any brakes are fine. Don’t drag them just brake hard and deep into the bend using more front than back.

If your decending quickly most European car drivers get out of your way too !

Very jealous, was out there a few weeks ago.

I'd recommend a loop from Bourg St Maurice - up the Roselend and down the other side to Beaufort. Have a nice cheese sandwich, then head to Areches, then up the Col du Pre to the Roselend dam, picking up the TdF route from the stage that finished in la Rosiere. Back up to the Roselend summit then the super-fast descent back to Bourg and  a patisserie.

Cormet de Roselend is fairly quiet for a col in the Tarantaise, some beautiful scenery. If you're not used to big climbs like these, don't underestimate how long it'll take you and how hard it can feel in hot or cold weather!

Also from Bourg, cross the river and take the back road towards Macot - the valley between les Arcs and la Plagne (signed for Peisey Nancroix) is stunning, and the road's lovely and quiet (as it's a dead end).

A nice - much easier - ride from Bourg is the Balcons de Tarantaise, through the wee villages above the valley on the north side.

Don’t drag your brakes. Take the speed off properly release and build speed. Repeat. Use both brakes, of course

Pace the climbs and enjoy them. They aren’t as steep as the UK, just long. The signs counting down the summits are great. You probably have low enough gears already unless you are riding a touring bike fully loaded

Youll enjoy it.

Noted, I fancy a trip this year.

Loads of really useful advice, thanks all. I'm almost looking forward to going now.

If your decending quickly most European car drivers get out of your way too

That's my normal experience except for the French registered muppet in Catalonia who tried an overtake into a hairpin I was approaching at 60kmh!