YOUR NEXT GREAT RIDE
THE ROUTE DES GRANDES ALPES, FRANCE
AFTER MONTHS OF waiting, June sees the start of the high-alpine riding season. True, you don’t want to head off too soon… some of the very highest passes may not be open until the middle or even the end of the month. But at some point before July, you can be sure that Europe’s finest roads will be open for business again.
That means roads like this one, the 2680m Col de Restefond – the ninth highest road in the Alps, but one often overshadowed as it leads to a much more famous one: France’s highest road, La Bonette. The pass itself is 2771m, but the record-setting loop of tarmac climbing up to the monument at Cime de la Bonette tips the scales at 2802m.
Of course, going early in the season means the upper reaches of the road might well be lined with snow walls (so care is needed when crossing melt water; more care when crossing any shadowed patches where that melt water may actually be ice). The trade-off is that the road will be far quieter than in the height of the summer riding season, when there will be more sightseers and cyclists taking on the famous climb.
There are brilliant roads all through the French Alps, but one of the best ways for first-time visitors to discover the region is on the Route des Grandes Alpes, running from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean. It’s a two-to-three day showcase of the best the mountains can offer and a brilliant ride at any time of year. Well, any time from June onwards.
HOW TO GET THERE: The start of the Route des Grandes Alpes, in Thonon Les Bains, is one-and-a-half or two days’ ride from Calais or Rotterdam. Alternatively, let Bikeshuttle ship your bike to Thoiry, 30 miles away, and fly out to collect it (see www.bikeshuttle.co.uk) WHEN TO GO: June to October, though we’d avoid August (too busy with holidaymakers). The Tour de France is in the Alps on June 17-18 this year, so we’d stay away from June 13-22. WHERE TO EAT: Lots of options along the route, depending on how you break the journey up. French hotels all tend to be bike friendly. WHERE TO RIDE: Download our GPX file of the Route from www.ride.co.uk/europe2