Saturday 12 March 2011

Early season riding


Only a week or so until spring officially starts and then the clocks change, we can't wait (even if it does mean losing an hour in bed)!

This winter has been kind to cyclists but a cruel one for skiers.

We have experienced very little snowfall in the area this year. This bodes well for the early opening/snow clearing of the roads to the higher cols in the Oisans (such as the Galibier, Croix de Fer and Glandon). We anticipate mid-May openings of most of these - as usual we will keep you posted on this blog as and when this happens. We still have some vacancies here for the late spring bank holiday (30th May) if you fancy blowing out the cobwebs and being some of the first riders to reach those high summits in 2011!

The 'peloton', normally seen on the valley roads in April, have been out in force pedalling since early February. The warm sun and snow free roads have meant that each week they seem to shed another layer of Lycra and are able to ride a little higher. Since the Alpe d'Huez road leads to a major ski resort it is always clear of snow. At present it is not only clear but lovely and warm once the midday sun has been on it for a while, consequently we have seen lots of riders climbing up amongst the weekend ski traffic.

Guy rode a lovely 75km loop with a couple of our neighbours last weekend. The circuit was behind the house here in the 'Trieves' area. Situated just that bit further south and lower in altitude, the weather was glorious, around 18'C. A bit of a 'last hurrah' for Yves (pictured right) as the following day he was booked in for an operation on his knee/cruciate ligament - that's the spirit!

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