Morning:
For those interested in Cycling up the Mythical 21 bends of the Alpe d’Huez Climb we will be heading over there in the morning.
It takes about 40 minutes to cycle to Bourg d’Oisans,
if you have a bike already then meet us in front of Atou Sports at 10 am.
If you’re new to the mountains, please be very careful on the decent from Vaujany though as it’s very steep. Well lead the way but it’ll be steeper and longer than you’ve experienced before.
If you’re hiring a bike then we’ll meet at Cycles et Sports in Bourg d’Oisans, hopefully be ready to start the climb at 11.
If you need help getting here let us know beforehand and we’ll aim to help with transport.
The climb up Alpe d-Huez is strenuous from the start with gradients of 12-13 % for the first couple of bends (2-3k). It eases up a little but it’s consistently about 8 % until you reach the town of Alpe d’huez itself.
Whilst a great achievement, this is not for beginners (unless you have an e-bike in which case chill out and enjoy the magnificent scenery on the climb !).
We’ll try and keep a couple of groups together with one aiming for about 1 hr 30 for the climb and another aiming to complete the climb! Easyjet flights allowing we might have a broom wagon available for anyone who feels satisfied with making it part of the way. Alternatively there is a decent bar in Huez you could wait at.
https://strava.app.link/9VLbDuRPAJb
The Alpe D’Huez Strava link is above so you can follow the Tour de France climb route in the town and once you’ve made it to the top and had your picture taken we’ll regroup at Bar Indiana (on the left as you enter the town) for a well-earned celebratory/recovery drink!
Once everyone is ready, we’ll head back down the mountain to about bend 5 where we’ll take the Pas de la Confession for a breathtaking ride around to Villard Rekulas (not a road to drive a car around) and then down the rest of the way to Lake Verney.
The climb back up to Vaujany, whilst not too long, is very tough so the plan will be to meet up at Lake Verney with the option of either chilling out on the water, have some lunch and get a lift back to Vaujany or for the brave cycle back.
Lunch / Afternoon:
Meet at the Watersports centre at Lake Verney with the returning cyclists. There’s a good café/restaurant on the water called La Guinguette which is a good option for lunch. There are tables booked under the name Smith for 1.30pm
If you’re looking for transport to and from the lake we can help organise that.
Evening:
We would love you to join us over in Oz Village for their Gourmet night market.
https://www.oz-en-oisans.com/summer/discover/our-must-haves/gourmet-night-market/
During the summer season, locals and holidaymakers gather on the main square to share a festive and convivial moment. It’s an opportunity to taste Oisans products and chat with producers in a relaxed atmosphere. (Ok, that bit came from their website😄)
It’s about a 15 minutes drive away and the event starts around 6pm.
So we can head over there together, please come and have a drink at our apartment A8, Les Edelweiss, Route des Coombes where we’ll serve drinks anytime from 5pm and then leave together.
For those without transport we’ll arrange lifts to get you over there with perhaps the odd shared taxi.