Mike Jacoubowsky said:I'll be in France for the TDF next week, and have been looking over
some of the riding options near Alpe d'Huez. Specifically, I'd
*really* like to get up there on some of those cliff-hanging roads
that you can see from the valley.
Ooh boy oh boy oh boy! This is some of the finest bike riding in the
world!
Quoted message said:Is anyone familiar with the area? The roads in question are D211a
and D220. It appears you can make a nice loop out of D211A out of
Bourg D'Oisons, head up to the lake at N91, then take D213 over to
D220 and down the lower part of N91.
The D211a is a spectacular road. From Boug-d'Oisans, the simplest way
to get there is ride partway up Alpe-d'Huez and turn onto it at la
Garde.
Quoted message said:Does this loop make sense? Is this the best direction for it?
I rode up Alpe-d'Huez, through the town and over to the Col de la
Sarenne via the D25; then down to Mizoen and the N91. Turn right and
cross the dam, which brings you to the foot of les Deux Alpes. The
next right turn, IIRC, is in le Freney d'Oisans and is where you pick
up the D211a. That's actually a stiffish climb of about 10 km,
comparable to Alpe-d'Huez for difficulty and not initially very scenic
being in the woods. There are several intersctions, just keep to the
left twoards the Romanche valley. But at the top, you ride along the
D211a about 1,000 feet above the valley floor and it is truly
spectacular- well worth the climb! It's about 25 km from le Freney
back to la Garde and the road up Alpe-d'Huez.
Riding up from Bourg-d'Oisans along the N91 would be fine, although
there are two tunnels which were under construction in 2002 and a
little scary with traffic. An option recommended by the owner of the
chambre-d'hote we stayed at in Vert was to take the N91 towards Col de
Lauteret and then turn off on the D220 to les Trevers, which is a
climb, and this will bring you out partway up the D213 (les Deux
Alpes). From there you can descend to the dam, turn left on the N 91,
and descend a few km to le Freney d'Oisans. This is basically your
loop in reverse, now that I think about it.
See my report at:
http://www2.bitstream.net/~timmcn/alps2002-2.html
for the details of this loop and some photos.
