On Monday we drove east from Ornon to the town of Valloire via the Col du Lauteret and the Col du Galibier.  It was about a 2 hour drive and our goal was to ride from Valloire over the Col du Telegraphe, down to St. Michel de Maurienne and then back up the Telegraphe, through Valloire and on up the Col du Galibier.  In the 2013 Giro d’Italia the last part of one stage was scheduled to take this route up the Telegraphe and finish at the summit of the Galibier.  It is one of the highest passes in Europe, 2640 meters, over 8000 feet.  This is an important difference between France and Colorado.  The top of the Galibier is about the same elevation as Aspen, in comparison Independence Pass just east of Aspen is 12,100 feet high.  The higher elevations make for difficult breathing, which is less of a problem at 8000 feet.

at the Col du Telegraphe

at the Col du Galibier

view from the Col du Galibier

at the Col du Galibier

at the Col du Galibier

On May 19th the Giro d’Italia pro racers climbed the Galibier but the planned summit finish was moved lower because there was so much snow this past winter that they could not clear the road to the top.  It was not a problem for us, the snow was gone but the climb was still there. The landscape is notably different – more alpine with no trees, lots of rocks and switchbacks.  Fortunately it was not as steep as some of the climbs we have done.  The top was mobbed with people taking photos, some were happy proud cyclists but most were motorists. We finished off with the 12 mile descent back to the car in Valloire.  Still, it was a tough day – 44 miles and 7200 feet of climbing.   We packed up the bikes and drove back to Ornon arriving at 8pm just in time to clean up and enjoy dinner.