Tour 2024,  22 - 26 August

 

Stage 1 (22 August 2024): Ambérieu - Portes - Fosses - Chatillonne

This year's tour took me again to France. First by train to Ambérieu. I arrived there at 13 on Thursday and hit the road to the south. After only a few kilometres in the valley, i turned left onto a small road leading to the Col de Fay. It was quite warm and i was glad that it was partly in the shade. After a short descent, it went back up again: towards the Golet au Loup and further to the Col de Portes. Then came the long descent back into the Rhône valley. But before i got there, i made a short diversion via an unpaved pass, the Golet du Mur. I wanted to come back down via a forest road, but at some point it only existed on my map and not in reality. So i took another path, but it was pretty bad, so i had to unmount and push the bike on some sections.
To the south of Serrières, the road along the Rhône passed behind a small hill, making the Golet du Tilleul. Shortly afterwards, i turned left again towards the heights of the Bugey, more precisely towards the Col des Fosses. It was a serious climb, and quite hard because of the heat. It was already past 18 when i got there. On the way down, i stopped at the little Lake Ambléon, but only for a photo, without taking the time to swim in it. Further down, after the village of Ambléon, i made a short detour via the Gollet de Selours (not macadam either, but easy that one). On the way to Belley, i passed over the small Col du Sansonnet again. It was already 19 when i arrived at the B&B south of Belley where i had a reservation for the night.

 

Stage 2 (23 August 2024): Chatillonne - Mont Tournier - Col du Chat - Alby-sur-Chéran

The second stage headed south, back to the Rhône. But not forgetting the Col de Prémeyzel in the process! After crossing the river, i headed east and then north. A good, quiet road took me up to the Col du Mont Tournier. Another south-east-north loop took me past Le Collet and on to St-Jean-de-Chevelu. From there, you could take a tunnel under the Mont du Chat, but i obviously took the road via the Col du Chat. On the other side, Lake Bourget can be seen between the trees. But instead of going down to it, you can take the road north. After a number of ascents and descents and some lovely viewpoints, you finally arrive at the northern end of the lake, towards Chindrieux. From here, i took the road up the hillside on the opposite side of the lake. It was quite steep and the heat didn't make it any easier. But as expected, i was compensated for my efforts by a magnificent view of the lake as i reached the Col de la Chambotte.
After the descent to St-Germain, i headed for Albens. Turning right there, i climbed the last pass of the day, the Goléron, leaving me with almost nothing left but the descent to Alby-sur-Chéran. That's where i could spend the night, at the home of a friend of the Club des Cent Cols, Sébastien, and his family.

 

Stage 3 (24 August 2024): Alby-sur-Chéran - Forclaz de Montmin - Arpettaz - Praz-sur-Arly

The third stage began with a short but steep descent to the centre of Alby. Climbing up the other side of the valley, i rejoined the main road to Annecy. But then i left it again to go through Vieugy. So i entered Annecy from the south-west. I passed through the old town and then took the cycle path around the lake in a clockwise direction. A little after Veyrier-du-Lac, i turned slightly left to climb towards the Col de Bluffy. Immediately after this pass, i turned right and descended to the heights of Perroix. There, i joined the road leading up to Forclaz de Montmin. As it was Saturday and the weather was fine, i was by no means the only cyclist on this fairly steep road. When i reached the pass, i had a magnificent view of the whole length of Lake Annecy. The descent through the village of Montmin was even steeper, but fortunately the road was in good condition. That's how i got to Vesonne, where i could take the cycle path towards Ugine. It was a good track. Apart from a few bumps caused by tree roots... and a large number of barriers to go round before and after each crossroads.
I left the cycle path between Marlens and Ugine. No more worries about barriers, but it was uphill! More than 30 curves awaited me as i climbed to an elevation of around 1200 m, partly in the forest, but also partly in the sun. Fortunately, on reaching the Col de l'Arpettaz, i was able to get a cold drink at the restaurant there. After a well-deserved break, i set off downhill towards Ugine. Halfway down, i came to the road to Héry, which i took up towards this village before proceeding down to the Arly canyon. There, of course, the traffic was heavier. So i went up towards Flumet and then Praz-sur-Arly. This is where other friends from the Club des Cent Cols, Sylvie and Didier, have a vacation flat. As they were in contact with Sébastien (who had told them about my tour), they suggested i spend the night there.

 

Stage 4 (25 August 2024): Praz-sur-Arly - Aravis - Croix Fry - Plan Bois - Nâves-Parmelan

As expected, a cold front had reached the Alps during the night, bringing rain. So i didn't want to do too long a stage and didn't set off until just before 10am. I first headed back towards Flumet, but to avoid going all the way down before going back up, i took the road along the side of the valley via Les Pontets. This took me directly onto the road leading up to La Giettaz. The slope was gentle all the way to this village. It was very cloudy, but i was still able to see the Aravis mountain range above and continued my tour in that direction. Unfortunately, by the time i reached the Col des Aravis, i was completely in the fog. You could barely see 20 metres and i even took the precaution of mounting my rear light on the bike. So the descent in these conditions was cool and damp, not exactly pleasant. Arriving in La Clusaz, i turned left towards the Col de la Croix-Fry. The whole climb was still in thick fog. So i stopped at the Col not to enjoy the view, but to treat myself to a hot cup of tea. What a difference from previous days!
A good part of the descent was still in fog, but as i neared Manigod, the fog lifted. I then took a small road towards the bottom of the Fier valley before heading back up the left-hand side. I was expecting very little traffic, but there was a sort of rally going on that day. So i passed a lot of older cars before reaching the pass of Plan Bois. The weather was still overcast and cool, but at least this pass wasn't in the fog like the previous ones. After the pass, we descend (steeply) towards the Fier valley, but further downstream as we join it at Les Clefs. After that, and especially after Thônes, the roads were much busier, but fortunately there were plenty of cycle paths. I was able to make good speed through the valley. Arriving below Dingy-St-Clair, i crossed to the other side of the river Fier to take the small road known as the Voie Romaine that climbs towards Nâves-Parmelan. There i was met by yet another couple from the Club des Cent Cols, Marie-Noëlle and Guy. As my stage had been short, we still had plenty of time to talk about everything and anything, and even to go for a little walk on the shores of Lake Annecy around Menthon-St-Bernard.

 

Stage 5 (26 August 2024): Nâves-Parmelan - Frétallaz - Mont Sion - Viry - Genève

The weather was quite fine but still cool on this Monday morning when i set off from Nâves. After a gentle climb towards Villaz, i descended towards the Filière valley. On the other side of the river, i climbed up to the Col de la Frétallaz. No difficulties so far. No difficulty either in the direction of Villy-le-Pelloux and then down to Allonzier-la-Caille. But then, until after Cruseilles, i found myself (except for short interludes) on a road with fairly heavy traffic. After the hamlet of Follon, i preferred to go via St-Blaise to be more at peace, even if it meant going up and down a bit. This is how i reached the Col du Mont Sion from the south. After a very short stretch on the main road, i was able to take a smaller road towards the Col de la Croix Biche. From there, i could descend towards Vers and then Maisons Neuves. But just over a kilometre to the left, there was another pass that i hadn't done yet. Even though i much prefer to go over passes (that's what they're for), i decided to go to the Col du Petit Sion and come back the same way.
All that remained was to descend to the Swiss border, which i crossed at Soral. Then it was on to Geneva and its railway station. Fortunately, the canton and city of Geneva have made good progress as far as cycle routes are concerned, although not everything is perfect yet, particularly with signposting. It was midday when i arrived at Cornavin after this short stage. So i'll still be arriving home later this afternoon.

PS / 8.9.2024