Saint-Jean-De-Maurienne – Pussy (not joking, we did pick it for a reason) 53.74km š“āāļø 4.33.34Ā ā±11.8km/hrĀ ā¬ļø 1575m (Suuz 1709m)Ā ā¬ļø 1400mĀ š”23C
When the alarmĀ šØwent off this morning we were already awake so we got out of bedĀ š pretty quickly. Breakfast consisted of yoghurt and cruesli (Mas), an appleĀ š, pancakesĀ š„, baguetteĀ š„ with salamiĀ š„ (Suuz) and a nice cup of teaĀ šµ. We packed the rest of our stuff, looked outside and saw it definitely was a sun lotionĀ š§“ kind of day, so after that sticky business we had several elevator rides to get all our stuff down and took off.
We thought the first twelve kilometres to La Chambre, the foot of Col de la Madeleine, would be busy and not so nice. Well could we BE any more wrong (Chandler). Uh no we couldnāt. The road was almost empty, hardly any carsĀ š and it was really nice. Green meadows and high mountainsĀ šall around us. And we started with a good, but cold, downhill. I must admit that there are two other roads going this direction, one of them is a busy highwayĀ š£, but we hardly saw or heard it. After a while we could see Madeleine, well maybe she has a pretty name but she looked like this huge, intense, nagging, overweight neighbour that makes you miss your trainĀ š if you hear her open the doorĀ šŖat the same moment you have to leave but you really donāt want to start your day with chatting with her. Well we only wished. She was lying there all pretty and shiny in the sunĀ āļø, with her perfectly shaped body. She looked more like Madeleines, the puffy, tasty, lemony French cakes (that Mas is addicted to). And we had to go and devour that bitch!
Anyway, we arrived in La Chambre and Suuz needed to pee š½so we went into a bar and had an espresso as well. We decided to take the D76 instead of the more likely, and therefore busier, option of the D213. Of course we canāt say anything about the D213 since we didnāt cycle that one, but the D76 was an absolute treat. Some parts were definitely really steep and if you like road signs well then this is probably not for you, but we were the only ones there. Okay a handful of cars passed and two guys on race bikes passed us going down, but that was it. In the three hours this climb took us! No motor bikes, no busses š, it was just quiet. And the view was just spectacular. Yeah, I donāt think we would ever take the main road up. Also, the temperature was great today. Since we were working hard we were still sweating, but no gushing like before. When we started it was close to fifteen degrees and even a little chilly in the shade, with every hour temperature was rising, but it never got above 25 degrees.
Some paragliding tourists joined us a couple of times from above. The little van picking them up and dropping them off passed us a couple of times in both directions. It must have been a nice view today from above. We stopped a couple of times to enjoy the view and stretch our backs. From all the pulling on the handlebars the back got a little sore. Sleeping on a plank probably also didnāt help much. We also just needed to bring our heart rate down every now and then since it was an intense climb, but overall it was fine and we really really enjoyed it.
Close to a pile of houses they gave the name Replat, at least thatās what we think, we sat down for our pancakeĀ š„lunch. Since there was a little wind this was also a good spot to get rid of the million flies buzzing around our heads. The pancakesĀ š„tasted great. We even bought mapleĀ š syrup to go with it and to fill Mas her CanadianĀ šØš¦ heart with love.
Right after lunch there were these six steep hair pin turns waiting for us. It wasnāt pretty. Especially not because when we looked upĀ šwe could see the road going all the way up to the top. Suuz refused to look, Mas just had a good day and loved it and she just adores the mountains in general. When we had conquered all six of them we joined the other traffic on the D213. Maybe it was because itās Monday, maybe it is always like this, but it wasnāt that busy. We read a lot of stories about how touristy and busy La Madeleine is but today, and probably also cause we mostly took the other road up, it was quiet.
We got some good thumbs upĀ šš¼ from race cyclistsĀ šµš¼āāļø, it always impresses them we drag all this crap up since every race cyclist wants to be as light as possible. For some it would probably be best to leave the belly home instead of a water bottle.Ā Some guys at the restaurant on top cheered for us once we made it all the way up. Itās always a little uncomfortable, but what the hellĀ š„, we both think itās kind of cool as well we are able to do this with an extra 35kg of weight.
The first thing we noticed once we were up was this huge white peaked mountain in front of us. It was still far away, but so much bigger than the rest so it had to be the Mont Blanc. Oh it is confirmed, it was the Mont Blanc. Weāve seen that thing a couple of times now, but it just stays impressive. Would be cool to cycle up that thing sometime. No worries, you canāt. Thereās no road. We went to the restaurant at the mountain top and couldnāt resist the food on the menu so we shared a goatĀ š cheeseĀ š§ salad. Since we were wet and it was pretty windyĀ š¬ up the mountainĀ šit got cold fast and we had to put on a shirtĀ š for the downhill.
The downhill was an absolute beauty š. Probably the most impressive one of this whole trip. The view was stunning, around every corner something pretty showed up. In front of us, behind us, on the sides, it was amazing. There were also some longer stretches were we could speed up so that made it even better. We did have to be careful though, mostly there was no fence or anything on the side and The Valley was far far down … The tarmac was a little bumpy sometimes but again, it wasnāt busy with traffic. Google maps told us there was still some climbing coming but luckily it was wrong. We did have to climb about 50 metres towards the hotel, but that was it.
When they showed us our little room they told us to keep the door closed cause apparently we are staying in the favourite room of Albert, the red house catĀ š. This place is all about cats anyway, we are staying in a town called Pussy, and we are surrounded by cats. It canāt get any better than this. To celebrate we had a nice cold drink on the patio outside. Since there is absolutely nothing close-by we also arranged to have dinner in the hotel. We are both pretty tired from this awesome but heavy day on the bike so itās nice someone else is taking care of us for the rest of the evening.
After a good shower šæ and some chill time in our room we went downstairs to have dinner with the other guests. We were seated in a small and very cosy living room with typically French flowery šø wallpaper. The couple that owns the small hotel cooked us a simple but delicious meal with local and homegrown products. Perfect! Tomorrow we make a little detour to cycle up the Col des Saisies. Hopefully we can see the Mont Blanc from there as well.Ā
Ik wist niet dat het landschap nog mooier kon dan wat jullie eerder zagen šš²š