Breakfast at 7:15 .. on the road by 8:45 on the quiet D990 through a number of villages as we meandered down the valley towards the big climb!
Marion has always wanted to do Madeleine from the north side after having done it from the south 4 years ago. There was a rumour that it would be easier from this side too!
We had a beautiful day to do this climb and at first we were in the shade of the forest in the early switchbacks ..but by 1000m elevation we started to bake in the sun! Even the tailwind did not help us at 4km/hr from the north!
Well, this has to be the toughest climb we have ever done .. having to stop a number of times to turn towards that north breeze to cool down the engine! It turns out that this north route is a longer ascent both in distance and elevation gain .. and we felt it!
Arriving at the top in one piece, we drank water, drank water and ate our sandwiches .. then we took pictures;)
The descent was fabulous with lots of twisty turns and fabulous views giving great pictures to the north without sun glare!
At the bottom it was a 22km jaunt back to Albertville on the D990 with a moderate head wind .. lots of fun along the valley floor and quiet roads.
We drank beer back at the hotel .. and it was good!
Tonight is BBQ night as there is a British Cycling group finishing off their tour (we saw them on the top of Madeleine)!
Sorry for the long note today .. hope you like the pics!
Cheers
Harold, Marion and Grahame
PS .. did I tell you that Marion beat both Grahame and I to the top?
