Blog Post Five – The Col de I’Arpettaz

Today was our last “free” day. Tomorrow (Sept 9) the official tour begins. So the discussion started last night over dinner was, “where should we go tomorrow?” Sometime after the first bottles of Cotes du Rhone were consumed, the suggestion was made that we do the scheduled ride for next Sunday, today. But, alas, no decision was made. The conversation continued this morning over breakfast and with half open eyes, the suggestion to climb the Col de I’Arpettaz was accepted; at least by most. So around 10:00 AM, we started down the bike path for the approximately 20 mile ride to the base of the Col de I’Arpettaz.

Now to understand the Col de I’Arpettaz, your have suspend your California reality of what it’s like to climb a mountain in the Alps. First of all, we road is about as wide as the Bob Jones Trail. It states out going through what looks like someone’s driveway. Then, it makes a left hand turn. For the next 10 miles, you climb. We started as a group, but as the miles went by, we became strung out over the road. The green of the valley melted into the Alpine forests that dwindled until we were above the tree line. The landscape finally giving way to massive granite outcroppings that still towered above us.  As we continued to climb, I began to experience the dreaded three “S’s”; suffering, silence, and solitude. A couple of us regrouped and finally, we all made it to the summit. We were tired, but grateful to have survived. The only remaining problem was that it was freezing on the windblown, barren mountain top.  Not wanting to linger, food was quickly consumed, jackets and warm warmers were put back on, and we started the descent.

According to physics, what goes up must come down. So for approximately 10 miles we descended through more hairpin turns than I have ever experienced. I was sure my tire rims would over heat because I could never let off the brakes. Never mind the fact that the only thing between staying on the road and sure death over a two-three hundred foot cliff was a thin wire strung between wooden posts. I don’t think the concept of guardrails is popular in France.

At the bottom we found a place for lunch and then continued back through the valley until we reached the hotel and warm showers.Warm showers and the now customary AHH helped with the pain and suffering.