A guidebook to nine of the most picturesque cycling routes through the Alps of south-east France. The nine tours - eight circuits plus the 'Grand Traverse' from Geneva to Nice - include the 'classic' high passes of the French Alps (Galibier, Iseran, Izoard and others) as well as many lesser known areas of the pre-Alps and Southern Jura. This second edition has been extensively revised and updated and includes an additional chapter describing the Southern pre-Alps and Mont Ventoux, completing the guide's coverage of the Alpine massifs of southeast France. This new tour takes in some of the most spectacular roads in France, through the gorges of the Vercors and below the towering peaks of the Devoluy, as well as cycling's greatest summit, the magnificent Mont Ventoux. Although all the tours are in mountain areas, the scenery - from the rolling hills of the Bugey to the dramatic limestone gorges of the Chartreuse or the snowy peaks of the Ecrins - is extremely varied. Without neglecting the 'must-see' places, the tours have been designed to take you through the secret corners and forgotten backwaters of the regions described.
Cycling in the French Alps
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About the Author
Paul Henderson lives in Chambery in the Savoie region of France. Over the last ten years, he has come to know many of the Alpine massifs extremely well but, at the same time, feels he has hardly scratched the surface of what his adopted home has to offer. The guides he has put together for Cicerone were motivated by a desire to share the joy he has found ski touring and cycling in the French Alps.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I took this book along on my solo cycling trip in the French Alps, loaded with 90lbs of bike and bags. My itinerary was:
Col de la Ramaz
Col de Joux Plane
Col de la Colombiere
Col de la Forclaz (Annecy)
Col du Marais
Col de la Croix Fry
Col des Aravis
Col des Saisies
Cormet de Roselend
La Plagne
Col de la Madeleine
Col du Glandon
Col de la Croix de Fer
Col du Telegraphe
Col du Galibier
Col du Lauteret
Les Deux Alpes
Alpe d'Huez
Col d'Izoard
Col de Montgenevre
Sestriere (Italy)
Colle delle Finestre (Italy)
Col du Mont Cenis
Col de l'Iseran
I found this book a great source for nice photos of the areas covered, and turn-by-turn directions to reach the Cols, but it had some major problems.
The turn-by-turn directions are not really needed! Any map will show how to reach the areas, as the French Alps are a deceptively small geographical area.
Another problem is a lack of an index for the cols. The book has a table of contents with the author's loop configuration for various tours of his devising, but you can't directly find "La Plagne" for instance. You have to look at a map of the loops, figure out which loop has the pass you're looking for, then page through the chapter until you find a reference in the description. His maps are simply awful, a sort of "connect the dots" drawing, with no geography or topography, and the scale of the distances on the maps appears distorted.
There are elevation charts to give one a general idea of the undulations of his routes from day to day. If you take his planned routes, they are continuous, along the bottom of the page, over the number of days each route takes. I don't think most people on a once-in-a-lifetime trip will follow his routes exactly. You'll find yourself jumping from chapter to chapter to map your own route.
Unfortunately, the descriptions of the great climbs of the Alps are prosaic and uninformative. His description of the Col de la Colombiere? "The first part of the ascent, to le Reposoir,is a mere warm-up for the serious work ahead: over the last 8km to the summit the average gradient is almost 9%!" That's it, the entire description of the climb. The Col de la Madeleine? "The climb to the Madeleine is long (25km), but the gradient is quite variable and every few kilometres there are flatter sections where your legs can relax a little." The Col du Galibier? "Whether or not you have the road to yourself, cycling over the Galibier is always a challenge: there are a few easy sections and the last kilometre is the steepest."
I found the book useful for general information on the area, with nice photography, a listing of available facilities and services such as water, as well as shops, cafes, campsites, B&Bs, banks and bike shops (always iffy, as these things change on a continuous basis), but as for good, hard information on the daunting physical challenges of cycling in the Alps, not so good.
However, it is a testament to the lack of any other comprehensive guide to cycling in the Alps, that I have to say this book is almost indispensible if you want to take a cycling trip in the area. I have to give kudos for his effort, but in many frustrating ways, the book is a huge disappointment; but buy it. There is more specific information on many websites, but you won't find anything better in conventional book form.
Col de la Ramaz
Col de Joux Plane
Col de la Colombiere
Col de la Forclaz (Annecy)
Col du Marais
Col de la Croix Fry
Col des Aravis
Col des Saisies
Cormet de Roselend
La Plagne
Col de la Madeleine
Col du Glandon
Col de la Croix de Fer
Col du Telegraphe
Col du Galibier
Col du Lauteret
Les Deux Alpes
Alpe d'Huez
Col d'Izoard
Col de Montgenevre
Sestriere (Italy)
Colle delle Finestre (Italy)
Col du Mont Cenis
Col de l'Iseran
I found this book a great source for nice photos of the areas covered, and turn-by-turn directions to reach the Cols, but it had some major problems.
The turn-by-turn directions are not really needed! Any map will show how to reach the areas, as the French Alps are a deceptively small geographical area.
Another problem is a lack of an index for the cols. The book has a table of contents with the author's loop configuration for various tours of his devising, but you can't directly find "La Plagne" for instance. You have to look at a map of the loops, figure out which loop has the pass you're looking for, then page through the chapter until you find a reference in the description. His maps are simply awful, a sort of "connect the dots" drawing, with no geography or topography, and the scale of the distances on the maps appears distorted.
There are elevation charts to give one a general idea of the undulations of his routes from day to day. If you take his planned routes, they are continuous, along the bottom of the page, over the number of days each route takes. I don't think most people on a once-in-a-lifetime trip will follow his routes exactly. You'll find yourself jumping from chapter to chapter to map your own route.
Unfortunately, the descriptions of the great climbs of the Alps are prosaic and uninformative. His description of the Col de la Colombiere? "The first part of the ascent, to le Reposoir,is a mere warm-up for the serious work ahead: over the last 8km to the summit the average gradient is almost 9%!" That's it, the entire description of the climb. The Col de la Madeleine? "The climb to the Madeleine is long (25km), but the gradient is quite variable and every few kilometres there are flatter sections where your legs can relax a little." The Col du Galibier? "Whether or not you have the road to yourself, cycling over the Galibier is always a challenge: there are a few easy sections and the last kilometre is the steepest."
I found the book useful for general information on the area, with nice photography, a listing of available facilities and services such as water, as well as shops, cafes, campsites, B&Bs, banks and bike shops (always iffy, as these things change on a continuous basis), but as for good, hard information on the daunting physical challenges of cycling in the Alps, not so good.
However, it is a testament to the lack of any other comprehensive guide to cycling in the Alps, that I have to say this book is almost indispensible if you want to take a cycling trip in the area. I have to give kudos for his effort, but in many frustrating ways, the book is a huge disappointment; but buy it. There is more specific information on many websites, but you won't find anything better in conventional book form.
By Hazel Smith
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book for my son who will be cycling in France this year, and he says it will be very useful, and informative
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars
1 review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
It was the best of sources, it was the worst of sources
7 Mar 2012
By Dennis Ketterling
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I took this book along on my solo cycling trip in the French Alps, loaded with 90lbs of bike and bags. My itinerary was:
Col de la Ramaz
Col de Joux Plane
Col de la Colombiere
Col de la Forclaz (Annecy)
Col du Marais
Col de la Croix Fry
Col des Aravis
Col des Saisies
Cormet de Roselend
La Plagne
Col de la Madeleine
Col du Glandon
Col de la Croix de Fer
Col du Telegraphe
Col du Galibier
Col du Lauteret
Les Deux Alpes
Alpe d'Huez
Col d'Izoard
Col de Montgenevre
Sestriere (Italy)
Colle delle Finestre (Italy)
Col du Mont Cenis
Col de l'Iseran
I found this book a great source for nice photos of the areas covered, and turn-by-turn directions to reach the Cols, but it had some major problems.
The turn-by-turn directions are not really needed! Any map will show how to reach the areas, as the French Alps are a deceptively small geographical area.
Another problem is a lack of an index for the cols. The book has a table of contents with the author's loop configuration for various tours of his devising, but you can't directly find "La Plagne" for instance. You have to look at a map of the loops, figure out which loop has the pass you're looking for, then page through the chapter until you find a reference in the description. His maps are simply awful, a sort of "connect the dots" drawing, with no geography or topography, and the scale of the distances on the maps appears distorted.
There are elevation charts to give one a general idea of the undulations of his routes from day to day. If you take his planned routes, they are continuous, along the bottom of the page, over the number of days each route takes. I don't think most people on a once-in-a-lifetime trip will follow his routes exactly. You'll find yourself jumping from chapter to chapter to map your own route.
Unfortunately, the descriptions of the great climbs of the Alps are prosaic and uninformative. His description of the Col de la Colombiere? "The first part of the ascent, to le Reposoir,is a mere warm-up for the serious work ahead: over the last 8km to the summit the average gradient is almost 9%!" That's it, the entire description of the climb. The Col de la Madeleine? "The climb to the Madeleine is long (25km), but the gradient is quite variable and every few kilometres there are flatter sections where your legs can relax a little." The Col du Galibier? "Whether or not you have the road to yourself, cycling over the Galibier is always a challenge: there are a few easy sections and the last kilometre is the steepest."
I found the book useful for general information on the area, with nice photography, a listing of available facilities and services such as water, as well as shops, cafes, campsites, B&Bs, banks and bike shops (always iffy, as these things change on a continuous basis), but as for good, hard information on the daunting physical challenges of cycling in the Alps, not so good.
However, it is a testament to the lack of any other comprehensive guide to cycling in the Alps, that I have to say this book is almost indispensible if you want to take a cycling trip in the area. I have to give kudos for his effort, but in many frustrating ways, the book is a huge disappointment; but buy it. There is more specific information on many websites, but you won't find anything better in conventional book form.
Col de la Ramaz
Col de Joux Plane
Col de la Colombiere
Col de la Forclaz (Annecy)
Col du Marais
Col de la Croix Fry
Col des Aravis
Col des Saisies
Cormet de Roselend
La Plagne
Col de la Madeleine
Col du Glandon
Col de la Croix de Fer
Col du Telegraphe
Col du Galibier
Col du Lauteret
Les Deux Alpes
Alpe d'Huez
Col d'Izoard
Col de Montgenevre
Sestriere (Italy)
Colle delle Finestre (Italy)
Col du Mont Cenis
Col de l'Iseran
I found this book a great source for nice photos of the areas covered, and turn-by-turn directions to reach the Cols, but it had some major problems.
The turn-by-turn directions are not really needed! Any map will show how to reach the areas, as the French Alps are a deceptively small geographical area.
Another problem is a lack of an index for the cols. The book has a table of contents with the author's loop configuration for various tours of his devising, but you can't directly find "La Plagne" for instance. You have to look at a map of the loops, figure out which loop has the pass you're looking for, then page through the chapter until you find a reference in the description. His maps are simply awful, a sort of "connect the dots" drawing, with no geography or topography, and the scale of the distances on the maps appears distorted.
There are elevation charts to give one a general idea of the undulations of his routes from day to day. If you take his planned routes, they are continuous, along the bottom of the page, over the number of days each route takes. I don't think most people on a once-in-a-lifetime trip will follow his routes exactly. You'll find yourself jumping from chapter to chapter to map your own route.
Unfortunately, the descriptions of the great climbs of the Alps are prosaic and uninformative. His description of the Col de la Colombiere? "The first part of the ascent, to le Reposoir,is a mere warm-up for the serious work ahead: over the last 8km to the summit the average gradient is almost 9%!" That's it, the entire description of the climb. The Col de la Madeleine? "The climb to the Madeleine is long (25km), but the gradient is quite variable and every few kilometres there are flatter sections where your legs can relax a little." The Col du Galibier? "Whether or not you have the road to yourself, cycling over the Galibier is always a challenge: there are a few easy sections and the last kilometre is the steepest."
I found the book useful for general information on the area, with nice photography, a listing of available facilities and services such as water, as well as shops, cafes, campsites, B&Bs, banks and bike shops (always iffy, as these things change on a continuous basis), but as for good, hard information on the daunting physical challenges of cycling in the Alps, not so good.
However, it is a testament to the lack of any other comprehensive guide to cycling in the Alps, that I have to say this book is almost indispensible if you want to take a cycling trip in the area. I have to give kudos for his effort, but in many frustrating ways, the book is a huge disappointment; but buy it. There is more specific information on many websites, but you won't find anything better in conventional book form.
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