Here is my top five list of the not-to-miss cols in the alps: 1. galibier (north) via télégraphe: see my article "the beauty and the beast"! 2. mont ventoux (south from bédouin): a true legend! i will write more about it in another message because mt ventoux really deserves it! it is a must ! 3. izoard (south): for the history! frankly it is not

An interesting question? frankly as a parisian, i used to ride mainly through the alps rather than the pyrenees: it is true that the alps (especially the northern part) are much closer to paris than the pyrenees which lay south of france at the border with spain. paris-northern alps: around 350 miles. paris-central pyrenees: around 500 miles. alps

A "col" is the french word to designate a mountain pass joining two valleys; some authors say there are 8500 cols in france. others 2110 if you count only car roads. anyhow there are plenty and enough for a life time! you find cols almost everywhere in france. some are very short, some are extremely long! the two main mountain areas in france being

The beauty and the beast : col du galibier (north side through the col du télégraphe) : what a climb! i have done it many times and every time it feels like a major achievement! first it is very long, second it goes very high (2,646m), and third it is really steep especially at the end! you start with the col du telegraphe which is not really pie

My nickname is solaberg: a reference to the famous climb of the roth ironman race i did a long time ago.i am a recretional biker. now settled in paris with wife and kids, i have been enjoying spending some of my leasure time for the past ten years riding through the most prestigious french cols with my bike. ps: please apologize my poor english!

It is hard to talk about french cols without talking the tour de france! you know: the frantic 3-week pro race which took place every july and goes traditionally clockwise or counter clockwise through the alps and the pyrenees. why "thank you the tour de france"? for one and only reason: the quality of the roads!! every tour, before the tour, the f

If you have never ridden a col with your bike, here is some insights about how it feels: hard, painful, long, sweaty, exhausting!! however it is something you want to do over and over! why? do you have to be a sadomaso to enjoy it or simply the fool who hits his head with the hammer because it feels good when he stops? no! it is only because behind

After having tried several solutions, here is what i recommend to carry on the bike: - bottles: carry two bottles on your frame: one large with a mix of water and sport drinks and the other small just with sport drink powder in it. on your way, you will find plenty of fountains or bars where you can just get fresh water to mix in the first bottle (