France Sep 5, Glandon and Croix de Fer

Today was a misty rainy day to start. We planned to leave Saint Jean de Mauriene, ride down the valley to the next town, turn left, then ride up to the Col du Glandon.

This route has very nice blocks which tell the route, the route number (D927), distance to top, and the percentage grade (7 average) for the next km.

Opps!! It just got a lot tougher and stayed that way to the top of the climb. Lots of standing on this one.

Here are Jim and Susan Sproull gliding easily up the bottom part of the climb. They are both quite strong riders.

Jim on the top... in the fog!

Looking up the Croix de Fer. Easy climb and really wild countryside. Beautiful in its own way. Lots of ski lifts, although you can't see them from here. The Tour de France uses this col and the Col du Glandon to transition from the High Alps to Alpe du Huez and the more southern Alps.

A view down the northwest side of the Col del la Croix de Fer. That is actually a ski resort at the bottom of the valley. You can only see about one forth of the way down here. You descend for 26 km down to the town of Saint Jean de Mauriene.

On the descent these incredible gorges occur. Jim Sproull, a former earth science teacher, says these are formed by millions of years of water eroding a crack that formed in the crust of the mountain when it was uplifted to form the raw mountains.