They-they crossed the Alps and they-they tell...
Josépha, can you introduce yourself?
Josépha Cathudal, 32 years old and a great lover of outdoor sports. I'm currently in charge of sports projects. Since the age of 7, the passion for cycling that my father passed on to me has never left me: mountain biking, Vélo-Ecole and Vélo Taf, cyclosportives, l'Ardèchoise en 3 jours (for those in the know), and last year I even joined a women's cycling team. This opportunity enabled me to take part in my first French road cycling championships. A true jack-of-all-trades, today I've found my balance in triathlon and satisfy my need for adventure through bike travel.
11 years ago, I was lucky enough to cross paths with Hugo, my life and adventure companion with whom I now share all my sporting challenges and this passion for bike travel!
Why an Alpine tour?
After cycling around Corsica with our mountain bikes, tents and big panniers with a couple of friends, we wanted to try a more minimalist experience of bike travel. In 2020, as Grenoble residents at the time, we bought our first Bike packing bags with the idea of discovering the Alps by bike. The covid crisis and professional opportunities taking us to the Vendée region, we were then forced to rethink our travel plans.
After a Tour du Sud-Ouest via the Vélodyssée, and a Tour de Vendée, we were now looking for a trip with sporting challenges. The Alps, with their mythical Tour de France passes such as the Galibier and the Madeleine, were the obvious choice! It's decided: we're going to do the Route des Grandes Alpes® by bike packing with our road bikes. The goal: to ride from Thonon-les-Bains to Eze-Village!
Which route did you take?
June 2023: 10 STAGES to connect Thonon-les-Bains to Eze Village
Stage 1 Thonon-les-Bains > Le Grand-Bornand: 99km / 2300 D+
Stage 2 Le Grand-Bornand > Bourg-Saint-Maurice: 103km / 2900 D+
Stage 3 Bourg-Saint-Maurice > Pussy: 54km / 1100 D+
Stage 4 Pussy > Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne: 81km / 2460 D+
Stage 5 Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne > Briançon: 75km / 2180 D+
Stage 6 Briançon > Embrun: 77km / 1500 D+
Stage 7 Embrun > Pra Loup: 70km / 1500 D+
Stage 8 Pra Loup > Isola 2000: 98km / 2900 D+
Stage 9 Isola 2000 > Col de Turini: 87km / 2180 D+
Stage 10 Col de Turini > Eze Village: 63km / 900 D+
A total: 805km, 17 mythical cols and over 20,000m of D+ We chose this itinerary, as it allowed us both to revisit and share stopovers with friends and family, and also to pass through the Tour de France's mythical cols (La Colombière, L'Iseran, Les Aravis, La Madeleine, Le Télégraphe, Le Lautaret, Le Galibier, L'Izoard, La Bonnette, Saint Martin, Turini...)
What are the logistics for this trip?
Luggage: In bike packing aves the bare minimum (2 bike outfits, 1 swimsuit, 1 hiking outfit, 2 street outfits and toiletries)
Hosting: Stays with family, friends, in gites, B&Bs, mobile homes in camping.
Food: Breakfast and dinner are often included with our overnight stays. As for lunch, it was on the go, depending on what we found (bakeries, super markets, restaurants...)
Transport: My parents, who live in Orleans, drove us to Thonon-les-Bains. For the return trip, we took 2 TGV trains from Nice to Vierzon. We had to book our bike places well in advance to make sure we had enough space. The bikes could thus be transported without being dismantled or in a pannier.
Your trifecta of passes?
Le Galibier : a pass with sentimental value. I had heard so much about it from my father, who today can no longer climb a pass, that every pedal stroke to reach this summit was for him.
La Bonnette: beyond being proud and happy to have climbed the highest pass in Europe with our panniers, this magnificent pass offers a timeless and bucolic ascent with a multitude of small waterfalls. A real gem!
Le Chaussy: small roads, few cars. Not an easy climb, but calm and safe! A feeling of being alone in the world! The plus: a snack awaits you at the top of the climb.
Your best and worst memories?
The worst: in June, lots of German rallies in old racing cars are organized on the Route des Grandes Alpes. For 2-3 days, we felt unsafe when some cars passed us at high speed on the way up the passes.
The best: every finish at the top of all the passes we were able to climb with our little panniers. With a slight point of honor for the Col de la Bonnette. Every pass finish had a taste of pride and victory. But what was most magical about each of these bike climbs was, without a doubt, those moments of introspection and silence, where only our breathing and the sound of nature intermingled. A pleasant sense of solitude that allowed us to appreciate and marvel at every fox and marmot we came across along the way.
Without forgetting all the wonderful moments spent with our hosts, friends and family at our various stops. Without them, the trip wouldn't have had the same flavor. So, THANK YOU.