They-they crossed the Alps and they-they tell...
Can you introduce yourself?
We are Dominique and Pierre Juveneton. We run a fitness center based on the "Fasting and Hiking" concept, l'Amandier, in the Drôme region. We've been passionate about travel, including electric bike roaming, for a few years now.
What motivated you to embark on a touring crossing of the Alps?
For our 60th birthday, we set ourselves the challenge of completing a major cycling trip across the Alps. Inspired by two friends who crossed France on the Via Francigena, we took the plunge this summer in July.
Which route and why?
We had planned to do a complete crossing of the Alps by Route des Grandes Alpes, but we were scalded by the logistics involved in getting to the starting point in Thonon from our home, and then returning home from Nice. That's why we opted for a long itinerant loop starting from home.
D1: Lozeron - Glandage
D2: Glandage - Col d'Ornon
D3: Col d'Ornon - Saint-Jean-d'Arves
Day 4: Saint-Jean-d'Arves - Valloire
J5 : Valloire - Cervières
J6 : Cervières - Abriès - MontDauphin
J7 : Mont-Dauphin - Barcelonette
J8 : Rest day in Barcelonnette
J9 : Barcelonnette - Col de la Cayolle - Barcelonnette
Day 10: Barcelonnette - Saint-André-les-Alpes
J11 : Saint-André-les-Alpes - Cruis
J12 : Cruis - Sainte-Jalle
J13 : Saint-Jalle - Lozeron
A total of 900km with 15000m of positive ascent and 25 cols.
What kind of organization?
We set off each with an electric bike equipped with panniers.
We stayed in accommodation along the route (Hotel or B&B). As for meals, we opted for picnics at lunchtime and restaurant meals in the evening.
We were able to load our bikes without any problem in the accommodations we visited. This wasn't always easy, as our batteries can't be removed from the frame, and the hosts were very accommodating when it came to plugging us in. We were also sometimes able to charge during our lunch break, notably at the Sherpa store in Abriès.
Your best memories? The least good?
Happy memories:
- the descent of the Col du Galibier, very aerial, with flowers and extraordinary scenery. The feeling of flying over the mountains!
- Our escapade at the Col de la Cayolle, undoubtedly the most beautiful pass on our route
.
- Crossing paths with itinerant cyclists like us doing the Route des Grandes Alpes, or our nephew Lionel who was doing a loop in the Maurienne.
Less good side:
- The Maurienne Valley, under construction with the TGV line under construction and quite unpleasant to ride
.
- The climb to the Col du Télégraphe with too many vehicles, especially motorcycles.
And in between: The Col de la Croix de Fer(Versant Sud): the toughest our route with whole kilometers averaging over 10%. One hell of a drooler and one hell of a proud one!
What is your tiercé des cols and why?
La Cayolle: for its calm, nature atmosphere and scenery.
Le Galibier: for the very cool climb with all the cyclists greeting you at the top and its magnificent descent.
L'Izoard : Also for its calm and beautiful scenery on both north and south sides.
An anecdote?
We ran out of battery on our 2nd stage. Stressful at the time, because we knew we'd have a hard time... But very instructive for the rest of our trip because we were able to manage energy consumption as well as possible and manage to get 80 to 100km of autonomy with 1000m of D+.
By the way, we're very happy to have been able to complete this route on an electric bike. It's a great way to travel, enabling us to climb passes that seem inaccessible to us on a muscle bike, and to travel without being exhausted in the evening at the stopover. It gives us a great sense of freedom!