The Vercors region lies to the south-west of Grenoble. It is a mountainous area with some spectacular Cols (mountain passes) and some remarkable feats of civil engineering to bring roads into the area. During the second world war the area was a centre for the Maquis, the French Resistance and sadly many villages show testament to the loss of life of their inhabitants at the hands of the German army.
After initial panic, we managed to arrive at a motorway junction near Wakefield to pick up the Bikebus at around 7.00 am on a Saturday morning. Our bikes were loaded onto the impressive trailer and we were on our way. After a number of stops to pick up more cyclists along the route and some traffic jams on the M25, we board the ferry at Dover and are soon heading south through France.
We travel on through the day and night and eventually reach our destination of Valence around about 7.00 am on the Sunday morning. The coach is slightly behind schedule and we worry that Phil Smith (of Phil Smith Cycling Holidays as advertised in the Bikebus brochure) will have had a long wait for us. But Phil is used to these situations and has contacted the bus via its mobile phone and arrives right on time. Six other cyclists disembark with us and four of them will be joining us in Phil’s minibus for the trip to St Agnan en Vercors which will be our home for the next ten days.
The hour long trip took us through some impressive alpine type scenery and switched back roads. Our companions were beginning to panic as this was their first cycling holiday and a couple of them hadn’t been on bikes for many years! St Agnan turned out to be little more than a hamlet with a church, a couple of small hotels (one rather posh, not ours!) , a café/tabac and the ubiquitous fountain, but it was very picturesque and surrounded by impressive mountains. We arrived just in time for some breakfast, after which we had a shower and some rest.
After the long journey we didn’t feel much like cycling that first day so we set out to explore the village. Five minutes later we were looking for something else to do. Four kms down the road was la Chappelle, a larger village, so we decided to walk down and see what delights it had to offer. A number of bars later we were on our way back to St Agnan. Incidentally, this was the last day of the Tour de France and could we find a bar that was showing it ? No, they preferred instead to watch motor racing! Back at our hotel/restaurant/bar we were delighted to find that they had taken up the quaint old British custom of the Happy Hour. So, between 6.30 and 7.30 beer was half price! From now on 6.30 would signal the start of our evening activities. Just to make sure we did not forget and to wake us if we were asleep, the trusty village church would ring the changes. This was our kind of village!
There are a few other cyclists already staying at the hotel and a couple of girls arrived after driving all the way from Edinburgh. Another couple arrive having taken the train to Valence carrying their bikes in bike bags. They travelled from Aylesbury via London and the channel tunnel arriving in Valence six and a half hours after leaving their house! That’s the way I will travel next time! We are keen to get on with our first days cycling and decide to head for Villard de Lans at the head of the valley. We have a route suggested to us (the tourist route!) and decide to follow it. We travel along a valley full of wild flowers and butterflies and spot the sign for the tourist route. The road takes the direction that will become very familiar to us over the next week or so….UP! I felt fairly fit at the bottom of this climb but I am soon feeling the effects of the hill. It’s a hard slog to the top but we are rewarded with fine views and a scintillating descent into Villard.
Time for some food and we then head off for the road that follows the Gorge de la Bourne. This is a seven or eight mile steady drop to the bottom of the valley. The road is narrow and many sections have been cut through the rock making for an incredible road which we shall race down on a number of occasions. Of course all this descending can only lead to one thing……more climbing! We decide on a road that will take us over the Col de la Machine (never found out what the machine was). Everything seems OK at first but this road's gradient makes for very hard work in the afternoon sun. Reaching the col eventually we discover to our delight the is a hotel with a bar where a cool drink is more than welcome. I’m suffering at this point and really bit off more than I could chew on our first day of riding. Thankfully the road taking us back rose gently through trees giving some welcoming shade before opening up to give us a downhill run all the way into St Agnan. Sixty five miles in total, a bit much on the first day in such mountainous terrain.
Ate large meal and regaled the others with our heroic ( or foolhardy ) effort of the first day. All this and happy hour too! Next day found me weary. We head south down the valley towards the Col de Rousset, featured in the tour twice in the last three years. We were told that at the top of the col there was a tunnel just to the right of the ski station and that we should ride through the tunnel to get a good view of the col from the opposite direction. The fairly gentle climb to the col found me in bottom gear and suffering again badly after only a few miles. We arrived at the ski station and had a coffee before riding through the tunnel. Coming out of the 300m tunnel we were greeted with a view down into the next valley and the road that snaked its way down to the town of Die in the distance. ( ) Tom was desperate to give this climb a shot , but luckily he agreed to wait a few days until I was feeling a bit fitter.
We retraced part way back down the valley but took a road that would this time take us through the town village of Vassieux. It turned out that this was yet another village that had suffered dreadfully during the war. Just outside the village there was a cemetery and memorial with a museum of the resistance perched high above on a col. We discovered that the Germans had landed here in gliders to route the Maquis. They demanded information from the villagers on there whereabouts but the villagers knew little. The village was razed to the ground and many villagers murdered.
A nice easy drop finds us back in St Agnan only to find that the weather expected the following day is to be wet and therefore the barbecue is cancelled!! The next morning started brightly and we decide to head for Villans again , but this time take the straightforward route. After some dinner we once more take the fantastic road through the Gorge de la Bourne but return to St Agnan via a road that passes through the Grand Goulets, which became more affectionately known as the Grand Goolees!! This translates to something like the big gully and this is what you find as the road climbs its way out of the valley. A gully had been cut along the edge of the mountain to carry the road out of the valley and very spectacular it was, considering it had been done in the early part of the 19th century. The rain dutifully appeared and the last few miles were ridden in a torrent. With the barbecue cancelled the evening's entertainment is set up inside the hotel. A French blues singer! Not my cup of tea , but many people enjoyed it.
The following day we have a break from the bike and walk instead into the next village. Weather very hot and we are glad to finally reach La Chappelle. We have something to eat and a few drinks and wander back towards St Agnan just in time for a sleep before happy hour. Next day I’m feeling much better and Tom and I decide to go for the big one, down the other side of the Col De Rousset into Die. I feel ten times better on the climb up to the ski station than last time. It’s through the tunnel and the start of the 20 odd km drop into Die. The road surface is marvellous thanks to the tour de France and we are sweeping down the road at incredible speeds. Of course in the back of my mind I concerned about how hard it will be to climb back up!! We arrive in Die and panic a bit as we hear rumbles of thunder from the top of the col. The thought of climbing back out in a thunderstorm is not inspiring. We don’t hang around long and start back hoping to miss he bad weather.
A few kms out of Die we meet two Scottish girls from our hotel just finishing the descent. They tell us that as they got to the top of the Col the weather was awful and they are wearing waterproofs to prove it. They are also worried about being caught in the weather and ask how long we think it will take us to get back to the top. We predict two hours or so of hard slog. They ask us if it gets late and they haven’t returned to ask Phil to come and look for them in his van. We promise we will. Thankfully the climb back up the Col is not that difficult with a fairly gentle gradient and we find ourselves at the top about an hour and a quarter after leaving Die. It stayed overcast which was a bonus as the Col is south facing and would get the full heat of the sun. A nice drop to the hotel just in time for you know what. The girls arrived back safely a couple of hours later.
A much deserved rest day finds us in La Chappelle. We are content to take things easy and slip gently into the French way of doing things…….slowly! The following day we are back in the saddle and heading for a different route out of the valley. The road we are to take we have seen before whilst on other routes and it has always drawn comment because of its steepness. The road takes us up past the monument to the resistance and we stop briefly to investigate. At the top there is a ski station which is nearly at 1500m. There is a glorious descent down the Col de Choux and the Col de Pioneer to join a familiar road for the return to St Agnan.
Disco night at the hotel. Tom and I shake our groove thing and throw some shapes on the dance floor. Disco night is not good preparation for the following day. Arrangements had been made for a few of us to attempt the climbing of I’Alpe d’Huez!!! We head off towards Grenoble and that famous climb in Phil’s mini bus. The weather is not looking too good as we head along the valley roads. About eight or ten miles from the climb, Phil suggests parking and continuing by bike. I for one think he is joking and expect to get out of the van at the foot of the climb. So, we unload the van of bikes and head along the valley road towards the climb. This is the main road and not very pleasant, but at least the weather is brightening.
We pass through the town of Bourge D’Ouisan , cross a river and there on our left is the sign for the ski station. I get a fright as a young child is cycling just in front of me, but a distance behind his dad. His dad turns into a campsite without checking where his child is. It takes a few seconds for the child to reach the turn and heads left across the road. Of course in those few seconds a car has appeared at this blind corner and narrowly misses the child! A shocking start to the climb!
More shocks to come. We follow the sign and almost immediately the road begins its steep climb. I drop down through the gears and wish I had a 28 instead of the 26 I have on the bike. The sun was very hot now and the climb is very exposed. We all start to split as we attack the climb at our own paces. Phil and a young French lad seem to take the climb as if it was a gentle rise , meanwhile we are beginning to get very hot and only at the second of the hairpins! Each hairpin is numbered so you always know how many are left. It is such hard work to reach each one that you think you will never reach the top.
We are using up lots of water due to the heat and the exertion. Thankfully, not too far up the climb is a fountain where we can replenish our supply. It is a worry that we still have a long way to go in the heat and we do not know if we can get more water on the climb. I lose site of Tom and the others as we all get into our own rhythms on the climb. It’s a case of just gritting your teeth and plodding on. How I wished for smaller gears!! The views are superb and it’s a good excuse to stop to take in the view as well as some water. Luckily we could get water on the climb and took every opportunity to do so as it was now very hot indeed.
On the last few kms of the climb it opens out and allows you to see exactly what is ahead…….. the road going up and up with cyclists plodding away. The end is in sight now and I get renewed energy. The last few hundred metres are quite steep and seem to take forever to cover. Finally it flattens out and I pass under the banner marking the end of the climb. Tom is already at the top but I can’t find him as he has gone to order his photograph taken by a local photographer on the one of the final hairpins.
After something to eat we head down. What a descent. All that hard work to reach the top and gravity gets us to the bottom with no effort at all. The following day brings bad weather and we decide not to ride. Instead we visit some local caves, there are many in this limestone region. These particular caves were the site of a massacre during WWII when the Germans Killed wounded members of the resistance who were sheltering in the cave . The caves themselves go very deep and we watched an exciting son et lumiere show inside.
Our final day and we decide to take the road to Die again. It’s another glorious day and the climb does not seem bad at all, although this time we do not have the benefit of cloud keeping the slope cool . From the top of the Col de Rousset it’s a long descent back to the hotel. We pack our things ready to catch the bus later in the evening. We discover the bus is running late so we have time for a final evening meal at the hotel before we leave.
A long time later we arrive safely back in the UK. The Vercors is certainly worth a visit and provides some beautiful cycling country. The trip by Bikebus is long and I would advise people to consider the train option. Contact Phil via his website http://www.vercors-net.com/cycling/index.html
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Dean Jones 2005. This content is intellectual property. No part may be
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