2009 - GTPA in MTB (grande traversée pré-alpes)

Grande Traversée des Pré-Alpes 

Sue, Mike, Michael, Thom, Georg, Jacques

Aug 29-Sept 8, 2009

      After various VTT trips in France, we decided to stay in the southern part of France and chose this itinerary which would bring us from Grenoble to Die across the Vercors and from Die to Sisteron across the pré-alpes.  Vercors is a regional park with beautiful landscapes, limestone formations reaching up to 2000 meters, and a paradise for cross country skiing, mountain biking, tramping as well as dog-sledding. It is also an historical area famous for the activities of the French resistance during the 2nd world war.

      The pré-Alpes are the northern end of Provence with more sunshine, warmer climate, Mediterranean vegetation, and lavender fields than Vercors.

      As in the past, the idea was to have an enjoyable trip, sampling the local foods, admiring landscapes, getting acquainted with the area and taking it easy by using locally available accommodations (gites, chambres d’hôtes, hotels)

Participants:

     -  Jim, a key member of previous trips for his good humor, his insatiable need for Mars bars and his skills in technical descents decided to call it quits under pretenses of grand-fatherhood and fear of void.  In spite of intense pressure neither Mike nor I could convince him to change his mind and join us.

In ascending order of age (not sure about the two first ones!):

- Thom, son of Mike, certainly the most challenged participant, always trying to ascend or barrel down the steepest hills as fast as possible.

- Georg, friend of Tom, who was using a borrowed mountain bike and never complained about the bike or the trail. He was especially good at spotting places to obtain food. Both Tom and Georg would join us later in the trip.

- Sue, a top mountain biker from Rotorua, New-Zealand, who left everyone behind, the harder the track the more she enjoyed it, seemingly without effort.

- Michael, Sue’s husband and Linda’s brother, who was not going to let Sue go to far ahead of him. Was very keen on sampling the various beers available wherever we stopped.

- Jacques, the lone Frenchman among those Kiwis. His main contribution was choosing the trip and loosing the track a few times! Writer of the current notes.

- Mike, another founding father of this group, who could not be stopped by anything: if he could not ride it he would walk it and arrive within a few minutes of the riders. As always great company.

- And not a rider but a very important contributor: Linda, wife of Mike, who drove back and forth the various participants and transported our bags on a tough ride, thus making it so much more enjoyable!

Day 0: St-Nizier-du-Moucherotte

      I met Mike, Michael, Sue and Linda at the chambre d’hôte we had reserved in St-Nizier-du-Moucherotte. Without anybody to welcome us in spite of our calls, we downloaded the bikes and started to organize the equipment; after about an hour the owner appeared from the house obviously having enjoyed a nap. We moved in, had a beer and got acquainted. Pleasant and good dinner followed by a very potent “marc de Bourgogne” and early to bed for an early start the next morning.

Day 1: St-Nizier-du-Moucherotte to Bois Barbu (41 km; D+: 1821 m!!) 

Thom assembling his bike

      Left at 08:30 and followed a track parallel to the road to arrive in Lans-en-Vercors where it was market day. Got sauçisson, tome de savoie, fruits and bread for our picnic. Easy ride to “Les Bruyeres”. Afterwards a good climb on a dirt track loosened up leg muscles and we stayed on a level track. Somehow we lost the trail and descended to Villard-de-Lans and had to go back up to “les Clots” where we had a picnic. First observation is that the trail is not well marked at all. (In fact the GTPA is not a specific mountain bike trail but it follows the Traversée du Vercors used by XC skiers, trampers, etc.)

On the trail

      In Corrençon-en-Vercors, our intended destination for the night, all accommodations were full. A call to Auberge du Bois Barbu (near Villard-de-Lans) got us rooms and dinner. A pleasant auberge with good information on the area, the owner suggested a slight "variante" to GTPA which saved us a few hundred meters of climbing the next day.

Day 2: Bois Barbu to Vassieux  (42km; D+: 966 m.) 

      Good road to Malaterre and then trail through col de Malaterre; the only problem was that trail signs did not mach the trail description in the guide! Passed by “scialet de Malaterre”: a deep pit caused by water erosion, may-be 30-40 meters deep. A few “poussettes” on bad sections but after a track through alpine meadows made it worth the climb. Strong technical descent to Tourtre. After Tourtre we followed the asphalt road avoiding ups and downs and reached La Chapelle-en-Vercors, where we had a lunch of abundant salads, ravioles aux morilles, and beers!

Map reading

      After La Chapelle easy ride to Vassieux, interrupted by two punctures on the same tire.  We visited the musée de la résistance, not very well presented, and looked at wrecks of glider planes the Germans used to land in Vassieux, 10 men tightly fitted in a very small space. The only hotel did not serve dinner  so we went to the gite, where after a cold “acceuil” (we were not THAT dirty or bad smelling!) the owner warmed up a bit and gave us a room for all four of us. Since he did not serve dinner either we went to the only open restaurant for a pleasant and quite cheap dinner. Technical maintenance on bikes, repair of punctures, chain cleaning and oiling. General consensus is that some of us snore during the night!!!!

Day 3: Vassieux to Die ( 25 km; D+: 457 m.) 

      To-day we are planning to sleep in Die where we will meet Tom, Georg and Linda.

      Climb to col de la Chau followed by a technical downhill, the trail was not well marked which caused us to take wrong turns, to backtrack, etc. Hard rocks all over and difficult, not to say dangerous, ride down. We managed but Michael broke a spoke which cramped his style for the rest of the ride.  Great views and landscapes until Marignac-en-Diois.  Decided to take the asphalt road to minimize stress on Michael’s rear wheel.  Reached Die and hotel des alpes where we had reservations. Celebrated with a “clairette de Die”, too sweet for our taste.

      (In fact clairette is a “cépage” and clairette de Die (the wine) is made with a mix of Muscat and clairette; the more Muscat the sweeter the wine. A cremant can be made with up to 100% of clairette and is “brut”.  We did prefer it!)

      Since the bike shop was closed on Monday we had to wait till the next morning to get Michael’s spoke fixed (I am still not sure it is worth taking the tools to be able to repair this type of problem, I need to think about weight vs. autonomy!). After various phone calls Mike found out that the “others” would not reach us till way after dinner. Went to “Enzo” an Italian joint which served great T-bone steaks for a very modest price. Linda and the “boys” arrived during the night .

Day 4: Die to Luc-en-Diois (51km; D+: 1340m.) 

      We meet each other for breakfast. At 09:00 we went to the bike shop to se a new sign indicating the place is closed all week. Only alternative was to go to Crest with the car. Mike, Linda and Michael cum 2 bikes went there and would meet us in Chatillon-en-Diois for lunch.

      After fixing another puncture on my bike we left for Chatillon-en-Diois. Uphill until col de l’abbaye followed by technical descent until Laval d’Aix.  I lost the trail and we reached Chatillon-en-Diois by the asphalt road arriving by the church (our meeting point) 2 minutes before seeing Mike’s car point its nose. 

Chatillon-en-Diois

Had troubles to get lunch, there was only enough food for three of us in the only bar-restaurant open, but after a bit of negotiations we all had food after our beers. In fact the bar charged us for seven meals made with the ingredients for three meals only!!!! Linda generously offered to take our bags and bring them to Luc-en-Diois: that offer was immediately and unanimously acceptedl!

After Chatillon-en-Diois the “variante” trail followed a long climb, not difficult but steady (so glad not to have had our bags with us) and we reached col du Pinet (alt 1195).

Repairing flats!

  Very pleasant descent to Luc-en-Diois. Again we missed one turn and went off-track. We passed the Claps, an enormous wreck of rocks blocking the Drome river.

Eating

Landscapes

   Arrived in Luc-en-Diois where we were reunited with Linda and our luggage and signed in our hotel. Had a dip in their pool to cool down and a shower before a medium dinner with nice service.  Hotel definitively of the old style, poor lighting, a bit decrepit but adequate.

Day 5: Luc-en-Diois to Pra-Boyer, near Montmorin (39km; D+:1005 m.)

      To gain some time and avoid ups and downs without much interest, we opted to take the “route départementale” until Charrens. When we asked about places to buy food, nothing in Charrens but were assured by two locals we would find food in Valdrome. Passed col de St Pierre (alt 1092 m) and reached Valdrome.

      No food in Valdrome, but were told there were restaurant, etc. in Montmorin. Difficult uphill to Col de Bruis (we had to push bikes on very steep hill) and a technical descent to Bruis.

      Arrived near Montmorin and were told no stores, no restaurant, unfortunate as we were getting desperate for a place to eat. Georg saw a sign for “reine-claudes” (yellow small plums) and went to buy some, they felt fantastic, we went to get some more and had a briefing session about what to do next since the next sleeping point was far away. I called the only gite in Pra-Boyer, near Montmorin and was told they would prepare lunch for us. Small detail: there was a 2 km climb to reach the place and it was hot, very hot. We all made it, gulped down two bottles of “Leffe” beer and enjoyed the lunch put in front of us. 

Welcome rest

Discussions with the lady owner indicated there was no place to stay less than 6 hours away. Decided to spend the night there and had a great bio dinner. The lady is a fine cook who published a book and organizes field trips to find edible plants.

     

Day 6: Pra-Boyer to Orpierre (43 km; D+:1049m.)

We were smart and asked the lady to prepare us a picnic, so could ride without fear of starving. Passed Col de Tourettes, where an old  lady living there gave a hard time to Georg for peeing along the trees! Fast rocky track down to Ribeyret (not a chance to have slept or eaten there!). Joined the asphalt road at col de Rourre and followed trail and road towards Vaucluse-Haute, where we enjoyed our prepared picnic, and Montjay.

The ascent to Col de Lebre Cuite was difficult as indicated in the guide and the descent technical but with beautiful landscapes. In Orpierre had a beer while waiting for tourist bureau to open. Asked hem for accommodation but both places they called did not answer. Gite le Moulin was said to be the best and we decided to go there. Upon arriving the lady owner said “sorry, no rooms, I am fully booked”; a bit unhappy we started riding back to town but the same lady caught up with us and told us there had been a cancellation and we could sleep there, even have pasta supper. Great place with an apple orchard, petanque range, etc., nice building too. We never figured out if she changed her mind or if there really was a cancellation!  It turned out to be a good place and the lady was quite nice.

Apple orchard

She called the hotel in Barret-sur-Méouge to reserve rooms for us for the next night.

Day 7: Orpierre to Barret-sur-Meouge (34 km; D+: 950 m.)

      Cloudy skies and rain later on in the morning, it did not last long fortunately.  Long climb with many portages on steep slopes until col St Jean. 

The team at the col!

We took the road until les Ballons where we rejoined the trail. Pleasant flattish track until col de la Croisette and technical downhill to Barret-sur-Meouge. A hard day but good views.

      Arrived in the hotel in Barret-sur-Meouge, run by a couple from northern France. Owners were not very welcoming, sometimes giving the impression of treating us as third class clients, food in small quantities and not very exciting (waffle for dessert!), hostess even objected to our request to turn off the music during dinner, was not sure it was possible to provide more bread and water!!! Too bad it was the only hotel/restaurant around.  Small consolation, we think she undercharged us.

Day 8: Barret-sur-Meouge to Sisteron (33 km; D+:  922 m.)

      Last day but a very difficult one according to the guidebook!

Fording

Wishful thinking, Georg!

Difficult trail (for us at least!)

      A very difficult climb with long steep sections, portages, trekker’s paths where we had to carry the bikes, a difficult ascent. Then we reached col St Pierre and had the most beautiful panorama of the trip, we could see la barre des ecrins, the Alps, the Vercors and the valley below us, fantastic. 

What a view

      Afterwards a technical descent towards la Meouge, on a track completely different from what was indicated in the guide. Really the guide should be updated and made more accurate! 

A dip for some of us in the river and onwards to Chateauneuf and Ribiers where we could not get any lunch, and finally to Sisteron where we met Linda and got a well deserved lunch. A good celebration dinner concluded the trip. Hotel Tivoli.

Sisteron

     

Conclusions:

      This traverse was much more difficult than previous ones. Technical tracks on loose rocks or gravel and very steep uphills made us walk more often than we normally do.  Landscapes were great with a definite difference between the Vercors part of the trip and the second half.

      No problem with a wide range of ages among us. The difference in technical levels was not a problem since it was as fast to walk as to ride in the difficult spots.

      Main problem was accommodations and finding places to get food. It was not due to our large numbers but to the lack of facilities.

      The lack of clear easy to see and to follow markers was a real difficulty especially at the beginning of the trip in the Vercors, it did get a bit better afterwards.

    

Jacques’ extension:

Day 9: Sisteron to Montbrun (71 km; D+: 1858 m.)

      From Sisteron I followed the track passing below montagne de lure (GR6) following the participants in a jogging race and left them after Jas Madame. Shortly afterwards the forestry road ended and I had to follow a GR. Very difficult trail, narrow, unkempt, hardly used, poorly marked.

      The worst was crossing the torrents bed where I had to undo the luggage, carry them 5 m down the bed of these torrents, up 5 m on the other side, then go back to carry the bike, etc… After three times I was exhausted and started to wonder of my choice of track, especially when it seemed to be going the wrong direction. Perseverance paid up and I did reach a good forestry road as planned.

      Saw a commune at Janssiac (looked like hippies of the late 1960 but they were quite nice and offered me water). Great to be riding a real forestry road until Lange. Had a hard uphill that I had o walk and good flat track to Montfroc where I had reservations. Since it was early decided to proceed to Montbrun through col de la Pigliere (968m) and col de Macuegne (1068). Arrived tired but happy in Montbrun where I found a good chamber d’hote. The owner said they did not serve dinner but his wife managed to feed me quite nicely.

Day 10: Montbrun to Carpentras (78 km; D+: 1432 m.)

      To-day is Ventoux day weather permitting!

      Clear skies and warm weather were a good omen! After the road to La Frache, went up to cold du comte ( 1101m) on a good forestry road. Onwards to Mont Serein (a sky station at 1430 m) on another forestry road. Thereafter all I had to do was follow the asphalt road and the numerous bikers going for the top of Mt Ventoux (1912m) which was hard but not as difficult as I had anticipated.  Went down on “route des graviers blancs” which as its name indicates was quite rocky, exposure south, no shade and hot from the heat accumulated in the rocks. In Bedouin asked about bus services and was glad to be told there was a service Carpentras to Avignon, that I used. Found a hotel in Avignon near the station.

Day 11: Train to Grenoble

      Train to Valence and bus to Grenoble (no problem to load the bike) where I pedaled to the Cartoux' place, who provided me lunch. Loaded the car and drove to Torraccia that I reached 8 hours later, not encountering any significant traffic jams luckily.  Betsy showed up the next morning.