Busy doing your Christmas shopping? Looking for a 2023 cycling or cow calendar? Well, look no further. I’ve made two calendars for 2023: A cycling calendar and a cows calendar. Moo!

There is only one size this year: (11 x 8.5 in / 279 x 216 mm)
Price: €10.30, $12.06 or a similar amount in other currencies. Global delivery is reliable.

Lulu.com, the publisher, sometimes has coupon codes available to lower the price. Use google to search for a coupon code in your geography.

A few quick points:

1. All photos were taken by me in the past 12 months.
2. I am making no money from this. The price is just what is charged by the printing company.
3. I am not (even remotely) a professional photographer. All the photos are taken using a decent portable digital camera. But the quality of the photos has turned out OK. This is just for fun.
4. I have chosen a printing company that is inexpensive and has global delivery options – I have used them the last 10 years, selling a few hundred calendars each year – and people seem quite satisfied with the print quality. Orders are placed directly with Lulu.

Each calendar has 14 photos: a cover, a back page, and one for each month. You can preview all photos in the slide shows below.

#1 – 2023 Cycling Calendar:

To Order Click HERE.

If you want to see what the calendar looks like, click on these links to two PDF files of the Calendar:
1. The front and back pages incl. December
2. January to November
– it’s a big file and may be slow to load.

Photos used in the calendar:

#2 – 2023 Cows Calendar:

If you want to see what the calendar looks like, click on these links to two PDF files of the Cow Calendar:
1. The front and back pages incl. December
2. January to November
– it’s a big file and may be slow to load.

To Order Click HERE.

Photos used in the calendar:

This ride includes two gravel adventures. First climbing from Valloire to the top of its Ski Station (2534 metres) via at least 35 hairpins. Then some superb gravel up a truly beautiful hidden valley parallel to the paved Galibier road but surrounded by high mountains, and then a slightly crazy ascent to Col de la Plagnette – bike pushing involved. Woohoooo !

My wife and I were staying in Valloire for three nights. Our plan was to do several big hikes and I was allowed one (one!) bike ride. So I chose it carefully. In fact, I used our first hike to do some serious route planning:

But my first goal was to get to the very top of Valloire-Galibier ski station. Starting from town, if you look closely at the map you’ll see it is nothing but hairpins early on. It is paved for a couple of kilometres and I passed various ski chalets, but it soon becomes a nice gravel ski-lift service road.

I reached the top of one of the main chair lifts and there was a nice lake.

But it was still a long way to the high point at the top of another lift. The final couple of kms were steep and I passed some hiking school children so slowly that we could have a nice chat and they kindly cheered me on. But I made it! Nice views and a fancy top-of-the-resort sign.

Next I descended down another gravel service road to try and join up with the route I had hiked with Doreen the previous day. I am going to post the photo again, but while hiking I had been so transfixed with L’Aiguille Noir. I have visited Col de la Plagnette from a different direction before on a mountain bike, but wondered if it was possible from this side.

And now I was on my bike heading directly at this beautiful peak.

I knew the gravel road would soon end and things would get trickier. But two friendly and very fit guys in French National jerseys (ski or VTT or XC ski champions?) coming from other way said it was difficult but not dangerous. So I got on the trail.

Some parts were relatively easy and some parts brutal, but I made progress. Note, the final 3 kms to the col were mainly bike pushing/carrying.

But I was thrilled and relieved to reach Col de la Plagnette (2525m):

Over the top I soon arrived at 2 alpine lakes that are sadly fairly dry/empty. It was a short ride to Col des Rochilles (2496m) – which I know – and a long, bumpy descent to Plan Lachat on the Galibier north side.

See this old ride for details of climbing Col des Rochilles from Plan Lachat and continuing east past these lakes all the way to Briançon: Col Hunting Behind Le Grand Galibier

This old photo below shows the beautiful Col des Rochilles descent. It was taken on paved road at 6km marker below Galibier summit, but the gravel road is clear on the left. Many hairpins! Anyway it is fun when a silly idea is successful.

Here’s a 3D video of this great route:

Here is a new fun adventure. An unpaved ride up to Col du Mont Cenis and its lake then up higher to the Ancien Fort de Pattacreuse (2385m). I started in Lanslebourg exactly at the start of the 10 km paved climb to Mont Cenis, but immediately jumped onto a good quality unpaved road. It’s at times quite steep, but very peaceful and good cycling. It is the same route that could lead to Pas de Beccia (2717 metres) via Fort de la Turra

But at roughly 2100 metres I would turn left and briefly join the paved road just below Col du Mont Cenis (2085 metres).

Just after the col, I would get off the main road and head towards Col du Petit Mont Cenis,but quickly get onto the gravel road that runs along the west side of Lac du Mont Cenis.

I have done several huge rides to and high above Lac du Mont Cenis. Please see the bottom of this post for a map and link to the three paved routes and a bunch of truly superb high unpaved stuff.

Up until this point it had been a pretty big ride, but the real fun was about to begin. Approaching the far end of the lake I turned up onto on old military road in OK condition. Hairpins everywhere. Here let me admit that I had made a mistake. The plan had been to ride to Fort Malamot, another old fort but perched at over 2900 metres. I had made a wrong turn but once I realised the error I was too thrilled with the views to turn around!

Wow!

The old fort was built in the late 1800’s. It’s perched at 2385 metres and mainly ruins. I looked around at a hiking trail beyond but didn’t see a reasonable alternate route to go higher or descend so I doubled back down the way I had climbed.

I explored further south along the lake and found the route to Fort Malamot but frankly I was tired and decided it was an adventure for another day.

There was no cell phone service but I knew my wife had parked near the dam and had gone hiking so I rode onto the dam and bumped into her. So the route on the map just has me ending here. If you needed to descend, I would suggest avoiding the busy paved east side of the lake if it’s summer. My plan if I couldn’t find my wife was to basically double back all the way to the beginning.

More Mont Cenis Rides

Please visit the article Lac du Mont Cenis: A Detailed Look for a touch of history and details of the 3 paved routes (including a lesser known super fun 2nd way up from Italian side). Also several of my absolutely favourite super-high unpaved rides. The photos below are me trying to convince you to click the link.

Today is the end of the 17th year of this blog and thus the end of my 17th annual cycling challenge. How did I do versus my 2021 Cycling Challenge (details here)? Well … there’s some good news and some bad news.

For obvious reasons I didn’t stray far from home very often. And problems from my neck/spine fracture a couple of years ago has made very long rides difficult. But I stayed active, cycling 250 times and hiking more than a 100 times in 2021.

The Good News:
I did achieve my primary goal of 160,200 metres of vertical ascent.

Remember: there are 525,600 minutes a year. Climb one foot a minute. 525,600 feet = 160,200 metres).

The Bad News:
But I failed in my other goals as I only had a handful of rides that didn’t begin and end at my home. So I certainly failed at my goal of cycling up 100 different cols. BUT, I must have at least a 100 rides that included my local Col du Mont Sion. Above the col are several unpaved routes up and across Mont Sion and I visited them often in 2021:

Favourite Rides of the Year

1. La Barillette at Sunrise

Another part of my 2021 challenge was “At least one great sunrise ride.” Success!

Apart from my wife, I rarely rode with anyone else this year. But I met up with my great friends Tim and Richard in October to cycle up to La Barillette for the sunrise. Wooohooo! Fabulous views of the distant Alps were the reward for the early start in the dark. Details here.

2. Cormet de Roselend via Col du Pré

Ridden just before the Dauphiné. Remember, via Col du Pré is the best way up to Roselend as you get to ride across the damn dam. Details here.

3. Lots of rides with my wife

I had quite a few rides with my wonderful wife. Always fun.

4. Rides above the clouds

Autumn where I live can often be dark, foggy, and overcast. But if one cycles high enough it is often possible to find the sun above the clouds.

Final Thoughts

I know 2021 was a challenging year for almost everyone. For me, the key to happiness and well-being is exercise. I just feel better not just during but also after a fun bike ride. I am sad not to have achieved all of my 2021 Cycling Challenge – but am pleased I stayed active.

I wish everyone a Happier New Year. Be well.

Will

A few more 2021 photos

There is only one size this year: (11 x 8.5 in / 279 x 216 mm)
Price: $10.99, or €9.39 or a similar amount in other currencies. Global delivery is reliable.

Lulu.com, the publisher, sometimes has coupon codes available to lower the price. Use google to search for a coupon code in your geography. For example, NEWYEAR15 should give 15% off most orders at the moment. But the codes change often, so use Google.

A few quick points:

1. All photos were taken by me in the past 12 months.
2. I am making no money from this. The price is just what is charged by the printing company.
3. I am not (even remotely) a professional photographer. All the photos are taken using a decent portable digital camera. But the quality of the photos has turned out OK. This is just for fun.
4. I have chosen a printing company that is inexpensive and has global delivery options – I have used them the last 10 years, selling a few hundred calendars each year- and people seem quite satisfied with the print quality. Orders are placed directly with Lulu.

Each calendar has 14 photos: a cover, a back page, and one for each month. You can preview all photos in the slide shows below.

#1 – 2022 Cycling Calendar:

To Order Click HERE.

If you want to see what the calendar looks like, click on these links to two PDF files of the Calendar:
1. The front and back pages incl. December
2. January to November
– it’s a big file. may be slow to load.

Photos used in the calendar:

#2 – 2022 Cows Calendar:

If you want to see what the calendar looks like, click on these links to two PDF files of the Cow Calendar:
1. The front and back pages incl. December
2. January to November
– it’s a big file. may be slow to load.

To Order Click HERE.

Photos used in the calendar:

Yes, I am still here. I know I haven’t posted in a long time. Sorry. I am still riding. But for various reasons this year it’s been mainly from home.

Wooohoo! A fabulous ride in the dark freezing cold to see the sunrise with my great friends Richard and Tim.

A good sunrise ride requires an unimpeded view towards the sunrise. The goal is always to arrive at least 10 minutes before the sunrise to enjoy the changing sky. It was cold and windy so we were heavily dressed and all had bike lights ready for this lovely 12.7 kilometre climb on a quiet Jura mountain forest road.

The climb to La Barillette is the 3rd highest paved road in the Juras. There is a Swisscom communication tower and a Skyguide aviation radar tower at the top. It has an unimpeded summit view south: directly below is Lac Léman (Lake Geneva) and in the distance the Alps. Perfect!

We cheerfully climbed this lovely road, chatted a little, breathed heavily a lot. The effort kept us warm.

There was a strong Bise (north wind) at the summit and we were cold once we stopped pedalling so we were impatient for the sun to rise. But what a great view: Mont Blanc was so clear in the distance, high above the clouds. And an orange glow.

And then the sun peeked over the Alps. I wish I was a better photographer and knew how to fully capture the bright lighting, etc. But the first few seconds of the sun was glorious. Tim was a perfect model and allowed me to yell at him as he rode posed.

It’s wonderful when a crazy idea works out so well. Thanks for the great company. This is my fourth sunrise ride with Tim, and my second with Richard. We have already begun brainstorming a good candidate for next year.

For other sunrise rides see:

1. Cime de la Bonette
2. Grand Colombier
3. Mont Ventoux
4. Mont Salève
5. Col du Galibier

]]> https://www.cycling-challenge.com/la-barillette-sunrise-ride/feed/ 5 890493 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/cormet-de-roselend-via-col-du-pre-3/ https://www.cycling-challenge.com/cormet-de-roselend-via-col-du-pre-3/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2021 16:43:11 +0000 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/?p=890363 Cormet de Roselend is one of the more beautiful climbs in the Alps. But remember, the best route is not via the main Route des Grandes Alpes road that climbs the north and south sides. Instead, take the 3rd way up via Col du Pré, like the Critériun du Dauphiné will on June 5th.

Col du Pré is a challenging beautiful climb with 26 hairpins and high mountain views in all directions. And just beyond the summit is one of the great views in the Alps down towards Lac de Roselend. And best of all? To get to Cormet de Roselend you must ride over the lac de Roselend dam! Damn!



The climb to Col du Pré starts immediately in Beaufort. But it’s after the village of Arêches where all the hairpins begin.





Lac de Roselend is still not quite full, so not quite as beautiful as in late summer. But the views from Col du Pré are amazing.



At the summit of Col du Pré is a brilliant gravel road that leads much high to La Passage de la Charmette. See this old post for details of the south side of Cormet de Roselend and then this gravel adventure with towering views of Lac de Roselend.



But back to the current ride: I had my drone and tried to take a few different angles crossing the dam.



After the dam, the route rejoins the main road at Col du Mérailet (1605m) and runs along the edge of the lake.

La Chapelle de Roselend:



The road then leaves the lake and heads higher.



There was still a fair amount of snow along the last couple of kilometres, but the road is well cleared and fine for road bikes.





Cormet is a local word for col. Above Arêches on the route to Col du Pré the road splits and one can head to another lake/dam:
Lac de St Guérin – See here for ride details. And above that is Cormet d’Arêches at 2100m. I believe it is still gravel above the lake, but it’s now fully paved on the far side. See here for a ride idea that goes far above Col d’Arêches to a couple of cols, one that overlooks Lac de Roselend. And see here for an old ride that reaches Cormet d’Arêches after visiting a bunch of high gravel cols.

Finally, as shown on the maps below, I descended the main Route des Grandes Alpes road that goes directly to Beaufort. But there is some sort of construction that caused a detour that required some climbing. But it’s a scenic, quiet hair-pinned route. Not a bad detour although my legs were tired.

What a great day. I can’t recommend this route enough. Woohoo!

]]> https://www.cycling-challenge.com/cormet-de-roselend-via-col-du-pre-3/feed/ 11 890363 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/col-de-la-colombiere-via-romme/ https://www.cycling-challenge.com/col-de-la-colombiere-via-romme/#comments Thu, 27 May 2021 20:22:53 +0000 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/?p=890337

Yes, I am still here! My first adventure not starting from home since the end of the most recent French lockdown. The route? Col de la Colombière “the hard way” via Romme.

These will be the feature two climbs during stage eight of the 2021 Tour de France. See bottom of post for the stage profile.



The climb to Romme is steep! It begins as a little cliff road right beside the autoroute. The moment the road turns up there is this welcoming sign:



The local joke of course is “Tous les chemins mènent à Romme” (All roads lead to Romme).



There are perhaps 15 hairpins on this challenging, quiet 9 km climb.



Note, it’s possible to go above Romme to 2000 metres (Tête de la Sallaz). But it requires a mountain bike. See here for a map and old ride report.

Col de la Colombière has made many Tour appearances, but 2009 was the first time it took this “3rd way” via Romme.



From Romme (1300 metres), one can just about see Col de la Colombière far in the distance:



The route descends Romme for several kilometres and joins the main route (part of the Route des Grandes Alpes) at Le Reposoir. Here it is 7 more challenging kilometres uphill.





The final 3 kilometres get steeper on a fun near-cliff road. Regardless of wind direction ….. it is always against the wind.

I saw quite a few cyclists:



Me, waving at the camera!:



Finally, as the map below shows, I simply descended down the main north side back to the start.

This was hard work but fun. It’s been too long between adventures. I hope everyone is well and getting vaccinated soon. Doreen and I received our second doses last week!



For gravel fans: See this incredible route that climbs Colombière, briefly descends, traverses unpaved to the amazing Col des Annes, then returns to Reposoir on difficult back valley trail. Superb.

Cycle Route 8690025 – via Bikemap.net – Open Route in Bikemap App

Stage 8, upcoming 2021 Tour de France:



]]> https://www.cycling-challenge.com/col-de-la-colombiere-via-romme/feed/ 8 890337 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/jura-mountains-6-col-loop/ https://www.cycling-challenge.com/jura-mountains-6-col-loop/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2021 17:31:52 +0000 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/?p=890259 Woohoo, my first ride not starting from home in 6 months. I was motivated as yesterday was my first ride of 2021 in shorts, and tonight France is almost certainly going to announce stricter lockdown conditions.

Part of my 2021 Cycling Challenge was to climb 100 cols, so I needed to get moving as I’ve been cycling the 5 cols near me over and over.

The loop climbs Col de Richemond (1060m) then visits several nearby Cols atop the Plateau de Retord, finally descending back to the start via Col de Cuvery (1178m). See bottom map with all the cols labeled. Note, while I would visit 6 Cols, I didn’t really climb 6 cols. In particular, Col de Bérentin and Col de Cuvery are better climbs from their other side – see here and here.

Col de Richemond and Col de Cuvery are in the same massif, just north of, the better known and tougher Grand Colombier and Col de la Biche – details.

But it’s a very nice loop. Nothing spectacular, but scenic and quiet:





See here for a map and links to all my rides in the Jura mountains.


Cycle Route 8241514 – via Bikemap.net – Open Route in Bikemap App
]]> https://www.cycling-challenge.com/jura-mountains-6-col-loop/feed/ 1 890259 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/2021-update-a-few-photos/ https://www.cycling-challenge.com/2021-update-a-few-photos/#respond Sun, 28 Mar 2021 18:06:33 +0000 https://www.cycling-challenge.com/?p=890227 I hope everyone is doing well. I know, it’s been a while since I posted. Between COVID, winter, and a couple of other things – I’ve only ridden from home so far this year. No new adventures … yet. But I’ve been riding a lot locally.

I am actually on pace for my 2021 Challenge of cycling uphill one foot for every single minute of the year.

525,600 minutes = 525,600 feet = 160,200 metres.



Hopefully, I’ll get more adventurous at some point soon. But here are a few photos of recent rides. Be well.

]]> https://www.cycling-challenge.com/2021-update-a-few-photos/feed/ 0 890227