RIDING IN THE ALPS
I
was looking for an alternative destination for our summer holiday this year that would cater for the activities my boys participate in. One a keen downhill mountain biker, the other is passionate about road. So we decided on a catered chalet in Morzine, in the Alps, which we would share with some friends, their son also being a downhiller and their daughter a somewhat reluctant roadie. As the day of departure approached I was a bit apprehensive, after all I was travelling 589 miles with three children and an eighteenyear-old, two of my own and two down-hilling friends of my sons. I had last been to the Alps twenty years ago so I 54
Cycling World November 2015
wasn’t sure how I would cope with the driving. Luckily the French roads were as good as ever and we arrived in Dijon, our just-over-halfway stop, late afternoon. The next day we set off early only to arrive in Morzine to find it was raining and there was low cloud – how disappointing this wasn’t what we were expecting. We could get this kind of weather at home! After a wait we were allowed into our chalet and start chatting to our chalet hosts. According to them there was a race the next day up the Col de Joux Verte known as the Grimpee d’Avoriaz. This is an iconic route that was first climbed in the 1975 Tour de France and the record of 33
The Kids Are Challenging Us