La Marmotte 2006

MartinM said:

Anyone else thinking about it? how do you enter independently?

I have thought about it, I'd ilke to do it but don't know if I can be
ar$ed or have the $$. There is a site put up by the organisers, it was
mentioned on here a month or two ago, do a search for it.

MSeries said:

MartinM said:

Anyone else thinking about it? how do you enter independently?

I have thought about it, I'd ilke to do it but don't know if I can be
ar$ed or have the $$. There is a site put up by the organisers, it was
mentioned on here a month or two ago, do a search for it.

I'm 99.9% up for it; after l'Ardechoise this year I drove over to
Galibier and rode Alpe d'Huez and that was enough to convince me, just
need to fit a 26T to go with my triple. I may even do AdH again having
vowed never again.

MartinM said:

MSeries said:

MartinM said:

Anyone else thinking about it? how do you enter independently?

I have thought about it, I'd ilke to do it but don't know if I can be
ar$ed or have the $$. There is a site put up by the organisers, it was
mentioned on here a month or two ago, do a search for it.

I'm 99.9% up for it; after l'Ardechoise this year I drove over to
Galibier and rode Alpe d'Huez and that was enough to convince me, just
need to fit a 26T to go with my triple. I may even do AdH again having
vowed never again.

I've done all the hills before (excpet Galibier from Valloire side),
even climbed Alpe d'Huez twice in one day. I'd llike to ride the Alps
again but I may save it for the Raid Alpine in 2007 as final tuning for PBP.

Final tuning for PBP for me will probably be a UK 400; La Marmotte is
likely to be my holiday for next year as my oldest has wiped out the
jollies fund with both a school skiing and US scouts trip (typical,
these always come at the same time). As for any other spare cash, well
British Gas are busy taking that. ;-(

MartinM said:

Anyone else thinking about it? how do you enter independently?

I went with GastroBiking since I fancied a holiday as well. My write
up is here:

http://www.cliftoncc.org/static.php?content=marmotte04

It would be easy enough to do independently since you can just enter
the day before (several of our group did just that). The main thing would
be to book accomadation early.

Booking accomodation in Alp d'Huez itself is a top plan since you can then
pack at the bottom of ADH and ride back up 🙂 I can see that if you have
to ride past your hotel in Bourg it might be more tempting to miss out
the final climb. This may not apply if you are more strong willed than
me of course.

I highly recommended it to anyone. Definately the hardest ride I've ever
done.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

Arthur Clune said:

MartinM said:

Anyone else thinking about it? how do you enter independently?

I went with GastroBiking since I fancied a holiday as well. My write
up is here:

http://www.cliftoncc.org/static.php?content=marmotte04

It would be easy enough to do independently since you can just enter
the day before (several of our group did just that). The main thing would
be to book accomadation early.

Booking accomodation in Alp d'Huez itself is a top plan since you can then
pack at the bottom of ADH and ride back up

I was going to do it on the cheap (see previous tales of poverty) and
use the campsite at the very bottom of AdH which I used this year; 6eu
without a car (Camping La Piscine). You have a commanding view of the
first hundred hairpins on the road. The drive up to Galibier looked
fearsome, a few hardy souls were riding up it, but it goes the other
way. I did not drive up to Croix de Fer as that would probably put me
off the ride for life.
This young lady rode it this year; hence the ease with which she rode
Cob lane, I have to have one of those tops (but not until the day after
I complete the ride)
http://www.fotothing.com/photos/302/30244fc37a38817ac3a3d899b2aafbbc.jpg

MartinM said:

Arthur Clune said:

MartinM said:

Anyone else thinking about it? how do you enter independently?

I went with GastroBiking since I fancied a holiday as well. My write
up is here:

http://www.cliftoncc.org/static.php?content=marmotte04

It would be easy enough to do independently since you can just enter
the day before (several of our group did just that). The main thing would
be to book accomadation early.

Booking accomodation in Alp d'Huez itself is a top plan since you can then
pack at the bottom of ADH and ride back up

I was going to do it on the cheap (see previous tales of poverty) and
use the campsite at the very bottom of AdH which I used this year; 6eu
without a car (Camping La Piscine). You have a commanding view of the
first hundred hairpins on the road. The drive up to Galibier looked
fearsome, a few hardy souls were riding up it, but it goes the other
way. I did not drive up to Croix de Fer as that would probably put me
off the ride for life.
This young lady rode it this year; hence the ease with which she rode
Cob lane, I have to have one of those tops (but not until the day after
I complete the ride)
http://www.fotothing.com/photos/302/30244fc37a38817ac3a3d899b2aafbbc.jpg

Col de Croix de Fer was a killer for me in '94. It was a damp drizzly
day so not too hot. I am fitter now though so who knows how I'll now
fair - only one way to find out I guess. The road towards the Galibier
is actually the road to the Col de Lauteret, at the Lauteret one turns
off for the Galibier. I climbed the Lauteret from the other side, from
Serre Chevalier turned right and climbed the Galibier. I have actually
climbed the Lauteret from La Grave too, in the rain in 1998, the
Galibier was closed due to bad weather, this was in July, for Le Tour.

You know I could be persuaded to do The Marmotte 'on the cheap' in
2006. When is it ?

MSeries said:

You know I could be persuaded to do The Marmotte 'on the cheap' in
2006. When is it ?

I'm guessing the weekend 8/9 July; on the cheap for me involves flying
to Grenoble and cycling up the valley the day to a campsite before the
ride, pretty horrible road but usually quite a few cyclists. I woke up
at 0530 and rode into Bourg d'Oisans this year in search of food; there
was a patisserie open selling pains chocolate!
Camping for me means 2kg Argos tent foam mat thin sleeping bag and
espresso maker.

MartinM said:

Cob lane, I have to have one of those tops (but not until the day after
I complete the ride)
http://www.fotothing.com/photos/302/30244fc37a38817ac3a3d899b2aafbbc.jpg

I've got one of those. It's my favourite top. I feel obliged to climb fast
when wearing it though 🙂

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
The struggle of people against power is the struggle
of memory against forgetting - Milan Kundera

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

MSeries said:

You know I could be persuaded to do The Marmotte 'on the cheap' in
2006. When is it ?

I'm guessing the weekend 8/9 July; on the cheap for me involves flying
to Grenoble and cycling up the valley the day to a campsite before the
ride, pretty horrible road but usually quite a few cyclists. I woke up
at 0530 and rode into Bourg d'Oisans this year in search of food; there
was a patisserie open selling pains chocolate!
Camping for me means 2kg Argos tent foam mat thin sleeping bag and
espresso maker.

I'm also considering the Marmotte on the cheap for next year.. considering
that the etape for this year caused a significant dent in my finances!
But the amount of climbing involved seems a bit fearsome!

Rich

MartinM said:

MSeries said:

You know I could be persuaded to do The Marmotte 'on the cheap' in
2006. When is it ?

I'm guessing the weekend 8/9 July; on the cheap for me involves flying
to Grenoble and cycling up the valley the day to a campsite before the
ride, pretty horrible road but usually quite a few cyclists. I woke up
at 0530 and rode into Bourg d'Oisans this year in search of food; there
was a patisserie open selling pains chocolate!
Camping for me means 2kg Argos tent foam mat thin sleeping bag and
espresso maker.

I know that road but only ever done it the other way and on the day of
the Tour so hundreds of cyclists and sympathetic Police holding cars
back to allow the cyclists to proceed :-). I also know the patisserie in
Bourg, too, in 1996 Mrs MSeries & I camped further up the valley and the
night was so wet we didn't sleep, we actually tried to sleep in the car.
So we head out very early to begin our journey home and could only find
the patisserie in Bourg open for berakfast !! Lastly my camping is also
a Pro Action 1, sleeping bag and thermarest, no expresso for me :-(

Mmm,

MSeries wrote:

my camping is also

Quoted message said:

a Pro Action 1, sleeping bag and thermarest, no expresso for me :-(

Those tents are apparently a copy of a North Face or whatever one, but
at 14.99 the decimal point is in a different place!
I agree expresso is revolting; I add milk to make it macciata; dead to
bright as a button in 0.5 seconds ;-)

These people seem to have a date; seems quite a good package but I
assume that you need to raise a minimum amount of sponsorship etc etc.
They also seem to know that the Grenoble flights are all year round
which is also good news.

http://www.cyclistsfc.org.uk/Marmotte.htm