Mountains, Mountains and Mountains or French Alps, Sierra Nevada and Serra Monchique. We all enjoy cycling up hill, don’t we? There is something that draws all cyclists to the hills, don’t get me wrong their is more to cycling than pedaling up hill, it’s a big part of the Practice Bicycle philosophy that cycling should be ‘a la carte’. Flat, undulating and climbing it’s this ability to mix it up that makes riding the bike so addictive and a life time pleasure for all of us isn’t it!
May – September has always been the ideal time of year to get the most from your cycling in the French Alps and with the chilly mornings starting and a snow shower on la Tournette (2351m) over looking Lake Annecy, where should you look to ride to avoid any illness and get your fix of spinning the pedals up hill?
Head South and follow mother nature on the migration path, how far South is up to you!
But first a little reflection on wonderful cycling in the French Alps with cyclists from all over the world, some new to the Practice Bicycle unique bike riding adventures other returning guests enjoying new routes from the endless choice of our Lake Annecy Bike Trips and French Alps Bike Tours.
It’s not really about ticking boxes, it’s more about the feeling you get from riding your bike on NEW roads with new views and terrain to discover. This made us think how after 20 years working, living and pedaling the roads of the French Alps how extremely fortunate we are to work on these magnificent cycling roads…some routes become favorites and others we mistakenly forget…
Col des Glieres was tough in fact we had forgotten how tough, arriving at Plateau Glieres and the National Monument to the WWII Resistance. Mont Revard which for some reason or another had not been part of our itinerary for sometime, what fantastic and amazing panoramic views are on offer. Not forgetting the Col du Galibier which was just epic, climbing to where the air is thin never gets any easier!
If you ever wondered what draws us cyclists to the French Alps this is why…can’t wait for the next adventure!
Now back to heading South, next stop Sierra Nevada, why the Sierra Nevada you ask.. With bike racing deep in our DNA we are specialists at showing our guests the best of International Pro Bike Racing. During this years Tour de France stage on Mont Chat when sadly the descent had such a devastating effect on the peloton, which included the announcement that Alberto Contador’s was going to retire.
Love him or hate him we didn’t need too much persuasion to organize another visit to La Vuelta and admire him dance on the pedals one last time! More on great times in Spain later…
Finally if your GPS South is fixed on Europe, you have to hit the coast of Portugal and the perfect cycling roads of the Algarve and add the climbs of the Serra Monchique to your cycling menu?
