Saint-Savin

Saint-Savin is a small village situated in the Hautes-Pyrénées in France.  About 400 people live here, and the village is situated just above the floor of the Lavedan valley at an altitude of 433 meters.  The village is dominated by the Abby of Saint-Savin, built in 945.

Saint Savin was a Spanish monk who was born into a wealthy family in Barcelona.  At some point he moved to France, where he was sent to the monastery.  However, he chose to live the life of a hermit above the village.  During this time, he preformed several miracles.  His sarcophagus now forms the base of the altar in the Saint-Savin church.

Saint-Savin is also the home of the Velo Peloton Holidays and the Lanterne Rouge Cycling Lodge, run by Olive O'Connor and Paddy Sweeney.  The Lanterne Rouge caters to cyclists and opened its doors four years ago.  If you are a cyclist, the Pyrénées is a fabulous place to ride and the Lanterne Rouge is a great place to stay.  I have spent a week to ten days here every summer since they have opened.  You can be at the base of many of the famous climbs of the Pyrénées in a few minutes:  the Tourmalet, Hautacam, the Soulor-Aubisque, and Luz Ardiden to name a few.  And after four years, there are still a few climbs that I have yet to do.

Riding in Savoie and Haute Savoie

Albertville, famous for the 1992 Winter Olympics, is located in Savoie in the Rhône Alps.  Historically, Savoie and Haute Savoie were part of the Duchy of Savoy and not part of France until 1860.  The city is at the junction of three valleys, so it is easy to find flat rides.  There is a wonderful 100 kilometer bike path connecting Albertville to Annecy.  Rumor has it that the plan to extend the path south to Grenoble.  Another 100 kilometers!

There is lots of uphill too: Cormet de Roseland, Col des Saises, Col de Tamié, Col de Madeleine, Col de l'Aravis together with climbs you have never heard of.  You could spend month here and not run out of new rides to do.  Cycling Paradise!

Wednesday

The forecast said that there was an 80% chance of rain.  The skies were gray at 8:30, and it was only supposed to get worse.  I decided to take a chance.  The rain held out until around 9 AM when I was halfway up the Col de la Forclaz.  At first it was just a few drops, but I decided to turn around anyway. Within 5 minutes it was pouring. My ride lasted 60 minutes and I arrived back at the hotel soaked.  As luck would have it, the weather improved later in the day.  Unfortunately, I was off doing other things.


Thursday

I finished what I began yesterday, the ride up Col de la Forclaz.  The col is not very long (less than 6 km) not very long but has 2 km of 9% and a maximum of 11%.  Then I rode to the top of the Col des Saisies (HC)  I was pretty exhausted by the end of ride.  I definitely needed an afternoon nap.  There is a great view of Mount Blanc from the Col des Saises climb.

Friday

I needed an easier (or at least shorter) ride today.  I decided on the Col de Tamié loop.  I chose the more difficult south side, which begins in Albertville.  I did the scenic tour of Albertville trying to find the base of the climb.  When you do find the climb, it's pretty obvious.  The first kilometer is 10+%.  On the way down to Faverges, you pass the Abbaye de Tamié, founded in 1132.  The Abbaye is a Trappist community of about 30 monks and is famous for the cheese that is made there, Abbaye de Tamié.

Saturday

Directions for this morning's ride: leave the hotel, turn right, and go uphill for 6 miles.  Besides the D109 climb (technically not a col but definitely nontrivial), I rode over the Col des Aravis, the Col de la Croix-Fry, the Col du Marais, and the Col de l'Épine---close to 7,000 feet of climbing.  I was surprised that I still had some gas in the tank at the end of the ride. The photo is the little village of Héry near the top of the D109 climb.

Bucket List

The Cormet de Roseland is a beautiful climb, which I did last year.  Here is a partial list of the climbs in the area that I haven't done.  There are probably a half dozen climbs that I have left out too.

• Col des Saisies from the north
• Col des Aravis from the north
• Col de l'Arpettaz
• Cormet d'Arêches
• Col de la Madeleine (Not sure about this one.  I had my two flat tires there last summer.  This also the climb that did in Armstrong during the 2010 TDF.)
• Col de Tamié from Faverge
• Col des Cyclotouristes
• Col du Joly
• Col de la Croix-Fry from the west
• Col de Meraillet

Drove to the Pyrenees and Saint Savin today---an all day drive.

France 2012

It's now becoming a habit to escape the East Texas summer heat by spending several weeks in France each year.  This year is no different.  The plan is to visit the Alps, the Pyrenees, and Provence over the next several weeks.  I will occupy my time by riding my bicycle, spending a week in an intensive French course, and working on some math projects.

Amazingly, I have adjusted to the time change.  Actually, for the last ten days or so, I really haven't had a set time zone.  Last week I was at a conference in Seattle and took a red-eye flight back to Houston on Friday night.  Then I packed for France and caught a Monday afternoon flight---Houston to Amsterdam to Geneva, where I picked up my car and drove to Ugine (near Albertville).  I am staying at the Hotel du Bourg.  It's nothing fancy, but the location is great.

Itinerary

• Alps near Albertville until Sunday, June 24.
• Haute Pyrenees and Ariège Pyrenees until July 7.
• A week at Crea-Langues in Provence to work on my French.
• Back in the Alps (Bourg d'Oisans) until July 26.

Things that I have found out (or already knew)

• Be nice the the airline people.  Up until April bicycles were just another piece of luggage on both KLM and Air France.  Now, traveling with a bicycle will cost you an extra $150.  Since I bought my ticket in December, I was technically okay, but you never know.  I have a Pika Packworks Bike Bag.  It's pretty compact and doesn't look like I am traveling with a bicycle.  The ticket agent asked if I had a table in there.  I decided not to lie since I am not very good at it and admitted it was bicycle.  He smiled and said that he didn't hear me.  He marked all of my luggage priority too.  I hope that he had a great day.
• Pack your bike carefully.  The airlines didn't hurt the bike, but I twisted a few links in the chain when I packed the bike.  Also, one of my Walmart carbon fiber bottle cages broke---probably from packing things too tight.  I now have a new chain and two new bottle cages.
• If the trains aren't practical, leasing a car is the best way to go.  Renault picked me up at the airport within 10 minutes.  Everything was prepaid and I was on the road 20 minutes later.  
• I took the scenic route back from Annecy yesterday.  The GPS in my Renault Clio doesn't always give the most accurate directions.  Serena (yes the GPS voice actually has a name) can be a little off sometimes. Maybe Jane will be more reliable.
• When packing you will forget something.  Fortunately, the only thing that I have forgotten so far was a electric plug convertor.  I was able to find one here for a couple of euros.