Alsace is in the northeast corner of France. It is famous for winemaking. The viticulture dates back to when the Romans controlled the region. More recently, Alsace has been traded back and forth between Germany and France (the current owners). Many of the place names are German, and the second language taught in schools is German and not English.
The southern part of Alsace features the Vosges, a low mountain range. The rounded summits of the Vosges are called ballons, the French word for balloon. The highest point in the Vosges is the Grand Ballon (literally, the "big balloon"). There are also the Petit Ballon and the Ballon d'Alsace. Even though the Vosges are a "low" mountain range, the climbs can be 12–15 miles in length and gain up to 3000 vertical feet. Some of the climbs such as La Planche des Belles Filles are very steep with grades of up to 18%. In other words, think kitchen wall steep. Below is the top of Ballon d'Alsace.
This year, the Tour made its way through Alsace, with two stages in the Vosges. The first stage was over the Grand Ballon. I rode up earlier in the day to see the spectacle. "Camper van city" at the top of Le Markstein is below as are the barriers of the final climb up the Grand Ballon. I was back at the hotel to watch the Tour go over the same climbs on the TV. A wise decision on my part, since it was raining hard up there when the race went by.
I stayed at a wonderful little hotel in Saint-Amarin. There were six guest rooms, a restaurant, and a bar. It wasn't the Four Seasons, but it did have a certain charm. The owner has a cousin who is racing in this year's Tour, Christophe Riblon. Riblon won the stage up Alpe d'Huez last year. Such a win makes your career. There was a nice pizza house down the street too. I had dinner there one evening and had a nice chat with the owner. It gave me an opportunity to work on my French, since he spoke zero English (his words).
More on the Baronnies in the next post.
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