lined up and ready to go whilst we have a coffee

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The blog is back..the Alpes Open Tour

Hi all,

After an extended hibernation the blog is coming back to life. The summer challenge has been set and starts on Sunday August 15 -- 6 days of cycling, 659 km of road and tackling some of the classic Tour de France climbs in the French Alps.

Assuming the battery holds up in the new Android phone I hope to post straight to the blog (www.genevaexplore.blogspot.com) for an unedited appreciation of the pain... and hopefully some stunning views.

The tour..








Each day's route is shown below. More detailed notes to follow in the blog.. you may recognise some ski resorts - Châtel, Morzine, Les Gets, Combloux, Megève, Courchevel... but for those in the know it is Col des Saisies, Madeleine, Croix de Fer, L'Alpe d'Huez and Galibier that are the landmarks.. and don't worry a few months ago I only knew of Alpe d'Huez!!!

On the slopes again.

Two weeks ahead of the official launch Les Gets opened the télécabine and 4-man chair lift on the Chavannes plateau .... and more importantly for Caroline the shops were in order. Perfect combination to get the equipment tuned up and in full working order.

From First day on the slopes for 09/10 season

Winter has arrived.

From First day on the slopes for 09/10 season

"Will the colour match my helmet?"

From First day on the slopes for 09/10 season

Salomon advert

From First day on the slopes for 09/10 season

Looking on to Mt. Chery

and where to go next weekend?

Explore more

Link to photo album

Snow coming next week?

Found a great web site for snow forecasts (www.j2ski.com). At the time of writing looks like there will be a load of snow at Les Gets on Monday and Tuesday of next week. See the widget below - or if it does not appear in your feed go to www.genevaexplore.blogspot.com

Les Gets Snow Forecast | Snow Report | by E-mail

Getting the legs ready for skiing..

It has been warming up again recently, and the snow in the Alps has melted beneath 2000 metres. Nevertheless, we have faith the snow will fall again. Aware that a far fitter friend will be joining us at Christmas for some stamina draining skiing a new cycle route was needed.

Proving that La Motte is the sunny side of Geneva, the ride was great except for the dense fog at Vers, forcing a right turn up above the clouds towards Charly and then St Blaise on the Saleve. Headed off towards Cruseilles and then a sharp descent towards Ronzier before climbing back through Copponex and Cernex all in sunglass weather.


















Early winter in the Haute-Savoie

This is a beautiful ride through the countryside of the Haute Savoie. Will do again and take some decent photos. Only around 30 km to ensure the day is not written off - but over 800 metres of climb to work the legs a little.

New home loop

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Link in case route does not appear

PS For our regular readers - We know we are behind on the blog... promise to try and catch up!