Lacets de Montvernier: a twisted tale

St Jean de Maurienne. French Savoie Alps: outside the Hotel St Georges, under an awning sit a group of men. Not old but no longer young. They are drinking beer and the boisterous conversation includes mention of heart rates, watts of power, gear ratios, descent speeds. Each can cap the story of another.

Similar conversations in different languages are in progress in the bars of other hotels around the town.

St Jean would be an undistinguished town if it wasn’t for the Tour de France which often passes through or finishes here. For St Jean de Maurienne lies deep in a valley at the foot of some of the most mythical cols in the world of cycling: the Madeleine, the Galibier, the Glandon and its brother the Croix de Fer.

St Jean de Maurienne is one of those towns like Le Bourg d'Oisans (Alpe d'Huez) that in summer attracts men with bikes keen to pitch their skills against the mighty climbers like Quintana, Froome and from the past like Pantani, Coppi, Merckx and more. Everyone wants to prove themselves man enough to take on the Galibier.

Lacets de Montvernier - ticking off a bucket list climb

But there's a more modest goal here too – one which has fascinated many since the Tour took it into its stride in 2015. The Lacets de Montvernier are a short sharp climb which would hardly cause a ripple in the Peloton if it wasn’t for the fact that in the space of four kilometers there are 18 hairpin bends.

The Lacets, or Laces in English, rise up an almost vertical cliff face. They look as if they were designed as a challenge to show what is possible rather than to build a road that would be of practical use.

Looking down. The best view is from the neighbouring rocks

They were one of those bucket list climbs that needed ticking off. From below they look quite impressive but as you ride up, there isn’t much to see – sometimes a bend just above your head, sometimes one or two further down. The views of the mountains around are much more impressive. The famous photos are not taken from the road itself but from the surrounding rocks.  

Riding up, there are beautiful views of the surrounding peaks

Reaching the top  is a bit of an anticlimax. You are riding between meadows towards the village of Montvernier. But for more great riding, keep going and head for the Col du Chaussy. The road rises steadily. Has very little traffic. Passes through woods, along a ridge with a vertiginous drop on one side and a great overhanging rock on the other. The road passes though high meadows with big mountain views before breasting the col at 1533m.

Continuing on you can join the road to the Col du Madelaine or turn around, cruise back via Chatelet and take a seat outside the St Georges and join the conversation.

Czech this out for a great ride

The Elbe (Labe in Czech) from Mêlnik

 Are there good reasons for a bike ride across the Czech Republic? Yes, definitely. For a start, excellent beer is a third of the price in neighbouring countries and overall the cost of accommodation and eating out is also less.

But that isn’t a good enough reason. If you are of a mind to explore the less-well-cycled areas of Europe, Czechia (it’s formal name) is a great choice. There are a host of bike routes that are very well signposted. These include four Eurovelo routes: 4, 7, 9 and 13. These follow quiet roads and are merely part of a huge network criss-crossing the whole continent.

 

Signposting for cyclists is very good

(Beware! Once you begin to follow a Eurovelo Route and see signs for a city you have always wanted to visit, but which is 3000km away, the temptation is to scrap all your plans, just follow the signs and keep going.)

The roads in the Czech Republic aren’t bad. Some are very good and some are rather patchy. However just about every town lies in a sea of cobbles and arrivals and departures are usually a bumpy affair.

 

Town centres like this in Litomêríce are usually a sea of cobbles

The Elbe Bike Route along the river which rises close to the Polish border, passes north of Prague and continues right across Germany to Hamburg, has some lovely smooth surfaces and some pretty awful, rough, irregular stone sections. The whole river ride is some 1400km.

 

The Elbe bike trail is, in some, places uncomfortable riding

Although the minor roads are generally pretty good and the signposting is excellent, cycle touring doesn’t seem to be very popular. Once east of Prague, you are a bit of a rarity. 

That does not mean that some of a bike tourist’s special needs are not well catered for. Hotels and guest houses have secure, safe and dry accommodation for valuable bicycles. They are also happy to accept reservations made the night before by telephone - without the need for giving credit card details. Most of the time, English is the best option for non-Czech speakers.

 

Quiet roads, beautiful woodland, rural scenery and small villages make it an attractive destination

If it is a culture you are looking for as well as a day in the saddle, there are some lovely old towns which may not be quite as glossy as those along the Elbe in Germany, but which have their own charm or points of interest. Kutná Hora and Terezín are both worth a day’s stop in themselves. Brno and Breclav are less well-known cities worth a look.

 

The old town of Kutná Hora has a beautiful cathedral 

Prague, of course, is a destination in itself and one worth avoiding if you don’t want to get caught up in a host of hen parties, having to fight your way through the crowds on the Carlsbrücke and having to pay through the nose for just about everything. 

 

Cobbles welcome you to every town

The Czech Republic is a country that the ubiquitous Bikeline books have not yet comprehensively covered with long distance tour ideas, maps and books. This means you can be out on your own, forging your own route, not one of a crowd, and feeling a bit like a pioneer. It’s a good feeling and Czechia is a good, safe place to experience it.

A way into the Czech Republic is along the Elbe from Germany, from, for example, Dresden. (The former East Germany is a good introduction to cobbles.) The river cycle trail runs direct through Bad Schandau to Dêcín across the border. From the other direction, there are Greenway routes from Vienna which lead direct to Prague. 

 

Leaving for Austria from Breclav you come across the "platten" paving of the Iron Curtain era  

Tips and Links

Biking across Czechia – our story: https://spark.adobe.com/page/CNEd5IQcdh4pv/

For detailed bike routes, planning and directions download the free app: mapy.cz 

For the Elbe bike route, there is a free guide available from tourist offices or on line

https://www.elberadweg.de

Danube Deviations - head for the hills

Heading for the hills, on the Ötscherland bike trail

 The Danube bike trail from Passau to Vienna is hugely popular. In the summer the bikes go by in flocks. Bikes of every type. Riders of every age. It is a wonder to see. Cycling as easy as it can be.

But it can be a bit tedious. It’s a big river and there are only so many gigantic cruise ships to gawp at. It’s a wide valley and the hills are sometimes rather distant. And where there are attractions, like the abbey at Melk, the cruise ships are double parked and the trail is clogged with their passengers. 

 

Cruise ships double parked beside the bike trail at Melk 

It is great to see so many people enjoying their bikes. But the gaggles of cycling groups, all with matching bikes and day bags, out on their first bike tour experience, are so concentrated on following the wheel ahead, it is best to give them a wide berth.

 The Danube bike trail can at times become a bit tedious - it isn't often as empty as this

So if all this is spoiling your fun, leave the Danube and head for the hills. On the south side of the river, in the province of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich) there are a number of great bike routes which follow rivers flowing down to the Danube. And you don’t have to ride up to enjoy the ride down. 

From Sankt Pölten the Mariazellerbahn, will take you and your bike to the pilgrim centre, Mariazell. The two-and-a-half hour journey itself is worth taking and the town with its lovely basilica, has a special atmosphere. Leaving on the Traisental Radweg is a true treat. Almost entirely on tiny roads or bike-only asphalt trails, it swirls down a serpentine road, and then climbs before it launches you into a wonderful descent back to the start. It is so well signposted you can’t get lost. It is about 88km to St Pölten, but continues another 20km to Traismauer on the Danube.

 

Along the Traisental bike route

Not had enough? Ride across country on the Pielachtal bike trail to Melk and a short way up the Danube. At Pöchlarn is the start of the Ötscherland bike route. This climbs 656m over a stretch of 62km. The first part rises gently but after Gaming a steady but do-able climb brings you to Pfaffenschlag from where there is a beautiful run down to the lake at Lunz.

 

The river Ybbs has beautiful green waters

From here, the trail along the river Ybbs through to the old town of Waidhofen is as good a route as you can find anywhere. Steadily descending, it is a broad, smooth asphalt trail running through pretty villages and along the turquoise green of the river. After Waidhofen it isn’t quite so idyllic, but it is easy to follow to Amstetten and the town of Ybbs on the Danube.

 

Göstling on the Ybbs Bike trail

The scenery is farmland and woodland, lovely but not extreme in any way. It certainly is a lot quieter than along the Danube and you will have had an opportunity to stretch your legs a bit on the uphill stretches and cruise down the descents.

Niederösterreich is justifiably proud of these trails, and the many more that link to and from them. They have a good range of detailed maps available for free in the tourist offices. The building of the province’s cycle network has been financially supported by the EU.