The Col de Grimone
(1318m) is undoubtedly a classic col. It is one of the two cols (the
other being the Col de Menée)
that cut off the corner from the road east from Die to the road up to
Grenoble, and though both shorten the route in terms of miles, the
mountainous nature of the roads mean that they save little time for
car drivers, and so are relatively quiet.
The delights of the Col
de Grimone (named after the village near the western side of the col)
are different depending on which way you do it: from the eastern end,
and the D1075-E712 main road, you have just a short climb (about 250m
over 4km) to the top, then a truly magnificent descent - not at all
in the Col de Rousset sense (speed and views) but because of the
length and variation within it - if you haven't got a smile on your
face by the time you reach the end f the Gorges des Gâts,
you might
as well
sell the
bike.
From
the western
end, as
I did
it on
this day,
you get
the pleasure
of having
time to
appreciate the
very unstable
geology of
the Gorges
(at the
time of
writing, the
big rockfall
where the
road is
diverted down
the bank,
is still
very much
in evidence,
having swept
away the
work that
they had
been doing
up on
the rock
face at
Easter this
year) and
the long,
mostly gentle
ascent through
the little
tunnels, and
the villages
of Glandage
and Grimone.
(The km
markers only
tell you
how far
you are
from the
col after
Grimone, so
you'll have
to do
mental arithmetic
if you
want to
pace yourself
to the
top.) You
then get
the breathtaking
first view
of the
proper high
Alps and
fertile valley
just as
you start
the short
descent to
the main
road.
I
love this
col whichever
way I
do it.
If you're
not keen
on the
busy-ish D1075,
a there-and-back
ride over
the col
would be
very satisfying,
but I've
done a
round trip
from Die
over the
Col de
Menée,
over to
Mens, then
rejoining the
the main
road at
Lalley, then
back over
the Col
de Grimone,
and the
other way
round, but
missing out
the Mens
part, and
just using
the main
road between
the two
cols. On
both those
days the
main road
was fine,
but this
time (admittedly
on a
Sunday in
the French
school holidays)
the road
south from
the Col
de Grimone
was not
great, because
of the
amount of
traffic.
Two
other bits
of advice:
it would
probably be
wise to
take lights
for the
admittedly short
tunnels (be
especially
careful
descending at
any speed
of cars
coming in
the other
direction); and
take plenty
of water,
especially on
hot days,
as I
can't recall
having seen
water fountains
anywhere other
than
Châtillon-en-Diois,
which must
have about
one fountain
per two
members of
the population
there. It's
a place
that's worth
visiting in
its own
right anyway.
For
the
story-in-photographs,
I've started
at Glandage,
as I've
previously
covered the
Gorges in
my 'Mad
French Roads'
post.
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