 Cycling
the French Alps I
Trails of the Tour de France
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If you don't fear steep hills and love to sit in the saddle
for quite
a while, you might as well fancy to spend your holidays in a very
special
region of continental Europe, in the French Alps.
If you prefer to cycle in an area that is famous for scenery there
is hardly a more beautiful place than the mountain range between the
Lac
Leman and the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. The French  Alps
provide the highest mountains, the steepest roads and tarmac passes up
to 9193 feet above sea level. On top of that people do worship the
cyclists
here. This is the part of France where the heroes of the Tour de France
are made on their way uphill.
*
An overview of this wonderful
journey
is given in the end. It begins on the 15th of September 1987 in
Grenoble.
We follow the minor road D 529 from there to la Mure, the place where
we
want to leave the car behind. Before you enter the village of la
Mure you
pass suburban quarters of dark and depressing miner’s houses. We call a
very old car our own and we do not mind to leave it somewhere at a
curb.
However, in the end we stay a night at the Hôtel des Alpes
in la Mure where we can park the car for a minor fee in a barn. The
owner
of the hotel is very friendly and speaks several languages. We have
dinner
at the restaurant that night. |
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BULLET
Alps
provide the highest mountains, the steepest roads and tarmac passes up
to 9193 feet above sea level. On top of that people do worship the
cyclists
here. This is the part of France where the heroes of the Tour de France
are made on their way uphill.
