Thu Jun 11 : AMT Day 13 [ride] Vercors → Embrun
The day started with a nice ride through the forest, but on a road (D70) with weirdly low traction so I was highly concentrated and we didn't get any pictures. Then we went into the Route touristique de Combe Laval which is a road carved into the cliff face in the Vercors Massif region of the French Alps. It is famous for being one of the most audacious and scenic drives in Europe. A 4-kilometer stretch of D76 hangs over a 600-meter drop and winds through 11 short, open-air tunnels and arches. The road was constructed between 1861 and 1898 (165 years ago!) to transport timber from the Lente forest to Saint-Jean-en-Royans. We stopped at a lookout and took lots of pictures. It looked really familiar, and after digging into my first Europe trip in 2016, I find that I'be been here before while chasing Nicky from Bologna Italy to Le Havre France.
After Combe Laval, we entered Canyon Ruisseau de Borne, a deep, narrow canyon with multi-colored rocks. A dramatic motorcycle ride from the bottom of a canyon rather than a road carved into a cliff face.
We took a couple of breaks beside a big reservoir on the Durance river before reaching Hôtel les Bartavelles & Spa.
It was a hot day, so Kathi and Chris swam for a while in the pool before going to dinner at the hotel restaurant.
Very pretty food for dinner tonight. Good place.
second to last tour day, Vercors → Embrun
Vercors → Embrun (4h53m 261km)
| Time | Minutes | km | kph avg | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8:29am | 0.1 | Pre ride briefing at Logis Hôtel le Moulin de la Pipe | ||
| 8:29am | 54.6 | 44 km | 48 kph | |
| 9:24am | 4.3 | pics from the side of Combe Laval on D76 | ||
| 9:28am | 5.2 | 3 km | 35 kph | |
| 9:33am | 6.5 | pics from lookout to Combe Laval on D76 | ||
| 9:40am | 0.3 | 0 km | 1 kph | Col de la Machine |
| 9:40am | 26.9 | Col de la Machine | ||
| 10:07am | 19.6 | 18 km | 56 kph | |
| 10:27am | 1.7 | marking a turn | ||
| 10:28am | 75.4 | 56 km | 44 kph | |
| 11:44am | 2.1 | marking a turn | ||
| 11:46am | 13.1 | 11 km | 52 kph | |
| 11:59am | 129.0 | valley view from D9948 and large GPX gap (probably lunch) | ||
| 2:08pm | 3.6 | 2 km | 29 kph | |
| 2:12pm | 35.2 | D9908 and valley view | ||
| 2:47pm | 26.4 | 30 km | 68 kph | |
| 3:13pm | 14.3 | rest stop and pics by the lake | ||
| 3:28pm | 7.7 | 7 km | 54 kph | |
| 3:36pm | 23.8 | Lake gravel area on D954 | ||
| 3:59pm | 10.4 | 10 km | 59 kph | <track log ended in motion> |
| 4:10pm | end of track log | |||
| 4:10pm | Hôtel les Bartavelles & Spa | |||
| 7h40m | 3h37m moving | 262 km | 72.7 kph | 47% moving, 244 minutes of breaks |
| Google time (4h53m) + 57% | ||||
Route D76 and D2 are a twisty road along the canyon edge with dramatic views and lots of short tunnels
Kathi got a bunch of videos from her passenger position
