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A Brief Affair with the Tour de France
Part I. Logistics
July 31, 2003 - Certain truths made themselves clear during my trip to Alpe d'Huez to see the 2003 Tour de France. First off, there is absolutely, positively no reason to take part in an organized touring group, such as Breaking Away, Velo Echappe, Backroads, Inside Track, et al. Arm yourself with a couple of good maps, invest a few hours on-line to get a ground-level sense of the geography (e.g., check out the essential Grenoble Cycling Pages for the local cyclist's perspective), and accept the prospect that things on your trip (no different from life in this regard) might get terribly fouled up. Don't get unhinged by the lack of a pre-printed itinerary your experience will be far richer for it. Even better, you'll likely save enough money to buy a closetful of AG2R, Brioches La Boulangére, and Jean Delatour jerseys, so when you get home you can get kitted out identically to the local heroes of the peloton riders who will quickly become heroes of your own.
One other word of assurance: you do not need to speak the French language to survive your adventure. While my efforts were appreciated, I was fortunate to encounter loads of folks who spoke a touch of English and those who spoke only French were more than happy to labor through psuedo-conversation with me. Unlike what the US media would have you believe, the French proved to be immensely generous and patient with me: an obvious American. And I'm not speaking just of those in the service industry random people I met on the roadside and on the parcours were without exception a joy to encounter.
You must keep one vital fact in mind when embarking on a self-guided tour of le Tour: Even though bringing your bike on the plane is a breeze, you'll run into big problems trying to take it on the TGV the so-called bullet train that takes you from Paris to Grenoble. Grenoble is the closest major city to the Alps, so it's the city you need to keep in the forefront of your mind as you sketch out your plans. The 44"x30"x11" box that most people use to transport their bike on a plane exceeds the TGV limit for maximum luggage size by a long shot. Please pay attention: you cannot take your bike on the TGV in such a fashion. There are some legs of the TGV that permit bike transport provided you pack your bike in a zippered nylon bike condom that'll cost upward of $70, located at French sporting goods stores such as Decathlon. But no train leaving Paris allows bike carriage, and even then you're still stuck with the problem of storing your bike box somewhere. Your acceptable options are the following: (1) Fly into Grenoble, instead of Paris, thereby skipping the TGV altogether. (2) Rent a car in Paris and drive the 600K to Grenoble. Count on a 7-hour drive minimum. (3) Buy a frameset built with S&S Couplers, allowing you to break your frame into 2 pieces. The box for an S&S-equipped bike measures 26"x26"x10", and raises no eyebrows on the TGV.
That's what I did, and it enabled me to spend 2 days in Paris on both ends of my trip. It was only a 3-hour train trip (round trip $150). While Grenoble has some beautiful areas, in comparison to the attractions and distractions of Paris, it has the weary spirit of an industrial city. Think Pittsburgh or Cleveland. While Grenoble is a fine base camp for an Alpine escapade, spending a bit of time in Paris was a fantastic bonus.
One other note about the TGV: Its website is quite well-done, but it makes picking up your train tickets appear a lot easier than it ends up being. Unlike an airline e-ticket, even if you purchase the ticket online, you still have to pick it up in person. The ATM-like machine the website claims you can use to get your ticket is more complicated than it's worth, and even with the assistance of a TGV-savvy French woman, I couldn't make the machine spit out my ticket despite the fact I'd paid for it online days ahead of time. Plan on being at the station (both legs) at least one hour ahead of time. The lines will be long, so paint a smile on your face early on.
I planned my trip at the absolute last minute, and as such had no choice but to stay in Grenoble. All of the small villages between Grenoble and Alpe d'Huez had their hotels booked solid months ahead of time. With some pre-planning, you should be able to find yourself a room closer to the Alpe: Pont de Claix (close), Vizille (closer), and Bourg d'Oisans (closest) are all better options than Grenoble, with your very best option being a room in the ski village of the Alpe itself. Those rooms are booked up the week the Tour route is announced, so get your speed-dialer fired up if you're so inclined. In terms of the ski village, you can't beat the Alpe d'Azur Bed & Breakfast. It's owned by a fantastically beautiful young woman with a work ethic equal to a veteran US Postal domestique, and she speaks flawless English. Did I mention she needs to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for at least the next 10 years? Oh la la! The Alpe d'Azur's balcony sits about 700m from the finish line, and you can see up the road 'til about 500m to go.
You need to familiarize yourself with Bourg d'Oisans (pronounced something like Bored-dwah-san) more than any other town. Not only is it the village at the base of Alpe d'Huez, it's the beachhead to an endless selection of life-altering rides. Getting there is a gentle 50K uphill ride from Grenoble, so if you're staying there you might take advantage of the bus service to Bourg d'Oisans. The Grenoble bus station is next door to the TGV station. Unlike the TGV, the bus system is happy to accommodate your bicycle. There are upwards of 10 buses a day from Grenoble to Bourg d'Oisans. If you goal is nothing more than to get to the Alpe, then you'll take the bus to the end of the line. If you'd like to replicate what became the most epic ride of my life, you take the Rochataille stop on the outskirts of Bourg d'Oisans. That's where I started. Jet lagged to the core, I got off to a late start and didn't start riding 'til 11:30am. The Alps in July stay light until almost 10:00pm. The latest bus back to Grenoble, though, was at around 7:15pm. Do yourself a big favor: get to Bourg d'Oisans well before 9:00am to start your ride.
