Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
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Thehairs1970
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Joined: 11 Aug 2018, 9:30am

Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by Thehairs1970 »

Ok. Despite the lack of replies, :( , I have a kind of plan.

Train to Chamonix, descend back down, tour around Annecy etc, back to car, take physics geek son to see CERN.

Has anyone descended down the Chamonix Valley? There's obviously the big A road but we won't be doing that. There also seems to be a parallel D route that looks ok but what's it like in 'real life'?

Anyone?

Martyn
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MrsHJ
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Joined: 19 Aug 2010, 1:03pm
Location: Dartmouth, Devon.

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by MrsHJ »

Sorry, I've skied it a lot but not cycled. However I'm sure there are lots of local cycle clubs -I always find asking the locals on bikes is a safer method than asking pedestrians! As I'm sure you know D roads should be ok but I'd maybe avoid C roads or undesignated roads in the mountains. What route does cycle.travel suggest-looks like the V61 cycle route? I like using the link from cycle.travel to see the actual road on google maps photo thingie. CERN should be fab.
Thehairs1970
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Joined: 11 Aug 2018, 9:30am

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by Thehairs1970 »

Thanks. I thought there would be loads of people available to offer advice about this area but replies to my posts have been few. The V61 is what I am looking at. I'm also trying to find out about the trains up to Chamonix but that's been difficult to find. We cycle as a family with two teenagers so going up the road isn't on our list!

Thanks for your help. Martyn
Cyril Haearn
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Joined: 30 Nov 2013, 11:26am

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Try searching these fora, might have been mentioned before
And wait a bit, some answers might come along :wink:
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
Thehairs1970
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Joined: 11 Aug 2018, 9:30am

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by Thehairs1970 »

I've learned something anyway. Fora is plural of forum. :lol:
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MrsHJ
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Location: Dartmouth, Devon.

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by MrsHJ »

Thehairs1970 wrote:Thanks. I thought there would be loads of people available to offer advice about this area but replies to my posts have been few. The V61 is what I am looking at. I'm also trying to find out about the trains up to Chamonix but that's been difficult to find. We cycle as a family with two teenagers so going up the road isn't on our list!

Thanks for your help. Martyn


Cycle.travel has a good key hidden at the top right of the page so you can see what you'll be riding vis a vis bike lanes and separated bike trails. Rhone Alpes region was, I thought (I was there two weeks ago), pretty good with bike trail standards and signing.
Cyril Haearn
Posts: 15215
Joined: 30 Nov 2013, 11:26am

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

Thehairs1970 wrote:I've learned something anyway. Fora is plural of forum. :lol:

Or not, some people think "fora" only refers to several squares in ancient Rome, it was mentioned elsewhere on these forae :?
..
There are more than a million posts here, plenty are not about cycling, you can learn six incredible things before breakfast :wink:
Entertainer, juvenile, curmudgeon, PoB, 30120
Cycling-of course, but it is far better on a Gillott
We love safety cameras, we hate bullies
nirakaro
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Joined: 22 Dec 2007, 2:01am

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by nirakaro »

'Fora' or 'forums' is arguable – fora as a Latin neuter plural, forums as a generic English plural. 'Forae', as I'm sure you know, is out-and-out wrong – that would be a first declension feminine plural of a non-existent singular noun 'fora'.
Sorry not to get that in before breakfast – it's a good half-century since I did any Latin, so it took a bit of dredging up.
randonneur
Posts: 59
Joined: 9 Apr 2007, 5:55pm

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by randonneur »

Its been a few years since I last visited the Chamonix Valley by cycle, and in the days before apps and owing detailed maps on my first visit did use the main road up across the viaduct, not too pleasant climbing up, but the descent on a Sunday morning was fine. On subsequent visits I used the D road which from memory was perfectly good this would be about 20 years ago.
Thehairs1970
Posts: 603
Joined: 11 Aug 2018, 9:30am

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by Thehairs1970 »

Thanks for those who have tried to help. I am really surprised by the lack of questions on the forum regarding the alps. I was expecting there to be more.
Jezrant
Posts: 868
Joined: 14 Dec 2007, 8:11pm

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by Jezrant »

The problem isn't the lack of knowledge about the Alps on this forum but rather the narrowly focused nature of your queries. If you search for the Alps, rather than specifically Annecy or Chamonix, you will find dozens of threads over the years.

In one of your previous threads, I vaguely recall you were looking for suggestions for a cycle tour around Annecy without any cols. After the ride around the lake, that's about it. I'm afraid there's also not much to say about riding from Chamonix to Geneva. The worst bits are getting out of Chamonix and the dreary last bit from Annemasse onwards. The departmental roads parallel to the Arve and the motorway aren't bad, but it's not exactly a quiet bucolic ride in the countryside.

Most people who want to go cycling in the Alps are interested in riding over cols. They're not going all the way to the Alps to look for flat easy roads.

If you're looking for quieter roads with nice scenery somewhere near Chamonix and Geneva without too much hard work, cycling around Haute Savoie between the Arve and the Swiss border is lovely. Decide how many miles and how much climbing you can manage, and then you can fairly easily work out a few circuits for yourself without much worry. It's not a big region.

As the trip seems to be Cern-centric, I'd urge you to take a good look at cycling on the Swiss side of Lake Geneva (Léman). The canton of Vaud is stuffed with quiet little back-roads, beautiful scenery both around the vineyards and looking across the lake to the Alps, and no big cols if you stay close to lake at the eastern end.
sanderton
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Joined: 30 Oct 2018, 5:27pm

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by sanderton »

From Chamonix, ride through the village centre of Les Houches. The road becomes a narrow lane and drops down through the woods, crosses the horrendous dual lane fast road, and heads for Servoz. From there, you can drop down to Passy. Its nice and virtually traffic free.
keithg
Posts: 128
Joined: 11 Jan 2008, 5:07pm

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by keithg »

There’s some very good riding to be had around Annecy with several good climbs (Col de la Forclaz among others) and nearby is Lac du Bourget which is better, quieter and prettier with even better riding, Col de Chat, Grand Colombier etc.
Annecy and Aix les Bains have excelllent cycle paths for tootling as well as good access from town to the rural roads.
lvabd
Posts: 39
Joined: 3 Mar 2018, 4:44pm

Re: Anyone toured near Chamonix?

Post by lvabd »

Hello

from there-ish. Agree with Sanderton, and avoid the D13 road (it's very busy, and locals drive crazy fast on it). From Servoz head north on D143 (steep climb), and use the landrover track to drop to Passy.
Back to the other side via Combloux (nice village)
Very crowded around Annecy in the summer, avoid commuting hours, but on the plus side, tons of cyclists too, so people are kinda use to them.
And avoid Annemasse area at all costs. Ugly, super busy, not at all cycle friendly, also quite known for petty crimes.
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