London to Grenoble - Advice on Route Please

[hitman261]

Hi, I've decided to head to the Alps this summer on my road bike, travelling light and camping on the way. Probably going to catch the train to London and then cycle to Dover and take the ferry to Calais. After that I intend to head to the Alps and return via the Pyrenees tackling some of the famous climbs on the way. I have between 4 and 6 weeks depending upon how my legs hold out. Can anyone suggest any good routes, books or online sites on must do routes. I'm particluarly interested in a nice scenic route from Calais to the Alps,lps

[Big T]

Geneva is probably the gateway to the northern Alps, so you could try using Google maps and ask for a walking route from Calais to Geneva, to give you a basic route. From Geneva, you're more or less straight into the Mountains. I did a 2 week circular Tour of the Alps a few years ago, starting and finishing in Geneva. You can take in a lot of the famous TdF climbs on the way. We got as far down as Briancon, taking in the Colombiere, Aravis, Col de Saisses, Cormet de Roseland, Madeleine, Glandon, Telegraphe and Galibier along the way.

[stewartpratt]

My personal opinion is that a lot of the area between Calais and the Apls isn't terribly scenic anyway - not when compared to what you can find tucked away in the south of the country. I've no idea how many miles you're thinking of doing per day, but if it was me I'd be catching a train for the first stretch, and starting near either the Vosges, Alsace or the Jura (depending on how much you want to skip and how it affects your time spent elsewhere) and spending more time passing through places like Provence, the Ardeche, the Cevennes, the Tarn, the Black Mountains and so on.