The easy way up Mont Revard went pretty well for me. That gave me some confidence to keep trying more difficult rides. Steve is only two weeks away!
I needed to try the ride to Annecy again, but this time with more fluids, food, and an earlier start so I could hopefully avoid the hottest part of the day. This time, I knew all of the correct roads to take so I wouldn’t be spinning my wheels and could get to Annecy in a timely manner. There is one hurdle left though. I had ridden to Annecy in the past and always got off route on the return, trying to navigate the roads out of the city. I studied the maps and had a pretty good plan for success, at least on paper.
The ride went well. Saint Félix, Rumilly, Annecy! I wanted to get to the lake, but the way to the lake was crowded with street vendors and large crowds, so I decide to just start back to Grésy-sur-Aix instead. I needed to find my way back to the Rue de Trios Fontaines. That was the key to getting to the route leaving the city. I found it , but not in a very straight forward way though. Kind of using dead reckoning and trying to move in the general direction where I thought it was. After that, no problem.
After finding the Rue de Trois Fontaines, the rest of the ride was easy to find my way back. I had made a mental note when I went through Rumilly to note the turns to get to Saint Félix that I missed the last time. I think I now have this ride down now, as long as I can find the Rue de Trois Fontaines!
Now I’m ready to try the more difficult ride up to Mont Revard. It is 20km from the hotel to the top. 12.5 miles. The first 5km up to Trévignin was the hardest part. The last 2 km was only a slight incline. I came down through Plainpalais and down the way I came up the other day, to make a reverse loop.
The ride up this side of Mont Revard surprised me. You are riding through the forest until the last few km. Then things slightly open up and then you come up on several ski areas. I really had no idea there was skiing so close to Chambéry and the immediate area. Being summer, there were lots of people hiking, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures offered by the tree canopy and enjoying the trails through the forest.
After riding this more difficult route up Mont Revard, I am starting to think that I might survive the riding agenda that Steve and I have planned to tackle in a couple of weeks. Maybe….