Saturday 25 July 2015

Col de Carri - 1215m

I'm back in Die, though with bad planning on my part (work in Truro) I arrived the day after the Tour de France passed through town. In my absence I'm glad to say that four Exeter Wheelers (James, Tom, Andy and Shane) did get down here before me, and had the pleasure of watching the intermediate sprint in Die, and the whole festival spirit of the event.

They had also done a couple of my suggested rides on their first couple of days, but I lined up three good ones to take them on: up Col de Rousset and a loop to La-Chapelle-en-Vercors; the round trip to Mens via the Col de Menée and back via the Col de Grimone and the Gorges des Gâts; and today a 95-miler to Combe Laval via Vassieux and back via Col de Bacchus.

It was only once we were riding up it that I realised that we were ascending the 1215m Col de Carri (which I hadn't ridden since June 2012), and that I ought to document it.

So, a brief description: the way Tom, James and I rode it was from the eastern side,  with just a 300m ascent from the road between Vassieux and La-Chapelle (of course we had already had to get up Col de Rousset to get to that road). Once over the col there is an undulating descent to the junction with the road between Lente and Col de la Machine and Combe Laval. If you approached Col de Carri from St-Jean-en-Royans you would make a near continual ascent of about 950m. It's an extremely quiet road, and it has a few lovely views, especially on the eastern side of the col.

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