On the Road

I must admit that before planning this trip, the only things I knew of this area were the ski resorts and the Tour de France climbs. The first tour up Alpe d'Huez in 1952 was done to promote summer visits to the ski resorts. Today's ride stayed in the valley for most of the day until a minor climb tempted me in the afternoon. It was just three miles averaging 10% and, yes, some of the stops really weren't for taking pictures. The ride down the switchbacks was the reward for the climb. I shouldn't say this where Deborah can see it but passing the trucks on the way down was fun (but only when one could see no other traffic). Besides breathing the burning brake smoke wasn't healthy.

In the valley the older roads paralleling the high-traffic main roads were very nice:

Except for the climb, where I rode today was 80 ft under water in the 11th century. A landslide blocked the river between here and Grenoble and for a while Bourg d'Oisans was called Saint Laurant du Lac (St. Lawrence of the Lake). In September 1229, that natural dam broke sending a destructive wave that destroyed everything in its path including parts of Grenoble miles downstream.

Moving from natural to human history, a memorial to French resistance fighters killed in World War II was one destination today.

These mountains have been used as a refuge over the centuries and that was the case when Germany invaded France. Jews fled from Paris and other German occupied areas to Grenoble and the Oisans mountains, which were occupied by the Italians who were less repressive than the Germans. These mountains were also a refuge for young Frenchmen fleeing the German Obligatory Work Service (Service du Travail Obligatoire or STO) that forced some French to work in Germany supporting its war effort. Those young men and others formed what is known as the Maquis to resist the occupation of France. Once the Italians signed the armistice with the Allies in September 1943, German forces moved into this area and the resistance became more serious and more deadly. When German troops left the Bourg d'Oisans valley for the last time in August 1944, civilians and suspected Maqui were killed along the way. The effect of these events on one man's family can be read here.

It's after dinner and the rain is pouring down. I suspect I'll have time to post a few pictures in the morning.