Trip Planning

Every traveler has a different balance for how much of a trip is planned. Some like every moment to be scheduled; a much smaller number set out with no reservations and no itinerary. Me? I like to know I’ll have a clean bed to sleep in, expect to be fed regularly, like to know something about where I’m going and want to have destinations in mind to provide structure. Riding up Alpe d’Huez will satisfy a long-standing desire and is the excuse for this trip. But I expect the unexpected encounters, events, and sights will be the most memorable moments. Given all that, some planning was necessary to eliminate nasty surprises or misunderstandings. Here, for what it may be worth for your next trip, is how I planned for this one.

A good map is always handy so I first consulted the Peutinger map that, as a medieval copy of a 3rd century Roman map, I thought would be authoritative. Bourg d’Oisans at the foot of Alpe d’Huez, where I will be riding, can be clearly seen with its former name of Cantorrium.

From The Dancing Chain

I had my doubts on how helpful this would be on the bike and looked for additional resources.

The Illustrations of the Passes of the Alps, Brockenton (1836) mentions but didn’t highly recommend this hotel near Bourg d’Oisans:

From The Dancing Chain

The thought of dining that includes cutting bread with a hatchet led me to look elsewhere.

Edward Whymper, a mountaineer who led the first ascent of the Matterhorn, passed through this area in 1860. He was even less encouraging:

The weather was again bad, and …I was forced to seek shelter in the wretched little hospice. It was filled with workmen who were employed on the road, and with noxious vapors which proceeded from them. The inclemency of the weather was preferable to the inhospitality of the interior. Outside, it was disagreeable, but grand--inside, it was disagreeable and mean. The walk was continued under a deluge of rain….

He adds in Scrambles Amongst the Alps, 1860-65:

From The Dancing Chain

Bad food, bad company and bedbugs: Maybe this trip wasn’t such a good idea after all.

But things began to look up after consulting Murray’s Handbook for Travellers in France (1856) which had good general advice regarding travel in France.

From The Dancing Chain

These kinds of delays, thank goodness, never happen with modern air travel. But maybe I should put the servants on notice just in case.

From The Dancing Chain

Okay, make sure to pack soap. And a picture of the floors being cleaned with brushes on the feet should make a nice souvenir. Oh, and I must remind the servants to clean my shoes thoroughly each night.

From The Dancing Chain

Nobody is going to take advantage of me with an a la carte menu!

From The Dancing Chain

Must remember to take that anger management course before the trip.

I’ll be near Mont Pelvoux and the Ecrins National Park so this sounded promising:

From The Dancing Chain

I was planning to stay in the Val Christophe and to bike up to Berarde but I’m not sure how the bike will perform in the snow. Sounds like a tourist on a folding bike will be quite a surprise to the locals.

At last, The Travellers Guide to Switzerland and the Alps (1858) had some additional helpful information about this area and suggested a place to stay.

From The Dancing Chain

Note to self: pack soap and meat as well as a hatchet for cutting bread.

I’ve heard there is a new-fangled source for information called the Internet so I also gave that a try. Regarding the climb from Bourg d’Oisans to Alpe d’Huez that is the main excuse for this trip, www.eztrip.com says:

One place you're unlikely to be cycling to is the ski resort of L'ALPE D'HUEZ , signposted just outside Le Bourg.

This clearly was not going to be any help at all. It was time to stop planning and just go.

Credits: Google Books has digitized many out-of-copyright books and is a great source for historical research and insights (even if the tourist advice is a little out of date). Many useful and interesting books that formerly gathered dust on library shelves are now searchable and accessible. Books that used to take weeks to receive through Interlibrary Loan (if you remember that) are now readily available.