St Luc to Chamonix

We were planning this cycle for a while, but cometh the day cometh the rain, and cold and I was thinking perhaps it was time to return to St Luc HQ and coffee and croisants.  But no my partner in crime, Big Al, was having none of it...."lets keep going to Niouc".  We will dry off eventually and certainly before frost-bite takes hold I was thinking to myself so on we went.

I have to say the first 20k down to Sierre were rather wet and slippery but the rain eased off and the sun started to emerge and with it some warmth and better light.  We pedalled through/around the outskirts of Sierre and on into the Rhone valley proper and hit the bike trail heading west towards Sion, Riddes, and Martigny.  We ignored the road and stayed on the Strava identified trail which runs along the riverside most of the way.  Between Riddes and Martigny we came across a large apple orchard with some very red rosy apples just asking to be picked.   Big Al said the Swiss would take a dim view of cyclists hopping off for a quick apple stop so we kept going.  

Around Riddes the trail leaves the river and a long straight road into Martigny was the best option.  Although flat, the road is exposed and the wind picked up making the ride that little bit harder.  

By Martigny we were ready for our first coffee stop before we hit the Route de la Forclaz.   The road over to France did not disappoint; it was long and steep, particularly the first part.  Almost 2 hours after the start we arrived atop the Col at 1527m, topped up our water, shook hands and set off for the next challenge of the Col de Montet down and up to a mere 1461m...

On the way up to Montet we met our buddy James who had cycled over from Chamonix.  We continued on our way and finished with a high speed decent into Chamonix and a nice cold beer.