Four Thousand Meters of Cycle Climbing in the Franco-Swiss Jura

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Mt Tendre via Rolle

For a year or more I had been tempted to cycle up to the Mont Tendre and on Saturday I got the opportunity to try that ride with Tête de Course, a Nyon cycling community and café/restaurant.

The route went from Nyon to Rolle, and then from Rolle upwards towards Aubonne and then upwards towards Montricher. From Montricher you have the climb to Mont Tendre.

In theory this is a quiet road with limited cars. In practice we had quite a few cars passing us. The road is narrow, so when a car passes you need to get to the side of the road but with débris and more it does not fill me with euphoria. If the road was completely closed to cars, then this would be a nice climb. For me, good climbs are those with no cars, or those where the road is wide enough for cars to pass with ease.

When we got to the top of this climb haze obscured the view slightly so it wasn’t as rewarding as sometimes. I have been up to Mont Tendre two or three times, but with snowshoes around April. For once I was up there with a bike.

This ride was with people who are fast. They climbed it at least twenty minutes faster than some of us. It’s a shame they didn’t know we were going to be so slow. They could have had a drink or snack,

The ride back down was along the foot of the Jura rather than along the lake roads so we had a little more climbing to get through.

The climb is strenuous. It’s at an average grade of 9 percent for the entire time, so it requires good stamina to get to the top. The way down was okay. I felt tired. I made sure to fuel up every so often. In Nyon I felt I had energy left over, so I made up my mind to try the next day’s ride with Le Cerle, the No Pressure Club.

The No Pressure Club Challenge

The No Pressure Club Challenge is another ride that starts in Nyon. We met by the bike shop and then headed up to Crassier, La Rippe, and then into France, to head up La Combe Blanche. This is a long climb with a gentler gradient. With this group, on the first climb I was at the front rather than the back. I had enough energy left over to sprint up the last 300 meters or so, before waiting for the others to arrive.

Riding at this time of year, you’re warm in one place, and cold in another. When everyone was up we headed down to Mijoux and this descent was cold. You’re going from a valley facing the sun to one hidden from it.

Once at the bottom we did several more climbs. In total we did 10 climbs yesterday, for a total of 2180m of ascent.

The French Jura is beautiful. You have pine trees and forests. You have undulating hills, some used for pasture, and others left to the wild. Population density is also lower so you get to be in nature. You get a break from civilisation. Switzerland is more densely populated nearby, so France is quieter.

I was amused. At one moment I thought, "We’re going to pass by the Roche Au Dade and we did. I wanted to stop and take a photo but I didn’t want to keep the group waiting. A year ago I wanted to go through the challenge of cycling to this VF. Now, I know that I can.

Out of Morez you climb the Côte de Prémanon. For me this was a 29 minute effort. When you’re tired from the previous climbs this can be quite a challenge. Luckily this road is relatively quiet.

After this the last climb was the one to La Cure, and from La Cure down to St-Cergue and from St-Cergue back towards Nyon. By the time we got to St-Cergue I started to feel like lying down and resting. I still had the descent that I often enjoy rushing down. For once I took it easy.

And Finally

This weekend was sporty. On Thursday I ran a 5k, and walked quite a bit. On Friday I ran the Wake Up and Run 5k, and then I did the Mont Tendre climb, and then I did the NPC Challenge ride to climb 2100m. This was a sporty weekend. I pushed so hard because I saw that this week will be rainy. Now, while it is rainy, I can rest and recover.