Day 4 - Ornon (47km)

[Rich] With cycling time limited by my own 1pm departure (and not at all by my heavy-as-lead legs), I decided to simply ride the one easily accessible col that we'd not yet conquered. Not this time anyway, for four years ago we'd topped the Col d'Ornon from the opposite direction and descended to enter the Bourg.

My memories of the Ornon were of beautiful, flower-strewn pastures and a calm that set it quite apart from the relatively busy roads around Bourg d'Oisans. And fortunately, it had lost none of its yesteryear charm. I was still celebrating my 8am departure as I cycled the sleep out of my eyes on the gentle lower slopes, which wind spectacularly above a deep, verdant gorge. This side (from La Paute) is significantly harder than the other, but it's hardly the Galibier. From the Pont des Oulles, the road elevates sharply, and there's a few kms of hard grind, but before I'd really got into any major pain, I'd reached the top!

Another col topped, another col-top pic shot

It was barely 9am, and I'd only climbed 11km. Call me mountain goat, but this seemed derisory in the context of the past 3 days, so I descended part-way down the other side and pedalled back up. This side of the mountain in particular has an other wordly feel, littered with some spectacular flowery pastures (not that I'm a girl) and tiny farming villages that have been untouched by the past 100 years of fast-food, fast cars and fast living. In fact, you wonder what will become of such hamlets in the next few years, when their preodminantly (very) old habitants pass on.

The Col d'Ornon: mountain scenery doesn't get much more picturesque than this

Having stopped to admire the above scene and realized the Ornon provides the photos used on every other biscuit tin, I retopped the climb and enjoyed the beautiful descent back to the Bourg.