The lockdown easing has finally arrived… enough circling the neighborhood, let's go ride at Lake Bourget :-{D
I'm stopping the “binge watching” and the little pots of Häagen-Dazs, fed up with these pajamas… I was eagerly awaiting this first real outing to finally leave my 10 km perimeter around home and celebrate the arrival of fine weather. The day's objective is simple: enjoy this bike ride to escape the city, breathe the air of the surrounding mountains, and contemplate the splendid panoramic views from the heights of Aix-les-Bains.
Snow is still present on the surrounding peaks, but the roads are now well cleared and beckoning us. I immediately called Thibault and arranged to meet him by Lake Bourget. My legs haven't seen much action these past few months, yet we figured the elevation gain shouldn't be an issue with our Dimanche 28 e-bikes.
We set off early and in good spirits, even if the morning chill was a bit biting by the lake. The first rays of sunshine quickly appeared as we crossed the historic center of Aix-les-Bains. Leaving the town, we warmed up and now enjoyed the views offered by the first switchbacks.
We quickly gained altitude; the slopes are already tough with some sections at 9%. Our Dimanche 28s allow us to conquer them quickly and without expending too much energy. The pleasure of riding above all, that's what's magical about these bikes. Speaking of pleasure, we made a quick refueling stop in the village of Trévignin, perched on the heights of Aix-les-Bains with a breathtaking view of the lake. Time to load up our saddlebags with good local products, including Abondance, which cheese lovers will recognize, and we're back in the saddle. Just because we're cycling doesn't mean we should only eat cereal bars and only hydrate with energy drinks, especially on an e-bike.
While waiting for lunchtime, we still had to climb towards our objective, Mont Revard, perched at an altitude of 1538m. About twenty kilometers later, we arrived at the small ski resort that marked the end of our ascent. At the end of the road, we reached the summit, which offered us a truly beautiful view. Facing us was the entire Alpine chain, Mont-Blanc in our sights, and Lake Bourget.
We found a quiet little spot to park our bikes and sit in the sun to grab a bite. We'll spare you the details, at the risk of making you too hungry before mealtime… Once our bellies were full, all that was left was to let ourselves descend into the valley before heading back to the lake to complete our ride for the day.
We're sharing the GPX track, just in case you're passing through the region and want to enjoy the local playground ;-{D
