Here's the cute ski town about 2/3 of the way up the Col de la Croix de Fer.

Great views from the Col de la Croix de Fer.

I was suprised to find that the Col du Glandon was only a couple miles downhill from the Col de la Croix de Fer.

The Col du Mollard isn't quite as high up as some of the Cols, but I know it's featured in previous Tour de France stages.

Cute little chalet/shop near the Col du Mollard.

Some of the views being high up in he Alps are amazing.

This was one of the first signs as you start climbing the Col de la Croix de Fer. Pretty intimidating seeing 28KM of climbing starting at 8% and knowing that it will probably be steeper when you get to the summit.
7-12-10 Monday
Today I went for another great ride in the French Alps. I drove to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and rode up the Col de la Croix de Fer, then down to the Col du Glandon, then back up to the Col de la Croix de Fer, then down part way, then up to the Col du Mollard. It was quite a ride. I could still see evidence on the road of when the Tour de France rode over the Col de la Croix de Fer a year or two ago. There’s a neat little ski town about 2/3 of the way up the climb. As usual, the steepest part of the climb is the last few miles up to the summit. Croix de Fer means “Cross of Iron”, and I remember seeing a great big Cross of Iron when the helicopters during the Tour de France would pan out and show the landscape or some of the surrounding areas, but I couldn’t see the one they show on TV. There is a small one there, but I think the great big one you have to hike up to and can’t see from the road. As I wanted to see where the Col du Glandon was, I rode down to it. It’s not far at all from the summit of the Croix de Fer, maybe only about 2 miles all down hill. Then I rode back up and over the Croix de Fer. As I still had a little energy left, as I rode down back towards my car, I passed a junction and a sign that said the Col du Mollard was only about 5 miles away, so I took the junction and rode up to the Col du Mollard. It was a great day of climbing in the Alps. When I got back to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne they were starting to set up the finish for the Tour de France as it finishes there tomorrow. As I’m catching up on the blog, pictures of my ride was all I had down. I’m sure we did something else later in the day, but I don’t have pictures of it and I can’t remember. We probably went swimming in Lake Annecy.