The heat wave finally broke with a return to cooler temperatures, so much so I had to wear an undervest and a cycling jacket in the morning.

Decided to take this nice little climb and loop back around via the Venon descent. 21m44 for the climb, a bit off the 20m03 of last year but not too bad as I'm a bit bushed with work at the moment.

I saw that Amberieu was 20 minutes by train from Lyon which meant I could cycle a chunk of the Via Rhona, the long distance cycle path that goes from Geneva to the Mediterranean sea.

DescriptionFrom Yssingeaux (there is a free autoroute from Lyon - the N88) you climb 400 meters over 16km but there are some sections of 8%.

Usual 4x8 min intervals. Timed it better to finish the intervals on the climb and a part of the descent.

First intervals for a long time. I decided to try 4x8. First set was hard but after ok but need a bit of a slope to get the HR up.

Not as quick as May due to the heat, VAM of 900, not bad. The climb has quite a bit of shade, so not bad on a hot day.

First ride since my accident on the Madeleine. I was pleased to be able to stand up when necessary. I'm 4kg lighter than last summer and it felt easier on the climb but only a PR on the last section.

The climb was harder at the end than I remembered. In general it felt quite easy, not like I was really killing it. It took 32m44s for the complete climb with a VAM of over 900.

North to South, or South to North? That is the question and it is not entirely simple to resolve.