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.

I'd not ridden on the road much of late, bad back in July and lack of time in August.

Relaxing the legs after the drive over from France. Managed not to miss the short cut turn back to Orta this time.

The Col du Rousset is just of the Freydieres climb but the lack of surface on the north side means it is rarely visited by bike. Just two other riders on Strava, both on MTBs.

Usual mix of steep Italian ramps and bad roads. The surfaced road ends just after Cassano so this is just a little tour of the foothills. The Orta backcountry is not overly interesting.

I hadn't been out on the bike for some time so took the opportunity of a dry day to ride into work then up the Venon climb.

The Col de la Loze is a new paved road pass in France having only been opened in the spring of 2019. From Brides-les-Bains there is 23.5km of climbing with a total vertical of 1700 meters.

I took a detour on the way home. It was very chilly with a north wind. The road works up to Revel seem to be over and I continued through St Jean le Vieux.