A return to Mont Rachais which I'd last ridden on my old Raleigh mtb. Rather than taking the road I traversed across the banks of the Gresivaudan valley along the trails and singles. Some not too ridable. At one point at the entrance to Bernin the path was blocked by an agressive looking Llama! It finally moved on and let me past. It took 2 hours to reach the Col de Vence road. The climb to the Cafe des Alpes was not too bad. The trail to the summit is ok except for the increasingly big rock garden on the final few meters of climbing. The rock garden continues on the other side a bit but afterwards there is a good singletrack right the way to the Bastille with various technical, but not too technical sections. I took the Vierge Noire option, again a good single at the top (be careful of walkers) but with a small section where the trail has suffered erosion lower down (it is only one switchback that is affected) and was not rideable for me.
Weather: Warm (19C) and sunny.
Country: France Area: Chartreuse Trailhead: La Tronche
