It had been a while since I'd ridden to Quarna Sotto. The climb is a nice 8% gradient up a series of switchbacks on the flank of the mountain which I managed at around a VAM of 735m/h.

A quick spin after too much walking in Italy to turn my legs.

Felt ok riding out, made it to St Romain, at the base of the climb, around 12h50 (30 minutes into the ride) and thought I'd try a bit of climbing on the Route de Mont Thou despite not having recovered

The Col de la Luère is situated at an altitude of 715 metres in the Monts du Lyonnais and separates the Brévenne and Yzeron valleys on the borders of the communes of Pollionnay and Saint-Pierre la Pal

General DescriptionThe climb to Quarna Sotto is 400 meters of vertical over 5km giving an average gradient of 8%. The switchbacks at the end are steeper.

I took this climb by error. From Lesa it is a hard 5.75km at 9% covering around 550 vertical meters. The road ends at a monastery and there is a very good trattoria with lake views.

We spent the first half of the ride dodging showers then decided to turn around where we met Colin, a Scots guy who'd punctured and had some issues with his tires.

There are over 40 hairpins on the 450 meter/8% climb to Monte Rosso. This has the advantage that the climb is never too steep. The road on the last km to the restaurant is not in great condition.

Took the train up to Montmelian to ride the cult climb of the Marocaz. It is a local favourite as the SE side has little traffic and is very Provencal in character.