Family Trips
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ALPES ISHERE E-BIKE ADVENTURES IN ISÈRE FREE E-bike Adventures in Isère ADVICE FROM A PRO SO FAMILY THAT YOUR TRIPS RIDE GOES 18 WELL ON E-BIKES AND MOUNTAIN E-BIKES 1 • You will find all the bike itineraries in Isère on: www.alpes-isere.com > CYCLING tab • 1 Isère – nothing more natural Col de Porte Chartreuse Massif Looking for wide- open spaces, and new experiences to share?... Allow yourself time out in a unique set- ting – without having to go to the end of the world. Isère – nothing more natural. CHOLETTE PHOTO©PASCALE WWW.ALPES-ISERE.COM ALPES ISHERE E-BIKE ADVENTURES IN ISÈRE © Alexandre Gelin © Alexandre Editorial — -bike Go off along roads and greenway routes on e-bikes, E Whether you're a great athlete or an and explore the banks of the River Rhône, find famous occasional cyclist, Isère, with its fabulous artists from Isère, seek out local skills and the diversity of landscapes and quality cycling facilities, unmissable cultural and historical sites of the area. If offers a multitude of bike itineraries for everyone to you are a fan of these trails, you can take a mountain enjoy. e-bike and enjoy exploring the Chartreuse, The e-bike makes coping with different terrains easier, Belledonne, Vercors and Oisans Massifs, and riding allowing family and friends to share cycling whatever round the lakes. each member's ability. Even more important, this Hire an e-bike, stay near an itinerary, take a break from gentle way of exploring combines protecting the the route – each itinerary is set out in detail for you to environment with health benefits. plan your day or your stay according to what you want We want to promote the development of this activity, to do. so this brochure presents a selection of the best To find out more, turn the pages and when you've itineraries to discover the riches of Isère. done that... on your bike! — The Isère Attractivité Team Cover photo: THIS MAGAZINE WAS PREPARED BY: Publication Director: Vincent Delaitre/ Managing Editor: Hervé Bodeau Trip with friends PHOTO©PASCALE CHOLETTE PHOTO©PASCALE Co-ordination: Sophie Battaglia and Émilie Coquelut (Isère Attractivité)/Sébastien Rousset (Groupe UNAGI) around Lake Paladru Editing: Martin Léger/Proofreading and correction: Nathalie Gresset/Page layout: Michel Barthelemy This brochure was produced with the help of the agencies of the Département of Isère (service jeunesse et © Alexandre Gelin sport, Direction des Mobilités, services aménagements des Maisons de Territoires), The Isère Départemental Cyclotourism Committee, The Isère Départemental Cycling Committee, The Union of French Cycling Instructors, The Mountain Bikers Foundation, Isère Unitary Authorities and the Tourist Offices. This document is a tourist brochure. We have taken the greatest care in preparing it to make sure we provide an objective selection of suggestions. All the suggestions and illustrations contained here are for information purposes only, and Isère Attractivité is in no way liable for its content. [email protected] - evasion.ishere.fr • 3 ALPES ISHERE E-BIKE ADVENTURES IN ISÈRE PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION — The French Cyclotourism Federation – a mission of expertise BY DENIS VITIEL, MEMBER OF THE FRENCH CYCLOTOURISM FEDERATION AND OF THE ISÈRE DÉPARTEMENTAL CYCLOTOURISM COMMITTEE One of the missions of the French Cyclotourism the creation of the V63 cycling route. This itinerary, a Federation is the development of tourism on bikes, variation of the ViaRhôna, provides a direct route to and that is why the Départemental Committee - Valence, without having to go through Lyon and Vienne. CODEP 38 - has been working for more than 20 The e-bike, like its classic equivalent, is a great way of years with the Isère Département on this subject. getting around from day to day. Riding an e-bike We propose managing the routes and offering enables beginners or moderate users to visit part of choices of trails with the aim of creating safe circuits the heritage of the Isère on bikes without any worries. and encouraging calm and peaceful cyclotourism. For two years we have been working with Isère Attractivité to create family routes specially for We have taken part in developing circuits and routes cycling with e-bikes. These routes have been created for cycling, as well as outstanding climbs furnished with the help of our clubs, either for plotting the with ad hoc milestones. We have also made a routes or for checking them. contribution to 4 • You will find all the bike itineraries in Isère on: www.alpes-isere.com > CYCLING tab © MCF ALPES ISHERE E-BIKE ADVENTURES IN ISÈRE How do you have a successful e-bike or mountain e-bike trip? The routes presented in this guide are accessible to a (very) wide selection of people, but even so, some hints on managing the assistance, the steering or clothing will help you get the most out of your ride on your bike/e-bike or mountain e-bike. Julien Rebuffet, Director of the French Cycling Instructors, has given us his recommendations. BY MARTIN LÉGER t may seem obvious, but you need to identify that you always pedal with the same rhythm, regardless of I your itinerary and the type of route carefully: is it the slope. By doing this, you optimise the assistance of the on the road, on a wide track, on a narrow path? motor. If the worst comes to the worst, it is better to be in a "That will have a bearing on the equipment to low gear and have to pedal a bit more rather than to go up choose (e-bike for the road, mountain e-bike for tracks and in a high gear". trails). Electrical assistance gives the impression of ease, What about the cyclist's equipment? Breathable clothing, a but don't forget that the steering can be a bit more rain jacket, some cereal bars and/or money for snack complicated because of the weight: a mountain e-bike breaks, and obviously water (a canteen, a bottle in your bag weighs 7 to 10 kilos more than a classic mountain bike. You or a Camelbak®) are obvious, regardless of which route is need to anticipate more. To take full advantage of the extra chosen. power of the mountain e-bike, the ideal is to take an advanced course, for, notably, mastering techniques for getting through obstacles." Whatever the bike and itinerary chosen, electrical assistance will enable you to go up all slopes without tiring yourself (too much) – quite an Battery, advantage in Isère, where the elevation gain can build up quickly. instructions f o r The itineraries featured in this magazine should certainly not exceed two hours. There is therefore no reason why use your battery should run out of charge. But to avoid any > Julien Rebuffet, Director of the French Cycling Instructors. nasty surprises – particularly caused by very low or very high temperatures that can lower the battery life – it is The batteries of current e-bikes and mountain preferable to set out with a fully-charged battery. (See e-bikes allow you to "ride happily for three or four boxed text). hours on a mountain bike, or the whole day on flat With this in mind, you should also never remain in turbo terrain", says Julien Rebuffet. He added: "Riding mode the whole time. "Whenever possible, lower the level uphill, alternating between excursion and sport of assistance a bit. Because the higher this is, the higher modes you will achieve between 800 and 1000m the risk of jolts. Try instead to swap between excursion and elevation gain". Use your stops at the bars or sport modes – the second and third levels of assistance of restaurants to recharge your batteries "since you four in total – and leave the turbo mode for really steep can recharge 80% in an hour, or 30% to 40% in climbs." Add assistance gradually, in order to avoid the 20 minutes". Also make sure you take the charger skidding effect. in your bag "because you may find an electric Having a motor does not mean you don't have to vary the socket easily, but you won't necessarily find the gear ratio. "You mustn't pedal too quickly, nor too slowly. charger to go with it", concludes the Director of This is why you must make good use of gear changing, so MCF. 4 • You will find all the bike itineraries in Isère on: www.alpes-isere.com > CYCLING tab • 5 ALPES ISHERE E-BIKE ADVENTURES IN ISÈRE 18 ITINERARIES — 18 itineraries to explore Isère on e-bikes or mountain e-bikes The itineraries presented in the following pages cover the whole of the Département, and have been chosen for their accessibility (completion time generally under two hours and reduced elevation gain, with no steep hills); their peaceful location (little or no road traffic) and how representative they are of the countryside. They are aimed at all those who want to uncover the treasures of Isère – the bike is only a pretext for exploring the area. For each route, local contributors give a bit of extra info in the "expert's advice" section. BY MARTIN LÉGER 6 ALPES ISHERE E-BIKE ADVENTURES IN ISÈRE > The Tour of Paladru Lake itinerary looks down over the blue lake and then takes you along the shore for 5.3km. ©Alexandre Gelin ©Alexandre 6 • 7 ALPES ISHERE E-BIKE ADVENTURES IN ISÈRE 18 ITINERARIES — © T.Hytte/Klpi.fr The itineraries1 The tour of the Lakes> P10 2 Along the Vénéon by the greenway route > P11 3 Between two Lakes > P12 4 At the foot of the Obiou > P13 5 Panorama over the giants of the Vercors > P14 6 The Clariant Loop: from pastureland to fairway > P15 7 The Autrans-Méaudre Valley in Vercors > P16 8 Cycle from Château to Château > P17 9 Prapoutel - Le Pré de l’Arc > P18 10 Family route in Allevard les Bains > P19 11 E-Trip below La Dent de l'Ours > P20 12 Easy trip