I’m still a bit sore after yesterday as I get up and I take my time getting started. Perhaps it’s also a bit reluctance to end this journey early (or at least take a break). I start on a small road parallel to the main road up to the Col du Lautaret. After a few hilly kilometres the road turns to gravel, then a single trail. At each turnoff I decide against the main road full of cars and motorcycles and stay off road. I even manage to ride most of the way up, except for the loose gravel on the steepest part.
At the top, the turnoff to the Col du Galibier beckons to the north, but my goal lies west along the Romanche river. On the way down I briefly consider turning off and adding the Col de Sarenne or riding up to Alpe d’Huez or Les Deux Alpes, which are all on the way. However, I listen to my legs that cry for some rest on each lowly hill and stay on the road towards Grenoble. Again I meet the riders of the Haute Route. They’re just coming down from Alpe d’Huez and riding up to finish in Les Deux Alpes as I go down.
I take a lunch break by the Romanche river. The last 35 km are mostly on busy main roads with narrow bike lanes but the mountains are still fabulous, even as I reach Grenoble. On the campground I book my train tickets to Basel, have lunch and wait for the air to cool off enough to go to sleep.