We returned to Trièves for bicycle touring, this time not just for one but four days. Like last time seven years ago, partial plan was to escape the heatwave in the city, but at 700-900 meters it was still very hot. Fortunately, unlike when walking or hiking, when riding you get to enjoy a bit of breeze.
Since our previous visit Trièves’ tourism office had created several new bicycle routes with varying difficulty around the towns of Clelles, Mens, Monestier-de-Clermont, and Lalley. Like last time, we took the train to the Clelles-Mens station; this time the ride took only an hour, instead of ten minutes more seven years ago. The only riding we did on the first day was to the Grenoble railway station to catch the train, and then from the destination station 1.7 kilometers downhill to our apartment in Clelles. We did a short walking tour in the town before grocery shopping in a small village store. I do not know who the artist is but we spotted the colorful wooden birds sitting on almost every hiking sign-post in the area.
The next day’s ride was quite scenic and very hilly: we had multiple magnificent views to the Mont Aiguille in Southern Vercors range and the Grande Tête de l’Obiou on the Dévoluy Mountains. The Trièves is very beautiful area, but unfortunately — like in this region in general — after several weeks of drought, the vegetation, especially grass, has turned brown.
The original plan for the next day was to do a similar, but hillier bike ride in roughly the same region, but we changed plans and considered trying our luck with off-road bicycling instead as there was an easy/moderate mountain bike trail around Clelles. When the next morning started hot and hazy, we decided to skip riding altogether and go hiking instead.
I have been fascinated by irrigation canals ever since I first hiked levadas in Madeira in the late 1980s, and then again in the early 2000s. We have even found some nice canals near where we live. They are wonderful places to be during hot weather since they run mostly in shade and the chilly water coming down from the mountains comfortably cools the air nearby. So, when I learned that there is an irrigation canal between Chichilianne and Clelles, and saw pictures of it, I instantly knew I want to walk it.
For the day’s hike we found a circular route that traveled a couple of kilometers following the canal. After several kilometers of walking we started to get suspicious since we still had not seen a glimpse of it. Then suddenly the trail took a sharp turn and started climbing up on a very steep and somewhat muddy slope. Once on the top, voilà, the canal! Thereafter the hike was smooth and practically flat, following the canal downstream to Clelles. There were sections where the trail next to the canal was pretty narrow with a steep drop on the other side, but luckily the trail was not wet.
The fourth day was sunny again, but it was time to go home. Early in the morning we rode from Clelles to the railway station: it was not far, but we reserved ample time for the ride, since it was all uphill. Once in Grenoble, we tried to find a bakery to buy us lunch sandwiches, but most places seemed to be closed — it was public holiday, anyway. The only place we found open was the one at the Place Notre-Dame we used to frequent when living in the town. We enjoyed the sandwiches in Jardin des Plantes before riding home. This was a nice mini-vacation, and everything went smoothly and as planned.
