Cycling from the Alps to the Mediterranean

by Steve · February 3, 2026

In the Autumn of 2025, I cycled 1000km, from Lake Geneva in Switzerland, over the Alps and down through Rhone-Alpes, Provence and Occitanie. My ride took me down to, and along the Mediterranean coast and then west towards the border with Spain and the Pyrenees. It was a great cycle, firstly with friends and then solo beyond Alpe d’Huez to Carcassonne. Come with me, from the mountains to the coast, through some of France’s greatest scenery.

The Silent Assassins

The shadows lengthened as the evening fell. As the final rays of the day moved, the snow on the high peaks appeared as series of crystalline sparkles – contrasting with the ever-darkening backdrop of grey stone. Beneath this sprinkling of fairy dust, three men slowly crept their way towards an old building that clinged precariously to the side of the mountain. Approaching up an ancient cobbled road, they pressed their backs against the wall and viewed their victim, unseen, through the dense leaves of a bush. Yes he was there, and whilst surrounded and guarded, there was a chance of getting to him without any warning. The target group, sat around the open patio, suddenly became pre-occupied with laughter from a joke told just out of earshot. The opportunity to pounce had presented itself. The hit squad leader gave the silent signal.

The crack team were fast, and they were precise. The man felt something hit his head before he had the chance to move. When his face did turn it was in surprise as much as horror. But there was nothing at all he could do.

Where Eagles Dare

The mission had been planned back in England, a month or two previously. Dan, “the target” had signed up for a week-long organized cycle Tour of the Grand Alps which was to take him from near Geneva to Alp d’Huez – a cycle of a couple of hundred miles and many thousands of feet of elevation. Having not done too much mountain riding recently, he had asked some of his close pals if they fancied coming along and doing some of the ride. To kind of help him along. We all wanted to help, and the route was on public roads … but we agreed that just showing up and riding alongside folks who had paid a decent amount of money for the tour was not really the right thing to do. So Dan headed out on the adventure alone, left just with our best wishes and thoughts.

Or so he believed…

In secret we had hatched a plan to go to France a couple of days after he travelled, and to “shadow” his journey that week on a parallel route to his. Then, when the time was right, we would just turn up somewhere and surprise him! So that is exactly what we did, and the look on his face that night was an absolute picture!

Stage 1 – Bournemouth (England) to Geneva (Switzerland)

We had wished Dan farewell and promised to following along with his adventure from home, via social media. A couple of days later Neil, Ashley and I had packed up our bikes into cardboard boxes and were checking them in at Heathrow Airport, London for the SwissAir flight to Geneva. Well, Neil and Ashley were. When it came to my bike, the check in staff told me the hold was full. Disaster had struck!

SwissAir had a fabulous system, where not only were bikes treated as part of your regular hold check-in luggage, but they issued you a free brand new cardboard bike box and tape at Geneva airport when you later arrived for the flight home again. It was painless and simple. As you don’t need to pay extra for the bike, sadly I hadn’t noticed that you still have to register to let them know you are bringing one! Unfortunately the flight already had its full allocation of bikes and I would have to leave it behind, or alternatively get a later flight – neither of which were appealing options. Advanced computer systems had already balanced the plane, passengers and luggage perfectly … but without my bike! Luckily, what my friends call my “charmed luck” came into play, as I gave the handlers a little smile and they were seemingly hypnotized into re-programming and rebalancing the entire plane so my little stead could indeed be added to the cargo. I then put my swinging pocket watch back and clicked my fingers – they were “back in the room” and it was all done. Phew!

A couple of hours later, and after building my bike, I cycled through the darkness past the old control point and seamlessly into Switzerland. Although our hotels were only a couple of miles apart, mine was actually in Switzerland and the other two were staying in France. In the morning I cycled the short distance back into France to meet them for breakfast, en-route traveling over the path of the Large Hadron Super-Collider – a 27km circumference particle physics experiment, buried beneath the ground here. The confirmation of Bosun-Higgs particles may have been the more recent breakthrough, but as important was the invention of the World-Wide-Web by the British scientist Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. Unfortunately, the close vicinity of high velocity particles seems to have had no impact on my bike riding speed!

Stage 2 – Geneva to Albertville, via Lake Annecy (70 miles)

After breakfast we were off on our Alpine adventure. Firstly we spent a few hours cycling around Geneva due to a mechanical issue with Ashley’s bike. Eventually a kind hearted mechanic in a bike shop took pity on him (and his sad looking riding chums!) and fixed it without charge. I think he feared that if Ash stayed any longer tinkering in the street we may all have overstayed our annual 90 day limit for the EU! . As music played in little waterside parks, the Jet d’Eau, a 150 metre high fountain of water, marked the spot where The Rhone flows out of Lac Leman. The mighty river would then take a more western path to us cyclists, but I would be meeting it again in a few days time a couple of hundred miles downstream.

Whilst the Rhone headed downhill to the coast, a series of long climbs took us out of Geneva, though another old Swiss-France border point towards Annecy. The sun was shining, the temperature pleasant and the roads good. The views of ever-distant valley floors drew us up and away, plus the gradients were very manageable. Thankfully Ash’s bike was playing ball, so all was good in the world. We crossed an old suspension bridge over a deep gorge of the river Usses, flowing some 145 metres below. The Charles-Albert bridge was constructed under the patronage of the Sardinian king of that name, and for 73 years from 1839 was the highest bridge in the world. Now and then one of the narrow wooden slats in the deck was missing, so we got glimpses down past our feet to the river far below. Not best for those with vertigo! Beautiful views down the gorge though.

We then sped down the mountainside to Annecy, “the pearl of the French Alps”, a lovely town in a stunning lakeside location. We spent a couple of hours there, getting lunch and exploring its beautiful medieval buildings which line the three rivers and canals leading to the lake. It was truly beautiful. In the shade of the trees that line the banks, motor boats bobbed gently in the breeze. Eventually though, we had to drag Neil away from gift shops – as exploring them is his new favourite hobby. Whilst he complained that he had to return to the very first shop which had that perfect gift, we still had more cycling to do! Somewhere in Annecy, a not chosen trinket is still inwardly weeping – over the missed opportunity to become land-fill in a couple of weeks.

Next up was an absolute dream, following the lakeside on an old railway path. The views across the lake to the mountains were amazing and the traffic free path was busy with cyclists, runners and walkers. The rise of the E- bike has led to a real expansion in older riders which was great to see. The path went on for 30 miles or so to our destination Albertville, host city of the Winter Olympics in 1992. Along the way we stopped at a cycle cafe we noticed Dan had visited with the tour a couple of days previously. Based in an old station house the mural brought the worlds of rail line and cycle track together nicely.

Here, hung shirts signed by winners of the Tour de France and other memorabilia. We then headed through a long tunnel to a disused station with a steam train outside. We took a quick look at Albertville before heading on to our hotel.

After a buffet dinner we took coffee at the only “traditional French coffee shop” near the hotel, the ubiquitous “Roi de Burger” (Burger King in English!). They even rewarded us with a cardboard crown for our cycling efforts! Albertville may well have hosted the Olympics, but had seldom seen champions of the like that had just arrived in town!

Stage 3 – Albertville to Grenoble (62 miles)

This stage took us largely along the Valley of the Isere river. Its flow starts high in the Alps and eventually enters the Rhône upstream of Avignon. We were to follow it as far as Grenoble today.

On leaving Albertville we were along the river straight away, picking up traffic free cycle route 63 – la Belle Via (“the beautiful road”). This cycle route stretches 280km in total and sure lived up to its name as we rode close to the river, through farm roads, old rail tracks and perfect roads on top of waterside flood defence banks.

The morning took us through sunflower fields, no longer in bloom but still imposing in their regimented lines. Everything was always overlooked by imposing mountains and beautiful hillside villages. The afternoon was absolutely gorgeous. The weather was perfect for cycling and the sun was bright. The roads were smooth and the gradients shallow. We had deliberately picked a route that took us along the valley rather than across the famous high Alpine passes we travelled parallel to. We moved through vineyards. orchards and tree lined avenues, with the mountains on all sides. Ancient castles protected the ridges and thin layers of cloud gathered round the steepest peaks, reminding us of our elevation.

The ridges here, with their sharp, steep faces, are a mecca for climbers and outdoor pursuits of all kinds. Above us, hundreds of paragliders floated down from the high peaks, twisting and turning with the thermals; negotiating their descent and sometimes flying low above us into landing strips in adjacent fields. The main cycle climb of the day was only up to the 16th century “Fort Barreau”. We crossed the river, railway and roads several times as we made our way downstream.

Around tea time, and 65 miles later we followed the river bank into Grenoble itself.

Here a quirky race was taking place, and there was a carnival atmosphere in the square. The annual “Course du garçons de Cafe” race sees the waiters, each in full uniform with their numbers proudly pinned, running around the square, across obstacles, carrying a drinks tray. The fastest waiter, once penalty time is added for broken or fallen glasses on their tray, wins! The whisky smoke and warm smell of grilled food filled the space, alongside the gentle tinking of glasses – this time of the observers and finishers as they celebrated in style.

The next morning, before setting off again, we had time to explore the city further, and took a cable car ride across the river to the castle mount. This offered fantastic 360 degree views across Grenoble, towards the Alps and the valleys leading towards the Alpe d’Huez, tomorrow’s big climb, made world famous by the Tour de France.

Stage 4 – Grenoble to Le Bourg d’Oisan (33 miles)

It was then time to head back and begin the cycle. It has been a hot day with little cloud.

After picking our way through the city streets avoiding a major parade, we found ourselves on the banks of the river. We followed this south for 8 or so miles before heading east, and high, into the Alps. Again the scenery has been on a massive scale as the route cuts through a high valley on the main road.

After a stop in a village bypassed by a tunnel for cars we continued our climbing for over 10 miles. Eventually we came to the highest point in the road, and shortly afterwards followed a beautiful river valley on a recent path. This was absolutely stunning cycling, probably the most perfect cycle path I have been on. It led straight into our destination.

Stage 5 – Ascent of Alpe d’Huez

A climb of the classic Tour de France route up to the ski resort of Huez and beyond to the ski station above. This is a tough climb with 21 switchback corners as the road stretches up to 1860 m (6100 feet) in altitude over 8.6 miles. Having met up with our friend Dan the previous day, we joined him for the climb

As my gearing (28 tooth cassette) was higher than the others I had to keep the pedals spinning , which meant not stopping along the way and getting to the top a bit quicker. After look around plus a drink in a bar I went to find the group, who were just finishing. We had some photos on the finish line and “podium” celebrating the winner here from the Tour de France.

Tea and soft drinks were then taken with some of Dan’s tour mates who had also climbed the mountain today, before the 4 of us headed down the mountain. Some of the group are better descenders than others, so I put the GoPro on to record the whole descent whilst waiting at corners to take some pictures.

We said goodbye to Dan and took a 10 mile ride along the river to chill out after the exertion of the morning. This was completely flat in contrast to the earlier ride .

Stage 6 – Bourg d’Oisans to Romans-sur-Isere (85 miles)

Beautiful cycling along the Isere in two sections. In the first part of the day, Neil, Ashley and I got up early for the cycle to Grenoble so that they could catch their train back to Geneva. It was a fast descent from the Alps down to the Isere valley. As it was early, there was mist over the rivers floating up into the valleys.

I saw the guys off at Grenoble railway station and then headed to the river to pick up the Lyon-Valence long distance cycle path. Once the suburbs of Grenoble were behind me I came across a very low level chair lift that went across the river to carry workers to a plant. This part of the journey took me on a long loop north before heading west for the final part of the cycle. Gorgeous gravel paths followed the river bank. Long distance cycle network signs pointed to places familiar from previous adventures, such as Gap and Sisteron.

Along the river the scenery was majestic, the deep blue green of the river, cutting through high gorges. The route following forest cycle ways and lots of birds in the air, trees and the sandy banks mid stream.

After the river turned I was at the end of the Alpine range and large valleys opened up my side of the flow. Cognin les Gorges is a beautiful village, narrow lanes climb up to a church and beyond high mountain rock is split by a fantastic gorge. I took a detour to cycle, then a stroll, up into the split, where a fast moving rocky stream fell in a series of waterfalls below an old stone bridge. I stayed here for a little while as it was completely empty and silent save for the birds and the sound of the water. Peaceful and cool from the hot sun.

After that welcome break, I headed back out across a series of hills overlooking the valley. Here, some gorgeous stone villages clung to the waterside and the hills, hardly changed in centuries. I stopped for drinks in a couple of them. This area was full of orchards and farming. I travelled through fields of sunflowers, their dark heads bowed in the same direction, to acknowledge the autumn; their summer job done. Up above the river, the head wind was very strong, but it was at least cooling so I didn’t mind it too much.