My 2014 cycling season started on: Col de la Faucille

After a long winter break of nearly 4 months out of the saddle I couldn't wait to pedal again, preferrably uphill, so I decided to climb the closest col to my home - Col de la Faucille. I usually descend it after one of the many MTB ascents into the Jura (Col de Crozet, Col de Combe Blanche, La Baudichonne or Col de la Givrine) but this time I wanted to test my fitness level after a very intense XC skating season. Last November, after reading one of the many higly interesting web posts of my cycling hero Will, I decided to learn a new winter sports in order to gap the period between the last climb of the season and the inauguration ride of the following.
The beginning was very tough and I thought I would never learn the technique and attain a fitness level to reach a niveau where this sport would actually lead to some sort of pleasure, but after an initial course I took in early 2014 and many practice outings, I slowly learned the different steps and my stamina increased slowly but steadily. At the end of the winter I had still not discovered all slopes of La Vattey, the closest XC ski domain to where I live up in the Jura between Col de la Faucille and La Cure, the border village between F and CH. I'm very happy about what I achieved in only a few months and keen to discover more XC spots in the area, but now it's cycling time again and the list of "climbs-to-do" is probably far too long for one summer...

Here a few photos of the first ride on the racer: