A cyclists dream vacation: Riding the French Alps.

Two years ago I packed light (or not...)

and went with a group of "Le Monastere" cyclists to explore some of the climbs in the French alps.

Twelve magical days in the mountains with the freshest air on planet earth, I swear this is how it felt.

Some will argue about the concept of a vacation and a bike ride together, so for them here is the answer by the Red Hot Chili Peppers: "I like pleasure spiked with pain"

The photos can tell the whole story instead of me...

My first fun day was in Annecy. I arrived to the town of Annecy late at night after four days of racing with my former team of the region languedoc roussillon in the south of France, so after a good night sleep and a big breakfast I went out to explore the city center and find a laundromat.

Success!! There was a laundromat and a next door frozen yogurt! For the rest of the day I just walked around and hang out in quiet cafes with pastoral town view.

In the following morning we went for a short spin around the lake of Annecy. 47 km mostly flat with few short "bumps" , nothing like the next 10 days where we had lots of big climbs and few short sections of flat road.

Col. de la Madeleine (2000 m), Col du telegraphe (1566 m), Col du Galibier (2642 m), Col des saisies (1650 m), cormet de roselend (1968 m), Col du Chaussy (1533 m), Col du glandon (1924 m), Col du Joly (1990 m) , the legendary alpe d'huez (1815 m) and few more. That was our menu for a week and a half.

Each one of these climbs is a story of weather, friends and cyclists I met on the road, the food I had in my pockets, the kit I chose to wear and the juice I had or didn't have in my legs.

The top of the top was Col du Galibier (2642 m) because it was the longest day on the saddle and the highest I have ever climbed on my bike, but my favorite of them all was the not very famous Col du Joly (1990 m). It is very quiet to ride, almost no traffic at all and not so many cyclists compare to the well known Tour de France climbs. 23 kilometers of being in the middle of a heavenly painting or a postcard.

It is a dead end climb so be prepared to descend on the same road you climb up.

There's an off road (gravel) option to descend to the other side if you happen to climb on a mountain bike.

On the last kilometer of the climb there's a big (huge) surprise. I wonder if I should tell you about it or just let you go find and it.

I will leave it for you to find. It is there all the time and can't disappear. Sometimes it is white and sometimes even whiter and brighter ;)

Send me pictures if you get to my favorite climb in the French alps or tag #BeMoreByEinatArgon on IG.