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Video: Mike Cotty & the Col Collective tackle Col de BonetteMike Cotty climbs the Col de Bonette

Video: Mike Cotty & the Col Collective tackle Col de Bonette

Pacing, pacing, pacing is the secret to tackling Alpine monster
by John Stevenson
Tue, Feb 24, 2015 17:45
12

With an average gradient of 6.6 percent, the subject of the Col Collective's latest video the Col de Bonette only sounds quite forbidding. But take into account the maximum elevation of 2,802 metres, and the 15 percent pitches in the final kilometer and it's a whole other story.

Mike Cotty of the Col Collective rode Bonette on his epic non-stop trip across the Alps in 2013. Here's what he has to say about it:

"Climbing its way through the Mercantour National Park, at 24km in length the Col de la Bonette really is an ascent that needs absolute respect right from the start.

"Pacing, pacing, pacing should be circulating in your head like a broken record throughout, especially as the steepest gradients up to 15% come in the final kilometre.

"Flashback to the summer of 2013 and the Bonette gave me many a sleepless night as I prepared for ‘Les Alpes’ a non-stop journey from Évian-les-Bains to Nice across the Alps.

"The fact that this monster rises up to 2,802 metres above sea level and claims to be the highest road pass in Europe is one thing, but I was going to hit it with 11 mountains and over 450km in the legs so on that occasion the word ‘daunting’ didn’t quite do justice to how my mind and stomach were feeling at the time.

"As I made it to the summit I could feel an overwhelming sense of fulfillment surge through my whole body, the pain disappeared and despite everything I felt more alive than ever. That’s the true power of the Bonette and the reason why I love this climb so much.

"I hope this video helps you explore your own limits and adds to your mountain memories now and in the future."

Col de Bonette: the numbers

Start: Jausiers
Length: 24km
Summit: 2,802m
Elevation gain: 1,589m
Average gradient: 6.6%
Maximum gradient: 15%

Mike Cotty
Col Collective
John Stevenson

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

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12 comments

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bashthebox | 9 years ago
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Sounds awesome. Any double digit slope is hellish at the end of an HC climb! Nastiest I've done is the last few km of Colombiere - think that goes 13-14-15% without respite.

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G-bitch | 9 years ago
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We carried on in to Italy, the difference in the road was comical - it goes from the lovely smooth wide French road over to rough single width lane with barely any passing places on the other side. I'd like to go back and do it on the road bike but don't think the opportunity will come up any time soon, I'd want to do loads of BIG rides around that area to justify the travel.

*Edit - getting mixed up with the col de lombardie that comes after if you turn left!

I can heartily recommend the municipal campsite in St Etienne de Tinee for passing touring mind.

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harrybav replied to G-bitch | 9 years ago
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G-bitch wrote:

I can heartily recommend the municipal campsite in St Etienne de Tinee for passing touring mind.

Seconded! They prioritise non-motor traffic. And they separate vehicles from tents, which is really obvious once you see it done.

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DaSy | 9 years ago
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That last 1km is pretty tough as you pass the col cut through and carry on up that lump of daunting looking rock!

It was a lovely day last time I went up it, and got to the top with just a jersey and arm-warmers for the last few km's, but as I admired the view for a few minutes, a snow storm engulfed me, and I had to bail in a rush, descending in torrents of freezing water running down the road with me.

A very memorable descent, especially that dodgy metal bridge about two thirds of the way down that I hit at an angle at about 30mph in the pouring rain, I exited it sideways, but stayed upright somehow.

In the sunshine it is an absolutely fantastic descent, it just goes on forever...

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Pub bike | 9 years ago
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Mike says in the video that there is nowhere to refuel, but this isn’t quite true. There is a cafe/restaurant called “La Halte 2000” at around 1950m altitude just below the tree level that sells food and has toilets, water etc.

The guy in there makes a nice omelette and tells you “You’re half way up!”.

The cafe is not open all the time though and was closed the last time I went up it at the beginning of September last year, although it was open on previous occasions, so you’re advised to check opening times.

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Mike Cotty replied to Pub bike | 9 years ago
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Pub bike wrote:

Mike says in the video that there is nowhere to refuel, but this isn’t quite true. There is a cafe/restaurant called “La Halte 2000” at around 1950m altitude just below the tree level that sells food and has toilets, water etc.

The guy in there makes a nice omelette and tells you “You’re half way up!”.

The cafe is not open all the time though and was closed the last time I went up it at the beginning of September last year, although it was open on previous occasions, so you’re advised to check opening times.

Very good point about checking it's open. I've been up the Bonette at various times of the year in main season and out of season and the cafe has never been open (I think I'm jinxed). We thought long and hard about what to say. In the end we opted to air on the side of caution and prepare folk to be well equipped for the day as from experience it's not a reliable stop and even Googling it to find out opening times isn't so obvious to find.

All the best,

Mike

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G-bitch | 9 years ago
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I'm sure there were KM markers back in 2010, I remember the horror towards the end at all the double digit average %'s - my wife and I went up with fully loaded touring bikes, it took almost 5 hours and three lunch stops 21

Still got the best snow graffiti photo at the top:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4129/4950783574_d5893cbcf6_b.jpg

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harrybav | 9 years ago
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Interesting points he makes about the lack of barriers and mile markers. I wish he hadn't slathered the whole thing in banal dance music though. Incidental sound is interesting and valuable. I remember the sound of the open space up there, far off birds, goats, melting ice waterfalls a mile away, and gears too. Things sound different in the open, cold air. Even the difference in his breathing at different points. He was out of the saddle with that 25 block. It's all valuable patina, sanded off with the eurodance. He might as well replace his visuals with some disco lights!

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fukawitribe replied to harrybav | 9 years ago
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vbvb wrote:

He was out of the saddle with that 25 block.

I believe from his previous comments, that that may also be personal preference for changing position - Mr Cotty may well be out of the saddle on the descents and when nipping 'round to the shops.

vbvb wrote:

It's all valuable patina, sanded off with the eurodance. He might as well replace his visuals with some disco lights!

Harsh !

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Mike Cotty replied to fukawitribe | 9 years ago
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fukawitribe wrote:
vbvb wrote:

He was out of the saddle with that 25 block.

I believe from his previous comments, that that may also be personal preference for changing position - Mr Cotty may well be out of the saddle on the descents and when nipping 'round to the shops.

vbvb wrote:

It's all valuable patina, sanded off with the eurodance. He might as well replace his visuals with some disco lights!

Harsh !

Ha! I'm thinking of saving weight and taking my saddle off next time, I don't seem to use it much! 3

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Mike Cotty replied to harrybav | 9 years ago
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vbvb wrote:

I wish he hadn't slathered the whole thing in banal dance music though. Incidental sound is interesting and valuable. I remember the sound of the open space up there, far off birds, goats, melting ice waterfalls a mile away, and gears too. Things sound different in the open, cold air. Even the difference in his breathing at different points. He was out of the saddle with that 25 block. It's all valuable patina, sanded off with the eurodance. He might as well replace his visuals with some disco lights!

Thanks for the feedback, I take everything on board and really do try to incorporate whatever is possible into each video. Unfortunately I'm on a lose-lose when it comes to music selection. I must've listened to a thousand possible songs or more already but sadly this is one area that no matter what I won't be able to please everyone.

When it comes to incidental noises I do agree with you. In an ideal world I would have every trickle of water, whoosh of the wind, scampering marmotte and melting ice waterfall from a mile away captured in Dolby stereo but this is a whole other job in itself to really do properly, your ears are super sensitive and capturing this is not easy (especially when most of the time there is an underlying rumble from the hire van engine grumbling away in close proximity). To capture these noises well it takes a lot of time (e.g. you really have to capture them separately and not on the fly as you do with the filming) and additional people / equipment (it's a specialist job to do this to a high standard). We have got some ambient noises that we will be using when it is authentic to do so and I'm very keen to see if we can increase this in the future. Just so you know we are only a small team trying to make everything happen (just 3 of us) and it's not a full time project so a lot happens late at night and at weekends to bring this to life. We had a handful of days last summer to try and capture everything so it was a real mission just to get the basics to the level I had hoped for. Hopefully in the future, with everyone's support, we will be able to prove that that the videos and website offers value to cyclists which may in turn mean that we have more time and resources. Fingers crossed but it's really in the hands of whoever watches to give it the thumbs up. Until then we have to do the best we can with the limitations and hope that we can evolve to provide an even higher quality free service to you in the future.

Rest assured, no budget will be going towards disco lights, even if some of the music has that vibe 3

Ride safe and thanks again for your input.

Mike

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captain_slog | 9 years ago
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Love these videos. This one looks like a beast, that cloud rolling in as he reaches the summit and those bleak yet stunning views. Awesome.

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