Alpine Tour // 2007

Riding the 2006 Norwich Hundred, I was aware of riding near a guy who had some of his calf muscle missing. He was a strong rider and was in his sixties by my reckoning. By coincidence a few weeks after that ride I had been into Norwich to purchase a map of the Alps and on the way home I popped into my local bike shop. Who should be in there but the guy with some of his calf missing. I asked if he had recently ridden the Hundo and he confirmed that he had and then went on to ask about the map I was carrying

Ian and I became friendly and we cycled a bit together, he lived in Suffolk and occasionally I would cycle out to his place and then we would ride back up to Norwich together, before Ian would head back to Suffolk.

Ian was always talking about the Tirol and the Vorarlberg and he was planning to ride over in the Alps, as was his almost yearly summer choice. He asked if I would be interested to join him and of course I was.

A plan was developed whereby we would drive over to Austria and then criss cross the Italian/Swiss Border and dip down into France, where I would meet my family for a summer holiday near Embrun. Ian would then head back to Austria, mostly via train. We defined a route with options, and we only booked the first night’s hotel in Austria, where we would start the tour from. We would ride on how we felt and where we were generally heading and then towards the late afternoon each day we would start thinking of somewhere more certain to stay for the night. The first place to try was always the tourist information office, as they kept a list of accommodations with free rooms on that day, even if the office was closed they listed the accommodations on the outside of the office.

The write up below is simply a transpose of the notes I took on the trip at the end of each day, accompanied by some pictures of the fantastic scenery the tour took us through.

Sunday 15th July 2007

• Get dropped off at Ian’s house, then pack up the car with bikes and kit before heading off to Harwich.
• Board the 11:30pm night ferry from Harwich to he Hooke of Holland.
• Spoke with some nice Dutch motorcyclists and cyclists. Impenetrable language.

Monday 16th July 2007

• Wake up on the ferry at 6am after a reasonably poor nights sleep (very thin beds and excited to take the start of the tour).
• Disembark ferry at 08:15, drive all day across Holland and Germany into Austria.
• Arrive in Warth at 19:45 after a 950km drive. Accommodation in Warth – (Pension Wiltrud), Frau Drexel forgot about our arrival!
• Dinner in the Dorf Café – Sausage and Potato salad.
• Un pack bikes.

Tuesday 17th July 2007

• Wake up at 06:45, breakfast started at 07:30.
• Get bikes ready for an 08:50 departure from Warth.
• Scenery absolutely brilliant.
• Flexen Pass fairly easy, as was the Arlberg Pass. All down hill to Landeck.
• Lovely villages, amazing colour of the river.
• Stop at Spar just past Landeck, get sandwich and coffee.
• Finstermunz Pass a bit of a drag, legs getting heavy.
• Stop at Customs in Martina.
• Start climbing Norberts Hóhë, very tough – 40 mins no stopping, suffering in a 39°C ambient.
• Reschen Pass very windy, main road grind, starting to bonk. Get food at the summit.
• Run down to Mals along the Reschensee, very nice with the big mountains coming into view for the first time.
• Arrive in Prad at 18:50, find hotel, shower then Pizza. Amazing Pizza.
• 139.4 Km Cycled.

Wednesday 18th July 2007

• Hotel breakfast inadequate, start climbing the Stelvio Pass as soon as we leave the hotel.
• Stelvio amazing, such a tough climb – 48 hairpin bends.
• Needed food near the top. Got spaghetti bolognese at Berghotel Franzenshöhe a handful of hairpins from the summit. Lifesaver.
• Ian left prescription glasses on one of the stone blocks along the pass.
• Amazing views all the way.
• Fast descent through dark tunnels, got down to Bormio. Very hot.
• Go through valley villages to the Foscagno Pass. Nice climb.
• Descend the Foscagno Pass and the Eira Pass starts. Tough after the days riding so far.
• Need food again at the top of the Eira Pass. Get some Swiss Chocolate before hitting the descent into Livigno.
• Find a hotel in Livigno – Hotel Costanza. Head into town and get goulash soup. Loved Livigno – beautiful.
• 82.5Km Cycled.

Thursday 19th July 2007

• Livigno beautiful in the morning. Great breakfast with very friendly staff.
• Forcola di Livigno was the first climb of the day, quite gentle and nice.
• Bernina Pass was next, which was really lovely and quiet.
• Overtaken by 2 Quick Step Professional Riders on the descent off the Bernina Pass. So quick.
• Passed through St Moritz with amazing views of the lake.
• Lunch in Silvaplana, another goulash soup…
• A flat(ish) and windy ride up to the beginning of the Maloja Pass, and a nice climb over it.
• Lovely descent off of the Maloja Pass, largely downhill into Italy and Chiavenna. Amazing scenery.
• Found a hotel 1.5Km up the Splugen Pass in San Giacomo Fillipo.
• 96.5Km Cycled.

Friday 20th July 2007

• Leave the hotel and straight away climbing up the Splugen Pass.
• Beautiful climb, lots of tunnels and galleries, very quiet.
• Desolate lake towards the top of the pass at Montespluga.
• 44°C ambient.
• Fantastically symmetrical descent into Splügen, where we had some lunch.
• Valley riding towards the San Bernadino Pass and light rain started to fall. Didn’t last.
• Very pretty and quiet climb up the San Bernadino Pass, very windy at the top.
• Long descent towards Bellinzona and then the last 20Km to the city were up and down lumpy.
• Head North up to Biasca on a flat road with heavy industry.
• Tried several places to stay, but no luck. Finally found a place next to the train station, dinner in hotel. Lasagne.
• 124.8Km Cycled.

Saturday 21st July 2007

• Bad nights sleep due to train traffic and crazy heat during the night.
• Head up to Airolo on a tough road, wasnt keen.
• Nufenen Pass started from Airolo, what a grind. Very few hairpins and very long indeed. Nice at the top though, and close to the Eiger mountain.
• Arse began to hurt today, no embrocation used so far… so was on the look out for something, found Bepanthen which gave a light relief.
• Descent into Ullrichen was cold, but Ullrichen was lovely, as was the remainder of the descent tailing off towards Brig.
• Chocolate Box Swiss Chalets in abundance along the Rhone.
• Found a hotel just North of Brig in Naters. Very 70’s.
• 113.5Km Cycled.

Sunday 22nd July 2007

• Decent breakfast at 07:30. The Patron was very friendly and chatty.
• Decided to take the train into France rather than ride along a busy valley road for ages.
• Cycled into Brig and then boarded the 10:00 train bound for Geneva Airport, stopping in Martigny to change onto the train for Sembrancher, which could take us to Orsieres.
• Bus replacement service from Sembrancher, so we decided to ride from there onwards up the Colle di Gran San Bernardo (Cul Du Grand St Bernard).
• Long climd, which got tougher from the tunnel road. Much steeper after that.
• Right knee became painful at the back. Needed ibuprofen, too much climbing maybe?
• Descent was terrible, road surface was bad all the way down.
• Legs, arse, wrist, shoulders and neck all in discomfort with persistent aches.
• Cycle to Aosta, Ian got new brakeblocks, looked at getting trains to Pre St Didier, but none running.
• Find a hotel in Aosta, find a place to eat then wander about looking at the posing Italians on a Sunday evening. Very entertaining.
• 66.8Km Cycled.

Monday 23rd July 2007

• Hotel in Aosta was lovely. Nice breakfast.
• Hopped on the 09:03 train from Aosta to Pre St Didier which was a very nice and punctual train.
• Disembark train at Pre St Didier and start climbing the Col du Petit St Bernard. A lovely pass. Get overtaken by Olympic cross country skiers training up the pass on wheeled skis!
• Descent was incredibly cold. Headed to Séez and then south towards Val d’Isere.
• Fantastic Ham & Cheese Omelette at the bottom of the valley climb up to Val d’Isere.
• Valley road climb up to the ski station was tough. Ian moaning a lot and getting grumpy. Complaining of feeling unwell.
• Find a hotel whilst waiting for Ian to arrive in Val d’Isere.
• Eat out at a nice restaurant. Very nice Lassgne. Ian can’t eat so goes back to the hotel. Start chatting to some friendly Dutch motorcyclists, then have a wonder about.
• 81.4Km Cycled.

Tuesday 24th July 2007

• Ian decided to head back to Austria via cycle and train, rather than go deeper into France. He was physically and mentally shattered.
• Leave Val d’Isere on my own to climb up the Col de l’Iseran. Very quiet and beautiful climb. So great to be riding on roads that have featured in Le Tour for years.
• Highest pass climbed. Hail at the summit. Utterly freezing descent followed by a strong headwind all the way down the valley to St Michel de Maurienne.
• Start climbing up the Col du Telegraph. Not particularly scenic but nice enough. Descend into Valloire and search for a hotel. Find a place with a set menu for dinner.
• Speak with a Swiss guy who is also on a cycle tour. Talk routes etc after dinner.
• 106.4Km Cycled.

Wednesday 25th July 2007

• Breakfast at the hotel, chat with Swiss guy again. Get ready and then compare weights of bikes with the Swiss guy.
• Start climbing the Col du Galibier straight away. Absolutely beautiful scenery all the way up. Steeper towards the top.
• Very hot weather ascending, but cold on the descent and again battling a headwind downhill.
• Quick dash west to Bourg d’Oisans. In preparation for L’alpe d’Huez climb the following day.
• Find very cheap hotel. It’s fine, but I feel itchy in it… lots of small cats, maybe with fleas?
• Head into town for food and find a place with Le Tour on TV. Eat outside watching TV! Rasmussen wins on the Col d’Aubisque (later found to have doped).
• Wander about town and get some provisions for breakfast as I’ll be making an early start. Get back to room. Bored, so head out again.
• Meet 2 cyclists from Manchester, chat for a while and then head back for an early night. Get bike out of the basement and put it in my room for the earlier start.
• 66Km Cycled.

Thursday 26th July 2007

• 05:30 breakfast in room and on the road at 06:15.
• Climbing up L’Alpe d’Huez is a pleasure with little traffic and no other riders to speak of. Road is steep and tough going for me.
• At the summit, sit down with a coffee and a couple of pastries as I watch the resort come to life in the early morning. Loved it.
• Descend off the only other road, the Col de Sarenne. Road surface poor but a lovely climb and steep descent on very small roads. Marmottes everywhere and making themselves known.
• Riding up the valley road to the Col du Lauteret, the guys from Manchester pull up to me. We arrange to meet for a coffee at La Grave.
• Nice to chat over a coffee with Andy and Guy in La Grave. We make a plan to meet at the summit for food.
• They guys are faster than me so they head off into the distance. I plod up the long and hot climb to meet the guys in a restaurant at the summit.
• Good lunch of Omelette and chips, went down brilliantly and had a laugh with the guys. They were staying at the summit of Alpe d’Huez so headed back as I pressed on downhill all the way to Briançon.
• Find a crap but cheap hotel, get showered and watch the days stage of Le Tour.
• Head into the old town, which was nice. Had a good Tartiflette.
• 89.9Km Cycled.

Friday 27th July 2007

• Felt tired right from the off, didn’t want to get out of bed, but breakfast was good and was on the road by 08:30.
• Head straight off up the Col d’Izoard, treated to a closed road (for cars) due to a local sportive.
• Nice and quiet climbing up the pass. Tough climb and steep in several places.
• Nice descent, but again windy heading down the valley to Guillestre.
• Decide to ride to Châteauroux Les Alpes where I would meet my family the following day for a holiday.
• Guillestre to Châteauroux Les Alpes was a tough ride, windy and busy. I also just wanted to finish now.
• Got to Châteauroux Les Alpes, try 3 places to stay for the night, all booked up.
• In the last place I tried the hotelier told me about an Auberge further up the mountain called Les Pinées. She called the place and secured a tent for me for the night. Nice one.
• Ride another 7Km up a bloody steep climb on an unmade road and finally arrive at Les Pinées. Shattered.
• I was welcomed warmly by the owner Dominique, who had been expecting me. She was so nice, and immediately sat me down and fed me with a great omelette and salad vert.
• After lunch I was given a towel and a sleeping bag and shown my tent with its foam mattess. I grabbed a shower and deeply enjoyed getting the road grime off me.
• I headed out on a long walk in the afternoon and upon my return laid down in the tent and fell asleep. Totally satisfied.
• Head out of my tent in time for dinner – a massive piece of lovely lasagne, washed down with a Leffe Brun or two.
• 69.9Km Cycled.

Totals

• 24 Mountain passes climbed.
• 15 passes above 2000M.
• 4 countries cycled in.
• 1037Km ridden.
• 63hrs in the saddle.