Sunday 2 August.
The day after my forced extra rest day dawns clear and bright. I leave Bonneval with fond memories, it has been good to me. A restful place, comfortable hotel and very nice people.
I ride out and it is climbing from the first pedal stroke. Up it goes for around 16 km with grades up to 16 %. It rises against the steep valley side with views down over Bonneval and the glacier glistening in the morning sun.
Eventually I turn through a gap in the mountains and a wide open high altitude valley opens up in front of me. It is beautiful, a National Park of Outstanding Beauty, a sign reads and it is definitely that. Old ruins of small stone cottages remain, taken over by wild flowers are dotted along the for ever rising road.
I climb out the other end of the valley rounding another peak with great views of another glacier. My breathing gets heavier as I pass 2000 m in altitude and remnants of snow and ice are now below the road I am riding. But it really is breathtaking beauty. This is the Route des Grandes Alpes, fantastic !
The mountain tops surrounding me are now just bare rock as I reach the top of the Col L'Iseran at 2,770 m after about 2 hours. I am sweating and roll up to the sign where a guy on a motor bike offers to take my picture. I take off my cap and sun glasses, but am shocked when I see my picture, I now also LOOK like an old man ! It might be time to give this biking thing up !
Shortly after going over the top, I find a typical spot to make coffee, overlooking the ski resort of Val D' Isere, far below.
The descent is everything one expect from it and I ride into Val D'Isere which is buzzing with a local carnival. I weave my way through the crowds and am on my way again. Passing along a lake, the road hugging the edge, covered by a concrete roof to protect the road from any rock falls and erosion. I put my flashing tail light on as there are quite a few tunnels to go through. Most are lit but some are in complete darkness, if you wonder what that feels like, stand on one leg with closed eyes. It takes some real concentration not to fall over ! About 10 km short of Bourg St Maurice, I stop at a local restaurant and devour a lasagna to refuel my body.
My destination for today is an old hotel called The Belvedere and is some way up the road towards the summit of the Pass the Picolo Bernardino which is the border with Italy, but that awaits me tomorrow.
At the restaurant I programme the coordinates of the hotel into the GPS, and it takes me about 500 m back to where I came from and then directs me straight up the side of a mountain onto a small road. It might be a shortcut but in the full sun it is quite a hot affair. Eventually, the GPS directs me up a very narrow road, between some old farm houses and it looks like it is someones private access way. Rounding an old shed, the road splits, one side goes to a house and the other is gravel with a NO EXIT sign ! After climbing this far in the heat, I am not about to give up or go back down again. I decide to knock on the door of the house and ask.
A nice man comes to the door and confirms that the Hotel Belvedere is about 3 km away. I can either go back down for about a km, turn up another small road or go up the gravel road, which is a bit
shorter and both roads take me to the Route de Col Bernard. What a relief, the nice man even offered to take me around in his car ! I decided to go the gravel road, which led past a timber mill and through a forest so it was quite shaded. I managed to ride all the way bar the last 50 m which were to steep and I was a fraction short of traction. Then a left turn and down the hill to the hotel.
shorter and both roads take me to the Route de Col Bernard. What a relief, the nice man even offered to take me around in his car ! I decided to go the gravel road, which led past a timber mill and through a forest so it was quite shaded. I managed to ride all the way bar the last 50 m which were to steep and I was a fraction short of traction. Then a left turn and down the hill to the hotel.
A lovely lady made me welcome with a large cold beer, soon followed by a shower and a bit of a rest.
The effort for today is only 57 km, climbing 1,466 m and descending 1,711 m, temperature 34C with an average speed of 15.4 km/h.
Monday 3 August.
The hotel Belvedere serves a great buffet meal in the evening and a just as impressive buffet breakfast in the morning. Not many places can one boil or fry one's own eggs, and bake a waffle, have a choice
of cereals, breads, cakes, meats and cheeses, coffee, tea or chocolate, fruit juice, fantastic.
of cereals, breads, cakes, meats and cheeses, coffee, tea or chocolate, fruit juice, fantastic.
I ride off just after 9, straight up to the pass du Petit St Bernard. The hardest bit of this climb is at the bottom at Bourg St Maurice, and I am spared that as the hotel is just above the end of the first hairpin section.
It is easy going with grades varying between 5 and 8 %, and in the cool of the morning I reach the top in good spirit.
I stop for a photo for the record taken by 2 English ladies walking a big dog! I was able to return the compliment for them.
Over the top And I descent into Italy and the first stop is La Thuile, to see if Silvio and Francesca are still running Camping Rutor. They are and we have a lovely chat and drinks. They are very disappointed I cannot stay, no tent and all batches are full. It suits me because I rather do some more
km today. All downhill to Aosta, an historic city in the valley of the same name. The traffic is busy and i am glad to get to the B&B in Sarre on the edge of the city. It is a modern very new purpose built B&B, beautifully designed and appointed. They have a bar and a restaurant, which is closed on Mondays, my luck. I walk down the busy road, to another Italian restaurant and enjoy a beautiful meal. I do think the restaurants are better than in France, they certainly have more vegetables than the French in their dishes. On the way I met 4 English lads, looking for a supermarket, something I could not assist them with. But we talked and they have come the same way as I, only my last 2 days in one. One was complaining that it was too hard. They are going the same way as me tomorrow so we might see each other climbing the Grand St Bernard.
km today. All downhill to Aosta, an historic city in the valley of the same name. The traffic is busy and i am glad to get to the B&B in Sarre on the edge of the city. It is a modern very new purpose built B&B, beautifully designed and appointed. They have a bar and a restaurant, which is closed on Mondays, my luck. I walk down the busy road, to another Italian restaurant and enjoy a beautiful meal. I do think the restaurants are better than in France, they certainly have more vegetables than the French in their dishes. On the way I met 4 English lads, looking for a supermarket, something I could not assist them with. But we talked and they have come the same way as I, only my last 2 days in one. One was complaining that it was too hard. They are going the same way as me tomorrow so we might see each other climbing the Grand St Bernard.
Today 68 km climbing only 790 m and descending 1,580 m, again in full sun at 34C.
Tuesday 4 August.
Away at 8.30 and into Aosta's morning rush hour. Managed it ok, the motorists are very bike friendly here. No long after negotiating many roundabouts and traffic lights, I get onto the route de Grand Saint Bernard and I am steadily climbing.
Following ss27 which also is the same route to the tunnel. The traffic is quite heavy and eases up after the tunnel traffic turns off across a huge viaduct.
This is where the climbing becomes serious. It the grades are manageable, at 6 to 8 % but it goes on and on. A large concrete gallery is visible high up on the mountain looking almost horizontal across the face of the mountain, that looks like the pass I foolishly thought. As I got closer the noise of the vehicles was quite loud but I saw no where near the amount of cars that the noise indicated. When I finally got up there, the road passed under it and I entered a large plateau. The road ahead somehow disappeared ahead towards the left and reappeared again clinging to the side of this massive rock face!
It looked frighteningly long and it got worse as the actual pass was even further on and higher than the initial impression. After about 3 hours climbing in the heat, the clouds moved in, and covering just under 30 km, it started to rain, very cold large drops of water.
It took another hour before I finally reached the pass, which has a small lake, surrounded by locked up custom buildings and hotels on either side of the border
There were a few touring busses and quite a few people around, but apart from a quick picture of the bike under the sign, I kept going and started the descent, the rain has eased a bit, but the roads are wet
and much steeper on the Swiss side at around 12% and with lots of hairpins but no crash rails, so a
little hairy to say the least. One should have no fear of heights coming down in this weather.
and much steeper on the Swiss side at around 12% and with lots of hairpins but no crash rails, so a
little hairy to say the least. One should have no fear of heights coming down in this weather.
After the initial steep descent, the grade eased and I descends through a long gallery with an open side along a hydro lake called Lac des Toules, going down fast enough to need braking from time to time and avoid potholes and kerbs which are quite hard to see at times. At least I am dry under this concrete roof, but the amount of traffic including big trucks does not make it a comfortable ride, despite not having to pedal for over 35 km. I pass through Liddes, Orsieres, Sembrancher and Les Valiettes all on route 21 when I reach Martigny-Ville where I stop for the night after 81 km, climbing 1,892m but descending 1,942m with the high temperature of 27C and the lowest 9C.
Wednesday 5 August,
Leaving Martigny-Ville, the road follows the river Rhone right to it's sorce. The valley has very steep
mountains on either side, not a lot of flat land, but what there is is used up completely by a large toll
road, the secondary road, I travel on, the rail tracks, high tension power pylons, continuous industrial estates, shopping malls, villages and squeezed where ever possible in between, orchards with apples, pears and apricots, as well as the wild river Rhone.
mountains on either side, not a lot of flat land, but what there is is used up completely by a large toll
road, the secondary road, I travel on, the rail tracks, high tension power pylons, continuous industrial estates, shopping malls, villages and squeezed where ever possible in between, orchards with apples, pears and apricots, as well as the wild river Rhone.
It is a hot day again and the traffic is heavy and fast, so there is not a lot of time to look around. The valley widens in places and it becomes dominantly vineyards, up against the side of the mountains, terraced to in some instances for just a few rows of vines, here they will have to be looked after and harvested completely by hand.
I pass through Saxon, Sion, Sierre and Leuk to arrive early in Gampel- Steg, as there was not a lot of climbing today, just some false flat as we call it. I find the hotel closed with a number to call for booking in. Again no telephone so another solution has to be found. The village has quite a number of hotels and restaurants, but it is obvious the season is in winter here. I stop at a restaurant and have lunch, asking the lady to call the hotel for me, which is no problem. Interesting, yesterday everything was in French, here it is all German, be it with a strong dialect.
The hotel is nice, quite modern and clean, but the lady running it tells me this suits her, no staff to pay and with the amount of other restaurants around, there is not enough trade to make it viable. So it has become just a bed and breakfast.
An easy day after 68 km, climbing a mere 336m with a temperature of 33C.
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