ShaunC
Registered user
Steady steve and myself decided to head to the Alps a few weeks ago. There wasnt a solid route set but wanted to ride the Black forest and some alpine passes, I also wanted a pizza from the Tunnel restaurant in Courmayeur which I didnt get as we arrived to early.
Set off from Yorkshire in the morning and got a DFDS ferry at about 6pm. Pre booked a motel near Dunkirk for night 1.
Up early in the morning as we did every morning and headed to the BF avoiding tolls and motorways. Campsites all booked around Baden Baden but just off the motorway north there is one thats look a bit run down which turned out ok apart from been bitten all night be mozzies.
I pre-loaded some gpx files south thru the BF which came on and off the B500 which turned out to be some belting roads that we never would have found. There were a couple of roads closed for road works but as it was the weekend no one was working on them and we managed to get the bikes past the blockade. We then got the the Swiss border and tried following another gpx route towards the southern border with Italy. After 30 miles which took about 2 hours we tried getting on faster roads without using the motorway as we didnt want 2 Vinettes. These roads were so slow as there was a village every half mile where the speed dropped to 19mph then back up to 50mph for a mile and so on. It got better south of Bern, not a lot but better. We got a campsite in Matigny for the night which was excellent.
Next morning it was off towards France passing thru Italy. We did the Grand St Bernard and then the Picolo St Bernard. We then chose to head towards Grenoble via the Col de l'Iseran. It was hot all the previous days but it was 35c riding in this area. We decided at the top of the Col de l'Iseran it would take to long getting to Grenoble and do the balcony roads round there so we backtracked a bit and headed to Annecy. We did get another pass in near beaufort. Again an excellent campsite near the lake in Annecy.
The next day we decided to head towards Dijon using back roads and went thru Wildlife Park Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura which had a few awesome biking routes and great views. After there we looked at a map and headed for Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan and hoped to get a site in Avallon. We hit the worst rain / hail storm for about 10 miles i have seen. The hail hurt my hands and arms and the roads were flooded but we pressed on the get thru it which soon came out sunny again. Once again we got a great site and watched England win on penalties.
The next day we set off north again on back roads which were flat and got a bit repetitive with miles of crops then a small village that you swore you rode thru an hour ago. About 80 miles south of Calais we decided to see if we could get the ferry that night instead of the next morning so pressed on to Calais but we could only go on a 1am ferry without paying a fair bit more so opted for the 6.20am ferry and got a campsite just off Calais sea front which was Camping Le Grand Gravlot (recommended).
We got the ferry the next morning and headed back to Yorkshire. I lost Steve for the 3rd time while filtering near the M25 so I carried on home and havent seen him since but heard he got home ok
All in all a great trip of just over 2000 miles and good company and weather. The video did go a bit pear shaped after day 2.
Set off from Yorkshire in the morning and got a DFDS ferry at about 6pm. Pre booked a motel near Dunkirk for night 1.
Up early in the morning as we did every morning and headed to the BF avoiding tolls and motorways. Campsites all booked around Baden Baden but just off the motorway north there is one thats look a bit run down which turned out ok apart from been bitten all night be mozzies.
I pre-loaded some gpx files south thru the BF which came on and off the B500 which turned out to be some belting roads that we never would have found. There were a couple of roads closed for road works but as it was the weekend no one was working on them and we managed to get the bikes past the blockade. We then got the the Swiss border and tried following another gpx route towards the southern border with Italy. After 30 miles which took about 2 hours we tried getting on faster roads without using the motorway as we didnt want 2 Vinettes. These roads were so slow as there was a village every half mile where the speed dropped to 19mph then back up to 50mph for a mile and so on. It got better south of Bern, not a lot but better. We got a campsite in Matigny for the night which was excellent.
Next morning it was off towards France passing thru Italy. We did the Grand St Bernard and then the Picolo St Bernard. We then chose to head towards Grenoble via the Col de l'Iseran. It was hot all the previous days but it was 35c riding in this area. We decided at the top of the Col de l'Iseran it would take to long getting to Grenoble and do the balcony roads round there so we backtracked a bit and headed to Annecy. We did get another pass in near beaufort. Again an excellent campsite near the lake in Annecy.
The next day we decided to head towards Dijon using back roads and went thru Wildlife Park Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura which had a few awesome biking routes and great views. After there we looked at a map and headed for Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan and hoped to get a site in Avallon. We hit the worst rain / hail storm for about 10 miles i have seen. The hail hurt my hands and arms and the roads were flooded but we pressed on the get thru it which soon came out sunny again. Once again we got a great site and watched England win on penalties.
The next day we set off north again on back roads which were flat and got a bit repetitive with miles of crops then a small village that you swore you rode thru an hour ago. About 80 miles south of Calais we decided to see if we could get the ferry that night instead of the next morning so pressed on to Calais but we could only go on a 1am ferry without paying a fair bit more so opted for the 6.20am ferry and got a campsite just off Calais sea front which was Camping Le Grand Gravlot (recommended).
We got the ferry the next morning and headed back to Yorkshire. I lost Steve for the 3rd time while filtering near the M25 so I carried on home and havent seen him since but heard he got home ok
All in all a great trip of just over 2000 miles and good company and weather. The video did go a bit pear shaped after day 2.
