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2015 - Central Alps Revisited


There and back again,  Sunday, 21 June & Friday 26 June 2015

2015 Day 0 & 5
Meeting as per established practice on Sunday afternoon at Maidstone Services on the M20, weather wise the 2015 tour started as it continued throughout the tour with dry and sunny weather, the 2015 tour being the very first where we experienced no rain at all.  A short hop to the Eurotunnel Terminal and the slightly earlier than previously departure of 17:50 saw us arrive in Calais at 19:00 local time.  Not much else to speak of bike wise on the train this year, save a couple from Somerset on a large Harley Davidson heading to Provence, albeit having ridden from Somerset that day, staying in Calais for the night first.

With both of us riding large touring bikes this year, the miles slipped by effortlessly and the A26 to Reims seemed to pass by almost in a blink, followed by the A4, A5 and A31, we decided to push on to Dijon for the overnight stop.  Arriving at the unprecedented time of 00:20, we were booked in and unpacked in the Holiday Inn express in Dijon by 00:30.  Previous tours have seen us only get to Metz and then as late as 04:00.  A combination of fantastic bikes (2 fuel stops only for the 350 odd miles) and an earlier departure both helped.  A great start to the Tour.

26/6/15 Day 5  -  A 9:30 departure from the Ibis Metz Nord, and proof that the previous night’s exit from the autoroute was premature when we joined the A31 2 minutes after leaving the hotel.  Another effortless journey broken only by fuel and peage stops (note to Nick, avoid the peage lane with the no bikes sign, it costs €10 more…).  We arrived in Calais at around 13:30 for a 17:00 departure. For £3 however, this became 14:40, a good result.  The usual Friday afternoon carnage on the Ms 20, 25 and 26 meant a c17:00 home arrival for us both; this year made more challenging by near 30 degree heat.
Statistics
Start - 1500hrs BST
Finish - 0030hrs CET
Miles out - 437 miles
Passes bagged - 0
Return - 395 miles
Tour total - 2,032 miles
Tour passes - 28
Countries
Passes
None

Day one, ​Monday 22 June 2015

2015 Day 1
An excellent room in the Holiday Inn meant a good night’s sleep and we departed Dijon just before 10:00.  We headed further south on the A31, then the A39 past Bourg en Basse and onto the A40 south of Geneve. Along the A40 Autoroute Blanche, near Junction 8 and at around midday, we bagged the first pass of the tour, the Col du Ceignes. Admittedly only 646 metres high, and nothing more than a small hill on the autoroute, a pass is a pass though.

The weather was warm and sunny and the progress through France continued to be swift, the combination of light traffic and comfortable, powerful bikes proving a good one.  The map shows our route south, essentially the A40 to J16 onto the D4 to Bonneville, past Le Grand Bornand and then Saint Jean de Sixt on the D224.  Finally, onto the D909 Route des Grandes Alpes at the ski resort of Clusaz and we stopped for lunch in La Porte des Aravis at the top of Col des Aravis.  A Passport Tours first, a full on mountain pass by lunchtime on day 1.

From Col des Aravis, we headed further along the Route des Grandes Alpes, the D909 to Flumet and then onto the D71a and D218B to Les Saisies, the ski resort we last visited in 2006 (and Nick by chance in 2007 during a family holiday to Annecy).  As ever it seems during the summer, the French ski villages are largely deserted and Les Saisies was no exception save for some road maintenance around the summit of Col des Saisies.  The second full pass of day 1 completed by 16:00.

From Les Saisies, we headed further south on the D218B and D925 to Beaufort following a couple of spiritedly ridden BMW GSs. We didn't manage an overtake on the ascent although when we reached the dam of Lac de Roseland half way up, they stopped. A good fun ride up the pass! We stopped for coffee at a Bar Les Lanches on the side of the lake where again we last stopped in 2006 and memorably watched a posse of ​Honda Goldwings ride past.  The D925 continues the Route des Grandes Alpes to Cormet de Roseland for another great photo stop at the top of the pass and where the road number curiously changes from D925 to one of our favourites, the D902. Continuing further south east along the D902 to Bourg Saint Maurice. It’s worth mentioning that whilst there might be only Cormet de Roseland as a formal pass, the road is stunning around here, great surface and great visibility for mile after mile.

Just ahead of the main town of Bourg Saint Maurice we turned left, firstly and briefly on the D1090 to Seez where the road once again becomes to D902, and then on to one of the best roads anywhere, Col de l'Iseran after Val d’Isère.  From Val d’Isère to Lanslevillard and a left turn onto the D1006 and yet another stunning pass, Col du Mt Cenis.  Through the Italy/France border where the road becomes the SS25 at the summit and then the descent to Susa where we found the Hotel Susa and local restaurant, Pizzeria Miro, for a pizza and first decent coffee of the Tour! 

A stunning first day and without question the best of any tour, 6 passes, 5 full on mountain roads including 3 of the very best. And all on the first full day.  Our previous best was 3 and on some of the very early tours, we achieved none!
Statistics
Depart 0947hrs
Arrive Susa 2020hrs
Distance 341m
Saddle 7:38hrs
MPH 45
MPG 49
Passes 6
Tour distance 778m
Countries
Passes
Col de Ceignes 646m
Col des Aravis 1,486m
Col des Saisies 1,657m
Cormet de Roseland 1,922m
Col de L'Iseran 2,770m
Col du Mt Cenis 2,083m

Day two, Tuesday 23 June 2015

2015 Day 2
Breakfast in hotel at 8:15

Susa onto SP172 to colle delle finestre pass that was very windy, short switchbacks, steep, gravel on corners and generally very hard work. Ok surface at times but not at all pleasant. Half way up, Tarmac gives way to gravel only and we turn around. A large map at side of road shows the road going over Finestre at +2000m a long way on and all likely to be unmade. Wrong bikes for this! So same in reverse, lots of tense slow riding. GS next time...

So back down to Susa and on the SS24 and heading west. Long liaison running along side the E70 autostrada. Slow and tedious to start with, road works, villages, traffic etc. Stopped at Exilles for a map review and carried on to Cesana, road much better, very very smooth surface and nice long sweeping 60mph bends. Much nicer. And almost recommended. Chris with his elephant memory identified a hotel in Cesana we stopped at for a coffee in 2011 where there was a Dutch couple on a GS and S1000RR and so we stopped again in 2015.

From Cesana, we carried on west towards to Briançon on the SS24 and back over the border into France and the N94. Shortly before Briançon, we happened across Montgenevre (village pass) a small village with a pass sign of sorts. Closer to Briançon, two amazing tunnels which you could let rip in!  From Briançon we immediately turned left back onto the D902 and once again the Route des Grandes Alpes towards Cervières and the Col d'Izoard.  Col d’Izoard is effectively the D902 from Cervières to Guillestre.  Towards the top there was a professional photographer taking pictures of all bikes, cars and cyclists a few turns from the summit.  We didn’t want to go so far south to Guillestre and so rode to the summit of Col D’Izoard and then turned round and went back to Briançon.  It was just as good coming down as going up!

Straight through Briançon and onto the D1091 towards Col du Lautaret, more stunning fast straights and swinging bends.  From Col du Lautret we turned right once again back onto the D902 and over Col du Galibiere and down the other side for lunch at Le Kôsa Krûta in Valloire.

​Leaving Valloire, we continued north up the D902 heading for Saint Michel de Maurienne and over the Col du Télégraphe.  From here, we followed the D1006 parallel to the A43 autoroute briefly before turning right to head south on the D80 and to Col du Mollard.  From Col du Mollard, a right at Montrond onto the D926 towards Saint Sorlin-D’Arves and over the Col de la Croix de Fer to the junction with the D927.  Here we headed north on the D927 to Saint Colomban des Villards and the Col du Glandon, all just 2.5km after Col de la Croix de Fer. 

We carried on travelling north on the D927, over the A43 to Saint Avre and La Chambre and onto the D213, which we knew from the 2011 Best of the Best tour was the start of Col De Madeleine; a right turn at La Chambre onto the D99 and we arrived in Montainmont where Trip Advsior had identified the Hotel Le Beausejour as a likely overnight stop point, right at the base of Col de Madeleine, perfectly placed for the next morning. The Hotel was extremely friendly and the owners suggested letting them take care of dinner, which turned out to be a fabulous suggestion!
Statistics
Depart 0930hrs
Arrive Montmont 1800hrs
Distance 173 miles
Saddle 5:57hrs
MPH 29
MPG 50
Passes 8
Tour passes 14
Tour distance 952
Countries
Passes
Col du Montgenevre 1,850m
Col D'Izoard 2,361m
Col du Lautaret 2,058m
Col du Galibier 2,645m
Col du Telegraph 1,566m
Col du Mollard 1,638m
Col de la Croix de Fer 2,067m
Col du Glandon 1,924m

Day three, Wednesday 24 June 2015

2015 Day 3
Another beautiful day and after thanking the hotel owners for making us so welcome, we headed back down the D99 to La Chambre and the D213 for the start of Col de Madeleine. Up over Madeleine and further north to Feissonette where we turned right and joined the N90, one of the better liaison roads, two lanes in many parts, to Bourg-Saint-Maurice.  

Through Bourg-Saint-Maurice, quite a large ski town and right on the D1090 to Séez where we were on day 1. This time though, instead of turning onto the D902 Route Des Grandes Alpes and south to Val d’Isère, we stayed on the D1090 and onto the Col du Petit Saint Bernard.  Arriving at the summit and the France/Italy border, the road becomes the SS26 into Italy.  We were quickly overtaken on the way up by a spiritedly ridden UK registered S1000R, Nick took a moment to chat to the owner who had ridden it from Britain without discomfort and had a holiday home in the Alps.  Nice!  The owner had previously had a Honda Fireblade which as Chris pointed out (listening to the conversation via the Sena comms gear) meant the owner had no taste!  At this point in the conversation Nick struggling not to laugh turned off his Sena!

From the bottom of Petit Saint Bernard, we joined the A5 at Dailley.  Some amazing tunnels on the A5, ridiculously fast and 3 – 4 km long each with cruise control at high speed easily achievable!  Off the A5 at Aosta and left onto the SS27 north to San Leonardo where the Tunnel du Grand Saint Bernard starts (as well as the pass).  The Grand Pass St Bernard summit is like a small village, with a lake, hotels, shops and cafés where we stopped for a bite to eat.  The summit is also the Switzerland/Italy border with a spectacular lake between the two frontier posts. Spoke to a couple of guys, one on an old Triumph Trophy, the other an BMW R1100ST.  Down into Switzerland on what is now the 21 to Sembrancher.  

From there we headed into Vollèges and onto Levron and then a small loop taking in the Col du Lein and Col du Tronc and Col-des-Planches ultimately down to Martingy and the 9 autoroute.  Nick felt it was all a bit of a tedious waste of time for what amounted to little more than unmade trails through the woods and it would have been quicker, easier and a lot less stressful to stay on the 21 at Sembrancher round to Martigny.  However, Chris really enjoyed the ride and the scenery, especially flora and fauna which was tremendous!

​As it was, we joined the 9 autoroute at Martigny and headed north to Agile where we joined the 11 towards La Loex and Route du Pillon. Over Col du Pillon at Ormont-Dessus and continued along the same road to Gstaad. Here we joined the 11 autotroute for a fairly fast 57km liaison to Interlaken with some villages but reasonable opportunity to overtake without risking upsetting the Swiss speed limit adherence.  Finally, on autoroute 6 to get to Interlaken. Road 8 into Interlaken and Hotel Beausite and dinner in the Ox restaurant.
Statistics
Depart 0920hrs
Arrive 1900hrs Interlaken
Distance 260 miles
Saddle 7:09hrs
MPH 36
MPG 55
Passes 7
Tour passes 21
Tour distance 1212 miles
Countries
Passes
Col de la Madeleine 2,000m
Col du Petit St Bernard 2,188m
Col du Grand St Bernard 2,469m
Col du Lein 1,623m
Col du Tronc 1,942m
Col des Planches 1,411m
Col du Pillon 1,546m

​Day four, Thursday 25 June 2015

2015 Day 4
Departed hotel in Interlaken at 0900hrs, and a new plan, exploring a region! 

From Interlaken, long, slow liaison road around the lake on the A11.  Beautiful weather and scenery, roads ok but very busy.  Amazing lake.  Up to the relatively short and low Brunig pass. From the top, headed back down and almost immediately left towards the Sustenpass, from Innertkirchen to Gadmen at the top and then down to Wassen.   From Wassen at the bottom of the Sustenpass, we turned right onto the A2 towards San Gottard as the decent road to Andermatt was closed.  Along the A2 is the Gottardtunnel directly to the west (and underneath!) Andermatt. And amazing construction by any stretch of the imagination, 16,700 metres, so over 10 miles, long! Amazing.  The temperature reached 38 degrees in the middle, very uncomfortable and took over 15 minutes to ride through.  

From the exit of the tunnel, we turned onto the San Gottard pass at Airolo, up to the top at Ospizio.  We grabbed lunch here - there were plenty of different places to eat and drink.  Then down to Hospental and right into Andermatt.  Two new Passport Tours favourite passes on the doorstep of one of our previous all time greats, the Furkapass.  Living here must be fantastic, in the summer at least! 

From Andermatt we went up the Oberalp pass, mainly because it’s so close and we were there so it needed to be bagged, although we have ridden twice before.  Up to the top and then back down the same way to Andermatt.  This is actually the best part of the pass and well worth doing with some great sweeping bends.

From Andermatt we then headed up the amazing Furkapass from Tiefenbach to Gletsch.  At Gletsch, there is the the option to go straight on and in a loop back to Andermatt via San Gottard or take a right on the Grimsel pass which is what we did this year. At the top of Grimsel pass in Grimsel Pashohe, we met a Canadian photographer working in Zurich and originally from Penge! Had a great chat with him in the café on the top, his fluent German being useful for getting a decent coffee!   Also at Grimsel Pashohe is a one way pass, Oberaarstrasse ​further up the mountain with an interesting access restriction essentially allowing traffic either up or down but not both at the same time.  It wasn’t open whilst we were there and according to our photographer friend, bikes not allowed anyway!

From Grimsel Pashohe down the other side of the Grimsel pass and back to Brunig, better riding the pass the other way and indeed past the site of the first ever Passport Tour pass photo stop in 2006.  From here on the A8 almost immediately on motorway, passed Lucerne and A21 to Basel, and ultimately Metz for our overnight stop.
Statistics
Depart 1000hrs  
Arrive Metz 2345hrs
Distance 426 miles
Time in Saddle 9:09hrs
MPH 47
MPG 52
Passes 7
Tour passes 28
Tour distance 1,638 miles
Countries
Passes
Brunig Pass 1,008m
Susten Pass 2,224m
St Gotthard Pass 2,106m
Oberalp Pass 2,044m
Furkapass 2,536m
Grimsel Pass 2,165m
Brunig Pass 1,008m

Picture

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