the alps

we cycled over the alps to italy!

the ride north from cassis was the most beautiful section of the ride so far. this ride took us through verdon national park, where we stopped for a day at the grand canyon of france. Then up to Embrun on the lake of Serre-Ponçon for a climb up the ski field road of les orres to visit friends for a few days. after this bodacious break it was a few days of climbing to just beyond the italian border, and then one day of sweet sweet downhill into torino. Staying on the backroads to avoid traffic and better experience the mountains, we afforded ourselves some exra climbs for better or worse through gorgeous scenery. It stayed hot for these days of climbing and both temperature and terrain reminded us of the sierra nevadas in california.

when we were in provence we met a frenchman who said 'if you go anywhere in france, go to verdon, this is where i go for my vacation.' so we went. the gorges of verdon, or the grand canyon of france, form the second largest canyon in the world. as you can imagine the terrain and heat made for some excellently difficult biking. however, rather than bike along the rim we decided to save our legs for days to come. we camped at the lake at the end of the canyon and rented a kayak to explore the canyon. it was quite busy with tourists here, but we got up early and managed to be the first ones up the canyon in our kayak. this was one of our finest moments having these breathtaking rock walls towering around us and all to ourselves.

from the canyon we stayed as traffic free as possible up to les orres. this is when we really felt we were in the alps. on the days up to the lake we had some fairly difficult climbs. then, as we cycled around the west side of the lake we came over a col of about 1100 meters which was insane. then the next day to our friend manu's house we climbed from lake level at 800 meters to the ski station at 1600 m over about 10 ks. it was tough with the loaded bikes. our friends manu and fabio are very cool and excellent hosts. we had a great four days here mostly just hanging out and enjoying staying in a house. there is a ropes course at the resort which we did, quite chalenging and excellent fun. this break not only gave our bodies a rest but also our bikes, and i replaced our breakpads which, after 2500 ks were worn to the nub!

rain showed up again for the first time in weeks, but we avoided it by leaving their house in the afternoon. from les orres we stayed high up on little roads above lake level for excelent views above the valley - this is when it felt like we did some unneccessary climbing but it was worth it. before the final push we camped just past briancon. then for our crossing day we cycled insanely up from there to the col de montgenevre then insanely down then insanely up again to sestriere in italy. cycling over the alps lived up to expectations and was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. plus, it reminded me why id been dragging a fleece, thermals and a beenie around the south of france in the heat of summer - they came in handy!

on the italian side the alps just drop. no gradual build up of foothills like in france. no days of up and down. just a 50 km decent through beautiful mountains and small towns. after these 50 ks the flat expanse of a valley finds its way to torino. looking back at the wall of mountain we'd just cycled over we could hardly believe it possible.

now we're in tuscany!