Cycling UK Forum

In May/June, 2019 I rode from Florence, Italy to Bern, Switzerland via the French Alps. It took just short of 4 weeks and featured spectacular terrain, wonderful people, and fabulous memories.

I've culled through the nearly 2000 photos I took and have selected 56 pictures to provide some idea of what the ride offered.

Nice ride. Bravo! I enjoyed the photos as I’ve recently travelled parts of your route in the opposing direction. The Cafe de la Ferme at a seriously cold and windy Col de Lautaret was a godsend. I did Vars, Bonnette (unloaded, for a laugh) and Larche after that. Christ.

Mmmm, very nice.
Enjoyed that mini virtual tour, done bits of it myself but it was great to revisit and armchair bike-tour, thanks.
K

Thanks for the photos. Enjoyed looking at them and they brought back some memories.

Great photos! We, me, my wife and two older teens, are touring near Annecy this summer. The route from Passy up to Chamonix. Which way did you go and how hard was it? We will have full on camping gear and could train it instead.

Cheers

Thehairs1970 wrote:Great photos! We, me, my wife and two older teens, are touring near Annecy this summer. The route from Passy up to Chamonix. Which way did you go and how hard was it? We will have full on camping gear and could train it instead.

Cheers

The climb from the valley that Passy is in up to Chamonix involves two climbs. They both are hard grinds but the first one seemed harder than the second one. I was able to find a rhythm on the second one that goes to Chamonix. I took, the D13 -- the Route de Servoz, for the first climb. It was a short and steep at the start, though there is a very pretty waterfall and hang gliders all around. The views back over the valley are pretty and the road goes through forest a bit.

After a brief respite of mild downhill, the climb up to Chamonix starts. It is a series of switchbacks that goes up through forest and vacation cottages with fabulous views of the valley and peaks all around.

The first climb took me an hour with quite a few short rest stops. The second climb took me a bit over 2 hours. I don't carry camping gear. You load will likely be heavier and your climb a bit harder and longer. But, it is a beautiful ride so take a lot of rest stops, photos, and take your time.

The above is well written - go with that. The camping gear will be spread between four. For crying out loud don’t train it. The sense of achievement at the top of climbs is exhilarating.

Thanks guys. We are only doing two big climbs. The Chamonix one and from Annecy to St Jean de Sixt. Our plan is slow and steady, lots of stops. And we are trying to go lightweight this year. Trying...