Southern France / Northern Italy July / Aug 2 weeks

[hillspecial]

Anyone off to Southern France / Italian Lakes for a couple of weeks July / August, camping .

50 to 80 miles per day?

[MrsHJ]

I’m thinking of doing something in late August / early September along those lines. But busy at the moment so might use one of the established routes- either the via Augusta, the Rhône route (say Geneva to Béziers if I’m short on time) or EV6 Nantes to Basel.

I’m using it to check my head’s in the right place for a transam next summer?

[hillspecial]

Ah. Back at work then.
Unlikely ever to have the time for a US C2C.
Hill Special.

[mongoose]

Just back yesterday from a tour on part of the Via Augusta. Was intending to start in Fussen but the most direct rail link from Munich is diverted via Augsburg for a while so opted to start at Oberau. The route went Oberau - Ehrwald - Innsbruck via Fernpass and Meiming Plateau to meet the rest of the group - Inntal to Imst - Nauders - Merano - Trento - Bassano del Grappa - Verona. I was staying in hotels for the good of my old bones [and I am a wimp] although there were plenty of campsites.

The Via Augusta is mostly good tarmac paths although the section over the Fernpass is a mountain bike trail and a few odd sections around Resia are gravel. The section over the Meiming Plateau is very scenic but mostly gravel but all doable on a touring bike with suitable tyres [ I did it on a flat bar tourer with carbon forks and 35mm Schwalbe G-1's] Care is needed on the descent from the Fernpass as bits are narrow with loose gravel and 15%.

[iandriver]

Am I Avignon right now. The heat between about 1PM and 5PM is stifling and killing my milages. The sun is simply blistering. I normally laugh at a mere 50 miles. Not this week.

Ain't half pretty in these parts though

[Jon Lucas]

I've just come back from the French Pyrenees and it was far too hot and humid to cycle very far, even downhill. However, up to last week we were told that they had had a miserable wet summer, and I understand are predicted to get more of the same after this week.

[MrsHJ]

I've just come back from the French Pyrenees and it was far too hot and humid to cycle very far, even downhill. However, up to last week we were told that they had had a miserable wet summer, and I understand are predicted to get more of the same after this week.

I lean towards late August/early September for that part of the world, friends were rained off Pisa to Rome in mid/late may (they came down the coast instead) and sometimes it is just luck of the draw what weather you get. 2018 feels like a slightly out of kilter weather year to me (I'm loving the uk sun at the moment and I loved the snow in march but both are somewhat out of the norm).