Stopped here for a breather yesterday and grabbed a couple of photos.

This is the Chateau.

The old railway station, now closed. Shame nobody can find anything else to do with such a lovely building.

Well actually, this little chap and his mates have made the old building their home, they were loads of them. He’s about four inches long!

18th June was the sad anniversary of the death of Clarence Clemons, The Big Man, saxophonist to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

The music of Clarence and Bruce defined a generation, it was certainly very important to me in my late teens and has stayed with me and many others as we have grown older. It has been a source of inspiration, comfort and plain feel good as well. The younger generations will also know Clarence from the work he did with Lady Gaga, honestly he did!!

So Big Man, we miss you, thanks for all the music with Bruce and the band and also your solo and other work, whilst we have that music you will never be forgotten.

Please take time out to listen to this classic track from Bruce the E Street Band and of course Clarence.
Click here

Sorry about the poor quality of the picture.

I spoke to soon! Yes it was grey, even when I went down to the underground carport to load up Harley, but when the automatic door went up, behold it was pouring like it only can in the mountains!
Oh well, on with the rain suit again! More for a bit of extra hi-vis on the auto route actually, because it was still around 26 degrees centigrade.
Off we set and straight onto the A41 heading towards Chambery and Lyon. Clouds were caressing the slopes, particularly where the pine trees held the moisture in the air. I know rain is a bit of a nuisance sometimes, but it is only weather, and those clouds did look wonderful!

Soon we headed into the Tunnel De La Épine and a more forsaken hole you could not wish to find. It’s about three miles long and poorly lit. The temperature soared almost immediately plus the road was both heavily rutted, patched and greasy! Lovely…not, I hate road tunnels! I’d just about got over the Épine when along came it’s little brother about ten miles further down the road, not much better, deep joy!

Then a nice steady ride in the spray to the outskirts of Lyon, which to honest I was sort of dreading. I guess you know the scene, loads of traffic, all the locals know what they are doing and where to go and everyone else gets lost, because the signs are not clear or too late or the locals barge you out of the way? Well, it wasn’t like that at all! The signs were clear, well placed and sensibly simple, plus the locals, whilst a bit mad, they are after all French drivers, we’re sensible around folks with out of area number plates…it all worked like a dream! Then, on the Périphérique Nord, North Ring Road in Britannia’s tongue, came another tunnel, for which we were charged a Euro to use, it’s two for you car drivers! Yeah, great another blessed tunnel, but wait a minute, this one was different firstly it was incredibly well lit, then it was clean and did not smell like a sewer, but best of all the road surface was wonderful, not ruts patches or oil! Now I don’t know who owns what when in comes to French roads, but I suspect that the Autoroute is probably run by a power or telephone company or even a supermarket, I bet though that the tunnel under Lyon is run by the City Council who should go down the road fifty miles and show the Autoroute people how to do the job properly! Well done Lyon, if it is you!

You know the other day I said I was going to do the A72 Autoroute again? I didn’t! No, I came up with a much better idea. Leaving L’Arbresle I headed South West on the D389, then picked up the D81 to Feurs where it became the D1089. Now I often have a knack of spotting a nice French road from the Michelin Road Atlas and I’m pleased to say I did it again. What a nice road, everything I could have wished for. I have a theory that the best time to really enjoy yourself on a French road is between twelve and two, that’s when the whole country goes of to lunch and there is no-one at all on the roads, except British lorry drivers and French people with broken clocks! Yet again, today was no exception….I had a super time until about two o’clock when I found a nice picnic area near Chabreloche and had lunch myself. I then stayed on the same road all the way into Clermont Ferrand, which is a big sprawling mess that owes it’s existence to people who drive or ride vehicles with rubber tyres, yes it’s home to Michelin and a pretty good rugby team as well these days….who I think are sponsored by aforesaid tyre giant! Let’s hear it for rubber!

Clermont is also the capital of the Auvergne Region and if you never visit anywhere else in France go there! It’s got everything going for it, superb local food and drink, scenery to meet every taste, magic roads and really, really nice people…especially if you say you like the Auvergne! It’s also the fascinating site of one of the most populated areas of extinct volcanoes in Europe, they are everywhere and no, you don’t have to be a geology geek like me to spot one, honestly! One of the most famous is Le Puy de Dôme, just outside Clermont and it’s easy to tell what it is, just look at the photo, yes I know volcanoes don’t normally have TV mast on them, but you get the drift?

I dropped in to see how things were going with the new mountain cog railway that the French have been building, when I called last autumn, things were in full swing. I was amazed today, they have actually got trains running and most impressive they are to. There’s a photo below of one leaving the base station for the summit.

Another photo shows the track with it’s rack laid between the rails for the cog on the train to engage with and pull it up the steep gradients. On a technical note, I was surprised to see that both the running rails and rack are welded, very clever indeed, i’ve not seen that before. Mind you as the French taxpayer has spent over 80 million Euros on the new railway, it should be cutting edge! There might even be some European Government cash in it as well, so that will be some of mine and personally I’m quite happy to see it spent that way! Must go back and have a trip one day.

After Puy De Dôme we picked up another super road, the D941, which took us all the way to Limoges, via Aubusson. This is another part of France that I adore, I call it “Old France”, because everything takes on a mellow aged look. The buildings are generally fairly old, but the mixture of soft yellow limestone and granite for details and strength is very easy on the eye. Life seems to move at a slower, more sensible pace. The country is very agricultural here, it’s one of the main beef producing areas of the country, but it’s not at all intensive. There are lovely small towns just calling out for return visits, the sort of places you want to smell of Disc Bleus and Pastis. Bourganeuf is interesting, one of the first places in the world to go electric, whilst St Léonard de Noblat on the River Vienne, marks the start of the famous Limoges porcelain producing area.

So that’s it for today. Billet is in Limoges, a nice city as cities go….when have I said that before, not often!

Next we are off the Poitiers, Nantes and Brittany. You up for it?

Oh yes 321 miles today, pas mal!

Dookes

Le Puy De Dôme

Le Petit Train

The Rack and Running Rails

This is the 12th century St Martiel bridge on thé Vienne, just near the hotel.

Morning all!

It’s a bit grey here in Annecy, still hot though.

I forgot to mention that yesterday’s mileage was a mere 190, taking the trip total to 1363. Today is a long slog to Limoges, but passing through some lovely countryside, unfortunately also taking the Lyon ring road.

Stayed at AppartCity last night. This is a brilliant chain that offers serviced appartments in a number of different locations. I’ve used them before and I’m quite a fan, staying in another branch tonight as well. What is great is that you get your own kitchen, so you can do your own thing if you are minded.

The place was invaded by a Chinese Trade delegation last night and today at breakfast it is like being in Hong Kong Garden Takeaway, to quote Suzie and her Banshees!

Mind you they have an interesting take on mixing food, pain au chocolate with cheese? Hmm, I’ll pass on that!

Ok time to ride!

Dookes

Petit St Bernard

Good evening from a very hot and thundery Annecy. I certainly hope we get a storm soon to clear the air around here!

Another day that’s hard to describe, without revisiting old superlatives and sounding boring!

Let’s just say that the adventure continued and did not disappoint!

Pretty good overnight stop at Seez, if a little noisy, but totally biker friendly…I bet they would have washed the bike if I had asked!

First off was the climb to La Rosière 1850, have a look on the Google Map thingy, just dwell on those wiggly bits…lovely!

Here’s one of ’em!

The first part was though deep pine forest, with all the heady sweet smells that go with it, then the road opened onto high alpine pasture and passed through the ski station.

There’s some of it below!

Col Du Petit St Bernard came pretty soon. What a bleak place, quite unlike the other Cols I visited this week. Off the road were loads of lingering snow drifts, the summer season certainly has not got going here just yet. Like Larche, the boarder runs right through the middle of the Col so we slipped into Italy again. Incidentally,,. At this place and at various other of the Cols are remains of border defences, some, like on Bonnette are part of the old Maginot line defences that France invested so much in only to see it fail whilst others date back centuries. All fascinating in their own way, but most buried in snow so just how good they were as defences I can’t really say, unless of course you were attacking on a bobsleigh!

The road then begins it’s long decent into the Aosta Valley, now we were in Italian Job country! Just before La Thuile there is a series of 8 hairpins that the kind Italians have thoughtfully numbered. It’s a great little stretch of road and you can really get into the groove on these babies!

Soon after La Thuile we passed through the famous tunnel from the film, it’s a little longer now as it has had avalanche shelters added each end, which changes the look of it, but it’s still the place where Beckermann meets his end, or bulldozer depending on your take of it! Here it is!

On then down the valley, which is a classical glacier valley if ever I saw one. This place is amazing, loads of agriculture, industry, tourism and transport all rubbing along together, I didn’t know where to look next! The small towns all seemed very busy and prosperous, Aosta is the centre of the area and looks quite nice too, for a big town anyway, I loved the way that grape vines were growing inside the towns boundaries.
From Aosta the E27 kicked off north west towards Grand St Bernard, just before the famous tunnel viaduct we took the old road, the S27 and aimed towards Switzerland. The viaduct features in the opening shots of the film, so I had to grab a picture as well.

I sort of decided not to take anymore photos and just concentrate on enjoying the ride, I failed and made two stops, one to grab a phot of this wonderful zigzag of road. Yeah, I know there’s a camper van in it, darn things get everywhere, should have smelt his brakes though!

The other stop was here, cos I just could! Ok?

The famous pass did not disappoint, it’s very different to the other places due to it’s history as a monastery and hospital, which it still sort of is, but also a hotel (if you don’t want any luxuries). I couldn’t find any dogs with brandy barrels though!

So that was it, the Italian Job completed, wow what a ride!

Running down from the Pass into Switzerland the road goes through about six miles of avalanche tunnel/shelter, just imagine driving that far through a multi story car park at 50 mph! Gets to you after a bit, don’t EVER ask me to go through the Mont Blanc tunnel, I might be a bit rude!

At Martigny, Harley and I hung a left and began our last Col climb to Col De La Forclaz, which is still inside Switzerland. Now that country is something, it’s so …… nice, oh and Swiss, yeah I love it. Might have to go back with Harley some time! Well the country may be nice but the weather, which is international I think, put on a little show of petulance and rained just enough to make the road like glass. So no pictures except this one.

At that it was time to turn back towards France and start the long trip home. Hang in there folks, we ain’t there yet, got more road to ride and stories to tell yet….like the Gendarmes in St. Étienne and the mad Dutchman on Col De Larche, more next time folks!

An air cooled V twin is great on a mountain, switch it off and it goes quiet; why do all those other bikes have such noisy fans that run for ages???????

Dookes

Someone has said that I’m never in the photo’s so how do you know I am really here!?!?

Well just to prove it, here I am enjoying the view on Col D’Izoard!

Dookes

Good morning everyone.

Another hot one here in the Alps, so probably a storm or two later!

The road outside the hotel kicks straight up to Col de Petit St Bernard, better let Harley warm up well before we set off, hairpins straight away! Then trundle through Aosta and find Le Grand St Bernard.

Doubtful that I’m gonna top yesterday, but let’s go see, you coming along for the ride?

Hang on!

Dookes

Right, cards on the table to start with. This is going to be quite a long report and I fully expect a number of my followers to be, shall we say, a little peeved with me!

Working on the basis that there are a large number of the Blog followers that are keen motorcyclists and at least one very fit chap that pedals his way around on two wheels who has an obsession with the Tour de France; to you people I apologise in advance, because if the following does not make you want to get out here and ride…then I doubt if you are alive!

Today has been, without doubt, the best day I have spent riding a motorbike, ever, honest, fact!

Harley and I kicked off nice and early, just for fun I put an extra Col in the programme, so we set off up the D900 to Col de Larche 1996m(6549 ft) which is bang on the Italian border and also quite a long way up in the sky. The road was fun, but not over demanding, the views superb! Time for a couple of photos, then back into France and head for Col de Vars.

We picked up the D902, a road that I have, by now, had time to reflect on and believe that I love it more than any other road anywhere….follow on, you’ll see why!

Before today I’d mistakenly Thought Col de Vars was a small player for the other higher Cols, wrong, very very wrong. It’s bloomin’ fantastic. Technically demanding on the corners, exhilarating climbing and views everwhere, the top is at 2109m(6916ft)then comes a fast decent towards Guillestre, oh and there is a nice series of hairpins just before the bottom to wake you up!
At the top.

Next came another unexpected gem, the ride through Combe du Queyras. Here the road is not so much on a ledge in the gorge, it’s as if it’s been pushed into the side of the rock, which over hangs the road and the river, there are also a couple of small tunnels. The road then hangs a sharp left and heads for Col d’Izoard. It’s like what you want heaven to be if you ride a motorbike, so fantastic it takes your breath away. It was on this climb that my respect for the guys on Le Tour De France went atomic and what is more there were happy souls out there doing it just for fun, amazing and I have nothing but respect for them! I told a couple of guys just that at the top, as well. The road climbs through the famous Cass Désert section, which is a remnant of ancient sea meets volcano millions of years ago and now a mile and a half up in the air!

Cass Désert

Oh yes one of the bends.

There is graffiti all over the road, as it’s one of the Hors climbs of Le Tour, mostly it’s supportive stuff for the like of the Schlek brothers, but there was some less complimentary stuff about Contador and drugs.

At the top 2360m (7746ft), it was like a biker picnic, they (we) were everywhere and from all over Europe, frankly it was the first time I have ever felt part of the big European thing and it was kind of nice.

The decent to Briancon was fast, but hell, pedal cyclists do it even faster, honestly they are crazy doing over 45 mph down hill and overtaking everything!

Lunch in Briancon, then the steady and fast climb to Col du Lautaret 2058m(6752ft). Stunning views all around, but particularly of the Glaciers de la Meije and de la Girose. I had a chat with a couple of motorbike Gendarmes and they told me that the glaciers are disappearing at a very rapid rate due to global warming, food for thought, as I started up Harley’s not insubstantial engine!

Glacier de la Girose

Then came the Daddy, Col du Galibier 2646m(8678ft). Go look at Google Earth or Maps in the satellite view, you’ll sort of get the picture. It’s simply the greatest bit of road ever, I don’t care what Clarkson says about the Romanian bypass, THIS is the best road in the world!

I have to confess that reaching the top of Galibier was a deeply moving experience for me, even to the point of the old eyes welling up, can’t say why, it just a very special place.

The run down to Col du Telegraph and St Michel was fun, loads more wiggles and loads more pedal cyclists going up. I do declare I got better at wrestling Harley round the bends as well!

Fast run up the valley through Modane and stuck in a quick visit to Col du Mont Cenis 2083m (6834 ft) very fine wide sweepers to this one up the D1006, it’s quite a ski centre and the road reflects this plus there are countless ski lifts all lying idle at the moment.

Starting to climb Col d’Iseran, it became obvious we had a major problem, an alpine storm was brewing up! Now here we were, part way up my D902, and it went cold, very cold. Then the rain started, well actually somebody turned on the tap, no the fire hose and the sprinklers come to think back on it. Then the lightning began! Oh boy we’re we in trouble! Should I do what my Mountain Leadership Training taught me and get the hell off the mountain? Go where? There was nowhere to run, we were in the open in the worse electric storm I have ever experienced, just got to tough it out! Still, with a carbon fibre helmet any lightning strike would finish me off without me knowing anything about it! Then about a mile or so from the top, we got into the relative safety of the small tunnel. Bliss to put on dry waterproof gloves and sit it out for twenty minutes. The thunder and lightening slowly moved away, but at one point I could actually see the lightening strike the ground on the hills the other side of the valley, wow what a privilege! We set off for the top and the relative safety of the decent to Val d’Isere. Briefly stopping to grab a quick phot at the top, 2764 m(9088ft) we beat a hasty decent.

!

A mile further down the road we were sheltered by the mountain and could see the fine weather in the valley below.

A careful yet spirited decent soon lifted the spirits as we sped on to our overnight stop at Seez.

Total miles today 217; Trip total so far, 1173.

Tomorrow, Italy.

Galibier south climb from top.

The north side.

Galibier was only cleared of winter snow last week, there’s still a lot about!

Until tomorrow!

Dookes

Good morning all.

A beautiful day here in the Alps.

The view from my room, not bad at all!

Weather forecast looks reasonable as well, gonna be another hot one.

This hotel is really biker friendly, there’s 14 bikes in the car park! It’s also a bit like the United Nations, Austrians, Italians, Germans, Belgians, Dutch, French….and me! An Italian couple had an argument over dinner last night, no one else argues like that, good entertainment for the rest of us though!

Off on the road now. Catch ya later!

Dookes