velotel
03-04-2019, 02:42 PM
Cols, high altitudes, eyeball warping descents, weaving romps along ridge tops, dirt roads, paved roads, the full monty. Two tours, each a week long, the first the end of August, the second beginning of September. August is all about unpaved mountain roads, September a splendid mix of roads showcasing what fat-tired road bikes are all about, some days all blacktop, but rustic, narrow and swarming across the contours like a nervous snake, some days a mix of blacktop and, for those like it, packed dirt.
The August tour bags a fine collection of spectacular high mountain dirt roads and trails, 4 in France, 3 in Italy. One you may have heard of, the Strada dell’Assieta, 30 K of majestic rolling on an old military road wandering back and forth along the crest of a ridgeline of rounded summits at altitudes from 2000 meters to 2500 meters. It’s in a national park and they close the road to cars on Wednesdays and Saturdays during July and August so no dust for cyclists. We’ll hit it on a Wednesday.
The rest of the tour features rides that are probably mostly unknown in the world of mountain tracks but they’re all bucket listers for me. As in rides for which the most extravagant superlatives come up short. The incomparable Plateau d’Emparis with its stunning views of La Meije; the old military road to the all but unknown Col des Gondrans above Briançon; the trail to Colle Lauson and Colle Blegier, a double-track climb rated number 1 on my list; the at-times amazingly long climb to the tour’s highest point at 2995 meters, Colle Sommellier; the sublime High Traverse between Col de Chaussy and Col de la Madeleine; and one that I doubt exists on anyone’s list of have-to-rides, the Crête de Poulet and the track to Pipay, a local ride I never tire of.
September, cols for the trophy wall : Agnol, 2744 meters, France’s 3rd highest; Fauniera and Sampeyre in Italy, 2326 and 2335 meters and astoundingly anonymous; the famous Finestre, 2176 meters, 45 switchbacks, 1694 vertical, 9,1% average grade; the splendid Col d’Allos and Col des Champs 2047 and 2093 meters, pure gems ; Col du Turini in the Alpes Maritimes, a favorite of pro riders based around Nice; plus the remarkable road to Col de Tinde with its 43 stackbacks laced up the mountain. All but Finestre and Tinde are paved, though usually somewhat rustic, also narrow and nervous. Finestre and Tinde start off paved then finish on dirt to the summits, 8 K’s worth on Finestre, 4 K on Tinde. The descents off the back sides of each are paved, fast, and blazing with views. Anyone who doesn’t want to do Tinde’s dirt can ride up the italian side after shuttling through the tunnel in the van. Finestre can be avoided too but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to skip one of the best of the best. I mean heck the Giro riders do it on racing bikes! For aficionados of dirt there are some mind-blowing opportunities on the Fauniera and Sampeyre rides.
The dirt tour’s airport is Geneva, arrival Sunday 18 August, departure Sunday 25 August. Geneva because that works best for the tour plus as a rule from the US to Geneva can be done with only one stop. The September tour kicks off at the Nice airport, the airport that far and away works best since all the cols are in the southern french and italian Alps. Arrival Sunday 8 September, departure Sunday 15 September. With the late dates we’ll miss the height of the euro vacation season when just about every country in Europe is on holiday. Then again with the August tour playing on dirt roads crowds definitely won’t be a problem. Normally the hordes have substantially diminished by the first week of September but again the roads we’ll be riding are pretty much off the beaten track anyway.
Prices, the August dirt tour 2125 euros per person, September 2250 euros per person. If bikes need to be rented, for the dirt tour there’s the Basecamp bike shop in Talloires who rents the highly regarded Open bikes with disc brakes and the 1x Sram drivetrain. Everyone I know who’s ridden the Open bikes has liked ‘em. Some other bike shops rent gravel bikes but I don’t know their names. The folks at Basecamp speak English fluently (the owner Adam Horler and his partners are Brits) and are easy to work with and if you like I can collect and return the bikes after you’ve dealt with them on-line. I did a quick search once for gravel bike rentals around Nice and came up with one possibility as I recall. A fat-tired road bike isn’t strictly needed for the September tour (though in my opinion they’re the best) but tires as fat as 28mm are recommended. Much of the blacktop is lumpy, patched, cracked, and way more rustic than buffed. Low gearing is also appreciated. My bike’s set up with 30/46 chainrings with an 11-32 12-speed cassette but I’m old so my gearing choice isn’t what most riders will necessarily want.
And speaking of age, I won’t be the lead guide; at 74 I’m too old and slow for that role. Guides don’t lead from off the back. The lead guide will be young and strong and capable of whatever speeds are needed. I’ll be driving the shuttle and riding whenever I can so for anyone looking for a more gentlemanly pace, I’ll be there.
Enough for now, I’ll follow-up with more posts with details for each tour. Anyone interested will need to make a decision relatively soon because slots on each tour are limited plus I need to book the hotels early. There aren’t all that many hotels to choose amongst where we’ll be most of the time and even fewer that have what a bike tour needs. If interested, my e-address is hankbarlow at good ol gmail.
The August tour bags a fine collection of spectacular high mountain dirt roads and trails, 4 in France, 3 in Italy. One you may have heard of, the Strada dell’Assieta, 30 K of majestic rolling on an old military road wandering back and forth along the crest of a ridgeline of rounded summits at altitudes from 2000 meters to 2500 meters. It’s in a national park and they close the road to cars on Wednesdays and Saturdays during July and August so no dust for cyclists. We’ll hit it on a Wednesday.
The rest of the tour features rides that are probably mostly unknown in the world of mountain tracks but they’re all bucket listers for me. As in rides for which the most extravagant superlatives come up short. The incomparable Plateau d’Emparis with its stunning views of La Meije; the old military road to the all but unknown Col des Gondrans above Briançon; the trail to Colle Lauson and Colle Blegier, a double-track climb rated number 1 on my list; the at-times amazingly long climb to the tour’s highest point at 2995 meters, Colle Sommellier; the sublime High Traverse between Col de Chaussy and Col de la Madeleine; and one that I doubt exists on anyone’s list of have-to-rides, the Crête de Poulet and the track to Pipay, a local ride I never tire of.
September, cols for the trophy wall : Agnol, 2744 meters, France’s 3rd highest; Fauniera and Sampeyre in Italy, 2326 and 2335 meters and astoundingly anonymous; the famous Finestre, 2176 meters, 45 switchbacks, 1694 vertical, 9,1% average grade; the splendid Col d’Allos and Col des Champs 2047 and 2093 meters, pure gems ; Col du Turini in the Alpes Maritimes, a favorite of pro riders based around Nice; plus the remarkable road to Col de Tinde with its 43 stackbacks laced up the mountain. All but Finestre and Tinde are paved, though usually somewhat rustic, also narrow and nervous. Finestre and Tinde start off paved then finish on dirt to the summits, 8 K’s worth on Finestre, 4 K on Tinde. The descents off the back sides of each are paved, fast, and blazing with views. Anyone who doesn’t want to do Tinde’s dirt can ride up the italian side after shuttling through the tunnel in the van. Finestre can be avoided too but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to skip one of the best of the best. I mean heck the Giro riders do it on racing bikes! For aficionados of dirt there are some mind-blowing opportunities on the Fauniera and Sampeyre rides.
The dirt tour’s airport is Geneva, arrival Sunday 18 August, departure Sunday 25 August. Geneva because that works best for the tour plus as a rule from the US to Geneva can be done with only one stop. The September tour kicks off at the Nice airport, the airport that far and away works best since all the cols are in the southern french and italian Alps. Arrival Sunday 8 September, departure Sunday 15 September. With the late dates we’ll miss the height of the euro vacation season when just about every country in Europe is on holiday. Then again with the August tour playing on dirt roads crowds definitely won’t be a problem. Normally the hordes have substantially diminished by the first week of September but again the roads we’ll be riding are pretty much off the beaten track anyway.
Prices, the August dirt tour 2125 euros per person, September 2250 euros per person. If bikes need to be rented, for the dirt tour there’s the Basecamp bike shop in Talloires who rents the highly regarded Open bikes with disc brakes and the 1x Sram drivetrain. Everyone I know who’s ridden the Open bikes has liked ‘em. Some other bike shops rent gravel bikes but I don’t know their names. The folks at Basecamp speak English fluently (the owner Adam Horler and his partners are Brits) and are easy to work with and if you like I can collect and return the bikes after you’ve dealt with them on-line. I did a quick search once for gravel bike rentals around Nice and came up with one possibility as I recall. A fat-tired road bike isn’t strictly needed for the September tour (though in my opinion they’re the best) but tires as fat as 28mm are recommended. Much of the blacktop is lumpy, patched, cracked, and way more rustic than buffed. Low gearing is also appreciated. My bike’s set up with 30/46 chainrings with an 11-32 12-speed cassette but I’m old so my gearing choice isn’t what most riders will necessarily want.
And speaking of age, I won’t be the lead guide; at 74 I’m too old and slow for that role. Guides don’t lead from off the back. The lead guide will be young and strong and capable of whatever speeds are needed. I’ll be driving the shuttle and riding whenever I can so for anyone looking for a more gentlemanly pace, I’ll be there.
Enough for now, I’ll follow-up with more posts with details for each tour. Anyone interested will need to make a decision relatively soon because slots on each tour are limited plus I need to book the hotels early. There aren’t all that many hotels to choose amongst where we’ll be most of the time and even fewer that have what a bike tour needs. If interested, my e-address is hankbarlow at good ol gmail.