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From: jobst_brandt%[email protected]
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Tour of the Alps
Date: 5 Aug 90 05:56:00 GMT
Sender: [email protected]
Lines: 374
Bike tour 1990 - The Alps from Nice to Lienz -
Now that I'm back from my bike tour and "wreck.bike" is running
over with TdF and the like, it might be a change of venue to say a
few words about my trip. I am posting this for the few who might
be interested, possibly because they know the terrain or are
planning to go there, and also to assure others that this sort of
trip is not only possible but lots of fun. This year I rode with
Peter Johnson with whom I have ridden before and who built both of
our bikes. He is, as I am, fascinated by the Alps and turns into a
motorcycle for the downhills.
As I mentioned before, I use my conventional road bike with AVO20
ROAD clinchers on MA2 36 spoke wheels with 47-50 and 13-24 for
gears. I carry all the stuff on the "bike tour" list in a
Carridice "Nelson" saddlebag that is attached to the saddle by a
quick release gizmo. The full bag weighed 13lbs. I wore old
fashioned black shorts and monochrome jersey, both of which got
washed now and then since we were on the road for 22 days. For
shoes I used AVO30 touring shoes because I don't like to carry an
extra pair of shoes just for walking in town and when we go on
mountain passes whose summits are no more than trails. Besides,
many hotels don't allow cleats on their floors.
I use a Rollei 35 that eats up about 6 rolls of 36X Kodachrome.
The camera resides in my jersey pocket on a laniard around my neck.
I take travellers checks and plastic (which is becomming more
popular even in the remote areas). I speak German and fragments of
French and Italian (like room, food, dinner, and counting). Thanks
to Campagnolo, I know most of the parts of the bicycle in Italian.
After watching Bob Roll and Alcala protest the start of the next to
last leg of the Tour de Suisse and delayed start we started our
tour. We saw little of the TdF because it always came on live while
we were somewhere on the road. The news only gave a couple of
highlights but the sport newspapers were good.
(1) We started in in Affoltern am Albis near Zurich and headed over
to canton Argau and thence to Lucern to say hello to friends. From
there we rode over the Brunig Pass to Meiringen and up over the
Grosse Scheidegg to Grindelwald. Although it rained, we still got
great views of the Wetterhorn and Eiger Moench Jungfrau group and
proceeded to blast on to Brienz for the first stage.
(2) The next day it was sunny as we picked off the Grimsel, Furka
and Gotthard passes in magnificent weather that had icy fog boiling
off the Grimsel into the Rhone valley where it evaporated. Going
down the old Gotthard on the cobbles was fun. We blasted on down
the valley of the Ticino into the warm south and stopped in Faido
in the valley of the Ticino river above Bellinzona.
(3) The next two days are long flat (in comparison) down the east
shore of Lago Maggiore to Luino where we took a side trip to
Alfredo Binda's home town and museum. Old bikes and faded jerseys
and posters! Back to the lake for a dip and then take the ferry
from Loveno over to Verbania and along the Lago d'Orta for another
refreshing swim. Then through the foothills to Borgosesia for the
day's stop.
(4) The next day we went through the hill towns, through Biella
and down to the flatlands in Ivrea. From there it rolls pretty
well with a slight downgrade to Torino, where the glaciers of the
Maritime Alps shimmer as a crown of diamonds to the west of the
city. Cuneo and Borgo San Dalmazzo are goals for a 140 mile flat
day. In Robilante we are back in the hills and at the foot of the
Colle di Tende for a good rest. Robilante has an ancient and
cavernous chain saw store with thousands of used and new chain
saws. This is of interest because 1. I have never seen so many
chain saws from around the world, and 2. there are no forests
nearby.
(5) The Col de Tende is a classic that, when seen in photos, just
makes you want to go there and ride it. A tunnel was built in 1913
and the road over the top remains as it was, a one lane 100
switchback dirt road. It makes a spectacular descent to the south
although it is paved and moderate on the north. The tunnel is for
motor vehicles only. Then on to the Col de Braus, Brauis and
Turini of Monte Carlo Ralley fame. From our balcony in Piera Cava
we could see the Mediterranean and a thunder storm coming from the
west to eat up the scene. Meanwhile a cuckoo made like its
namesake clock.
(6) The next day it's down the north slope of the Turini and over
the Colmain to connect with the main road to the Col de La Bonnet
that gets billing as being 2880 m high but that's only if you go to
the overlook that is a good 200 m higher. Although high, this pass
is high alpine meadowland with no glaciers, a result of its
proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, I presume. After descending
toward Jausier we turned right to stop at St.Micheal for the night.
There is a great pizza shop there and the hotel has a huge
slobbering Pyrenees dog.
(7) In the morning it was sunny and breezy in spite of rain
during the night. There are great fortifications in Maginot style
and tunnels along the steep cliffs left from several wars along
this route. The walls get steeper as the road works its way up the
Col de Vars over to Guillestre and up to the Izoard through the
canyon of the Ubaye and the moon like landscape. There is a great
bicycle racing museum at the top of the Vars that is full of great
memorabilia. Then down to Briancon, a real tourist hub, and on to
the day's stop at the Hotel des Glaciers at the summit of the Col
de Lauteret and run by M. Bonnabel who is a dead ringer for
Inspector Cluseau. This is a hotel one should not miss if its a
convenient stage stop.
(8) On a brilliantly clear morning the climb up the Galibier was
literally a breeze and even with that we were able to get only 45
mph into the town before climbing the Telegraph (a subset of the
Galibier). So much for the announcer of the TdF that insists that
we are watching riders go over 60 mph. As was calculated on this
newsgroup, it takes about a 15% grade to go that fast without a
good breeze. A ride up the valley to Lanslebourg saw a dark sky
behind us and sunshine ahead. As we entered town the first big
drops began to fall as we ducked into a Gelateria. We watched as
15 minutes of downpour went by. We pulled out onto the ascent to
the Col del Iseran on a drenched road with sunshine on our backs
and black clouds and thunder pulling away ahead.
(9) The Iseran is the real "highest pass in France" because it is
steep with spectacular rock formations and is surrounded by
glaciers and snow. When you're there you know there's a There
there. This is truly the haute Savoie whose flag was the
inspiration for the emigrants who founded Switzerland. The tunnel
out of Val d'Isere is now lighted and no longer looms as a trap for
unwary cyclists. The stage stop was in Seez at the base of the Col
du petite St. Bernard.
(10) The Petite S. Bernard pass is a cruiser with its endless but
mild grade over the top where Monte Bianco makes a majestic
appearance to the north. We cruised down to the south portal of
the Mont Blanc tunnel at Courmayeur (Italy) where French is spoken
but Italian is eaten in most restaurants. We downed a big
spaghetti and rolled west to find the Col de Seinge that makes up
the end of the val Veny. The other end of this valley is called
Val Ferret and leads to the Col Ferret, a similar hiking path pass
as the Seinge. The last part of the Seinge could not be ridden but
to make up for it the downhill was all rideable except for a
roaring stream. The scenery is about as wild and full of glaciers
as you can ask. We finished the day by crossing the Cormet de
Roselend to Beaufort. This was not a 100 mile day but to make up
for that it was a 12000 ft climb day. There was a great thunder
and lightning concert at midnight and again at dawn.
(11) So we start right out and climb the Megeve pass and curve
around to St. Gervais and Chamonix where we viewed the scenes for
which that area is so well known. There is a problem with the ride
up to Chamonix because you must ride on a split right-of-way
highway that resembles a freeway. If you know this it saves you
the time of trying to find where you should be riding. We rode on
to Switzerland over the Pas des Montets and an obscure but elegant
road out of Fin Haut to Martigny that is for non motorized passage.
This spared us the Col de la Forclaz which had been seen before.
As usual for this time of year a strong wind blew us up the Rhone
valley to Susten where the hotel is old, quiet and comfortable, and
they treat you like family.
(12) The Rhone valley is a breeze up to Brig where we got a snack
and head up the Simplon pass in breezy weather with a few clouds to
keep us cool. On the top we sat at an outdoor table and tanked up
on Orangina and a great dish of pasta. The breeze stayed and we
got to see 58 mph down the grand canyon of the Simplon. Great
sheer Yosemite like granite walls that come together at the bottom
to force the roaring Divera river into steep granite flumes. The
road is cut into the walls. You wonder how the ancients made it
through here with their wagons. The RR does the whole thing
underneath in the twin bore Simplon Tunnel (12 miles). On down to
Crevoladossola where the road cuts over to Masera and through the
Cento Valle to Locarno. A dash around the lake to Bellinzona and
up to Mesocco for the days stage puts us on the slopes of the Passo
S. Bernardino where Hampsten pulled his big move in the Tour de
Suisse.
(13) The San Bernardino and Splugen passes were overcast but
exhilarating in an almost clearing and almost raining way. Both
are scenically great but the Splugen has an exciting descent in
serpentines that are partially stacked in tunnels, one over the
other. It takes a jaded tourist that doesn't feel excited over
these passes. Just before Chiavenna the rains came but gently.
This made the climb up the Maloja pass a cool one but with only a
drizzle. At the top of the hill it was obvious that the snow line
was only a few meters up. With a favorable breeze we blasted along
the lakes to St. Moritz and then to Samedan where we stayed in the
Hotel Weissen Kreuz right in the center
(14) Although it was still cool and drizzled a bit on the morning
of the rest day, it cleared up with brisk clear weather to expose
the snow line that was just above where the clouds had been. The
mountains had a new white paintjob that lasted about as long it
took the sun to warm up. As we rode over the Bernina pass, Piz
Bernina, Piz Palu and the Diavolezza were in dazzling glacier
white. I got the obligatory photo of the Bernina Express in the
steep curve with its red locomotive and the Mortaratsch glacier as
a backdrop. Almost like the photos we are used to seeing on Swiss
calendars.
Then we blasted down the south side of the Bernina, one of the
longest descents around, to Italy in Tirano, then right down to
Stazzona and the Aprica pass to Edolo and to the foot of the Gavia
pass in Ponte di Legno. A drink of Apollonia water at the source
strengthens the heart, they say, and up the hill. The south side
retains a few km's of dirt road yet but otherwise the Gavia has
been tamed. At the Rifugio di Bonetta on the summit my photo of
the old road under the cliff is on display under glass and they
innkeeper bought us a drink as always. The descent is pretty sano
(all paved) and zips right down to Bormio from whence we rode about
2/3 up the Foscagno pass to the Lapre Bianca (white rabbit) hotel
with a great view for the days stage.
(15) From there we doubled back along an AEM (Milano Electric)
hydro road that runs level back to Valdidentro and the Lagi di
Cancano that supply power to the city similarly to San Francisco's
HetchHetchy reservoir, far from the city and in beautiful
mountains. From there the Passo Alpisella, an unused Roman road
cuts through the mountains to Livigno over spectacular terrain.
This is a road that becomes a trail on the north slope at a point
where fools with cars can no longer retreat. There are two wrecks
so far in there that it is hard to understand how their drivers got
there. A ride along the lago di Livigno that lies in Italy but
delivers power to Switzerland brings us to the tunnel to the Ofen
Pass and a swift descent into Santa Maria and the Umbrial Pass on
the way to the Stelvio.
The Stelvio may not be the hardest, longest or anything else, but I
have a special place in my heart for this road for its magnificent
and exquisitely orchestrated landscape. I have ridden it in every
weather and it is always an emotional moment at the top with the
ice caps of the Ortler and snowfields of the Gran Zebru as a
backdrop to 3000 ft of road in the canyon below that gets only
scant sunlight because the mountains are so steep. Forty nine
numbered hairpin turns and 6000 ft below lies the valley. It was a
magnificent day so we rode down the valley to Naturno and found a
great bakery and private residence for the night.
(16) The next morning we cruised on down to Merano, checked out
the market and headed up to St. Leonhard and the Giovo pass It was
a great day and we were making good time up the mountain when at
about 2/3 distance a driver who looked over his shoulder before
passing got too close to my buddy and collapsed the rear wheel in
the deepest pretzel I have seen (without a kink). The guy was
apologetic as hell and gave us DM 102 being a German and offered to
give us a ride. That wouldn't have helped so we sent him off and I
took the words that I had written to heart and made a great wheel
that was only noticeably lumpy to someone who suspected it. I felt
great that on a weekend (stores closed) we were able to ride on.
And we did for another 800 miles. We blasted down the north slope
of the Giovo (Jaufen) and right up the Passo di Pennes for a 58 mph
descent with wind into the Passeier valley and a great overnight at
Ponticino.
(17) The next morning it was only a short blast down to Bolzano
but on the way we had to go through "the tunnels". THere used to
be 21 tunnels at the narrow end of the valley but in 1984 they had
serious landslides and combined some of them. So now there are 14
tunnels and one of them has a curve at both ends so there is no
light. You can use a tire pump as a blind man's stick and slide it
along in the groove of the guardrail or if a car will light the
tunnel you can ride. This time we rode, thanks!
Bolzano isn't much on Sunday but its a wonderful city. We ate a
snack and headed up the Passo Costalunga that heads up the Eggental
through a dark and sheer walled canyon that holds the road on a
shelf or a tunnel or a bridge. After the 16% canyon it gets pretty
civilized and heads into the Dolomites. The lago di Carezza is a
reflecting pool for a beautiful formation but it has beautiful
azure water that has fanciful origins in the local mythology. Over
the summit a panorama of breathtaking mountains including the
glacier of the Marmolada fills out the horizon. We got a grocery
store lunch and rode on to the Sella, Gardena, Campolongo, and
Prodoi passes to ride once around the Sella. This is a great loop
from any of the four corners. We ended up on the approach to the
Fedaia pass that rises to the foot of the Marmolada. We found an
Italo/English hotel where we caught the F1 race of the day with
Prost #1, then some cricket, some TdF, and later the final match of
the World Soccer match.
(18) An early climb up the Fedaia pass to the base of the
Marmolada and its summer glacier skiers made a good start for a
long day. We get passed by some fast guys who just go to the top
and ride a few laps around the lake. The east side of this road
has the 60mph features that are seldom found on mountain roads. A
15% straight run into Malga usually gets you all the speed you ever
wanted but we had a 10mph breeze that slowed us down to 59mph that
felt like 70mph because the wind was going by that fast. On to
Caprile and straight across to the Passo Giao to Cortina d' Ampezzo
the Passo Tre Croce and Misurina took us through the breathtaking
Dolomites. I get all choked up when I stand on the edge of one of
those walls and see the "world" spread out in all its glory around
and below me. Then on to Lienz Austria over the Iselberg pass and
up to the Gross Glockner in Heiligenblut for a full day.
(19) That night all hell came down from the sky and the next
morning it was grey and drizzly. Up up and away up a climb that
unless its sunny, doesn't do much for those who aren't just out for
the exercise. The sun broke through once in a while but it looked
pretty dark. At the summit I could hardly see the other end of the
tunnel because it was so dark there. It was raining and foggy for
a slow descent that is usually a great ride. On this continuous
12% grade you can get 50mph any time, right now.
Near the bottom it lightened up as I watched hapless riders who had
no idea how wet and cold it was up there grinding up the
hill. I can only guess these ill equipped guys had a follow car
somewhere.
From Zell an See it was a pleasant roll up the valley to the old
Gerlos pass that has some 17% pitches but is otherwise a nice
little used 1 1/2 lane road. After riding down to the Zillertal
the rain finally gave up completely and when we got to the Inn
valley it even got nice with some blue sky showing in the late
afternoon light. We stopped in Hall just before Innsbruck and ate
a huge meal.
(20) Bright sun and white billowing clouds blowing away were the
scene as we rode past Innsbruck up the valley to Landeck and up the
Reschen pass. Traffic was light and cool spring breezes made
riding easy. Down the hill to Prato at the foot of the Stelvio and
at 6PM a start up the hill in picture postcard clear weather.
Having already done a usual days distance this was a beautiful
peaceful climb that reminded me of the days when I was "young and
beautiful"as the screen stars say. It was 30 years ago that I
first rode up this hill and it hasn't lost anything in beauty but
it took just over two hours of standing on the pedals. Then down
the Umbrail pass to Santa Maria and a good nights sleep in
Valchava.
(21) Being on the slope of the Ofen pass it was a quick ride to
the top and over to Zernez, right down the Inn valley to Susch and
up the Fuela pass. The Ortler that dominates the scene on the
Stelvio was visible all the way over here. Then down to Davos and
on to Landquart where there was a brisk headwind all the way to
Sargans. On the way along the Walensee huge mountains drop
straight into the lake and the road to Glarus climbs over the
lakefront hills on the opposite side. On up to Glarus in the
narrow valley squashed between mountains that vanish in the glare
of the sun.
At the end, at Linthal, the Klausen Pass climbs up in a wall with
terraced meadows between dark forests. Then the high valley that
leads up over treeline to the last ascent. Although the valley is
high, the crags on either side dwarf any human measures. Over the
top, the real meaning of box canyon becomes clear as you look
straight down 1500 feet on the roofs of huts with waterfalls
cascading on all sides. The railing is not convincing. The road
clings to the wall and cuts through tunnels as it comes down to
Urigen where the longest mountain stage of our trip found good
lodging in the ancient hotel Urigen. The operator of the hotel did
his pastry apprenticeship nearby at Andre's in Menlo Park CA.
(22) Urigen isn't at the bottom of the hill so it's a cool blast
down to Altdorf and up the Gotthard road to Wassen. The valleys
are so narrow that there is little sun until mid day. The Susten
pass is the glacier highway of the central Swiss alps but isn't
acknowledged as such. It has beautiful panoramas all the way on
both sides and a tunnel on top that makes the "other" side a nice
surprise. Its a great blast down to Inertkirchen and over the bump
to Meiringen (the place where meringue was invented) famous for
Holmes and Moriarty death battle on the Reichenbach Waterfall. The
Migros fountain makes masterful strawberry sundaes with heaps of
fresh berries there. Now its only over the Brunig pass and down to
Lucern and a dash back to the start.
That was a bit over 2,200 miles and over 10,000 feet climbing per
day except for the two flat days. Some of my tours have been
longer and some shorter but they are all great rides and on the
last day my fatigue always catches up with me. I think it is
mental. I had no flats and didn't pump a tire between leaving here
and my return. Peter wasn't so lucky with one snake bite and a
bent wheel. Otherwise all the tools were there just in case.
Unlike last year we didn't get any snowfall, something that can pop
up any time in the Alps.
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