Europe 2012 Maritime Alps ans Vosges - Page 3

PFFOG · 10-27-2012, 07:32 PM

9/10 part 2

We rolled along sidestepping rocks, ruts, and crossing mud holes, all will time in awe of the scenery. We stopped atop Mont Genevris, among some ruins from a time passed, parked our bikes, grabbed the food and ate in one of the most beautiful places I have seen in the Alps.

We had purchased some bread sausage cheese and water for a mountaintop lunch at 8250’ above sea level.

I don’t know the age of these ruins, but are likely military on origin, as the desolation of the area would not be conducive to settlement.

There was a famous battle, in 1747, where the locals from Piedmont clashed with the French, according to Wikipedia, in a 5 hour battle 5000 French were killed and only 77 Piedmontese. With the great strategic views, and proximity to the border, I would guess that it was also strategic in the World Wars.

More history here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Assietta

http://www.johnsmilitaryhistory.com/Assietta.html

Not my video, but shows the road and conditions better than I captured. This was just down from where we ate lunch. We luckily had a few mud holes, but it was just damp enough to keep the dust down.

The ride down we past a Shepard working his flock to a water hole

On the way down.

Pictures do not capture the beauty of this ride. Everyone made it down safe, with no incidents, and happy that they cut this unusual side trip.

The F800R decided to collect a little sample of the road

Next up was a beautiful paved road that climbed again over the Col delle Finestre, before turning into dirt on the north slope, for about 8 km and leading back to that little paved road with the 28 switchbacks.

What does 30 switchbacks in 5 km look like? The rapid fire ones come about the 3 minute mark. BTW switch the quality to HD if you have the internet speed, much better to watch.
On a map:

On a bike: The rapid fire ones come about the 3 minute mark. BTW switch the quality to HD if you have the internet speed, much better to watch.

All I can say is today's ride was a memorable one. After getting back to the main road it was time for fuel stop. We all filled up grabbed some refreshment, and took a little breather. The gas station had an outside car wash and one of the attendants was spraying the customer's car with pink soap. One of the riders on the tour was a woman wore a pink helmet. In a moment of silliness Rob asked the attendant if he could borrow the soap wand, and called over Donna, and preceded to cover her in pink soap, before grabbing the high pressure wash wand and rinsing her off, while the attendants, customers, and we roared with laughter. That is one way to get 40 km of dirt road off your riding gear.

The ride back was pleasant, and we paralleled the main road on a small serpentine one, that darted and twisted bak and forth under the highway.

Then up two more Cols, the Col du Laurtaret, and the Col du Galibier
From Col du Galibier

We arrived, late as usual, at another great hotel, sat down to a great dinner, few great bottles of wine, and some great socializing amongst our new friends. This is what life is all about.

Mark_O · 10-28-2012, 03:44 AM

I am digging the scenery.

Horton · 10-28-2012, 07:10 AM

Nice RR of one of my loved areas. Maybe next time you try to see a little bit mor of the Elsass north of Strassburg. Wunderful small towns, Ballons (Hills). . .

And very small roads!

PFFOG · 10-28-2012, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Horton

Nice RR of one of my loved areas. Maybe next time you try to see a little bit mor of the Elsass north of Strassburg. Wunderful small towns, Ballons (Hills). . .

And very small roads!

I spent 5 days riding out of Kaysereberg in '09, and have been on a lot of the small roads in that area, yes another great place to put some miles on.

I envy you guys that live there.

Arek Kontrol · 10-28-2012, 11:58 PM

...amazing, just amazing!

PFFOG · 11-14-2012, 02:15 PM

Tuesday 9/11
Today was a relatively short day, following some small roads that paralleled the main highway. We rolled up and over Col du Telegraphe and headed For the Col du Mont Cenis.

Along the way we saw passed a heard of sheep, being guarded by a Polish Tatra Sheepdog, it did let us know that it was on duty when we stopped.

After riding up we spied small restaurant with a balcony overlooking the Lac du Mont Cenis. It was getting close to cappuccino time so we ordered some cappuccino and headed for the back deck, soaking up the sun and enjoying the lake view.

Next up Col de Iseran, a great little road over a high pass. A stop at the top to take a few pictures and we were and a pleasant ride down, before climbing up and over the Petite Saint Bernard.

I was in need of some gasoline before heading up the Petite St Bernard, but was not having much luck finding a station. The GPS pointed to a station a few kilometers away, unfortunately the station was unmanned, and did not take cash or except are cards. Having no choice but to move on, we headed up and over petite Saint Bernard, riding a little slower than usual to preserve fuel.

This worked out well anyway, as there was major construction on the pass, with lots of gravel in most corners. At the base of the petite Saint Bernard we rolled into a gas station still running, luckily, and found a station that took cash. Just up the street I spied a telltale ice cream cone sign that indicates gelato. Couldn't believe I've been in Europe for a week and had not had any gelato yet, so it was a no brainer to stop and enjoy some gelato for lunch.

We continue to ride into Courmayeur, a base of Mont Blanc, we had a beautiful room with a nice view of the backside of Mont Blanc.

View from our room, Mont Blanc is up there somewhere in the clouds

As we were in early we relaxed, and some of the girls went into town to do a little shopping. Luckily most places were closed so the wallet didn't take a hit. We would be eating at a place in town tonight. The clouds started to roll in and by dinnertime there was a steady white rain falling, so we were undercover of umbrellas on our way to dinner.
We had a great dinner, and a great time with the owner of the restaurant, he was one of those characters that make eating fun, and with great food and wine, what better way to cap off our evening!

enduro0125 · 11-15-2012, 12:43 AM

Great riding near mount Bianco.

whatsgnu · 02-23-2013, 01:29 PM

Amazing !! Looks like a wonderful trip. Thanks so much for posting this RR.

PFFOG · 02-23-2013, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatsgnu

Amazing !! Looks like a wonderful trip. Thanks so much for posting this RR.

I need to finish it, I always peter out on the last couple of days, as I hate to remind myself of the feeling I have to go home soon.

bastimentos · 02-23-2013, 06:23 PM

Im sure there are many more like myself eagerly awaiting the final chapters, thanks for posting what you have so far.

10-27-2012, 07:32 PM	#31
PFFOG ^OP Richard Alps-aholic Joined: Aug 2005 Location: Western NY, further from NYC than 6 entire states Oddometer: 1,145	9/10 part 2 We rolled along sidestepping rocks, ruts, and crossing mud holes, all will time in awe of the scenery. We stopped atop Mont Genevris, among some ruins from a time passed, parked our bikes, grabbed the food and ate in one of the most beautiful places I have seen in the Alps. We had purchased some bread sausage cheese and water for a mountaintop lunch at 8250’ above sea level. I don’t know the age of these ruins, but are likely military on origin, as the desolation of the area would not be conducive to settlement. There was a famous battle, in 1747, where the locals from Piedmont clashed with the French, according to Wikipedia, in a 5 hour battle 5000 French were killed and only 77 Piedmontese. With the great strategic views, and proximity to the border, I would guess that it was also strategic in the World Wars. More history here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Assietta http://www.johnsmilitaryhistory.com/Assietta.html Not my video, but shows the road and conditions better than I captured. This was just down from where we ate lunch. We luckily had a few mud holes, but it was just damp enough to keep the dust down. The ride down we past a Shepard working his flock to a water hole On the way down. Pictures do not capture the beauty of this ride. Everyone made it down safe, with no incidents, and happy that they cut this unusual side trip. The F800R decided to collect a little sample of the road Next up was a beautiful paved road that climbed again over the Col delle Finestre, before turning into dirt on the north slope, for about 8 km and leading back to that little paved road with the 28 switchbacks. What does 30 switchbacks in 5 km look like? The rapid fire ones come about the 3 minute mark. BTW switch the quality to HD if you have the internet speed, much better to watch. On a map: On a bike: The rapid fire ones come about the 3 minute mark. BTW switch the quality to HD if you have the internet speed, much better to watch. All I can say is today's ride was a memorable one. After getting back to the main road it was time for fuel stop. We all filled up grabbed some refreshment, and took a little breather. The gas station had an outside car wash and one of the attendants was spraying the customer's car with pink soap. One of the riders on the tour was a woman wore a pink helmet. In a moment of silliness Rob asked the attendant if he could borrow the soap wand, and called over Donna, and preceded to cover her in pink soap, before grabbing the high pressure wash wand and rinsing her off, while the attendants, customers, and we roared with laughter. That is one way to get 40 km of dirt road off your riding gear. The ride back was pleasant, and we paralleled the main road on a small serpentine one, that darted and twisted bak and forth under the highway. Then up two more Cols, the Col du Laurtaret, and the Col du Galibier From Col du Galibier We arrived, late as usual, at another great hotel, sat down to a great dinner, few great bottles of wine, and some great socializing amongst our new friends. This is what life is all about. __________________ Tuscany 2010 Maritime Alps and Vosges Richard PFFOG screwed with this post 10-29-2012 at 04:50 AM

10-28-2012, 03:44 AM	#32
Mark_O Drain Bamaged Joined: Nov 2008 Location: Moran Nation Oddometer: 9,632	I am digging the scenery. __________________ Sarcasm, just one more free service I provide. BYOB T-SHIRTS

10-28-2012, 07:10 AM	#33
Horton Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Sep 2008 Location: Niederrhein Oddometer: 432	Nice RR of one of my loved areas. Maybe next time you try to see a little bit mor of the Elsass north of Strassburg. Wunderful small towns, Ballons (Hills). . . And very small roads! __________________ Horton dä rumtreibär

10-28-2012, 11:58 PM	#35
Arek Kontrol Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Aug 2011 Location: Ex-pat Poles in Adelaide Hills, South Australia Oddometer: 225	...amazing, just amazing! __________________ Flinders Ranges Ride 2012 I live more in 5 minutes on my motorcycle than some people live in a lifetime...

11-14-2012, 02:15 PM	#36
PFFOG ^OP Richard Alps-aholic Joined: Aug 2005 Location: Western NY, further from NYC than 6 entire states Oddometer: 1,145	Tuesday 9/11 Today was a relatively short day, following some small roads that paralleled the main highway. We rolled up and over Col du Telegraphe and headed For the Col du Mont Cenis. Along the way we saw passed a heard of sheep, being guarded by a Polish Tatra Sheepdog, it did let us know that it was on duty when we stopped. After riding up we spied small restaurant with a balcony overlooking the Lac du Mont Cenis. It was getting close to cappuccino time so we ordered some cappuccino and headed for the back deck, soaking up the sun and enjoying the lake view. Next up Col de Iseran, a great little road over a high pass. A stop at the top to take a few pictures and we were and a pleasant ride down, before climbing up and over the Petite Saint Bernard. I was in need of some gasoline before heading up the Petite St Bernard, but was not having much luck finding a station. The GPS pointed to a station a few kilometers away, unfortunately the station was unmanned, and did not take cash or except are cards. Having no choice but to move on, we headed up and over petite Saint Bernard, riding a little slower than usual to preserve fuel. This worked out well anyway, as there was major construction on the pass, with lots of gravel in most corners. At the base of the petite Saint Bernard we rolled into a gas station still running, luckily, and found a station that took cash. Just up the street I spied a telltale ice cream cone sign that indicates gelato. Couldn't believe I've been in Europe for a week and had not had any gelato yet, so it was a no brainer to stop and enjoy some gelato for lunch. We continue to ride into Courmayeur, a base of Mont Blanc, we had a beautiful room with a nice view of the backside of Mont Blanc. View from our room, Mont Blanc is up there somewhere in the clouds As we were in early we relaxed, and some of the girls went into town to do a little shopping. Luckily most places were closed so the wallet didn't take a hit. We would be eating at a place in town tonight. The clouds started to roll in and by dinnertime there was a steady white rain falling, so we were undercover of umbrellas on our way to dinner. We had a great dinner, and a great time with the owner of the restaurant, he was one of those characters that make eating fun, and with great food and wine, what better way to cap off our evening! __________________ Tuscany 2010 Maritime Alps and Vosges Richard

11-15-2012, 12:43 AM	#37
enduro0125 Sticks and Stones™.. Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Orchard Park,NY Oddometer: 9,951	Great riding near mount Bianco. __________________ AMA 487807A

02-23-2013, 01:29 PM	#38
whatsgnu Scheissekopf Joined: Apr 2009 Location: S. VT / W. MA Oddometer: 241	Amazing !! Looks like a wonderful trip. Thanks so much for posting this RR. __________________ '08 Wee-strom ABS '12 Victory Cross Roads Now, if I could just put off procrastinating Tact is for people who aren't witty enough to be sarcastic.

02-23-2013, 06:23 PM	#40
bastimentos Adventurer Joined: Jul 2011 Location: Ticino, Switzerland Oddometer: 87	Great RR Im sure there are many more like myself eagerly awaiting the final chapters, thanks for posting what you have so far.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: .
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode