Route des Grandes Alpes en Moto

[squawk77]

Originally Posted by zadok

Niiiiice! I did a Rhine cruise from Boppard to Bingen back in '81. Seeing your map and pics brought back memories.

Yes the Rhine is very nice, I'd like to take a cruise or even a train ride there sometime myself

[Olirider]

Hi,

Small correction for quite a common mistake :
It is the "Gorges du Verdon". Verdon is the river inside the canyon. Verdun is the town sadly known for the awful battle from WWI.

I love the light of your Parpaillon tunnel picture. What was the time, morning very early or late in the evening ?

Also did you camp in the middle of a field in full visibility ?

[squawk77]

Before beginning the Route des Grandes Alpes, I spent a night in Geneva. Being in Switzerland, I paid a downright silly price to set up a tent next to the lake. The hot shower and lake view with swans was included, but 1 hour of WiFi and fresh croissant with espresso in the morning was extra. This part of Switzerland speaks French being near the border. When I started into the French Alps the architecture and villages reminded me a lot of Switzerland as well. The flags I saw everywhere and on everything also looked a lot more Swiss than French? I realized it was the flag of Savoie, which is not an official region of France per se but a historical one. One of my favourite parts of traveling is experiencing how unique each region of a country is from what I could only generalize as whole before. I found a camping municipal in Beaufort for a couple €'s and set up my tent just in time.





(credit here)

[squawk77]

Originally Posted by Olirider

I love the light of your Parpaillon tunnel picture. What was the time, morning very early or late in the evening ?

Also did you camp in the middle of a field in full visibility ?

Thanks for the correction. I've been to Verdun as well

And especially thanks for responding to my PM's about the Parpaillon a year ago It was one of the highlights of the trip. That picture was in the late evening

I was camped out of sight only from dusk to dawn, and I didn't harm anything. In France it's usually easy to find a campsite though

[Olirider]

I did not remember I gave you information on the Parpaillon. I am happy that you did put it to good use !
The Parpaillon must be one of the best trail to be able to ride legally in France.

[squawk77]

Originally Posted by Olirider

I did not remember I gave you information on the Parpaillon. I am happy that you did put it to good use !

Yes, I got a good list of interesting routes from you last year I did not seek out them all on this trip but after the Parpaillon I think I should check out your other suggestions

Originally Posted by Olirider

Il y a plein de routes intéressantes dans les Alpes Francaises et Italiennes. Il suffit de choisir les routes bordées de vert sur les cartes Michelin.
Les pistes légales sont rares mais ll y en a quelques unes encore :
Le tunnel du Parpaillon, la vieille route du col de tende avec la piste de la vallée des merveilles, le fort de Roche La Croix, la piste du Cormet de Roselend en France. Le fort Jafferau, la Testa Assieta et le pointe Someiller sont à faire en Italie.

Bonnes balades et respecte les promeneurs pour que ces pistes restent légales !

[squawk77]

As soon as I got my tent set up in Beaufort it started to pour. Another biker arrived on a BMW from Freiburg, Germany. That night we shared stories and gorged on local Savoie wine and Beaufort cheese. The weather did not look good at all the next morning so we both decided to spend another day. I hung out in the shops of Beaufort and did my laundry. On the second morning, the rain clouds were rolling up the hills so I decided to make my escape. I actually rode up through the clouds, stopped to watch them roll over me, and then rode up through them a second time! At the higher altitudes there was frost and fresh snow. At lunch, a biker from Brazil cautioned me the Col de L'Iseran might not be possible. It was about -5 when we made it over in the afternoon - the highest paved mountain pass in Europe. I found a nice camp site in the ski town of Valloire for the night.

[Wildman]

[LocuL]

Those pictures dear Sir. They are FANTASTIC. I envy you.

[squawk77]

Originally Posted by LocuL

Those pictures dear Sir. They are FANTASTIC. I envy you.

Glad you enjoy them!

[squawk77]

Just a good dose of dopamine here. Living the dream along the Route des Grandes Alpes.

[SplitRock]

What fantastic terrain ! This is just a stunning part of the world. Your images are very good as well. Thanks for sharing the trip with us. It is very inspiring !!


Brent

[Drif10]

Gk?

[Mtl-Marc]

Originally Posted by squawk77

Yes it is a Canadian plate I get a lot of questions of how I got the bike over here so now I usually joke that I crossed the Bering straight. Actually I live in Germany but have Canadian plates

There are no canadian plates in Canada. Only provincial issued plates.


Nice pictures.

[advNZer?]

where is this place.Do you know what it is/was.Looks abandoned?



How are the on bike shots taken?