UK to Swiss, Italian and French Alps - Page 4 - .: XT660.com

dallas · # 31 17-10-08, 07:48

Nice piccies, Ray! That's what the Tenere all about : allroad ridin'! How did you experience your lowered bike, more convenient for you? Greetz, Hans.

Molgan · # 32 17-10-08, 10:13

Great pics and write up!

stuxtttr · # 33 17-10-08, 15:06

Great report Ray it looked like an amazing trip, by the way what tank bag are you using ?

Old Git Ray · # 34 17-10-08, 22:19

Ate the simple breakfast and walked out. Couldn’t see the point of checking out as I hadn’t actually checked in.
Jumped on the Ten and set off Southeast towards the Cols.
Drove about 2 hours and promptly turned off the main road into the wrong village, Saint Jean du Maurienne, instead if Saint Michel du Maurienne, and subsequently up the wrong mountain. Fortunately I have a 6th sense about getting things wrong (I am very good at realising when I have done something wrong which is good because it happens a lot) and add to that the fact that the sun was from the wrong direction so I went back and wasted only about 30 mins, but hey, the riding was good.
I eventually found the correct road, D902, towards Col du Galibier.
What an awesome road. Started out, left right left etc, straightened out then left right left – you get the picture. Eventually ending up at Galibier.

41 43 45 Some of the views

46 The top – almost.

52 Large old person makes it to the top without zimmer or parachute but has to rest as a result.

62 Just the other side is a caf�/shop where I met a Fin (person – not fish tail) on a red BMW (far right). Bad picture but he, Jan, is above my tail bag in the picture.

Jan, who is about 50 years old, is on a 4 week tour of the Alps and Med to escape the depression of the awful Finnish weather. He has 53,000km on the bike and regularly clocks up 30,000km a year but only in the summer due the harsh winters in Finland. A very knowledgeable man on bikes and a damn nice chap too.
Once past the Col I turned left onto the D1091 and on to Briancon, then East to La Vachette where I headed North for Col de 'l Echelle.

71 72 73 Before getting there I stopped for grub (again) and took some piccys

The effects of the altitude on my grub is interesting. Taken at 6� 38.446'E, 45� 0.956'N.

Old Git Ray · # 35 17-10-08, 22:58

76 Off to the Col. Most boring one so far despite being gorgeous.
I then dropped down the other side (East) into Italy and then on to Bardoneccia.

Bardoneccia is a small town that supports a ski resort. The skiing is done on a mountain called Mont Jefferau to the East of the town. I had previously planned (programmed into TomTom) a route up the mountain and over the other side. The problem I now had was locating the exit point from the town up the mountain. The actual trail is well used but unfortunately on this occasion, not by me.

79 I thought this was the trail – wrong (again). On this occasion the sign is not a prohibition but a well intentioned warning.

This trail went almost straight up the mountain and was so steep that I could not turn around and had to keep going. It started out looking reasonable but soon turned nasty with loose boulders all over the steep track. It was the direct route that the Unimogs take between lift stations. Despite being loaded the Ten performed very well and I only stalled it once, fortunately it was pointing up at the time. I really had screwed up and I was crapping myself – again I was alone and being stupid.
Fortunately I got to the lift station and went to look at the piste map to figure out where I was and promptly dropped the bike due to being knackered and a poor footing. I forgot to take a piccy but….

36 Piste rash. How many people can say their bikes have Piste damage ? Fortunately not much.

Other than 2 dents in the pannier there was no further damage. Not bad despite being laid completely on the side of the pannier.
I then had the problem of where to go next. I found a down trail having decided to abandon the mountain. After a few minutes I found a substantial trail and thought “hey, I found the right trail”, - wrong again. I followed this vehicle track to the right for about a mile them it stopped suddenly at some culvert works and I was presented with this..

80 This was a single track on a steep slope.

My mind again was saying “should I”, “shouldn’t I”. I could see knobbly tracks along it but they were likely from unladen dirt bikes so it obviously went somewhere. The devil won and I set off in fear. After about 500m the track returned to a normal two wheel trail and I was able to relax a bit.

26 Then suddenly the track opened up onto a flat area with old military fortifications on it.

33 I thought this funny. It states (in German), Pig German, Austrian and Swiss Motorcyclists, go to your home.
I suppose that means I can stay then.

35 So I did. I set up camp on a flat bit.

82 Mine isn’t the first XT here either.

37 I checked out the damage to the panniers. The bike was completely on its side and all the weight supported by this bent in (right) pannier. Sorted with a big foot.

44 My un-programmed second GPS tells me the height and that it is likely to get really cold.

I am a bit sad (OK - a lot sad) when it comes to gadgets. SWAMBO bought me a Garmin Vista to replace the one I lost in the Amazon some years ago (long but good story) but it had no useful road planning features. Some years later she bought me the TomTom but that is useless for trail planning so I had to take both – that’s my excuse anyway.
49 52 A couple of pictures of the sunset.

Bed at 8pm, nothing else to do.
Effective mileage for day 128 (205km)

colros · # 36 17-10-08, 23:01

Just looks so great, You planned and executed a good one.

Old Git Ray · # 37 17-10-08, 23:58

I got up really early today, having gone to bed early and being woken by the cold.

62 Ten looks very cold at 6am.

64 Tent doesn’t look much warmer

66 Temperature gauge confirms the actual temperature.

68 This was the ice from the outer skin of the tent

70 Ready to go and awaiting some light to see with.

72 Time to go

76 But look at that sunrise

80 I set off down the other side of the mountain as there is a good trail and eventually find a trail back up to the top of the mountain – bring it on, my luck is changing.

82 Milestone (OK km stone) suggests 21.5 km back to base level.

83 Found this large pile of rocks stacked in an orderly fashion.

84 The top – bliss, and still only 8:30am

85 spooky.

89 2804m = approx 9200 feet.

90 More 10 second dash and pose.

91 Yippee…..another 23km of this.

92 Very dark, very wet, very slippery tunnel.

93 From further back this looked blocked off and I had visions of doing the whole mountain again the other way, fortunately not, whew..

95 Met this lovely Italian couple about to go up into the tunnel and up the mountain on the Yamaha Grizzly. They paid about 12,000E for it. Mad as march hares but lovely.

Once at the base I set of for the next Col, Col du Vars. I get there via Oulx, back into France, Briancon and Guillestre. When I get to Guillestre my belly says stop and eat so being the obedient kind of chap that I am, I naturally oblige. Whilst I am waiting for my food I look at the map and consider my options. Whilst folding and unfolding incessantly I see the name Monaco. I’ve never been there. OK lets go. Monaco it is then.

After grub I set off again and as I approach the village of Vars I pass a group of French bikers eating at a good view point and decide to turn around and take a picture. As I pull up they call me over to eat (again!) with them. I politely refuse explaining that I am full. We talk for a bout 10 minutes and look at maps and I generally try to appear intelligent. I then give my regards explaining that Monaco is a long way and I have to go. I take a quick picky.

98 French good guys.

I then set off, go through Vars and on to Col du Vars (about 10km from the French bikers) and decide to take another photo from the col. I find this simple task extremely difficult as my camera is still sat on the table with the French guys 10km back the way. (Told you I get a lot of things wrong didn’t I.)

Back on the bike and hot foot back down the mountain. Halfway back I see the bikers coming toward me and flag me down. They collected my camera and left their phone number in case I missed them. I gratefully accepted my camera back and in a grovelling and embarrassed manner bowed profusely to the honest French bikers.

We all then set off again over Col du Vars. They set off like scalded cats. The guy in front was on an Aprillia Pegaso with his wife on the back. (Yes, same engine as my Ten). I kept up with him but only just but I was scaring the pants off myself so eventually, I mentally justified stopping for another photo (as you get older you find more excuses for your inabilities). My God those guys could ride and none were youngsters either.

99 My excuse for not being able to keep up with the French.

josephau · # 38 18-10-08, 00:08

Great pics and captions, Ray. Quick question, what is and where did you get that temperature gauge in one of your pics? I've looking for one that would lit up in the dark like that. Also, do you have to hook up to the electrics and if so where? Oh, it looks like you went thru some long gravel trails, how do those stock panniers hold up?

colros · # 39 18-10-08, 00:20

Old Git Ray · # 40 18-10-08, 00:22

02 This is them. Top guys and gals. Another 10 second dash.

01 And this is one taken by them of the silly slow old git and his trusty steed.

We laugh a lot and after about 10 minutes we all set off together. Very soon I watch them disappear into the distance and am alone again and battling my way through thousands of 180deg bends towards Nice. Maybe I should change my forum name to ‘Slow Old Git Ray’.

After a few hours of shifting my bum on the seat I pass a couple of cars and a biker in the other direction (seems to be the only way I can pass anybody,) they are all flashing their headlights at me and I figure this is international language for ‘Old Bill Ahead, slow down’, sure enough, round the next bend was a very large Gendarme waving for me to stop. I was fairly happy as I had slowed down so was not expecting too much drama. Wrong again. “English”, “yes sir”, “driving licence”. I get out my Police warrant card wallet with all my credit cards and licence inside and I am thinking, “I have forgotten to bring my insurance and log book with me – this could get difficult”. Fortunately he is stood right beside me and watching me dig into the wallet for my licence and when opened my police badge is on full view. I retrieve my licence and he inspects it. So far so good. “Papers” he says pointing at the Ten. Oops. “Er I do not have them”, “but in France you must have them”, I then put on a pathetic look and say “Oh dear I have left them at home, I am very sorry”, There is then a long pause whilst I think about a nice new pair of cuff links and a free ride to the nearest town and he says “OK. Because you are a Policeman I will let you go”. Fantastic, this is the first time in 20 years that my shiny little badge has actually been of some benefit (other than the obvious). I thank him profusely and we nod to each other as I ride off knowing that he has just let me off a world of pain.

I arrive at Nice and turn left towards Monaco and Monte Carlo. I think the whole place is Monaco and the centre is called Monte Carlo but as one is so small and the other fills it I think they are pretty much the same thing.

10 I park my trusty steed next to some old Italian banger of a car and increase its value just by the Yamaha’s presence.

12 I cast my eye out to the humble fishing village in the bay and pity the poor people in it.

13 Again I move my bike to make an old gambling joint look a bit better.

(Monte Carlo Casino)

I decide after a short while that I cannot help these poor people, bar making their town better looking with my bike and then fill up in an underground petrol station and set off East and back toward France (in fact France is every direction except the sea). Before leaving Monte Carlo I stop to get SWAMBO a fridge magnet and also pick up an oval nationality sticker ‘MC’ which now looks dead cool on the back of my dented pannier.

14 As I exit the shop I see this and think “I need a set of crash bars like that”. I took a photo and some guy came running out of a shop thinking I was some sort of warden about to lift his bike. It turns out that this is a standard learners bike and this is what they give then to pass the direct access type test. Cool.

I then set off for France again and arrive there after 30 seconds. By this time the sun has set and darkness was looming.

I then follow the coast for a short while and just before Italy turn north towards Sospel. Its now dark and I ride through Sospel and on to Col de Tende. This is a venue I should have visited in the daylight as all I saw was the next wall round the bend many times over. By now it was about 9pm and I was tired and sore so I booked into a small hotel just the Italian side of the Col and had a couple of beers and went to bed. I did not book breakfast as I wanted to leave early.
Mileage for the day 218 (350km).

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