The French Alps! Just these three words elicit a feeling of longing to ride. It will produce a dreamlike state of mind in any motorcycle rider’s head. With our group of 15 friends we will embark on a series of Alpine Challenges by taking on a total of 20+ Passes over the next 8 days. We will cross each Pass and become masters of these curves, hairpins, sweepers, and beautiful riding region in Europe.
Additionally, we will also learn about the region’s cultural uniqueness and culinary specialties. The weather in late September promises to be great although it will already be cold on top of each pass. But hey, this is why we came here and we are looking very much forward to this moto experience here in Southern France.
Our daily start and end points are Vence, Cuneo, Briancon, Beaufort, Saint-Jean de Maurianne, Embrun, Barcelonnette, and Vence again. After these almost 2000 kilometers of challenging alpine roads we will improve our own skill levels and hopefully can appreciate the confluence of beautiful landscapes, local traditions, and amazing roads.
Today we did our usual briefings and turned over the motorbikes to each rider. After everyone happily checked out his bike, we had a nice dinner and chatted about the days to come over drinks. Onto tomorrow: Our first riding day!
We rode our first day north from Vence / Nice. We followed the Vesubie River and saw magnificent gorges and landscapes. It was a spectacle of mountains and valleys forged by million year old glaciers. The rivers are so small now but the carved landscape leaves you breathless regardless. After a lovely lunch stop we moved back into Italy by passing over the Col de la Lombarde. After many twisties and up and downs we arrived in Cuneo, Italy, where we would settle for the night. It was a great first day of riding to start the tour.
We left Cuneo promptly at 8:45 AM this morning after a full breakfast and some good rest. Alan did the briefing and explained all the highlights. A super nice Carabinieri who stayed at our hotel stopped traffic for us as we pulled out of our hotel drive way in busy downtown Cuneo. Grazie, Signori Carabinieri!!!!
Today we climbed 5 high passes: Colle dei Morti (2481m), Colle d'Esischie (2366m), Colle di Sampeyre (2284m), Col Agnel (2744m), and the very famous (Col D'Izourd (2360m). All were breathtaking and at times difficult to navigate becasue we had some serious fog in the early part of the day! Bon Voyage, mes amis!
A foggy and rainy day, but we saw some amazing scenery and high alpine passes. For starters, the Col du Granon (2413m), was up first. Then we mastered the Col du Mont Cenis (2084m). Then we went up the HIGHEST paved mountain pass in the ALPS!!! - The Col de LIseran (2770m), also dubbed the King of Passes!
Paved is the key here. On our last day we will go over 2800 Metrers on the Col de la Bonnette, but the difference is that the extra 30+ meters are unpaved. LOL. GFo figure! Arriving in beautiful Beaufort, just east of the Olympic Village of Albertville, is our hotel location for the next two days! Yeah, baby! Living the life of Moto Adventurers!
We had three options today:
Another gorgeous day with high alpine passes: Today we rode...
