This trip came in two parts, part 1. Spain, France (mostly) through Italy and Switzerland and Scandinavia then back to Amsterdam. A total of slightly over 12000km in 5 months. More a cycling trip than previous ones with less time stopping to visit people or spend touristing. This time with my faithful touring bike (Gemini World Randonneur), lighter, faster and at times more comfortable than earlier mountain bike, but more fragile too. Equipment otherwise as previous trip but bigger and better handlebar bag.

Abbreviations used: YH for youth hostel.

Spain

Scenery: On the plains where the natural scenery is dull, the towns and walled farms are interesting. The mountains of course are great!

12 May 20km	Madrid - Arrived at airport. Unpack & Ride into town using inadequate map was a bit tricky and very hot. Hilly going east to YH Casa de Campo
14 May 75km	Madrid - Cercedilla West partly into hot headwind on busy road to Brunete then north to Valdemorillo (after 200m? climb) and El Escorial/San Lorenzo (150m? climb) to see the impressivley monstrous monastery. N-Ne down to Guadarama (at 980m) and up to Cercedilla and Las Dehasas hostel (1350m) at 2:15, arrived dehydrated. A nice spot with reasonable walks around, just off GR10 route.
15 May 130 km	Cercedilla - Segovia - El Negredo A cool day is a lovely change. Made hard work of the trip up to Puerto de Fuenfria (1793m) by turning back (due to inadequate map reading) from the correct gravel road and dragging bike up the old roman road. Followed walking track down (half riding) to road then zoomed out to highway & into Segovia, a great old town. The Alcazar is well worth a visit, don't miss the climb to the tower. Head a bit out of town for lunch. S wind somewhat helpful as I'm going NE on A110 with good shoulder, undulating most of the way.My legs fade and the two hills before Riaza (lovely town plaza) hurt. Stop for water refill + more food and the going is easier. Take smaller road east and camp among trees just past village of El Negredo.
16 May 160km	El Negredo - Agreda A long day mostly E into moderate SE wind. Cross main rd to small roads & a few climbs through to Fresno de Caracena, most ok, some apalling with gravel surface eroded to rocky underlayer with mud in some low points. A flat slog to Almazan for lunch. After quick look around, NE to Gomara on new road with wide shoulder. Wind lessens though legs are tiring, rains on & off.Small road NE is a worthy shortcut to continue on the wide '101' road. Legs are stuffed so have many short breaks before low pass (1196m, La Carracas?) after which comes a dream run into Olvega (sheltering from most of a 2nd thunderstorm ) don't see any promising accommodation so continue to Algreda and find reasonable Hotel Commerce. Algreda is really interesting, lots of ancient buildings.
17 May 115km	Algreda - Luesia Mainly downhill to Tarazona then udela to shop, get lost, etc. Gash a tyre and get puncture, find my spare has unrepaired hole - what good preparation! '125' road heads east (winds still SE) through desolate landscape of Las Bardenas Reales to El Portillo (200m? climb) and down to Valarena for lunch in shade overlooking river. N to Sadaba (moderately interesting) and NE to Uncastillo (really good). Decide to stop at YH but after 2hrs wandering, still no sign of life there so ride on. After 20mm and 100m climbs reach fine "Kanguro" bar/hostal owned by a guy who had worked in OZ many years before.
18 May 80km	Luesia - Villanua Locals tell me of a shortcut. N to Longas then E to Puerto de Santa Barbara. It saves 35km but probably little time in good weather (for me, due to rain it cost some as it took ages to clean the bike!). It was sticky slippery and badly eroded in places, climbing steadily ?400m then descends ?300m on nasty section into Longas, almost a ghost town. Then up ?300m to pass and down to road. Quick jaunt down to Aragon river and along '240' to Jaca. After lunch and 14km of drizzle uphill to Villanua I look for YH but find albergue/refugio instead and stop to dry off. There are hostels, refuges, gites in many places on either side of pass; good walks too if weather is better.
19 May 130km	Villanua - Tarbes [France] After watching weather, and forecast is for more rain I ride on instead of walking, snow and cloud down to 1600m. Climb to pass (Puerto de Somport, 1632m) is 680m and quite gentle, about 3km at 8% in 2 sections is steepest. Good views on way. Canfranc rail station is huge from when it was the highest access & the trains went through, they no longer do. Cold & wet run down the Aspe valley is really pretty. There is a steep 1km bit around Urdos (10%?) but otherwise not too bad. After getting some Francs at Beows, continue down to Escot (@300m!). Take smaller road through Lurbe and lovely road through forest to Arudy, then via Coarraze and Pontacq to Tarbes. There are often steepish 100m climbs (200m after Benejacq) between rivers
20 May	Tarbes Rest day, rains most of it. Get IGN 1-250 000 road Atlas for France, not as detailed as Michelin but smaller and lighter
21 May 140km	Tarbes - Salardu [Spain] Looks as bad as yesterday but only occasional drizzle til 5:30 when it sets in. Depart along N117 SE, with little traffic to Capvern, E along D938 to Aneres & S-SE to St-Bertrand-de-Comingues walled village + cathedral with amazing renaissance timber choir. Then S up the Garonne, very low gradient to Spanish border (580m) just over which there is a big supermarket for the French, slope gradually increases to Viella (970m) and Salardu (1270m), a ski village with impressive YH.
22 May 125km	Salaradu - Castellciutat/La Seu Climb to Port de la Bonaigua (2072m) fairly easy. Started off on a walk on the way down but still too much snow. Fast run (steepish in places) down to Esteri d'Aneu (?1000m) then slow down along the Rio Pallaresa to Sort (?750m) as I stop to watch the hordes of rafting groups. The 1000m crawl upto Col de Canto was very draining in mid-day sun so stopped for a beer at Vilamur on the way. 3 tourers from Dortmund pass me as I have lunch soon after. I catch them on the way down to Adrall (which includes a steep 300m) and we camp together just up the road.
23 May 45km	Castellciutat - Andorra Follow the German riders' idea of heading north through Andorra which seems like a long shopping strip set in th mountains with mega markets at either border. Climb has steep parts after Andorra town but overall not too bad. As weather is fine, thoughts of walking recur, so after climbing 1000m I turn off to small road below Soldeu in search of a mountain refugio. I hide, lock bike and repack near the walking track and continue up to refugio at 2294m. Its on a small lake (the largest in Andorra!) The climb plus afternoon's walk are bad for my knees.
24 May 150km	Andorra - Carcassone [France] Walk down the refrozen snow and track to bike which is hard on the knees and an achilles tendon too (neither of which have completely recovered, 2 years later!). Bike is still there so repack, have brekky and ride/walk down to road. Climb from 1748m to Port d'Envalira (2407m) is a fairly consistent 6% or so. Down into Pasa de la Casa (2091m) full of shops & shoppers and long queue at border where I pass lots of the cars that overtook me. 30km down to Ax-les-Thermes (720m?) takes just 40mins and is steepish in places. Take D613 NE through Chioula (1430m), the top 300m at about 10% was hot and hard going but then mostly flat or down hill to Quillan. N on small D2 road through Brenac to Compagne & highway slog with lots of traffic, downhill but into wind. Stay at YH in la Cité. Find La Cité a bit disappointing after similar things in Spain and the impossing photos

France

25 May 115km	Carcassone - Albi Legs are stuffed after last 2 days, I should have taken things more gently. Spend next few days in low gear having semi-rest days. Take long way out of C~ but find the D101 to Conques-sur-Orbiel which becomes a delightful and quiet road up the Orbiel river. A few steeper parts towards end where it hits main road about 100m below 800m summit. Continued to Mazamet to shop and busy main road to Castres which has an attractive old town. NW to Lautrec, a fairly intact old village, and negotiate minor roads to Albi undulating up or down upto 100m a time. Ride out to campground but end up returning to center and YH.
26 May 80km	Albi - Villefranche-de-Rouergue Wander around Albi, an attractive town. Leave at 2pm following small roads N to Salles, D91 W along river to D922, N to Laguépie then ?250m climb and descent to Najac and another climb and descent to Monteils, all camp grounds seem closed, mostly opening 1st June. Along river to Villefranche and YH.
27 May 100km	Villefranche - Ablas W on D911 is good, take detour to Laramiere priory (just another) and a dolmen then through Limogne, D40 to Lugagnac and to river is fine then along river to delightful village St. Cirq Lapopie for a while. Follow N side of river after Bouzies into Cahors but don't like all the traffic fumes and eventually continue on. W along river on mostly small roads to Luzech and Ablas and stayed in a closed campground.
28 May 135k	Ablas - Perigueux Following Masse R. north to Cazals is pleasant in moist morning air. Negotiate small roads to Domme then Sarlat (& buy new tyre, after 5000km on rear). NE on small roads to D47 and follow it down under the chateaux, stopping for 1hr 30mins cave viewing before reaching les Eyzies. D710 is unpleasantly busy before reaching little oasis of Camping D'Ile at Perigueux/Boulazac.
29 May 10km	Perigueux
30 May 150km	Perigueux - Saintes Miss Angouleme turnoff & eventually get to Chancelade (?) and up into hills to follow enjoyable D2 (?) NE to La Tour Blanche and Villebois-la-Vallette with its magnificent old covered market. Then ENE (keeping S of Angouleme) on busier D22 to Chateauneuf, D10 to Bourg, crossing River and dawdling along small roads to Cognac for a tour of the Otard cognac chateau. Take a tortuous route to Rouffiac to visit an acquaintance (away) then in to Saintes for the fine YH, impressive Abbaye and part of roman arena. Has been fine and hot from the border to here.
31 May 105km	Saintes - Bougon Rain is a nice change from the heat. After wandering around town some more, depart NNE unsure of destination. N to Taillebourg and NE to St Jean d'Angely for a bit of a stroll. Eventually find tiny D220 N to Coivert, try to head through Chize forest but 3m fence and gate in middle of road! Detour to Chize and continue NE to Melle (quite attractive), skip the silver mines and try the excellent & cheap gite d'etape at Bougon
1 June 30km	Bougon Spent 3hours at the very interesting Tumulus museum + short ride around area
2 June 170km	Bougon - St Florent-le-Vieil Strong SW winds. NNW on small roads to Parthenay (great medieval village) is pleasant and undulating, NNE to St Loup Lamaire chateau (pretty but unfortunately closed til afternoon) then cut through to D28 heading vaguely NW through Argenton Chateau (wind is now an annoying cross wind), Somlaire (nice village), Vezins, Tremontines. Strained something in left knee charging up hills and crawl last 20km into St Florent, camp at well located and cheap campground.
3 June 100km	St Florent - Redon Depart W, knee feeling fine. Rain encourages me to stop at Ancenis for dry supermarket, continue (still raining) on good D23/D164 through Couffe to Nort-sur-Erdre but knee hurts again after 10km battling SW winds. Crawl into Blain and spend 3 hours for lunch, viewing castle tower, museum. Knee improved so onwards through Forêt de Favres to Plessé. I try a gite nearby (shut) so go on to Redon.
4 June 85km	Redon - Broceliande SW wind and rain a bit lessened as I head on to Broceliande forest of King Arthur legends. It has some very nice sections, particularly in the "Basse Forêt" but a lot of plantation too. YH had not opened (contrary to dates in guide) so try camping at Barenton camping/gite (several camping grounds/gites in area)
5 June 120km	Broceliande - Paimpol Strong SW wind so head north through Mauron (shopping), Medrignac (more shopping) on D6 is pretty good. WNW up 100m to viewpoint then D76, D22 to Langast is often tough in the wind, NW to Ploeuc is easier. Small road into St Brendan and lunch out of rain in bus shelter. On to pretty town of Quintin & after first hill, run north with wind for 50km to Paimpol. YH full but I can camp there.
6 June 60km	Paimpol - Trebeurden Strong W wind overnight lessens today and swings SW after lunch. W to main road and on to attractive town of TRéguier, on to coast to Trestel, Trelevern and an array of tiny roads before D38 to Lannion. On to Ben Leguer YH on coast (again), it's full so continue to nice YH at Trebeurden which is only nearly full so I stay. Lots of rain in afternoon, this is Brittany.
7 June 30km	Trebeurden Nice bludge, hostel is good despite school kids. Dawdle around coast.
8 June 140km	Trebeurden - Dinan Main Rd to Lannion is busyish. Lannion has very attractive old buildings in centre & I spend a little while. Get lost trying to depart but follow fine small D65 SSE to Runan (lovely church) & D21 to Pontrieux (attractive), D6 SE to Lanvollon becomes unpleasantly busy into St Brieuc (you can avoid a lot of this by going through the towns). Didn't spend much time here and followed reasonable D122 to Yffiniac for lunch. Knees hurting again so dawdle along unduly contorted route to avoid main road to Lamballe (which has some terrific c.16th buildings, "the executioners house", etc). Then E via D28, D68 to Corserl & SE to Dinan to shop and camp near the centre and to really enjoy the old centre, the views & atmosphere.
9 June 65km	Dinan - Pontorson Follow D68, D10 E to Lanvelin (?) with interesting granite sculpture park, then NE on good road to Pontorson to drop bags at fine YH & head out to that famed tourist trap Mont St Michel which is visible from afar, the land is so flat. It's more impressive from outside than in. Dawdle away afternoon, trying two bikeshops for replacement cones for front wheel, & possibly axle for back wheel, no luck. Bike running ok but should be much smoother.
10 June 120km	Pontorson - Carrouges E today with many interesting old farm buildings, some fortified. Follow small roads E to Poilley-Ducey for very good regional furniture museum (30F) where I passed 2½hrs ! E along busy N47 and pleasant D479 to Barenton, Domfront (& another bike shop, no parts either but owner insists on cleaning, fiddling and tightening front wheel which worked wonders!). Domfront has more attractive c.16th buildings and beautiful setting for its castle ruins. Finally depart E on small roads through te often lovely Forêt des Andaines & down to Bagnoles with its grandiose 19th century hotels, etc. Dawdle along hilly route through St Patrice etc to Carrouges to camp, I ran out of puff about half-way, though the north wind didn't.
11 June 140km	Carrouges - Chartres Have trouble deciding to get up and finally get away just before 9 negotiating my way E through forest on small roads despite map only showing a random selection. E through the Forêt d'ecouves (quite good) to St Gervais, Bursard, Essay, Laleu and into Mortagne-au-Perche for a short wander. E again through St Mord to Longny is nice (but with 80m climbs every 5km or so) & on into Chartres just after 5 to shop, find nearby YH nearly empty so stay instead of camping, walk & walk.
12 June 90km	Chartres - Beaugency Bit warmer today, again little wind. Spend morning exploring central Chartres, the cathedral is really worth all its fame & world heritage listing. There are lots of terrific pre 1600 buildings too. Back to YH for lunch then leave after repacking. S on D935 to Danmarie is good, drift W to Chateaudun for 1½hrs, mostly at chateau which is empty of furniture and most decoration but has some interesting displays and great sous-sol & views. Had planned to go on to Vendôme but dithered and took D925 (busy) and D924 (nice) through flat pastures to Baeugency instead and stopped at YH.
13 June 70km	Beaugency - Bois de Sudais Saunter W along small road N of Loire then along embankment track. Love these signs "SAUF CYCLISTES". Dawdle into Chambord forest park with its incredible 31km 3m high stone wall (built 1550-1650). The forest is young, been logged a lot. After short strolls onto the chateau which is rather impressive and well worth a visit. I found it a bit exhausting though so went onto Blois to read, had planned to stay but decided not to after finding Les Grouettes YH rather inconvenient so went back to Blois across river (S side is quieter), refilled water bottles at Candé & camped in forest.
14 June 120km	Bois de Sudais - Beaugency 10km initially in a light mist down to Mont Richard, W to Chenonceau which isn't visible until you pay to get in but also worth it. A great design though smaller than I expected, kitchens are wonderful. Left after 2 hours N across plateau to Amoboise where I spent too long. Then E along main road not too bad (NNE wind annoying). Take small roads to Cheverny which is a stately home rather than a castle, again with great gardens and specimen trees. As it's raining I head back to Beaugency though in retrospect could have saved a lot of km continuing E.
15 June 115km	Beaugency - Chatilon sur Loire Ride along enjoyable route SE then E to Lamotte-Beuvron, many attractive ealry farm buildings, elegant neoclassical houses, pleasant forest areas. At Chatilon look around, head out to the picturesque old canal lock area then across river.
16 June 160km	Chatilon - La Motte Ternant Had attempted to book Vezelay YH but answering machine only. Left to take small road SE to Thou but "route barée" sign at new autoroute encouraged a rerouting va unpleasantly busy N7 road S then E to Thou, small roads to Arquian then D957 E, rather boring road though the towns are nice, the few hills are a shock after the Loire area. Spend an hour at Clamecy and 2hours+ (long lunch) at Vezelay (great Basilica). Head off at 3:45 SE on quiet D36 . After a detour to the 'ponts' at Pierre-Prthuis, my legs suffer on the hills (road rises from ?200m at St Pere to 550m at Quarré-les-Tombes. Try for St Agnan to camp but 1st site pricey (62F) and 2nd, well I didn't find it after a 2-3km detour and continued to Saulieu where camping still pricey so kept going to La Motte Ternant, fortunately it's downhill.
17 June 75km	La Motte - Savigny les Beaume Small roads S to Arnay-le-Duc for a look-around then treasonably peaceful D17 E to Bligny-sur-Ouche & D970 towards Beaune climbing ?250m out of Lusigny. Small road across and follow autoroute before descending to Savigny, the last ?80m mark "13%" and with STOP sign at bottom. Campground is reasonable so I replace a spoke, have lunch, setup and wander into Beaune. Pretty but not perhaps not as remarkable as had been suggested. Heat + wine tasting put me off doing anything much for rest of day. Shop, return to Savigny and bludge.
18 June 75km	Savigny - Etauls Ride up the nice D2 which climbs steadily about 300m to about 2km before Antheuil where it plunges down (marked '12%) then gently along river. Ride N up Ouche with stop at Barbirey for 1hr walk upto Celtic village remnants, tumulus, etc. Then Mâlain with its partially rebuilt castle remnants and alonge Ouche/Bourgogne Canal into Dijon. Nice cycle ath along N side of canal from Velors into Dijon. After some hours wandering the very attractive city, head N to the gîte at Etaules I'd booked. Climbs 300m over the 12km to Etaules and takes me 45mins. There are some cavers at the gîte.
19 June 25km	Etaules/Dijon Rode in through Haute Dijon and out through Tarrant with great views over Dijon from each. Climb is so much easier without much gear.
20 June 205km	Etaules - Montbeliard / Vezelois Left just before 7:30 ENE with light variable wind. Follow small roads through Fontaine-Francaise (impressive chateau), Oysiers, and then D13 into Vesoul for lunch (after 110km). Didn't think much of Vesoul though nice 'English Garden' so out E on major D9 route which is fairly quiet being a Sunday. After a while a very considereate W wind develops, only a couple of minor detours and stops and take D93 'shortcut' through Corcelles to D33 into Montbeliard. The 'shortcut' being steeply up/down/up/down. Get into town a bit before 5, after a wander headed to the museum in c.18 townhouse - very interesting. Ring the hostel "fermé" - ah well, its a pleasant evening, so after heading upto castle and getting a bit lost getting out of town I go NE in search of a campground. No luck so after 20km head NW towards Belfont but see nice patch of forest and camp.
21 June 75km	Vezelois - Mulhouse Into Belfont and Castle/militaria museum and learn a bit about the Franco-Prussian war. Plan for Masevaux in the Vosges for lunch so follow mostly small roads NE then N. Still not hungry after dadling around Masevaux so N over Joffre road, 2 190m climbs separated by 50m descent. Rain becomes heavy at pass, quite cold too but I'm persuaded to sample a couple of natural flavouring extracts befroe descending out of the cold for lunch under a shelter. A very nice forest road leads into Thann, E through Cemay and a roadworks detour complicates getting to Wittelsheim, then ulhouse. After exploring, head to fine hostel. Call friend in Muhlheim. Music festival in evening with all sorts of music on the streets is excellent.
22 June 90km	Mulhouse - Muhlheim [Germany] Shop, head NE in meandering route, see sign for cycle route to Freiburg and follow. A bad move. It meanders even more and I have 2 near accidents with groups of cyclists that don't watch where they go. Cross Rhine at Chalampe, then N through Bremgartento Schallstadt along main road (on cycle paths, local roads when found them) into Freiburg for a few hours exploration. Then S along cycle tracks adjoining main road most of the way to Muhlheim to visit Johann (et al).
23 June 130km	Mulheim - Saignelegier [Switzerland] First W to the Rhine then S along good gravel cycle path to Lorrach (shopping) and Basel [Switzerland]for a few hours exploring. After lunch SW through Oberwil then W along French border to Wolschwiller, climb and descent to Kiflis and up Lucelle River to Lucelle. Plan to go to St Ursanne but after steep climb out of Cornol take easier option of heading towards N18 through Montfaucon which involves a couple of 100m climbs and gets quite a lot of traffic. On to Saignelègier to camp (9SF, 10SF for 2) and wile away evening with a biologist working on local bog.
24 June 130km	Saignelegier - les Rousses [France] First to the Etang de la Gruyere for a while before SW along good small road/cycle route to La Chaux-de-Breuleux, Les Breuleux before joining busy N18 and busier N6 into La Chaux-de-Fonds (1000m) which had no immediate appeal but I passed some time there anyway. Continue on down to Le Locle and Col des Roches and short steep climb S & into the valley of La Brevine, 100m or so climb out of valley and lunch on way down to les Bayards. WSW to le Frambourg [France] and, after a detour to la Cluse, S up the rather gentle slope about 200m (with 100m altitude markers!) to les Hôpitaux-vieux and -neuf and down across border [Switzerland again] into Vallorbe (800m). Follow "7" cycle route signs to the gravel road heading up through the forest. The "330m in 5km" sign may have discouraged me if further back when could have taken the road but the gravel road was quite good with a 5% grade and a couple of steeper sealed sections upto the rail crossing where I had to wait for a train before climbing a bit more and descending ?70m to le Pont on Lac de Joux. Follow N side of lake then moderately busy N79, climbing a bit to la Cure (1150m) and down to the terrific les Rousses YH.
25 June 25km	les Rousses Rest day, hostel has light English novel to read - luxury - & I finish it by next morning. In afternoon ride into les Rousses then up slope towards fort above lac des Rousses but the 'Accès Interdite', 'Danger' etc, signs put me off near top so after more reading, follow GR track walking (mostly) down into town again and ride down (400m) to Morez then back up to Premanon and follow walking/mountain bike tracks back to YH. A group of supported tourers wander in. In France there are lots of cyclists zooming around, usually in flashy cycling clothes.
26 June 75km	les Rousses - Geneva - Bonneville Up through La Cure to low pass (1229m) in increasing rain then long descent to Nyons on Lake Geneva for a wander. Rain stops and I follow main road with cycle track much of the way into Geneva. The old town is interesting; I thought the Red Cross museum not as good as its reputation, albeit a very good cause, Maison Tavell very good (& free). After lots of exploring, I depart after 5pm, shopping on way to Bonneville for nice campsite, but much rain at night
27 June 75km	Bonneville - Montroc/Argentieres Up l'Arve river, back road to Cluses is nearly as busy as N205 which I next follow to before Salanches where I take road through Passy and Servoz which is quite good, less traffic though a few more climbs than main road. On N205 again take 'les Bossons' road into Chamonix which is a much better choice than sticking to main road. After gathering information and provisions I escape the crowds and continue to Argentieres then steep 200+ metres to Le Tour (1650m). Plan to go up to the Gite d'Algarpe (1900m) for some lazy days but after pushing (mostly) bike up the ?15% gravel track, found the gîte not yet open, contrary to guide book. So lock bike and walk up to the Swiss border and Col de Balme and hill above (2300m). Back to bike and down to Montroc/Argentieres and I try 'le Moulin' gîte which is quite good. A terrific thunderstorm over night (terrific if you are not camping, that is). The suggestion of a cold from the last few days really flares up.
28 June 115km	Montroc - la Rochette Downhill is nice, though cool in morning with light wind coming up valley. Take main road out of Chamonix for variety but it's a bad choice. Dent rear rim on a submerged drain on a downhill section - I saw it too late while watching too many things. From le Fayet its a 500m climb over 15km to Megeve (1100m), down a bit over 10km to Flumet then down perhaps 600m over 13km through the attractive Gorges de l'Arly to Ugine (at ?400m) and a bit more to Albertville. Through Crignan and beyond travelling a good quiet road through villages. Long lunch as I'm rather stuffed. Next 20km into breeze and slightly uphill quite hard so I stop at 4pm at la Rochette to read and rest and finally decide to camp.
29 June 60km	La Rochette - Grenoble Ride down (100m?) to Pontrachet then on one of the major roads along the glacial valley, edging around the south of Grenoble to Echirolles and rather ordinary YH. Into Grenoble which I found quite dull at first though river and fort area pretty and interesting. A litre of sorbet helps relieve the heat.
30 June 75km	Grenoble - la Baume de Rencurel A sort of rest day on account of my cold is the intention but curiously it includes a 1400m climb, not planned but enjoyable! N then W to Sassenage. After shopping head up 600m in 10km to Engins then more gradually to Jaume and Lans-en-Vercors (after detouring for a hr walk to a small Gorge). Decide to go towards Autrans and YH but at low pass (1218m) change mind to follow forest road up ridge climbing at about 6% for 2-3km then more gradually with some great views over valley below. Walk up to top of ridge in a few places then head down (at 5-6%) the lovely Gorges de la Bourne. Notice campsite in lovely setting and stop.
1 July 140km	la Baume - Suze Down the rest of the Gorges and then nearly flat to St Nazairte en Royans. Follow D125 SSW with moderate N wind assisting, climb 150-200m to Barbieres then down to Chabeuil, an impressive 'porte' but little else. S along busyish D538 to Crest for a wander in the heat and to inspect the really good castle (reputedly the highest 'dongon' in France). Further S. involves 200m climb/descent, small climb/descent on contorted route to La Bègude then 270m climb through Aleyrac which is out of the wind and very hot. Down into Provence to Grignan past bright (and slightly intoxicating) fields of lavender, stopping at Grignan and then Chamaret, detour to one campground but continue on to Suze and stop at campground with pool - ahhhhh - and castle towering above. Dutch guy there also touring.
2 July 75km	Suze - Tarascon Hot and humid. S to Orange via Uchaux is good. Spend 2 hours ar roman Arc de Triomphe, Theatre and museum. Continue on to look around Roquemaure and Villeneuve-les-Avignon then SW to Aramon and Tarascon and YH, not quite as good as I'd remembered.
3 July 40km	Tarascon Day trip to Arles long both sides of Rhône. Arles is very enjoyable, lots of museums but the local culture museum is enough for me (and good). Castle in Beaucaire has lovely gardens for relaxation.
4 July 105km	Tarascon - Manosque E to St Remy de Provence and up the hill to the remarkably well preserved roman tomb/tower. Make bad decision to see rather ordinary Glanum (roman town) and associated museum as it is better to ride before the heat of the day. E on main road to Cavaillon is partly shaded by trees and not so busy (it's Sunday). E from Cavaillon is mix of main road, minor roads and cycle way (for 10km E of Apt, which is good). Heat + moderate S. winds make going slow. After Cereste take minor road marked on my map as a 'road not regularly maintained' & is also the G.R.4 that climbs through Mont Justin. I'd agree with 1st part of description but would quibble over 'road' - its a bit slower than the real road. On to Manosque and weird YH 2 km uphill from town. Detour to Montfuron is worthwhile for views. Impressive 'portes' to old town.
5 July 85km	Manosque - la Palud/Gorge of Verdon E down to rivr then 200m climb and down a bit less to Gréoux-les-Bains , NE climbs 400m through Riez (old town looks quite intact) then down and up to Moustieres-Ste-Marie, prettily perched on small cliff and very touristy. Down again on D952, 150 climb before flattich and scenic few kms and 380m climb to pass (1030m) and down a bit to la Palud for lunch. Leave bags and ride out on ring road for walk down (350-400m) to Gorge base for a few hours walking/swimming. Back to good YH to camp.
6 July 95km	la Palud - Lac d'Allos E down 300m to Castellane to shop (and got caught in the shopping lane from hell), escape eventually climbing north to pretty lake and mainly flat run to St André-les-Alpes for morning tea. Then climb gradually, undulating somewhat to Colmars and its impressive walled town (Beauvezer also nice), spending some time with dutch couple out for 8 days riding and lots of climbing. Climb a bit more steeply to Allos (1400m). Plan on some walking and eventually settle on Lac d'Allos refuge. After lunch and shopping head off with 6kg of food to Lac d'Allos carpark (2100m), initially climbing 375m at 8-10%, then a few km climbing and descending 50m or so followed by 150m at maybe 15% and 200m at 10-12%. A further 160m to ridge on track and down a bit to delightful Lac d'Allos (2240m). Walk around lake and sight 2 chamois demonstrating their heroic mountain climbing skills. Great day.
7 July 0km	Lac d'Allos 0km but walked maybe 30. Clear morning and walk the 800m up to Mont Pelat (3050m) for fantastic views. Down ?350m then along small track to Petit Col du Tarn, the descent from which is on pretty steep sliding scree then long shallow descent to near road (2100m) to Col de Cayolle then short cut up to petit Col de Cayolle (2639m) along ridge to a low peak and down again very good but pretty much killed my legs. Hail and thunderstorm encouraged some of the few campers into the free shelter near refuge.
8 July 100km	Lac d'Allos - Guillestre Down, up and down to Allos is quite bumpy then 850m to Col d'Allos (2250m) is pretty easy in cool of morning, first few km at 4% then around 6-7%. Down to Barcellonette (1150m?) involves lots of turns and is steepish in places (1100m in 17.5km). Up to Col de Vars (2110m) it rises gradually along river under the impressive fort and past interesting fortified farm before climbing fairly steeply with small descent in middle, last 450m in 5km - luckily clouds keep it cool. There's a refuge just over pass. Continue down, steeply through Vars with small climb later on before descending to Guillestre and terrific big YH.
9 July 145km	Guillestre - Torino / Turin [Italy] First down N94 (at about 900m) then 30km and 300m rise (most of which occurs going out of Argentières) or so to Briançon. After shopping, a 100m climb at 10% to Vauban, fortified town and castle, a great place. E. along river then climb to Montgenevre (1850m) where I'm slowly overtaken by a racer. grade is mostly around 7%., last bit felt like more but that could have been the headwind. Road becomes rougher and steep in places down into Italy. Turn N. to Oulx then E to Turin, downhill with 100m climb before Susa. Headwind quite strong initially but dissipates as valley opens out further E - luckily I tagged onto 3 Belgians on racing bikes who shelter me for 10km. Lovely mountain scenery. Find center of town and tourist office, eventually, and wander out to reasonable camp site. Tourist office provided a very good (and free) 1:350 000 map of Piemonte region. Walk around town for 3hrs.
10 July	Turin [Italy] Walk and walk. Royal Palace is rather sumptuous, I love all the old doors and shop fronts and arcaded streets, I like Turin in general. The foodmarket has some extremely cheap fruit.
11 July 165km	Turin - Alagna Drizzle til 9am and I delay heading NE through Chivasso and Santhia to Gattinara before following Sesia river N and W to Alagna. A typical river road climbing more steeply towards end. A big fair in Varallo brings lots of traffic for a Sunday. A light SW wind is very useful so make very good time (2hr for 35km + 650m climb from Varallo to Riva Valdobbia). Wander around Alagna (1190m), get info and go back down to campsite.
12 July	Alagna Walk up to Col D'Olen (2880m) in 3½ hours. The 2 refuges (one 110 years old) there charge about 35000 lire (B&B), for CAI ones about 40% off for members. Had planned to stay but weather clagged in, clouds down to 2000m for rest of day. Walk down 500m or so and up to Col de Foric (2420m), think I lost the main track here, one I followed was overgrown and slippery in the damp weather. Down to La Follu and the Otlo (??) valley, 500m above Sesia valley, 30 houses with no road access.
13 July 200km	Alagna - Domaso [still in Italy] Leave early (6:45) after early night. Legs still sore from walk. Down valley is nice and easy to BorgoSesia, then S and E, 150m climb and descent to Borgomanero, E to Sesto, and NE to Varese, dawdling shopping and looking around on way. Take dumb (longer) route E through Viggio before turning N to Lugano [Switzerland] and E to Menaggio [Italy], road along N side of Lake Lugano is as last time unpleasantly busy though there are side tracks to use to avoid most of the tunnels. YH is full so N along lake avoiding most of the rain but with lots of close shaves from cars/small trucks. I avoid a thunderstorm talking to an artist with exhibition in town hall. Can't get any answer from Domaso YH so I camp.
14 July 120km	Domaso [Italy] - Susch [Switzerland] N wind and lots of traffic still. Around lake to upper lake then N to Chiavenna for a short exploration. Road tends to have flattish runs through towns with climbs between, the wind makes open areas tough but its cool. Legs are suffering on the climbs. Meet and ride with German tourer most of way into St Moritz (after Maloja Pass, 1815m, the biggest single one-day climb of the trip at ?1500m) where I stop for lunch. Decide legs need a rest so dawdle down through the villages stopping at nice little camping area in village of Susch.
15 July 145km	Susch - Safien Thalkirch Fluëpass (2383m) after breakfast, 950m mostly at 7-8% with a few steep bits and a few respites. A broken spoke dragged derailleur into spokes, bending it, which required some work to try and straighten. Down to Davos to check with KLM about bike box from Zurich airport, shop, etc. Leave with shitload of food (5kg?) W and down (?150m climb before Wiesen, ?80m out of Tiefencastel) to Tiefencastel, Thusis and Bonaduz (655m). Then 1040m up Rabiussa valley to Safien-Thalkirch with a few small descents, main climbs are ?450m through Versam and 300m after Safien-Platz at about 9%. YH difficult to find, I ride up to guest house to ask, its up walking track behind 'post office' in basic but delightful and mainly original ?150 year old farmhouse and at 1700m a nice base for walking.
16-17 July 10km	Safien Thalkirch First day, feeling tired, talk to Alex and Kathrin (from Berne) some more and finally leave for walk aroun 11:30, its 5km to end of road (I ride the next day) and then up the mainly good track (apart from cow shit and eroded parts) up to Safienberg pass at 2486m, are 4 huts/shelters here and it gets cold after late lunch. Next day E. up steep track to Alpesschällilücker (2614m) then small peak above valler (2700m) - a perfect alpine day! Discovered my back rim had rather ugly crack on one side where dented nearly 3 weeks before. Reinforce with some thin wire under spoke ends and hope.
18 July 180km	Safien - Winterthur Set out around 7:30 with some trepidation, not confident wheel would last, but it did. Check it at Chur at 9am, seems unchanged, so onwards down then flattish riding with light SW breeze make fast riding and I set a record distance of 85km to Walensee before morning tea. Then along sometimes frustratingly indirect cycle route. Its Sunday so there are lots of cyclists, most between Chur and Weesen, including 20 tourers. Saw more cycle tourers today and yesterday than I had seen in the past two months. Uphill a bit to Rüti for lunch (130km), climbs a bit more to Hinwill then down to Winterthur before 3:30 to look for bike shops, out to YH (not open til 5) back to park to nibble and rest, chocolate is molten (freeze it later at YH). Go for a ride after dinner checking out bike shops, half are closed on mondays but there are a dozen of them.
19 July 10km	Winterthur. Ride to Dynamo cycle shop and café. Decide to get just rim instead of whole wheel as I have all day, and spent a fair bit of it fiddling with wheel and spokes - should have just got whole wheel! Wander, gorge on chocolate and peaches.
20 July 25km	Winterthur - Kloten (Zurich Airport) Take road (through Nurensdorf, etc) which had a fair bit of traffic, cycle route probably better. Buy bike bag (SF10) and repack for flight.

The Alps : The mountains are wonderful for cycling, not so much traffic and what there is seems reasonably respectful which is why Switzerland is a summer mecca for cycle tourers. It pays to get fit before you arrive but the scenery, the climbs, the air make for enjoyable riding and walking too. The only really steep road I tried was the one up to Lac d'Allos in France which hit about 15% for a short section - you can't take much of that while touring heavy. However, most of the climbs don't excede 8% which is not so difficult and lets you look at the view.

Now on to part two Helsinki - Amsterdam around the Bothnian Sea or back to Bike index

Last updated 4 February 2002
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