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Pre-Tour European Trip Summary
A more detailed description and photos from this trip can be viewed here, but here are some summary facts, figures and thoughts.
- The trip lasted just over a month, from May 17th - June 20th.
- In total 5 countries were visited, France, Italy, Slovenia, Austria and Spain.
- The door to door driving total was a rather hefty 5060 miles (8150 kms). This has sped up the car service schedule considerably and it now annoyingly reminds me it needs attention every time I turn on the ignition.
- Approximately 10,000 insects met their maker by exploding on the front spoiler/numberplate, I am not sure I will ever be able to fully remove their grisly remains.
- 23 different major climbs/cols were ridden, although only two (in the French Pyrenees) will feature in the 2007 tour route. These climbs include :
France
- l'Alpe d'Huez (1850m)
- Col du Glandon (1924m)
- Col de la Croix de Fer (2067m)
- Mont Ventoux (1912m), climbed four times in total
- Col de Sevi (1150m), Corsica
- Col du Tourmalet (2114m)
- Col d'Aspin (1304m), climbed twice
- Port de Bales (1755m), Stage 15 TdF '07
- Col de Peyresourde (1569m) Stage 15 TdF '07
Italy
- Passo di Falzarego (2105m)
- Pass di Giau (2236m)
- Passo Duran (1601m)
- Passo Campolongo (1875m)
- Passo Sella (2244m)
- Passo Pordio (2239m)
- Passo Gardena (2136m)
- Passo Stelvio (2757m)
- Passo Gavia (2621m)
- Mortirolo (1852m), climbed twice
- Monte Zoncolan (1735m), not completed
Slovenia
- Vršic Pass (1611m)
- Predil Pass (1156m)
Austria
- Großglockner Pass (2572m)
So evidently I am all ready for some sort of crazy 2007 Alpine hill climbing championship....not so sure it replicates Tour de France stage riding that effectively ! Good fun though.
For the record, I found Monte Zoncolan the hardest which is not surprising. We we were prevented from continuing past 4km's by race marshals, but it is extremely unlikely I would have made it without putting a foot down. I also found the Port de Bales very tough which is worrying as the Tour goes over it.
Of the Grand Tour passes, I found the col d'Aubisque the most beautiful, but it does not feature in the list above as I didn't ride it (no time). Maybe the fact I wasn't shattered at the top had a bearing on why I found it so pretty !
The Stelvio Pass is the most impressive mountain road and is probably my favourite overall. The huge height gain from either side, the exceptional number of acute hairpin bends and the beautiful high alpine scenery combine into one spectacular route. Highly recommended.
I loved the Julian Alps of Slovenia, the Vrsic Pass from the Soca valley to Kranskja Gora is very impressive and the whole area is more relaxed, quieter and less commercial than in most other alpine areas.
Corsica was also interesting, although the col listed above is not that high in absolute terms, it is climbed from sea level making it just as serious an undertaking as anything in the alps. The coastal riding in Corsica is also superb.
- The weather was less sunny and more rainy/snowy than expected, lows of <0c (Dolomites), highs of 32c (Corsica)
- My knee, which has been troubling through the winter/spring, miraculously cured itself and I have no injuries at present...no, not even a sore bum. Ok, maybe some slight sunburn...
- Broken/failed items included one rear bike tyre (locked up on the Col d'Aspin), one pair of sunglasses (snapped), one bike chain (worn out) and some dodgy indicator lights on the car that required some fiddling about. The windscreen-wipers also went a bit weird in the rain in Provence, but were fixed. My Sony camera also took a fall as I was running along a road in Slovenia, still works fine though. One friendship was also heavily damaged (not so easy to fix !).
- Thankfully and amazingly there were no punctures throughout the trip, despite some dodgy roads.
- My MSR Whisperlite stove performed as well as ever, now into it's 11th year of service. Many thanks again to my parents for buying me that as a present.....I'll be using that for the rest of my life.
- The new Mountain Equipment tent (3 man Mountain Shelter) performed well and brushed off snow in the Dolomites, a storm by Lake Como, serious UV rays in Corsica and an almighty thunderstorm near Mont Ventoux. I thought I was going to be fried by the lightning as well lose my hearing.
- I recommend TDI engines for the mountains, economical and loads of torque for snowy Dolimiti passes without uncouth levels of revs (also good for ferrying boxes of wine back to the UK).
- Two very cheap camping chairs from Decathlon performed as expected...they broke.
If you would like any advice/information on any of the places that were visited, drop me a note at wakeling.mark@googlemail.com and I will happy to help if I can.