Author: Will

Another great unpaved climb over high passes on the Italian French border. This route starts in Italy, enters France at Colle della Rho (2541 metres), then spends roughly 14 kilometres in France, visiting a couple more cols, several lakes, and a refuge – all well above 2000 metres, finally descending back into Italy. Beautiful. (Detailed map at bottom). A 3D video of the ride: Starting in Bardonnechia, it’s almost immediately quiet, and after 3 kms the road becomes gravel – no autos for the next few hours. Yes, it is another old military road that continues to a barracks roughly…

Cycle Route 4194751 – via Bikemap.net Col, of course, is the French word for mountain pass. For example: Col du Galibier. But there are many other French synonyms for Col. For example: Pertuis, Pas, Forclaz, Cormet, Hourquette, Cou, Porte, Couloir, etc. These are sometimes from old local dialects thus often regional in nature. For example, Forclaz means “narrow gap” and is mainly found in the north French Alps. In the French Jura mountains, Golet is a synonym to Col. There are dozens of Golets but virtually all are well off the beaten track – almost going unnoticed. The best known…

Doreen and I were in Zermatt for 4 days to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. 3 days were filled with fabulous hiking, and one day I rented a mountain bike to attempt the amazing Gornergrat ascent to 3135 metres. Since I only had one day to bike, I decided to try another cycling climb late on the same day after surviving the Gornergrat: From Zermatt up to the top of the Schwarzsee ski-lift right beside the Matterhorn at 2583 metres. The climb to Schwarzsee: From Zermatt, the route heads up to Furi on a nice, paved little road that is…

It’s not easy to get above 3000 metres on a bicycle in Europe. But it’s always worth the effort. Gornergrat is a high rocky ridge in central Switzerland high above Zermatt. It has dominating views of nearby Monte Rosa (the highest mountain in Switzerland) and of the Matterhorn. There is a tourist train to the summit, and skiing here in winter. To call the surroundings beautiful is an understatement. A 3D video of ride: Doreen and I were in Zermatt for 4 days to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. 3 days were filled with fabulous hiking, and one day I…

Another brilliant high old military road ride near the Italian/French border. Deserted, beautiful, challenging. Note, as will be explained below, I DO NOT RECOMMEND the descent I took on this loop. I would suggest turning around at or perhaps a kilometre below Pas de la Beccia (2717m). Perched strategically above Col du Mont Cenis and Lanslebourg, Fort de la Turra (2507 metres) was built in the 1890s by the French. It saw action in June 1940 during the Italian invasion. It was directly attacked by the Italians from Pas de la Beccia for several days. The Fort was surrounded but…

Much of the French/Italian border is up in the high Alps. And along much of this border are endless high, old, unpaved military “roads.” Often leading to old forts, bunkers, etc. Usually/often these were first built in the late 1800s, although many were updated / manned in WW2. The upside of this militarism to a peace-loving modern-day Canadian cyclist like myself? Endless great opportunities to get very high in beautiful, deserted surroundings. The 3D video is pretty good: I’ll maybe do a post in the “off” season” about my favourite high old military rides – and some future ideas. But…

Recently, Doreen and I spent the weekend at Les Arcs 1950 ski station in the Tarentaise Alps. I married well: Doreen allowed me to jump out of the car down low in the valley and I mountain-biked up and over Col du Chal (2460 metres) and down the ski slopes into the lovely village. A gigantic, beautiful climb – roughly 1800 metres of ascent. This is one of those posts that includes a good road bike climb, and then a fabulous mountain bike climb by continuing once the asphalt ended. So road bikers, don’t leave yet. Here are two profiles.…

Part of my silly annual Cycling Challenge for 2017 was to cycle a big climb to see the sunrise. Years ago, I climbed Mont Ventoux and Col du Galibier in the dark, arriving at the summit just before dawn. This year, my friend and fellow Steel Wheeler Tim volunteered to join me. This made me happy as I remember being quite scared alone in the pitch dark while ascending Galibier. I am not joking. 🙂 Our key criteria: a big, interesting climb with a clear view eastward from the summit. We agreed on the Jura Giant: Grand Colombier via its…

My favourite climb. Period. It is so beautiful one just laughs while pedalling. Here’s what I said in 2014 after my first visit: Let’s get the hyperbole out of the way: This may be the most beautiful high Alps paved climb I have ever cycled. Seriously. 🙂 It’s the 3rd highest paved pass in Italy. See here for the 10 highest paved passes in Italy. This was the last climb of the Alps visit of my great friend Jens. He had originally suggested Barcelonnette as a place to visit. I nodded enthusiastically and planned as many special climbs as I…

In northern Piemonte, Italy, La Strada dell’Assietta is one of the most spectacular high altitude roads in the world. More than 30 kilometres long, almost entirely well above 2000 metres. This old military road is unpaved, gravel, and at times quite rough. Along its length are all sorts of forts, barracks, etc. Most built in the late 1800s. The official web site is here. The “trouble” with this great road is that it can take an average cyclist 2-3 hours of solid climbing just to reach the route. For example, one can climb the legendary Colle delle Finestre (one of…