Tour of the Alps 2003

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Tour of the Alps 2003
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On Thursday, 26 June, Jeanie Barnett and I flew with Lufthansa from San Francisco to Frankfurt and
then to Zurich where we arrived just after Friday noon. I had my bicycle, a suitcase and small
carry-on. Jeanie had a carry-on, a small suitcase and a large Bike Pro bicycle case. We took a train
from the airport to Schwyz where Edith Dierauer picked us up for the short ride to their house in
Ibach, the town where Victor Inox, the cutlery company is at home. We prepared our bicycles for
departure the next morning. We got a good night's sleep after a great raclette cheese dinner.
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1. Saturday, 28 June (Ibach - Rosenlaui; 104km, 1260m):

We had clear skies and pleasant temperatures, with the heat wave that gripped western Europe the
last few weeks, having blown away. As we got ready to leave, I realized that the shopping bag with
my bicycling clothes was still standing in my kitchen at home, so we visited two bike shops to get
refitted, size 48 SPD shoes being the main problem. Back in Ibach, properly equipped, we finally got
on the road at about noon, riding to Brunnen on the Vierwaldstettersee (aka Lake of Lucerne) and the
Axenstrasse that follows the east shore toward the Gotthard.

The Axenstrasse is noted for its rocky cliffs dropping steeply to the water, the railway staying
mostly in tunnels as we ducked in and out of tunnels as we made our way to Flüelen at the end of the
lake. It was along these cliffs that William Tell was said to have duped the Austrians, who had
taken him captive on their boat and were returning to their headquarters when a fierce storm arose.
He convinced them to unshackle him so he could show them a safe landing along the cliffs. Instead he
jumped ship when they got close to the wall and vanished up trails that only the locals knew. The
Austrians went under, according to the chronicles of Friedrich von Schiller, who created William
Tell as a composite figure of the Swiss nationalists.

http://www.bartleby.com/26/6/ http://agora.unige.ch/ctie/ur/bsu/te...tellsprung.htm

In Altdorf with a mural of the Alps of canton Uri as backdrop, Tell stands proudly, bigger than
life, in bronze, son at his side, with crossbow (Swiss trade mark) over his shoulder.

http://www.tell.ch/schweiz/telldenkmal.htm http://www.ur.ch/

There isn't much flatland in Uri and much of that is taken by the Reuss, the railway, the Gotthard
Highway and a four lane Autobahn. If that weren't enough, a short distance beyond Altdorf, the huge
Gotthard tunneling project at Erstfeld (472m) covers much of what is left before the Reuss valley
ends to become a steep alpine ravine.

Our climb started above Erstfeld, at the SBB hydropower plant in Amsteg, where the grade changes
abruptly across a stone-arch bridge over the Reuss. The highway wends its way along the granite
walls while the double track federal railway (SBB), in oder not to exceed a
2.7% grade, uses helical tunnels to gain altitude on its way to the 16km Gotthard Tunnel. Meanwhile
the four lane Autobahn remains mostly out of sight in tunnels and avalanche sheds.

The SBB makes three passes using looping tunnels to gain elevation at Wassen (916m), with the train
station lying on the middle traverse so that trains pass in the opposite direction from their
destination, northbound trains traveling southward and southbound trains, northward. Although the
SBB runs left hand traffic, the route is signaled in both directions on both tracks so that trains
can run in either direction, making train boarding even more confusing at times. The town church is
famous for being seen three times from the train, from below, at grade and from above.

http://www.wassen.ch/

We stopped for some eats before heading into the Meiental, hidden behind a granite wall through
which the Meienreuss River escapes in a slot. The road starts climbing shortly after leaving the
town square as it enters a curved tunnel followed by a stone arch bridge that connects two tunnels.
How the ancients got through here is unclear, but farther up the old Susten pack animal route is
still visible as it zigzags steeply up the headwall of the canyon. Well graded, the road has a
maximum gradient of 10% but is mostly around 8%. I call it the glacier highway of the alps for its
spectacular ice fields.

A thin high overcast was augmented by thin stratified fog as we reached the Susten Pass summit
tunnel (2224m), leaving scenery still visible but out of reach of the camera. We could just barly
make out the huge Steingletscher and Sustenhorn intermittently through the fog. We descended through
bare rock tunnels to the base of the glacier, from where we were out of the fog on our way to
Inertkirchen (625m). We crossed the Haslital and Aar river to climb the short Kirchet pass
(2a) with its four hairpin turns. The Kirchet goes over and around the Aareschlucht, an impressive
slot in the cliffs through which the Aar river, a hiking path in the wall, and a railway
tunnel pass.

http://www.aareschlucht.ch/englisch.htm

Just beyond the pass, across from the Lammi restaurant, we turned off to Rosenlaui. This road is
steep, still only partly paved, and little more than one-lane wide as it climbs through a forest to
the canyon of the roaring Reichenbach where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty met their deaths over
the falls in 1891.

http://www.evo.org/sherlock/europe/r...ach_falls.html

Hotel Zwirgi in Schattenhalb, the junction of the road from Meiringen, was elegantly rebuilt,
looking much like the old one that burned to the ground two years ago. I stopped at the water works
for a big drink of ice cold water where the phrase "Das Wasser ist das Beste" graces the wall above
the fountain. The climb to Rosenlaui is still no trifle as it rapidly gains altitude past hotel
Kaltenbach, finally leveling off in the Rosenlaui Valley.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s90.html

Although it had rained a bit before we got there, we got a splendid view of the Rosenlaui Glacier as
we rode along the now placid Reichenbach. At Hotel Rosenlaui we were met by Andreas Kehrli, the
proprietor, who was caring for a large tour group. As has happened before, the hotel was full but
there was still room in the dormitory annex where we could stay, thanks to the boss. As always, we
had a hearty dinner and a great stay. We got underway early the next morning after a rich buffet
breakfast.

http://home.t-online.de/home/E-J.Bra...002/17bild.htm
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3. Sunday, 30 June (Rosenlaui - Hospental; 138km, 2932m):

We started up the easy part of the Große Scheidegg Pass under brilliant skies and balmy weather. At
the end of the public road, at Schwarzwaldalp, a steep 100m-long connector got us to the Grindelwald
Bus road. Access is restricted on this smoothly paved road that is only as wide as the bus that does
not slow down for bicyclists. Something worth knowing.

This beautiful route climbs through meadows with grazing cows amidst wildflowers, all in the shadow
of the Massive Wetterhorn. We passed a new wooden farmhouse with beautifully hand-carved beams,
windowsills, and flower boxes. An inscription with the year 2002 carved into its main transom will
remind people after it has become nearly black with time, like its century old neighbors, when it
was that the wood was fresh and yellow.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s84.html

Even with fair weather, or maybe because of it, we could hear icefalls crashing down the Wetterhorn
(3701m) that was still casting a long shadow our way. From Große Scheidegg (1961m), under
beautifully clear skies, we saw the dark north face of the Eiger in front of the pure white Jungfrau
with Grindelwald (1034m) lying below like a miniature village amidst steep green meadows.

We were back on public roads as we passed the Grindelwald train station, where the
Berneroberlandbahn (BOB) meter gauge (adhesion and Riggenbach cogwheel) railway makes connections
with the Wengeralpbahn (WAB) 800mm gauge (Riggenbach cogwheel) train that crosses the valley to the
Kleine Scheidegg (2016m). Here the famed Jungfraubahn meter gauge (Strub cogwheel) tunnels inside
the Eiger (3970m) to the station in an ice cave on the Jungfraujoch saddle (3454m) between Mönch
(3a) and Jungfrau (4158m).

Following the cascading Schwarze Luetschine that joins the Weisse Luetschine from Lauterbrunnen at
Zweiluetschinen, we crossed the river on bridges engulfed in chilled air from the icy river. The
road levels off at Wilderswil (584m), where the Schynige Platte Bahn (SPB), 800mm gauge train
(Riggenbach cogwheel) climbs to the Schynige Platte
(3b) for a marvelous panorama of the Jungfrau group. The beautifully clear weather brought many
passengers to the mountain railways.

We passed the large meadow in the middle of Interlaken (563m) that gives a postcard view up the
Lauterbrunnental to the Jungfrau. After crossing the Aar River, we rode along the north shore of the
Brienzersee to Brienz, a small town in a narrows between the cliffs and the deep blue lake. Here the
steam powered Brienzer Rothornbahn (BRB), 800mm (Abt cogwheel) railway climbs through tunnels in
rugged cliffs to the top of the Brienzer Rothorn (2353m), in my estimation the premire mountain
railway of the Alps. The pungent smell of coal smoke from one of the locomotives wafted across the
road as we passed.

http://digilander.iol.it/zh/cograilways/brienzer.html

We photographed Sherlock Holmes, in life-sized bronze, with pipe, cape, and deerstalker cap sitting
in the middle of Meiringen, the home of meringue. After Willigen, a short climb up the Kirchet
(709m) got us to the Lammi, that we had passed the day before, for lunch. Under Eichhof and Rivella
umbrellas, we and many motorcyclists enjoyed a good outdoor lunch.

On the way to the Grimsel Pass up the Haslital, we took a picture of the huge granite sculpture of
man-with-jackhammer at the Kraftwerke Oberhhasli (KWO) power plant. The climb has three reprieves,
one in Guttannen (1057m), where there is a good grocery store, and another at Handegg (1402m), where
there are accommodations in case of foul weather and finally above the upper dam. The road climbs
between granite walls up to a lower and upper concrete dam, that are reached in winter by giant
aerial trams.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s90.html

Above Handegg the road enters a one-kilometer tunnel where bicyclists must (and prefer to) take the
old cobblestone road, notched into the granite wall high above the Aar. The detour is less steep
than the one kilometer tunnel and offers great scenery. As we reached the upper Grimsel lakes, the
Finsteraarhorn (4275m), tallest peak in the Bernese Alps, lay at the end of the valley to the west,
"finster" (dark) because like the Eiger, it is too steep to retain snow. It stands over the Unteraar
and Oberaar Glaciers, the sources of the Aar River. There was none of the usual snow or ice on
summit lake as we reached the Grimsel Pass (2165m).

http://www.grimselpass.ch/

From the Grimsel, the Rhone Valley made a beautiful panorama in the afternoon light, without the
usual afternoon fog to wipe out the view. Nearly straight below, under a series of hairpin turns,
was Gletsch
(3c), with its hotels, train station, and road junction with the Furka Pass. Above to the east, the
Galenstock (3583m) and the gap of Furka Pass to the south were the backdrop for the Rhone
Glacier and Hotel Belvedere. We stopped in Gletsch at the Dampfbahn Furka Bergstrecke (DFB
Furka Steam Railway) train station and perused their collection of historic books and paid
membership dues before riding up the Furka Pass.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s67.html

The climb is easy with only one steep section before the photogenic hairpin turn below the Belvedere
(2272m). This place offers a great opportunity to pose with the bicycle in a hairpin turn with a
glacier backdrop.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s10.html

The Furka Pass (2431m), 266m higher than the Grimsel, lies in the gap at the head of this bare
valley, swept clean except for some shrubs, by winter avalanches. The Furka gives an awesome
panorama that, as I experienced once on an exceptionally clear day, can include the Matterhorn to
the west. Below, the DFB west portal of its summit tunnel appeared tiny in this gigantic landscape.

http://www.furka-bergstrecke.ch/

We crossed the Furka summit and coasted swiftly through Tiefenbach and Galenstock on the long 8%
descent to Realp (1538m) at the base of the grade. We cruised on the long straight road down the
valley, next to the Furka Oberalp RR to Hospental (1452m), the junction of the Gotthard and Furka
Passes. As usual, we found a good dinner and lodging at Hotel Rössli where we were welcomed as
"regulars".

http://www.zumdoerfli.ch/roessli/hotel.htm

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4. Sunday, 30 June (Hospental - Borgosesia; 197km, 1264m):

We rode up the old cobblestone street of Hospental, formerly the main road in the days when highways
connected towns and had no reason to bypass them. We joined the wide concrete Gotthard highway at
the Furka junction and started up the pass. Here, above tree line, only scrub brush, grass,
wildflowers, and alpenrosen decorate the landscape. The alpenrose, an azalea prevalent throughout
the Alps, has blossoms with pink and red offset against dark green leaves, often surrounded by
bouquets of deep blue gentians, pale blue forget-me-nots, and many varieties of daisies and
dandelions.

As often, various motor rallies take place on summer weekends and today it was Lanz Bulldog day, for
the one-cylinder farm tractor that plowed the big fields of Europe in years past. Beautifully
restored tractors with cabs, painted with shiny auto enamel, came rolling by with the distinctive
thump-thump-thump... of that huge cylinder. Each had a trailer since farm tractors don't have
storage space.

home.germany.net/101-27793/bulldog.htm

I posed for a photo oat the Gotthard (2108m) summit sign at the lake as I had on my first tour in
1959. We photographed the serpentine curves of the old Val Tremola road from the new road before
entering the long tunnel that emerges high above the Val Bedretto on a flying hairpin turn, 520m
above Fontana. Below, at the Fortezza (1551m), bicycles must take the old ROUGH road paved with 10cm
grey granite cubes, where the center stripe is made of orange granite. Pavement is especially bad in
curves because the stones are tilted from side forces. The road levels off and returns to smooth
pavement in Airolo
(4a), the south portal of the Gotthard railway and highway tunnels.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s04a.html
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s01A.html

From Airolo the road, autostrada, railway and Ticino River cross each other often as they descend
the Valle Levantina. Below Airolo lie two relatively flat valleys, each with a town at the lower and
upper end that give their names to the Ambri-Piotta and Rodi-Fiesso valleys. At Piotta the world's
steepest federal railway, connects a large SBB aka FFS (in Ticino) hydroelectric plant with its
reservoir, the Lago di Ritom. The Swiss federal railway logo looks odd on such a funicular rail car.
(FFS) Ferrovie Federali Svizzere.

http://mikeaz.free.fr/suisse/piotta01.htm

At the end of the Rodi-Fiesso Valley we descended from Rodi (925m) to Faido (711m), while trains,
some with distinctive freight and international passenger cars, passed us in both directions on the
adjacent doubletrack Gotthard railway. "Hey, haven't we seen that train somewhere before?" Indeed we
had, because the SBB uses two stacked corkscrew looping tunnels to lose altitude on the steep slope.

We passed two more circular tunnels at Anzonico and then rolled into the wide and flat valley just
above Bodio (322m), the south portal of a new 58km Gotthard railway Tunnel and pedaled on to Biasca
where due to the heat and drought the crossing waterfalls were not crossing and had only a trickle.
In Bellinzona (239m) we took a road construction detour around Giubiasco that got us away from the
Lugano and Locarno traffic and put us back on our route after Cadenazzo.

http://www.alptransit.ch/pages/e/galerie/index.php#

Most traffic went south over the Monte Ceneri Pass (559m) to Lugano and Milano while just beyond, at
Quartino, most remaining traffic went toward Locarno on the west shore of Lago Maggiore (193m). We
stayed on the east shore, stopping in San Nazzaro for lunch. We crossed the Italian border at Zenna
where were waved on as usual... but not always.

In Luino my favorite bancomat wasn't working so we had to find another to stock up on Euros. From
Luino we rode along the lake in a series of tunnels and slide protection galleries and then climbed
over a hill to Laveno. We took the ferry across the lake and landed in Intra, on the fancier western
shore with its famous resorts.

We rode up the Valle d'Ossola along the Toce River, that flows from the San Giacomo Pass, and
rode along the estuary to Fondo where we crossed the river to Gravellona and climbed a short
hill to Omegna
(4b). Our road stayed above Lago d'Orta (290m) with steep shores on three sides. We rode along the
high east shore, looking down on resorts and old villas along picturesque shores and a lovely
La Basilica di San Giulio in a monastery on the island of San Giulio off the tip of a small
peninsula.

http://www.orta.net/

At Gozzano (367m), on the south end of the lake, our road headed west along the hills climbing a
short steep hill to Pogno (461m), where the four-spigot fountain on the piazza would have come in
handy but it was out of order. We climbed west up a canyon in a blooming chestnut forest, typical of
the southern slope of the Alps, and broke through the ridge at an unexpected tunnel (598m), from
where it was all down hill to Borgosesia (359m). The Sesia was still not entirely recovered from the
summer floods of 2002 but there were swans and ducks in the less than crystal clear waters. We found
a reasonable hotel and had a cool nights rest, here in the Piemonte.

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5. Monday, 01 July (Borgosesia - Carignano; 161km, 1004m):

We climbed to Valle Mosso and rolled down the long descent to Pettinengo in the valley, after which
we crossed a few low ridges to Biella (410m). Following the edge of the hills westward, we skirted
several glacial ridges that slope to the Po Valley to reach Zubiena
(5a) and descend to Ivrea (254m) and the Dora Baltea River. We gave my cycling friend, Brian Tomlin
a call, so he could meet us at the bridge over the Dora Baltea in the center of town. We
followed him to his place where he prepared a gourmet meal for us and his wife who appreciates
his skills as an Anglo-Italian chef.

After lunch, Brian suited up and paced us on a fast ride through the hills on back roads to Torino
on our way south. He dropped us off at Fiano at a Shell mini-mart to return to work as we headed
south to HWY SS20, the Tenda highway. As we entered Torino, traffic was less than ideal at what
seemed to be rush hour. We threaded our way through the major routes but there was no letup as we
took a slower route through town that had streetcar tracks in a reserved right-of-way, a salvation
of sorts. Just the same Jeanie took a spill on the tracks and bruised her hip.

When we reached Carignano, we stopped and an owner of an electrical appliance shop became concerned
about Jeanie's distress. He took us to the local first aid crew who seemed unduly enthusiastic to
have a patient. We were glad for the ice-pack but the ride in their ambulance to Torino was not what
we had in mind. Once caught in the emergency room routine it was hard to get out. However, we were
reassured that nothing was broken and that the injury needed healing time. After some overnight rest
in a hotel in Torino, we dodged out of a return visit the next day and headed south by taxi, picked
up our bicycles and were on our way.

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6. Tuesday, 02 July (Carignano - Sospel); 173km, 2096m):

Rt SS20, the Tenda highway, took us south to Carmagnola, and Raconigi, the former residence of the
Savoy family before Italy abolished its monarchy. We took pictures of storks nesting in large
decorative urns atop the huge red sandstone palace before heading south to Cuneo.

http://www.leksykony.pl/zamki/wlochy/racconigi.html

As we approached Cuneo, the road turned west along the north bank of the Stura di Demonte, where a
beautifully restored bi-level stone arch bridge carries road and railway high above the river. As
often, there were plenty of delicious tart Japanese plums on trees along the bridge approach. I ate
plenty of plums for my vitamin-C RDA.

We took a right just after the bridge and stopped for a good drink from the huge fountain in front
of the Cuneo train station. We rode up to Borgo San Dalmazzo, where turned south on the Tenda
Highway (SS20) to Robilante while SS21 heads west to France over the Col de Larche. Being Sunday,
the chainsaw store in Robilante was closed, so we couldn't say hello to Eliano Giordanengo the
proprietor of this unusually located shop of which I have reported in the past. However, we stopped
by Ristorante-Albergo Aquila Riale, one of my favorite stops, for a good lunch that would take us
over the hill to France.

Most of the storm damage from last year, along the Vermenagna River, was repaired with hardly a mark
except to the inquisitive eye. From Limone (990m), the climb to the tunnel gets steeper and makes a
few large hairpin turns on the way up to entrance of the 3180m-long Tenda highway tunnel (1279m),
which was completed in its present form in 1882. A "bicycles prohibited" icon sign stands at the
tunnel portal, just beyond a small shop with refreshments and a good selection of local maps.
Meanwhile, the old Tenda road, looking like a hotel driveway, takes off across the street to
Limonetto. Pavement ends at the summit and we were back on the 19th century road.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f64.html

Sixty or so hairpin turns descend steeply into the ravine of the Roya River. The loose and deeply
rutted turns of last year had been repaired, making the descent easier. Historic photographs of mule
and horse teams, steam tractors, and solid-tired chain-driven trucks that once traveled this road
make today's "hardships" pale in comparison.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f89.html

Below, in the rocky gorge of the Roya River, we finally left the gravel and got on the swift smooth
curves of the Tende highway, French Rt N204, where it emerges from the tunnel (1279m). The railway
emerges from its tunnel at Vievola (990m), only to vanish into a loop tunnel followed by many
bridges as it descends to Tende (816m). The road gradient is about 8% here, so it is not difficult
to keep a good pace down into the Soarge Gorge. The road to the town of Soarge heads into a tunnel
whose few windows in the canyon wall reveal its route as it climbs to Soarge, a strip of houses
glued to the cliffs, some with as much a hundred meter freefall from their windows.

http://tinyurl.com/k8b7 http://www.provencebeyond.com/villphotos/breilP01.html

After the brisk ride down the Roya, past Tende and the Gorge du Soarge, we stopped in St. Dalmas for
a grocery store snack before turning west up Rt D2204, just above Breil (286m), to the Col de Brauis
(879m). The landscape is Mediterranean with sparse vegetation, olive trees and blooming bright
yellow leafless broom (gorse) with a pleasantly sweet scent. About 2/3 the way up, a lovely fountain
with a sign on it to not drink the water was good as ever and I've never suffered for it over many
years although my sore throat wasn't getting any better.

The descent to Sospel (349m), the junction of the Brauis, Braus, and Turini passes is pleasantly
gradual. We took a picture of the old stone arch bridge and its collage of buildings over the Bevera
River, reminiscent of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Since it was dinner time, we found a hotel and
ate at the "ice cream store" and deli where the proprietor, my favorite small town philosopher,
presides. Over the years, he has greeted us as though we were regulars although visits are only once
a year. This time I got his e-mail address.

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7. Wednesday, 03 July (Sospel - St Martin Vesubie; 54km, 1668m):

We headed up the valley on Rt D70 to the Turini Pass (1607m) of Monte Carlo Automobile Rallye fame.
After climbing up the wall of the gorge of the Bevera, the road enters a pine and larch forest that
offers shade for the bicyclist to make this a pleasant climb. I felt my sore throat changing into a
coughing cold although I climbed with relative ease. After the descent with its grand views of the
Gorges de Vesubie and the many twists of the Turini Pass below, Bollene-Vesubie presented the usual
portrait shot before we descended to the Vesubie river (520m).

http://tinyurl.com/k8nn

On the road up the gradual grade to St. Martin Vesubie (930m), fever caught up with me and I had a
hard time reaching town, resting a couple of times even though it wasn't hot and the grade was
light. The usual Hotel Le Gelas was full so we found a hotel on the main square where we ate dinner
and I took a big rest. St. Martin Vesubie is a pleasant town lying at the foot of the narrows
leading to Col St. Martin aka Colmain (1500m).

http://www.provencebeyond.com/villph...tmartinP1.html

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8. Thursday, 04 July (St. Martin Vesubie - St. Martin Vesubie; 0km):

No fireworks, just rest.
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9. Thursday, 05 July (St. Martin Vesubie - Barcelonnette; 140km, 3444m):

After a days rest I felt better but unsure of how my wheezing body would work. To my surprise I got
better as I rode up the Colmain. The climb exposes a beautiful panorama of St. Martin and the
Vesubie Valley as the road, notched into cliffs, passes between rough hewn tunnels. In several of
these tunnels... swoosh! Crag Martins darted past, undaunted by cars and trucks. These grey-brown,
swallow-like birds, tend their nests in the rocky tunnel ceilings where their young are safe from
predators. Traffic and diesel exhaust seem not to bother them. We descended toward the Tinée, first
through a large grassy ski area, and then into dry sparse vegetation in the red rocky Gorges de
Valabre (503m).

http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfiel...ionroquero.htm

Across the Tinée, in the Gorges de Valabre, roads that are tiring just to look at follow
tortuous paths up through cliffs to mountain villages like Ilonse (1200m). We crossed the Tinée
at St. Sauveur
(9a) on Rt D30 and headed up the Col de la Couillole (1678m). Near the top, we passed the ancient
village of Rubion, a typical hill town located on steep terrain as a protection against
invasion. Over the Couillole we descend to Beuil (1450m) and climbed to Croix de Valberg
(9b).

http://www.provencebeyond.com/villages/roubion.html

We took the "back" road, Rt D29, down to Guillaumes (1200m) and rode up Rt N2202 in the Gorges de
Daluis along the Var River toward the Col de la Cayolle (2327m). This area appeals to me especially
because most of it lies in a national park with no ski areas and accompanying development and having
only villages with simple accommodations. The Cayolle is also the first 2000m pass I rode over on my
1960 tour from which it has remained unchanged. The climb, and especially summit, is set in the
midst of steep alpine meadows that were covered with an exceptional display of wildflowers this
time. There is nothing more than a narrow parking strip at the summit. We descended through the
Gorges du Bachelard along the Torrente Bachelard to Barcelonnette
(9c) where we found a comfortable hotel.

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10. Friday, 06 July (Barcelonnette - Le Lauzet; 126km, 2940m):

As most days, we started off with a tailwind, even if it was only a light breeze, as we rode up the
Ubey River to Jausiers and Condamine
(10a) at the foot of the Col de Larch and Col de Vars. Just above Condamine the mountain is
riddled with tunnels from the valley floor to cliffs above, where huge fortifications keep a
silent vigil for enemies long gone. Many bullet holes in the stone buildings remain as
combat mementos.

Illuminated in early sunlight, fortifications stood out high above in the clear morning air as we
rode up the Ubey on the Route des Grand Alpes (D902). We began climbing the Col de Vars (2111m) just
beyond the junction with the Col de Larche (1991m), aka Colle della Maddalena from the Italian side.
Interestingly, Col de Vars has kilometer posts with distance to the summit and average gradient, and
there is a randonneur sign-in stamp at the summit, something we didn't notice elsewhere.

At the summit I was surprised to see the ramshackle corrugated steel shed, that I first saw in 1960
and had collapsed during the winter of 2001, was again repaired after being a mere pile of
corrugated sheet metal last year. Of course I bought some post cards and a soda.

On the descent to Guillestre (1000m), I could make out the gap of the Galibier Pass in the distant
panorama of snowy peaks and glaciers above the Durance Valley. We took the Route des Grand Alpes
(D902) over the Izoard instead of the main route (N94) up the valley to Briancon. Our road followed
the rugged gorge of the Guil River and turned up the Riviere canyon where the Passo Agnello route
(D947) comes in from the east. It was easy going up to Arvieux, where we stopped for a grocery store
lunch. Across the street from the store, an alcove under the city hall with a bench, water fountain,
and public restroom, served as our lunch room.

Our tailwind turned into a headwind as I started up the straight steep section from Arvieux past
Brunnisard to the Col d'Izoard. The going got easier above Brunnisard, where the grade eased where
the road goes into traverses and hairpin turns that gave shelter from the wind. At the false summit
we saw the rest of the climb across the canyon zig-zagging to the obelisk that marks the summit.
With a short descent and a bit of climbing, we arrived at the Coppi memorial where a bronze
caricature of Fausto is mounted on a marble plaque. This treeless landscape looks like the moon,
with vast slopes of dark grey scree at the angle of repose. The exposure makes this climb especially
difficult in warm weather.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f72.html

From the Izoard (2361m), the gap of the Galibier Pass was again visible in the distance. Descending
the unspectacular road, we arrived in Briancon (1391m), a large town overrun with tourists and
traffic, where we took Rt N91 (also D902) with its gentle slope of 2% to 4% to the Col du Lautaret
(2058m). We stopped at Hotel des Amis in Le Lauzet for the day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

11. Thursday, 07 July (Le Lauzet - Bonneval-sur-Arc); 113km, 2146m):

The Lautaret pass being a fairly flat ride all the way from Briancon made it was a pleasant warmup
before heading up the Galibier that is a bit steeper but still mild up to the summit tunnel that
has been reopened after 40 years or so, enabling tour Buses to once again carry their guests over
this pass.

The new Hotel des Glaciers on the Lautaret summit, now known as Hotel Bonnabel, was splendidly built
after the old hotel burned three years ago. Last year I found that the new hotel was designed around
the grand dining room and centerpiece of grandfather Bonnabel's unfinished project and that it
exceeded the expense and class of hotel that I chose to stay in. I tried it once and that was
enough. Neither of the Bonnabels were there when we dropped in to say hello, so we rode on up the
Galibier in the cool morning air.

http://tinyurl.com/kdds

In contrast to last year, cars were waiting at the traffic light at the one way summit tunnel
(2555m) so I didn't try to ride through it as last year.

We road over the top (2645m), where we had a panorama of the glaciers of the Massif de la Vanoise
(3600m) and the Massif du Sorieller
(11a). The descent from the tunnel portal is about 6%-8% to Plan Lachat where it requires pedaling
over a long flat section.

http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/e...tation_tdf.php
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f30.html

Valloire (1430m) streets were jammed with an ATV show that took over the whole town, we lost a bit
of time by not taking the detour around town and weaving through all the stands and parked vehicles.
I didn't believe a trade show could so solidly block all the streets that a bicycle couldn't get
through. It was cloudy with high overcast as we climbed from Valloire (1430m), to the Telegraph
(1570m) before descending to St Michel du Maurienne (712m).

Looking down from the Telegraph, I was reassured that highway construction had progressed enough
that we would have it fairly easy in contrast to the detours and heavy construction traffic of last
year. In fact it was fairly calm as we rode up the old highway with most traffic on the motorway. At
Modane (1057m), the railway heads for the Frejus tunnel (built in 1871) to Torino and the motorway
heads to its 12.9Km tunnel leaving us on a fairly empty Rt N6 toward Lanslebourg (1400m).

http://tinyurl.com/kdo4

Just above Modane, in Le Bourget, we could see the aeronautical research center below at the end of
the valley as we climbed over the narrows of the Barrire de l'Esseillon. This pass is guarded by a
huge fortress that in ancient times posed a formidable obstacle to invaders.

http://www.onera.fr/geographie/modane-avrieux.html
http://www.onera.fr/geographie-en/modane-avrieux.html

I had seen this research center, with its conspicuous group of four spherical air tanks typical of
supersonic research, on previous tours and wondered whether it was still active. As the noise abated
we descended past the Barrire de l'Esseillon to Lanslebourg for a food stop before the Madeleine
(1760m) a short but steep pass that got us into the high valley of the arc river.

Above Modane (1057m), after most traffic took the highway tunnel, we climbed a pleasantly empty
road that rises above Avrieux, the site of subsonic to hypersonic wind tunnels, located here after
WWII, probably for abundant hydropower. This time, as we reached the fortress at the Barrire de
l'Esseillon, the wind tunnel went into action, with roar of a 747 on takeoff, for about two
minutes. In the valley the sound must be deafening, which this makes me wonder what the residents
have to say about it.

The road levels off next to the Barriere de l'Esseillon, a deep defile of the Arc River and natural
obstacle, guarded by a huge fortress. Tourists cross the breathtaking gorge to the fort on the Pont
du Diable, a slender truss foot bridge that accentuates the depth of the chasm. Beyond the gorge, we
descended to the valley floor and rolled gradually up to Termignon (1300m). From here, it's a short
climb up the valley to Lanslebourg (1399m), the foot of the Col du Mont Cenis
(11b), which heads south to Torino.

We stopped for a snack in Lanslevillard, the upper end of Lanslebourg before the Col du Madeleine
(1746m) a short but steep climb into the high valley of the Arc. On the way o Bonneval-sur-Arc at
the end of the valley great panoramas of the Glaciers de Evettes on the slopes of the Croce Rossa
(3546m), Via di Ciamarella (3676m), and l'Albaron
(11c) open to the east. We stooped in Bonneval-sur-Arc (1835m) at the big sweeping turn the main
climb to the Col d'Iseran begins.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

12. Friday, 08 July (Bonneval-sur-Arc - Etroubles); 150km, 2968m):

We made the two long traverses from Bonneval the Gorge de la Lenta, a box canyon that lies south of
the pass. The road climbs the east wall of the gorge over waterfalls and through bare rock tunnels.
Near the top of the cliff, the Lenta cascades into the gorge through a slot. Just above the lip of
the gorge, the road crosses the river on a stone bridge and takes two long traverses in a narrow
valley to reach the top of the Col d'Iseran (2770m) surrounded by a breathtaking panorama.

After a photo stop at the large concrete sign at the summit, we put on my jacket and descended
to Val d'Isere. With beautifully clear skies, many vistas that I hadn't seen in recent years
were visible and reminders of past tours. At Ste. Foy-Tarentaise (1051m) we took Rt N90, a
shortcut to Col du Petite St. Bernard, something I hadn't tried before. This was not to be a
great shortcut because the road winds around and goes up and down through several villages
without much scenic interest.

We joined Rt. N90 Below Rosiere (1850m) and rode on to the Col du Petite St. Bernard (2189m) with a
grand view of surrounding snow capped peaks. After an descent along the Dora di Vinnei to Pré St.
Didier, where the road from Courmayeur joins to continue down the Dora Baltea to Aosta (581m). We
took the road to the Col du Grand St. Bernard up to Etroubles (1264m). Although there is no separate
autostrada, traffic was moderate to light, probably because the road is fairly straight and has a
mild grade at least up to Etroubles where we stopped for the day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

13. Saturday, 09 July (Etroubles - Brig-Ried; 150km, 1692m):

After breakfast we pushed off into beautiful sunny weather and rolled up the gradual climb of the
Valle del Gran San Bernardo to Bosses
(13a) where the St. Bernard autostrada begins, leaving us with a nearly empty road. The road is a
bit narrower reminding me of my first ride here in 1960 when there was even less traffic.

Val d'Aosta originally being a French speaking region is a mix of French and Italian names of places
in both languages and mixed. Courmayeur at the entrance to the Monte Bianco Tunnel to Chamonix, for
instance is almost entirely French speaking.

As we reached the summit of the Gran San Bernardo (2469m) we rode around the summit lake to take a
picture at one of the last Swiss concrete road signs of the 1950's posed just as I had back then.
The sign is still there because the snow plow driver cannot knock it down, it being up against the
monastery building... but he tried. The base of the post is cracked to expose its reinforcing bar.

I found the kiosks had horribly bad taste but they sell what the tourists buy and that is fuzzy, toy
St. Bernard dogs in all sizes from pocket to life size. The descent seems short before joining the
tunnel road, although it is the same elevation change as the south side. The road has long avalanche
sheds and fast alignment so costing at maximum speed is a breeze.

We reached the valley at Orsiérs (901m) and rode the slight grade to Martigny (471m) pedaling
lightly. As expected, we had a tailwind up the Rhone Valley that made the altitude gain of 210m over
82km almost like flatland. In fair weather, this east-west valley usually has a brisk up hill wind
all summer.

Traffic was light, because most of it was on the parallel A9 motorway. This broad valley is the
great fruit basket of Switzerland, just as the Alto Adige is in Italy. Orchards and vineyards fill
the valley and reach high above on sunny terraced hillsides. Most vineyards are practically paved
with flat river bed rocks to conserve water.

http://www.sion.ch/

After Sion with its twin knobs with castles we passed Raron, at the portal of the new Lötschberg
base tunnel. Tunneling machinery, like that at the Gotthard, was hard at work bringing out huge
tailings from under the mountain. Visp, the gateway to Zermatt has become a huge industrial zone
with chemicals, oil refineries and truck depots, something that is more evident when seen from the
Lötschberg (BLS) railway that gives a birds eye view of the valley on its way up to the tunnel.

After a brief visit in Brig (681m) we started up the Simplon Pass to stop in Brig-Ried (900m) for
the night. It had been a warm afternoon but up on the hill, the air was cooler and pleasant.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

14. Sunday, 10 July (Brig-Ried - Ronco 114km, 3100m):

As I rode up the Simplon, Jeanie took the old road that is both shorter and steeper, and joins the
new road just above the curved Schallberg tunnel, in the Gantertal, high above the Saltina, the
river that flows through Brig. About a kilometer farther, on this nearly flat section of the road, a
high concrete suspension bridge crosses the Gantertal to Berisal (1520m).

http://tinyurl.com/k8at

From Berisal we continued in the shade of a larch forest up to treeline where long avalanche
shelters cover the road most of the distance to the Simplon summit (2005m). The air on the climb was
pleasantly cool and under the clear sky the Eiger and the Aletsch Glacier were visible in the haze
to the north. The Simplon Pass is one of the more exciting and scenic routes in the Alps. Unlike
other major passes, it has no highway tunnel beneath it, yet has remarkably little traffic.

http://www.picswiss.ch/Land10/VS-10-05.html

Today was a low-traffic day as we swept down into the galleries along the granite walls of the Gondo
gorge, high above the Diveria River in the Val Divedro. After a long zigzag down the wall, we
reached the small villages of Gabi, Gondo, and Iselle (672m) where the 20km Simplon railway tunnel
emerges from its south portal to vanish again into a tunnel that makes a loop in the mountain to
lose elevation at Varzo (532m). The Varzo bypass, being built over the Diveria looked like it was
almost finished last year but is seems to be stalled at the moment. The long curved bypass is
entirely on a steel bridge over the Diveria.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s25.html

About a kilometer above Crevoladossola (337m), which lies at the end of the narrow part of the
canyon above the Valle d'Ossola, the highway enters an autos-only tunnel where bicycles must (and
prefer to) take the old road into town. Shortly beyond the tunnel entrance we stopped at the
graceful and ancient stone arch bridge with Jeanie sitting on the railing at the top of the arch. We
turned east at Crevoladossola to the Val Antigorio passing Crodo (the home of Crodo Acqua Minerale)
and on to Baceno (655m) for lunch at the confluence of the Toce and Devero rivers.

It being Sunday, the great waterfall, the Cascata del Toce, would be flowing, but from what was
coming downstream, it looked as though the heat wave and drought reduced the falls to a minimum.
Ente Nazionale Energia Elettrica (ENEL) the electric power authority takes all the water except
Sundays and Thursday afternoons. From Baceno we followed the Toce up the Val Formazza where big
trucks carried huge blocks of granite down to the stone works in Domodossola. This region has many
granite quarries that supply these huge blocks to be made into beams, posts, slabs, curbs, table
tops, roofing stone and decorative sculptures.

As we approached the top of the valley we could see the falls visible through the trees as the road
began its climb in the granite wall of the gorge. Much of the road beneath the falls is in tunnels
and avalanche sheds that end just before the Albergo Cascata del Toce di Riale (1675m) that stands
at the edge of the waterfall.

http://www.itinera2000.org/tedesco/w...serted-117.htm

This year the Giro d'Italia on Friday, 30 May, had a stage finish here, with Gilberto Simoni winning
the stage in his 39t-21t gear, as he says. However, for touring, this is a beautiful route that
above the falls enters a high Valle di Morasco with the village of Riale
(14a). From Riale we took the San Giacomo pass that crosses the border into Switzerland into the
Val Bedretto.

The San Giacomo is an unpaved road from the days of yore, when the road, probably first built by
ENEL to the dam and to end of the lake. The unpaved road traverses the south side of the valley up
to the dam. Although the road has not been graded recently, minimal car traffic keeps it ridable.
Navigating the rough surface was better than last year with little need for dismounting. The
solitude and striking landscape make this one of the great roads in the Alps.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i54.html
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i35.html

The road levels off in the Val Toggia (2000m) and then climbs above the dam of Lago Toggia (2191m).
With the heat wave that preceded our tour, there was no snow or ice on the lake as there was in
other years. Today the lake was emerald blue and surrounded by green meadows and wildflowers. The
road rises gradually past the lake to the San Giacomo Pass (2313m), where a small stone house at the
end of the road marks the Swiss border. From here, only hiking trails continue. Over the years I
have found one route that works best, the one marked for the Gries Pass (2479m) and from it, one
that descends steeply to the Nufenen Pass road in the Val Bedretto.

The technique I use for descending steep hiking trails, is to walk next to the bicycle applying the
front brake while not restraining the bicycle by pulling back (up) on the bars. Pulling on the bars
lifts the front wheel and puts the entire braking burden on the legs of the hiker. When I saw that
Jeanie was having difficulty descending the trail, we traded bicycles and I discovered that what
was easy with my bicycle, even with one hand on the bars, was difficult with Jeanie's dual pivot
brakes, with their higher mechanical advantage. Although we weren't fast, the descent was, because
it was so steep.

Near the bottom of the trail a mine seeking mountain crystals cut across the path so that we had to
take a steep cutoff. However, the miners had installed a good temporary bridge across the Ticino
River so we didn't get wet shoes walking through ice water. We stopped at Ronco (1487m), the first
town, a few kilometers down the valley.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

15. Monday, 11 July (Ronco - Bregalia 190km, 3000m):

The morning was a breeze as we coasted down the Bedretto valley to Airolo and took a picture of
the flying hairpin turn on the Gotthard from Fontana. From Airolo we retraced our earlier route
to Castione
(15a), and turned east before Bellinzona, up the Val Mesolcina to the San Bernardino Pass. The
valley is fairly flat until Soazza, where the road begins to climb smartly to Mesocco (790m).

As we passed Ristorante Beer in Mesocco, where the same host presided for as many years as I can
remember, there was a faded "Chiuso" sign in the door. This was sad because I so much wanted to once
more experience the owner's ability to recite complex menus from memory and to keep in his head what
every guest ordered without notes. The last two years, when he was still in business, I arrived on
Wednesday, his "rest day".

We stopped at the grocery store just up the road and confirmed the suspicion that Hotel Restaurant
Beer was closed for good. After a snack we started up the granite paving stones of Mesocco's 13%
main street into a light breeze. The grade eased a bit at the end of the cobbles as the road climbed
hairpin turns to Pian San Giacomo (1170m). From here the road meanders across a small valley before
climbing over a ridge to San Bernardino (1607m), a charming little town in a glacial depression with
a lake. The motorway takes a tunnel from here into the Hinterrhein Valley, leaving us to ride in
peace over the pass.

After lunch, we rode up the most scenic part of this climb through glacial formations, amidst
running water and green meadows of wildflowers, bog cotton, and alpenrosen. Remnants of the ancient
Roman road, with large edge stones, still remained in a few places where it had not been obliterated
by the new road.

We rode around the summit lake and past the San Bernardino monastery at the top (2603m). There were
no dogs with rum kegs hanging from their collars like those in the gift shop, and I'm not sure there
ever were any.

We descended into the Rheinwald Valley where it was pleasantly still in contrast to the usual
gunnery practice on the artillery range above the village of Hinterrhein. We crossed the Hinterrhein
River at the motorway tunnel portal, passed the town of Hinterrhein (1624m), and took the frontage
road down to Splugen (1457m) into a light headwind. After stopping for some food at the market we
turned south up the Splugen Pass.

We climbed along the stream through lush green meadows of the upper valley were rich with the usual
wildflowers and orange dandelions that seem to thrive at higher elevations. We saw only wagtails
along the creek where in past years I had seen Dippers, odd birds that walk under water. A Swiss
Customs house lies above a stack of hairpin turns, a couple of kilometers below the summit, standing
forlornly on an outcropping in the eye of a hairpin turn. Border guards have a sweeping view of the
road from the valley up to the Splugen summit
(15b). Farther down at the Italian station, they gave our 'documenti' a thorough investigation,
asked no questions and then let us continue.

Monte Spluga (1908m), a small village with granite houses with granite roofs at the upper end of
a large ENEL lake, looked a little less depressing in sunshine than it usual. The granite face
of the dam

here the road is unusual in that much of it is covered in avalanche protection tunnels, some of
which are hairpin turns, stacked one above the other in cliffs. Although most of its one-lane
sections have been widened, tour busses still avoid it for its tight curves. An alternate, but
longer route with more generous curves branches off in Isolato.

We descended the Val San Giacomo along the Liro river as the valley widened and became less steep on
the way to Chiavenna (333m) in the Val Bregaglia. We turned up the valley toward the Maloja Pass and
St. Moritz, crossing into Switzerland at Castasegna (696m) and up to the lovely old fashioned Post
Hotel Bregaglia (820m) in Bondo, where we stopped for the night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

16. Tuesday, 12 July (Bregalia - Temú 143km, 2810m):

I was glad to see that although the road was widened, the leaning rock above Sottoponte was not
destroyed and is now a narrows, probably because the new bypass tunnel was completed before getting
a chance to blast this beautiful artifact.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s15.html

We rode up the Val Bregaglia along the Mera to Casaccia (1458m), where the Septimer Pass (2310m), a
Roman road, heads north, an interesting climbing adventure that I once took over to Bivio (1769m) on
the Julier Pass (2284m). From Casaccia the road climbs steeply into a bowl and ascends the south
wall to the Maloja Pass. The steep ramp was modified recently so that it has a pair of hairpin turns
at the upper end... a sort of bandaid for an excessively steep section.

The Maloja Pass (1815m) is one sided with no descent to the east, which the road convincingly
demonstrates as it follows the shore of the Silsersee and the slightly lower Silvaplanasee. After
the St. Moritzersee, the road descends through a narrows into the Val Bernina where we joined the
Bernina road at Champagna (1714m). We rode south through Pontresina (1805m) where we made a lunch
stop at a grocery store.

Up the Val Bernina, at the Bellavista curve railway crossing (1950m) of the RhB Railway, we stopped
for a picture, but as the year, no train came by to be photographed in front of the glacier. Instead
we took pictures of bicycle racers rounding the curve. The upper Val Bernina is fairly flat but
after the Diavolezza and Lagalp funiculars, the road climbs the last bump to the Bernina summit
(2323m). Two lakes lie on opposite sides of the divide, where the waters of deep blue Lago Negro
flow via the Inn and Danube rivers to the Black Sea, while those of milky white Lago Bianco flow via
the Cavaliasco and Adda rivers to the Po and the Adriatic Sea.

http://www.trainpics.de/gallery/swit...a/rb17134.html

The south side of the Bernina Pass is one of the longer descents in the Alps as it makes its way
into the Val Poschiavo. A kilometer or so below the summit, we passed the junction (2045m) to the
Forcola di Livigno pass (2315m) that connects to Livigno from which a road connects tot he Ofen Pass
and Bormio. After riding around Lago di Poschiavo we made the fast descent to Brusio where we
stopped at Hotel Bottoni for a visit and a large ice cream sundae. Well fueled we passed the famous
Brusio Loop of the RhB railway and crossed into Italy to Madonna di Tirano.

http://www.rail-info.ch/RhB-BB/pics/rhb5374.jpg

A short way down the valley from Madonna di Tirano we crossed the valley to Stazzona and the road up
through the woods to intersect the Aprica Pass road (Rt N39). From Aprica (1176m) on the summit, we
descended the long gentle grade to Edolo (690m), passing the foot of the Mortirolo Pass (1896m) at
Monno (868m) and stopping in Temú.

At Temú (1144m), just below Ponte di Legno, we found lodging just up the street from the Locanda
Veduta dell'Adamello that was booked full but had room for us for a delicious dinner. Silvano
Macculotti, the proprietor, explained that his old hotel across the street was wrapped up in family
disagreement, his family having operated the hotel for more than three generations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

17. Wednesday, 13 July (Temú - Kortsch; 110km, 2964m):

We rode through Ponte di Legno (1258m) where Torrente Frigidolfo rages through the middle of town.
We stayed on the north side of the river to reach the nearly flat, lush green valley below Pezzo
(1565m) a typically picturesque hill town, glued to the side of the mountain in what appears to be
high-risk avalanche territory. The shape of the slopes above apparently protect it from white death.
We climbed through the larch forest to break out into Appolonia (1585m) where the Frigidolfo
meanders across the flat valley with no hint of its cascades below, or waterfalls above.

We stopped at the gazebo which currently offers only one flavor of rusty bubbly mineral water for
those who seek its benefits masked by its foul flavor. This water is thought to give strength to
bicyclists who dare climb the Gavia or at least to those who dare to drink. After getting past the
warning signs of landslides, rockfall, dangerous narrow road, and a requirement to have tire chains
on board from September to July, we were on our way. Past the second hairpin, reality strikes as the
road goes from highway to driveway width, and the 16% sign of poster fame sets the tone. The road is
only that steep in a few places, but the signs are a warning for vehicles that cannot restart on
such a grade after meeting a descending vehicle. The bicyclist can always walk.

We stopped at the cliff, the scene of the poster picture of years ago that hangs on the wall in the
Rifugio Bonetta on the summit. In many attempts we have not been able to match that photo.

http://tinyurl.com/f389

We stopped in at the Rifugio to say hello to Signor. Bonetta. As last year, there was "mail" taped
to the glass on the poster with a greeting from a fellow bikie. There were about 100 riders outside
finishing a club hillclimb that came up from Santa Caterina on the north side. We thanked Signor.
Bonetta for his hospitality and rolled off across the broad summit.

http://www.waltellina.com/ortlescevedale/bonetta/

As we crossed the summit, the Ortler (3905m) and Gran Zebru (3851m) with their glacial caps and
perpetual glistening snow rose to the east as we descended onto the Valle Valfurva. The Val di Gavia
got steeper as we passed Rifugio Breni (2543m) on the way down to the main road in Santa Caterina
(1734m). Valfurva Valley is a steep dash from the town of Valfurva (1339m) to Bormio (1197m). We
rode up Via Roma, a pedestrian mall and main street of Bormio, and stopped at the large Pizzeria
across from Braulio liqueur HQ.

Well fed and rested, we rode up the rocky Val Braulio, where the road clings to the south side below
slopes of scree, ducking into the mountain in long avalanche tunnels before reaching the headwall at
Spondalunga. Here the road makes ten traverses to climb to the Bocca di Braulio, a curved valley
that leads to the Umbrail gap (2502m) and the Stelvio summit (2757m). From the Umbrail, the last 3km
with a steady 10% climb went well.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i79.html

As usual, many motorcyclists and bicyclists were gathered at the summit as Jeanie took my picture
crossing the top. We went to the edge of the precipice to the east where we took pictures of what is
hard to capture with a camera. From here we had a clear view of the road, glued to the wall, as it
starts down the 48 hairpin turns to the Val di Trafoi. In spite of climbing the Gavia before lunch,
I cut almost a half hour off my time up the hill this afternoon.

http://tinyurl.com/lenc http://tinyurl.com/len5

As we rolled out of Prato, we ran into our first major headwind but it only lasted across the Val
Venosta to Spondigna, where we crossed the abandoned FS railway line... wait! the tracks were
cleared of brush and some work had been done on the wires next to the track. After more than five
years of dormancy, the federal railway (FS) changed its mind and is refurbishing the whole line from
Merano to Málles with new track.

We coasted down to Kortsch, just above Spondigna, found comfortable Hotel Sonne and relaxed.
I needed a rest day and this was a good location, still up at higher elevations and out in
the country.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

18. Thursday, 14 July (Kortsch - Kortsch; 0km, 0m):

----------------------------------------------------------------------

19. Friday, 15 July (Kortsch - Alba; 125km, 1732m):

Although yesterday afternoon was warm, today was the usual pleasantly cool weather we have had all
along. Merano (302m) was 34km down the Val Venosta and another flat 30km run to Bolzano (262m), a
charming south Tyrolean city on the edge of the Dolomites. We stayed on the north side of the Val
Venosta and found that the old highway, in the presence of the Autostrada was almost empty as we
rode down the valley.

We headed north past the Bolzano train station toward the Isarco (Eisack) Valley to Cardano, where I
couldn't find the road (Rt N241) other than a large new tunnel that went into the wall north of
where the Ega rushed out of a narrow defile in the rock wall. We were told that this was the only
way now and that bicycles were allowed, something that was obvious once we went that way. The 1.2km
tunnel took us around the 16% defile for which the Costalunga road was noted. The tunnel was airy
and had broad shoulders, the way a bicyclist would like.

At the upper portal of the tunnel we rejoined the old road, the remains of which came shockingly
steeply out of the defile below. I was convinced that this as a positive change for everyone.
Besides, the convenience, the most scenic part of the canyon remained unchanged. We rode on through
Welschnofen (1182m) and into the forest Just above Hotel Diana, that has a giant mural of Diana the
huntress with bow and arrow, the road flattens as it reaches the summit meadows and turquoise Lago
di Carezza, the reflecting pool for the Latemar
(19a) with its myriad Dolomite spires. Unfortunately the drought and heat wave had reduced the
surface of the lake to less than half its usual area and no reflection was seen beneath its
steep banks.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i92.html

Across the meadows, the Rosengarten (2981m) was left in natural stone color under the light overcast
that robbed it of its sunset colors that give it its name. We passed the junction to the *****joch
Pass, whose lower end is the 24% grade road to Tiers. Then came a short climb with a few turns to
the Costalunga summit (1745m) and a long gradual descent to Vigo di Fassa and up the valley to
Canazei and Alba
(19b) in the Val di Fassa.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

20. Saturday, 16 July (Alba - Longarone; 130km, 3000m):

Up the valley, a few kilometers from Canazei, we began the climb up the Fedaia Pass. Here the road
goes up the north wall, climbing through tunnels and avalanche sheds to come out above the concrete
arch dam of the Lago di Fedaia (2054m). We took the old road around the south side of the lake and
crossed over the little bump, the official Fedaia Pass (2510m) at the far end of the lake. When I
first visited the Fedaia, it went only as far as the dam. The road we came up is relatively new with
its 8% grade but the "old" descends steeply to the east through a series of hairpin turns followed
by a long 13% straight section into Malga Ciapela (1384m). A little breeze from ahead prevented me
from achieving the usual 100km/h coasting.

From Malga Ciapela we went down into the Serra di Sottoguda canyon instead of taking the high auto
road. This is the beautiful old road, closed to cars, that winds through the deep and narrow gorge
next to the Torrente Pettorina to Sottoguda. From Caprile (1014m), in the shadows of Monte Civetta
(3220m), we headed north, climbing to Racuva
(20a) to follow the canyon to Cernadoi (1495m) to join the road to the Falzarego Pass.

The Falzarego (2105m) lies in a beautiful meadow at the base of Pizo Lagazuoi (2770m), a striking
dolomite peak at the base of which the Valparola Pass (2192m) heads west into the Val di San
Cassiano. The Falzarego descends gradually to Pocol (1480m) above Cortina, at the junction with
Passo Giau. After a hearty lunch at the restaurant at the road junction, we headed off toward the
Giau, first descending and then climbing the odd alignment of this ancient road.

Our trip being in almost perpetual clear skies, the scenery was magnificent as we reached the summit
of the Giau (2236m) with a view across the Valle d' Ampezzo to the Passo Tre Croci and to the
Marmolada to the southwest. Having just eaten lunch we didn't stop at the Rifugio Piezza (2175m), a
half kilometer below the summit, a great place to eat... and stay for the night.

The descent reminded me of how I rode up this steep grade years ago, thinking nothing of it. It
wasn't paved them. We descended to Selva di Cadore (1336m) and headed east to Passo Staulanza
(1773m) along the Torrente Fiorentina all the while heading straight for Monte Pelmo
(20b). The Staulanza is an easy pass and comes as a surprise because there is no apparent gap past
Monte Pelmo. After a hairpin turn just before the mountain, the pass shows up unexpectedly,

Typical of the Dolomites, this route is a scenic wonder. We rode to Longarone (472m), notorious for
the dam disaster at 22:42 on 09 October 1963 when the town was destroyed by a "tidal wave", that a
landslide from Monte Toc (1921m) had forced over a dam and through a narrow gulch across from the
town, to claim 1909 lives. Our hotel as, most in that area, had many before and after pictures on
its walls.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

21. Sunday, 17 July (Longarone - Cárnia: 143km, 2048m):

We started out under blue skies that gradually turned cloudy as the day passed. We crossed the
valley and rode up the granite wall through tunnels as we headed to the gap of death for Longarone.
Below, carved into the vertical wall, we saw the old road notched and tunneled into the gorge as we
passed tunnel openings in our toad. Then we saw the hollow arch of the dam, still in tact, with only
a bit of the rim cracked of on the far side. It is less than 50m across but at least three times
that high, narrowing to almost nothing at its bottom.

After the last tunnel we emerged just above the dam that still has a bit of water between it and
the mountain that slid into the former lake. A memorial chapel by Corbusier stands vigil over
this disaster.

http://tinyurl.com/li6o (before) http://tinyurl.com/li6e (after)
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare...zio/vajont.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare...io/vajont1.htm
http://www.citysite.it/news/page/fot...ajont/diga.htm

From the dam the road climbs over the mountain that slid into the lake and descends to Erto (750m),
a small town on the far side of a small pass above the former reservoir. As the map shows, Erto was
just spared of the flood.

http://www.er

Who is Jeanie and what is the relationship between her and JB?

That's what's really interesting about this. Is she Mrs.J.B??

Jobst, we need to know more about the people you meet, the farmer leaning on a fence, the eccentrics
etc., and less about the scenery, because scenery has to be seen in the raw.

Excuse me for hasty editing, but the dates and days of the week were way off. For those who care,
here is the corrects version. I think I have the dates correct now.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tour of the Alps 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
On Thursday, 26 June, Jeanie Barnett and I flew with Lufthansa from San Francisco to Frankfurt and
then to Zurich where we arrived just after Friday noon. I had my bicycle, a suitcase and small
carry-on. Jeanie had a carry-on, a small suitcase and a large Bike Pro bicycle case. We took a train
from the airport to Schwyz where Edith Dierauer picked us up for the short ride to their house in
Ibach, the town where Victor Inox, the cutlery company is at home. We prepared our bicycles for
departure the next morning. We got a good night's sleep after a great raclette cheese dinner.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Saturday, 28 June (Ibach - Rosenlaui; 104km, 1260m):

We had clear skies and pleasant temperatures, with the heat wave that gripped western Europe the
last few weeks, having blown away. As we got ready to leave, I realized that the shopping bag with
my bicycling clothes was still standing in my kitchen at home, so we visited two bike shops to get
refitted, size 48 SPD shoes being the main problem. Back in Ibach, properly equipped, we finally got
on the road at about noon, riding to Brunnen on the Vierwaldstettersee (aka Lake of Lucerne) and the
Axenstrasse that follows the east shore toward the Gotthard.

The Axenstrasse is noted for its rocky cliffs dropping steeply to the water, the railway staying
mostly in tunnels as we ducked in and out of tunnels as we made our way to Flüelen at the end of the
lake. It was along these cliffs that William Tell was said to have duped the Austrians, who had
taken him captive on their boat and were returning to their headquarters when a fierce storm arose.
He convinced them to unshackle him so he could show them a safe landing along the cliffs. Instead he
jumped ship when they got close to the wall and vanished up trails that only the locals knew. The
Austrians went under, according to the chronicles of Friedrich von Schiller, who created William
Tell as a composite figure of the Swiss nationalists.

http://www.bartleby.com/26/6/ http://agora.unige.ch/ctie/ur/bsu/te...tellsprung.htm

In Altdorf with a mural of the Alps of canton Uri as backdrop, Tell stands proudly, bigger than
life, in bronze, son at his side, with crossbow (Swiss trade mark) over his shoulder.

http://www.tell.ch/schweiz/telldenkmal.htm http://www.ur.ch/

There isn't much flatland in Uri and much of that is taken by the Reuss, the railway, the Gotthard
Highway and a four lane Autobahn. If that weren't enough, a short distance beyond Altdorf, the huge
Gotthard tunneling project at Erstfeld (472m) covers much of what is left before the Reuss valley
ends to become a steep alpine ravine.

Our climb started above Erstfeld, at the SBB hydropower plant in Amsteg, where the grade changes
abruptly across a stone-arch bridge over the Reuss. The highway wends its way along the granite
walls while the double track federal railway (SBB), in oder not to exceed a
2.7% grade, uses helical tunnels to gain altitude on its way to the 16km Gotthard Tunnel. Meanwhile
the four lane Autobahn remains mostly out of sight in tunnels and avalanche sheds.

The SBB makes three passes using looping tunnels to gain elevation at Wassen (916m), with the train
station lying on the middle traverse so that trains pass in the opposite direction from their
destination, northbound trains traveling southward and southbound trains, northward. Although the
SBB runs left hand traffic, the route is signaled in both directions on both tracks so that trains
can run in either direction, making train boarding even more confusing at times. The town church is
famous for being seen three times from the train, from below, at grade and from above.

http://www.wassen.ch/

We stopped for some eats before heading into the Meiental, hidden behind a granite wall through
which the Meienreuss River escapes in a slot. The road starts climbing shortly after leaving the
town square as it enters a curved tunnel followed by a stone arch bridge that connects two tunnels.
How the ancients got through here is unclear, but farther up the old Susten pack animal route is
still visible as it zigzags steeply up the headwall of the canyon. Well graded, the road has a
maximum gradient of 10% but is mostly around 8%. I call it the glacier highway of the alps for its
spectacular ice fields.

A thin high overcast was augmented by thin stratified fog as we reached the Susten Pass summit
tunnel (2224m), leaving scenery still visible but out of reach of the camera. We could just barly
make out the huge Steingletscher and Sustenhorn intermittently through the fog. We descended through
bare rock tunnels to the base of the glacier, from where we were out of the fog on our way to
Inertkirchen (625m). We crossed the Haslital and Aar river to climb the short Kirchet pass
(2a) with its four hairpin turns. The Kirchet goes over and around the Aareschlucht, an impressive
slot in the cliffs through which the Aar river, a hiking path in the wall, and a railway
tunnel pass.

http://www.aareschlucht.ch/englisch.htm

Just beyond the pass, across from the Lammi restaurant, we turned off to Rosenlaui. This road is
steep, still only partly paved, and little more than one-lane wide as it climbs through a forest to
the canyon of the roaring Reichenbach where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Moriarty met their deaths over
the falls in 1891.

http://www.evo.org/sherlock/europe/r...ach_falls.html

Hotel Zwirgi in Schattenhalb, the junction of the road from Meiringen, was elegantly rebuilt,
looking much like the old one that burned to the ground two years ago. I stopped at the water works
for a big drink of ice cold water where the phrase "Das Wasser ist das Beste" graces the wall above
the fountain. The climb to Rosenlaui is still no trifle as it rapidly gains altitude past hotel
Kaltenbach, finally leveling off in the Rosenlaui Valley.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s90.html

Although it had rained a bit before we got there, we got a splendid view of the Rosenlaui Glacier as
we rode along the now placid Reichenbach. At Hotel Rosenlaui we were met by Andreas Kehrli, the
proprietor, who was caring for a large tour group. As has happened before, the hotel was full but
there was still room in the dormitory annex where we could stay, thanks to the boss. As always, we
had a hearty dinner and a great stay. We got underway early the next morning after a rich buffet
breakfast.

http://home.t-online.de/home/E-J.Bra...002/17bild.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Sunday, 29 June (Rosenlaui - Hospental; 138km, 2932m):

We started up the easy part of the Große Scheidegg Pass under brilliant skies and balmy weather. At
the end of the public road, at Schwarzwaldalp, a steep 100m-long connector got us to the Grindelwald
Bus road. Access is restricted on this smoothly paved road that is only as wide as the bus that does
not slow down for bicyclists. Something worth knowing.

This beautiful route climbs through meadows with grazing cows amidst wildflowers, all in the shadow
of the Massive Wetterhorn. We passed a new wooden farmhouse with beautifully hand-carved beams,
windowsills, and flower boxes. An inscription with the year 2002 carved into its main transom will
remind people after it has become nearly black with time, like its century old neighbors, when it
was that the wood was fresh and yellow.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s84.html

Even with fair weather, or maybe because of it, we could hear icefalls crashing down the Wetterhorn
(3701m) that was still casting a long shadow our way. From Große Scheidegg (1961m), under
beautifully clear skies, we saw the dark north face of the Eiger in front of the pure white Jungfrau
with Grindelwald (1034m) lying below like a miniature village amidst steep green meadows.

We were back on public roads as we passed the Grindelwald train station, where the
Berneroberlandbahn (BOB) meter gauge (adhesion and Riggenbach cogwheel) railway makes connections
with the Wengeralpbahn (WAB) 800mm gauge (Riggenbach cogwheel) train that crosses the valley to the
Kleine Scheidegg (2016m). Here the famed Jungfraubahn meter gauge (Strub cogwheel) tunnels inside
the Eiger (3970m) to the station in an ice cave on the Jungfraujoch saddle (3454m) between Mönch
(3a) and Jungfrau (4158m).

Following the cascading Schwarze Luetschine that joins the Weisse Luetschine from Lauterbrunnen at
Zweiluetschinen, we crossed the river on bridges engulfed in chilled air from the icy river. The
road levels off at Wilderswil (584m), where the Schynige Platte Bahn (SPB), 800mm gauge train
(Riggenbach cogwheel) climbs to the Schynige Platte
(3b) for a marvelous panorama of the Jungfrau group. The beautifully clear weather brought many
passengers to the mountain railways.

We passed the large meadow in the middle of Interlaken (563m) that gives a postcard view up the
Lauterbrunnental to the Jungfrau. After crossing the Aar River, we rode along the north shore of the
Brienzersee to Brienz, a small town in a narrows between the cliffs and the deep blue lake. Here the
steam powered Brienzer Rothornbahn (BRB), 800mm (Abt cogwheel) railway climbs through tunnels in
rugged cliffs to the top of the Brienzer Rothorn (2353m), in my estimation the premire mountain
railway of the Alps. The pungent smell of coal smoke from one of the locomotives wafted across the
road as we passed.

http://digilander.iol.it/zh/cograilways/brienzer.html

We photographed Sherlock Holmes, in life-sized bronze, with pipe, cape, and deerstalker cap sitting
in the middle of Meiringen, the home of meringue. After Willigen, a short climb up the Kirchet
(709m) got us to the Lammi, that we had passed the day before, for lunch. Under Eichhof and Rivella
umbrellas, we and many motorcyclists enjoyed a good outdoor lunch.

On the way to the Grimsel Pass up the Haslital, we took a picture of the huge granite sculpture of
man-with-jackhammer at the Kraftwerke Oberhhasli (KWO) power plant. The climb has three reprieves,
one in Guttannen (1057m), where there is a good grocery store, and another at Handegg (1402m), where
there are accommodations in case of foul weather and finally above the upper dam. The road climbs
between granite walls up to a lower and upper concrete dam, that are reached in winter by giant
aerial trams.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s90.html

Above Handegg the road enters a one-kilometer tunnel where bicyclists must (and prefer to) take the
old cobblestone road, notched into the granite wall high above the Aar. The detour is less steep
than the one kilometer tunnel and offers great scenery. As we reached the upper Grimsel lakes, the
Finsteraarhorn (4275m), tallest peak in the Bernese Alps, lay at the end of the valley to the west,
"finster" (dark) because like the Eiger, it is too steep to retain snow. It stands over the Unteraar
and Oberaar Glaciers, the sources of the Aar River. There was none of the usual snow or ice on
summit lake as we reached the Grimsel Pass (2165m).

http://www.grimselpass.ch/

From the Grimsel, the Rhone Valley made a beautiful panorama in the afternoon light, without the
usual afternoon fog to wipe out the view. Nearly straight below, under a series of hairpin turns,
was Gletsch
(3c), with its hotels, train station, and road junction with the Furka Pass. Above to the east, the
Galenstock (3583m) and the gap of Furka Pass to the south were the backdrop for the Rhone
Glacier and Hotel Belvedere. We stopped in Gletsch at the Dampfbahn Furka Bergstrecke (DFB
Furka Steam Railway) train station and perused their collection of historic books and paid
membership dues before riding up the Furka Pass.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s67.html

The climb is easy with only one steep section before the photogenic hairpin turn below the Belvedere
(2272m). This place offers a great opportunity to pose with the bicycle in a hairpin turn with a
glacier backdrop.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s10.html

The Furka Pass (2431m), 266m higher than the Grimsel, lies in the gap at the head of this bare
valley, swept clean except for some shrubs, by winter avalanches. The Furka gives an awesome
panorama that, as I experienced once on an exceptionally clear day, can include the Matterhorn to
the west. Below, the DFB west portal of its summit tunnel appeared tiny in this gigantic landscape.

http://www.furka-bergstrecke.ch/

We crossed the Furka summit and coasted swiftly through Tiefenbach and Galenstock on the long 8%
descent to Realp (1538m) at the base of the grade. We cruised on the long straight road down the
valley, next to the Furka Oberalp RR to Hospental (1452m), the junction of the Gotthard and Furka
Passes. As usual, we found a good dinner and lodging at Hotel Rössli where we were welcomed as
"regulars".

http://www.zumdoerfli.ch/roessli/hotel.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Monday, 30 June (Hospental - Borgosesia; 197km, 1264m):

We rode up the old cobblestone street of Hospental, formerly the main road in the days when highways
connected towns and had no reason to bypass them. We joined the wide concrete Gotthard highway at
the Furka junction and started up the pass. Here, above tree line, only scrub brush, grass,
wildflowers, and alpenrosen decorate the landscape. The alpenrose, an azalea prevalent throughout
the Alps, has blossoms with pink and red offset against dark green leaves, often surrounded by
bouquets of deep blue gentians, pale blue forget-me-nots, and many varieties of daisies and
dandelions.

As often, various motor rallies take place on summer weekends and today it was Lanz Bulldog day, for
the one-cylinder farm tractor that plowed the big fields of Europe in years past. Beautifully
restored tractors with cabs, painted with shiny auto enamel, came rolling by with the distinctive
thump-thump-thump... of that huge cylinder. Each had a trailer since farm tractors don't have
storage space.

home.germany.net/101-27793/bulldog.htm

I posed for a photo oat the Gotthard (2108m) summit sign at the lake as I had on my first tour in
1959. We photographed the serpentine curves of the old Val Tremola road from the new road before
entering the long tunnel that emerges high above the Val Bedretto on a flying hairpin turn, 520m
above Fontana. Below, at the Fortezza (1551m), bicycles must take the old ROUGH road paved with 10cm
grey granite cubes, where the center stripe is made of orange granite. Pavement is especially bad in
curves because the stones are tilted from side forces. The road levels off and returns to smooth
pavement in Airolo
(4a), the south portal of the Gotthard railway and highway tunnels.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s04a.html
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s01A.html

From Airolo the road, autostrada, railway and Ticino River cross each other often as they descend
the Valle Levantina. Below Airolo lie two relatively flat valleys, each with a town at the lower and
upper end that give their names to the Ambri-Piotta and Rodi-Fiesso valleys. At Piotta the world's
steepest federal railway, connects a large SBB aka FFS (in Ticino) hydroelectric plant with its
reservoir, the Lago di Ritom. The Swiss federal railway logo looks odd on such a funicular rail car.
(FFS) Ferrovie Federali Svizzere.

http://mikeaz.free.fr/suisse/piotta01.htm

At the end of the Rodi-Fiesso Valley we descended from Rodi (925m) to Faido (711m), while trains,
some with distinctive freight and international passenger cars, passed us in both directions on the
adjacent doubletrack Gotthard railway. "Hey, haven't we seen that train somewhere before?" Indeed we
had, because the SBB uses two stacked corkscrew looping tunnels to lose altitude on the steep slope.

We passed two more circular tunnels at Anzonico and then rolled into the wide and flat valley just
above Bodio (322m), the south portal of a new 58km Gotthard railway Tunnel and pedaled on to Biasca
where due to the heat and drought the crossing waterfalls were not crossing and had only a trickle.
In Bellinzona (239m) we took a road construction detour around Giubiasco that got us away from the
Lugano and Locarno traffic and put us back on our route after Cadenazzo.

http://www.alptransit.ch/pages/e/galerie/index.php#

Most traffic went south over the Monte Ceneri Pass (559m) to Lugano and Milano while just beyond, at
Quartino, most remaining traffic went toward Locarno on the west shore of Lago Maggiore (193m). We
stayed on the east shore, stopping in San Nazzaro for lunch. We crossed the Italian border at Zenna
where were waved on as usual... but not always.

In Luino my favorite bancomat wasn't working so we had to find another to stock up on Euros. From
Luino we rode along the lake in a series of tunnels and slide protection galleries and then climbed
over a hill to Laveno. We took the ferry across the lake and landed in Intra, on the fancier western
shore with its famous resorts.

We rode up the Valle d'Ossola along the Toce River, that flows from the San Giacomo Pass, and
rode along the estuary to Fondo where we crossed the river to Gravellona and climbed a short
hill to Omegna
(4b). Our road stayed above Lago d'Orta (290m) with steep shores on three sides. We rode along the
high east shore, looking down on resorts and old villas along picturesque shores and a lovely
La Basilica di San Giulio in a monastery on the island of San Giulio off the tip of a small
peninsula.

http://www.orta.net/

At Gozzano (367m), on the south end of the lake, our road headed west along the hills climbing a
short steep hill to Pogno (461m), where the four-spigot fountain on the piazza would have come in
handy but it was out of order. We climbed west up a canyon in a blooming chestnut forest, typical of
the southern slope of the Alps, and broke through the ridge at an unexpected tunnel (598m), from
where it was all down hill to Borgosesia (359m). The Sesia was still not entirely recovered from the
summer floods of 2002 but there were swans and ducks in the less than crystal clear waters. We found
a reasonable hotel and had a cool nights rest, here in the Piemonte.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Tuesday, 01 July (Borgosesia - Carignano; 161km, 1004m):

We climbed to Valle Mosso and rolled down the long descent to Pettinengo in the valley, after which
we crossed a few low ridges to Biella (410m). Following the edge of the hills westward, we skirted
several glacial ridges that slope to the Po Valley to reach Zubiena
(5a) and descend to Ivrea (254m) and the Dora Baltea River. We gave my cycling friend, Brian Tomlin
a call, so he could meet us at the bridge over the Dora Baltea in the center of town. We
followed him to his place where he prepared a gourmet meal for us and his wife who appreciates
his skills as an Anglo-Italian chef.

After lunch, Brian suited up and paced us on a fast ride through the hills on back roads to Torino
on our way south. He dropped us off at Fiano at a Shell mini-mart to return to work as we headed
south to HWY SS20, the Tenda highway. As we entered Torino, traffic was less than ideal at what
seemed to be rush hour. We threaded our way through the major routes but there was no letup as we
took a slower route through town that had streetcar tracks in a reserved right-of-way, a salvation
of sorts. Just the same Jeanie took a spill on the tracks and bruised her hip.

When we reached Carignano, we stopped and an owner of an electrical appliance shop became concerned
about Jeanie's distress. He took us to the local first aid crew who seemed unduly enthusiastic to
have a patient. We were glad for the ice-pack but the ride in their ambulance to Torino was not what
we had in mind. Once caught in the emergency room routine it was hard to get out. However, we were
reassured that nothing was broken and that the injury needed healing time. After some overnight rest
in a hotel in Torino, we dodged out of a return visit the next day and headed south by taxi, picked
up our bicycles and were on our way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

6. Wednesday, 02 July (Carignano - Sospel); 173km, 2096m):

Rt SS20, the Tenda highway, took us south to Carmagnola, and Raconigi, the former residence of the
Savoy family before Italy abolished its monarchy. We took pictures of storks nesting in large
decorative urns atop the huge red sandstone palace before heading south to Cuneo.

http://www.leksykony.pl/zamki/wlochy/racconigi.html

As we approached Cuneo, the road turned west along the north bank of the Stura di Demonte, where a
beautifully restored bi-level stone arch bridge carries road and railway high above the river. As
often, there were plenty of delicious tart Japanese plums on trees along the bridge approach. I ate
plenty of plums for my vitamin-C RDA.

We took a right just after the bridge and stopped for a good drink from the huge fountain in front
of the Cuneo train station. We rode up to Borgo San Dalmazzo, where turned south on the Tenda
Highway (SS20) to Robilante while SS21 heads west to France over the Col de Larche. Being Sunday,
the chainsaw store in Robilante was closed, so we couldn't say hello to Eliano Giordanengo the
proprietor of this unusually located shop of which I have reported in the past. However, we stopped
by Ristorante-Albergo Aquila Riale, one of my favorite stops, for a good lunch that would take us
over the hill to France.

Most of the storm damage from last year, along the Vermenagna River, was repaired with hardly a mark
except to the inquisitive eye. From Limone (990m), the climb to the tunnel gets steeper and makes a
few large hairpin turns on the way up to entrance of the 3180m-long Tenda highway tunnel (1279m),
which was completed in its present form in 1882. A "bicycles prohibited" icon sign stands at the
tunnel portal, just beyond a small shop with refreshments and a good selection of local maps.
Meanwhile, the old Tenda road, looking like a hotel driveway, takes off across the street to
Limonetto. Pavement ends at the summit and we were back on the 19th century road.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f64.html

Sixty or so hairpin turns descend steeply into the ravine of the Roya River. The loose and deeply
rutted turns of last year had been repaired, making the descent easier. Historic photographs of mule
and horse teams, steam tractors, and solid-tired chain-driven trucks that once traveled this road
make today's "hardships" pale in comparison.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f89.html

Below, in the rocky gorge of the Roya River, we finally left the gravel and got on the swift smooth
curves of the Tende highway, French Rt N204, where it emerges from the tunnel (1279m). The railway
emerges from its tunnel at Vievola (990m), only to vanish into a loop tunnel followed by many
bridges as it descends to Tende (816m). The road gradient is about 8% here, so it is not difficult
to keep a good pace down into the Soarge Gorge. The road to the town of Soarge heads into a tunnel
whose few windows in the canyon wall reveal its route as it climbs to Soarge, a strip of houses
glued to the cliffs, some with as much a hundred meter freefall from their windows.

http://tinyurl.com/k8b7 http://www.provencebeyond.com/villphotos/breilP01.html

After the brisk ride down the Roya, past Tende and the Gorge du Soarge, we stopped in St. Dalmas for
a grocery store snack before turning west up Rt D2204, just above Breil (286m), to the Col de Brauis
(879m). The landscape is Mediterranean with sparse vegetation, olive trees and blooming bright
yellow leafless broom (gorse) with a pleasantly sweet scent. About 2/3 the way up, a lovely fountain
with a sign on it to not drink the water was good as ever and I've never suffered for it over many
years although my sore throat wasn't getting any better.

The descent to Sospel (349m), the junction of the Brauis, Braus, and Turini passes is pleasantly
gradual. We took a picture of the old stone arch bridge and its collage of buildings over the Bevera
River, reminiscent of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. Since it was dinner time, we found a hotel and
ate at the "ice cream store" and deli where the proprietor, my favorite small town philosopher,
presides. Over the years, he has greeted us as though we were regulars although visits are only once
a year. This time I got his e-mail address.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

7. Thursday, 03 July (Sospel - St Martin Vesubie; 54km, 1668m):

We headed up the valley on Rt D70 to the Turini Pass (1607m) of Monte Carlo Automobile Rallye fame.
After climbing up the wall of the gorge of the Bevera, the road enters a pine and larch forest that
offers shade for the bicyclist to make this a pleasant climb. I felt my sore throat changing into a
coughing cold although I climbed with relative ease. After the descent with its grand views of the
Gorges de Vesubie and the many twists of the Turini Pass below, Bollene-Vesubie presented the usual
portrait shot before we descended to the Vesubie river (520m).

http://tinyurl.com/k8nn

On the road up the gradual grade to St. Martin Vesubie (930m), fever caught up with me and I had a
hard time reaching town, resting a couple of times even though it wasn't hot and the grade was
light. The usual Hotel Le Gelas was full so we found a hotel on the main square where we ate dinner
and I took a big rest. St. Martin Vesubie is a pleasant town lying at the foot of the narrows
leading to Col St. Martin aka Colmain (1500m).

http://www.provencebeyond.com/villph...tmartinP1.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------

8. Friday, 04 July (St. Martin Vesubie - St. Martin Vesubie; 0km):

No fireworks, just rest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

9. Saturday, 05 July (St. Martin Vesubie - Barcelonnette; 140km, 3444m):

After a days rest I felt better but unsure of how my wheezing body would work. To my surprise I got
better as I rode up the Colmain. The climb exposes a beautiful panorama of St. Martin and the
Vesubie Valley as the road, notched into cliffs, passes between rough hewn tunnels. In several of
these tunnels... swoosh! Crag Martins darted past, undaunted by cars and trucks. These grey-brown,
swallow-like birds, tend their nests in the rocky tunnel ceilings where their young are safe from
predators. Traffic and diesel exhaust seem not to bother them. We descended toward the Tinée, first
through a large grassy ski area, and then into dry sparse vegetation in the red rocky Gorges de
Valabre (503m).

http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfiel...ionroquero.htm

Across the Tinée, in the Gorges de Valabre, roads that are tiring just to look at follow
tortuous paths up through cliffs to mountain villages like Ilonse (1200m). We crossed the Tinée
at St. Sauveur
(9a) on Rt D30 and headed up the Col de la Couillole (1678m). Near the top, we passed the ancient
village of Rubion, a typical hill town located on steep terrain as a protection against
invasion. Over the Couillole we descend to Beuil (1450m) and climbed to Croix de Valberg
(9b).

http://www.provencebeyond.com/villages/roubion.html

We took the "back" road, Rt D29, down to Guillaumes (1200m) and rode up Rt N2202 in the Gorges de
Daluis along the Var River toward the Col de la Cayolle (2327m). This area appeals to me especially
because most of it lies in a national park with no ski areas and accompanying development and having
only villages with simple accommodations. The Cayolle is also the first 2000m pass I rode over on my
1960 tour from which it has remained unchanged. The climb, and especially summit, is set in the
midst of steep alpine meadows that were covered with an exceptional display of wildflowers this
time. There is nothing more than a narrow parking strip at the summit. We descended through the
Gorges du Bachelard along the Torrente Bachelard to Barcelonnette
(9c) where we found a comfortable hotel.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

10. Sunday, 06 July (Barcelonnette - Le Lauzet; 126km, 2940m):

As most days, we started off with a tailwind, even if it was only a light breeze, as we rode up the
Ubey River to Jausiers and Condamine
(10a) at the foot of the Col de Larch and Col de Vars. Just above Condamine the mountain is
riddled with tunnels from the valley floor to cliffs above, where huge fortifications keep a
silent vigil for enemies long gone. Many bullet holes in the stone buildings remain as
combat mementos.

Illuminated in early sunlight, fortifications stood out high above in the clear morning air as we
rode up the Ubey on the Route des Grand Alpes (D902). We began climbing the Col de Vars (2111m) just
beyond the junction with the Col de Larche (1991m), aka Colle della Maddalena from the Italian side.
Interestingly, Col de Vars has kilometer posts with distance to the summit and average gradient, and
there is a randonneur sign-in stamp at the summit, something we didn't notice elsewhere.

At the summit I was surprised to see the ramshackle corrugated steel shed, that I first saw in 1960
and had collapsed during the winter of 2001, was again repaired after being a mere pile of
corrugated sheet metal last year. Of course I bought some post cards and a soda.

On the descent to Guillestre (1000m), I could make out the gap of the Galibier Pass in the distant
panorama of snowy peaks and glaciers above the Durance Valley. We took the Route des Grand Alpes
(D902) over the Izoard instead of the main route (N94) up the valley to Briancon. Our road followed
the rugged gorge of the Guil River and turned up the Riviere canyon where the Passo Agnello route
(D947) comes in from the east. It was easy going up to Arvieux, where we stopped for a grocery store
lunch. Across the street from the store, an alcove under the city hall with a bench, water fountain,
and public restroom, served as our lunch room.

Our tailwind turned into a headwind as I started up the straight steep section from Arvieux past
Brunnisard to the Col d'Izoard. The going got easier above Brunnisard, where the grade eased where
the road goes into traverses and hairpin turns that gave shelter from the wind. At the false summit
we saw the rest of the climb across the canyon zig-zagging to the obelisk that marks the summit.
With a short descent and a bit of climbing, we arrived at the Coppi memorial where a bronze
caricature of Fausto is mounted on a marble plaque. This treeless landscape looks like the moon,
with vast slopes of dark grey scree at the angle of repose. The exposure makes this climb especially
difficult in warm weather.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f72.html

From the Izoard (2361m), the gap of the Galibier Pass was again visible in the distance. Descending
the unspectacular road, we arrived in Briancon (1391m), a large town overrun with tourists and
traffic, where we took Rt N91 (also D902) with its gentle slope of 2% to 4% to the Col du Lautaret
(2058m). We stopped at Hotel des Amis in Le Lauzet for the day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

11. Monday, 07 July (Le Lauzet - Bonneval-sur-Arc); 113km, 2146m):

The Lautaret pass being a fairly flat ride all the way from Briancon made it was a pleasant warmup
before heading up the Galibier that is a bit steeper but still mild up to the summit tunnel that
has been reopened after 40 years or so, enabling tour Buses to once again carry their guests over
this pass.

The new Hotel des Glaciers on the Lautaret summit, now known as Hotel Bonnabel, was splendidly built
after the old hotel burned three years ago. Last year I found that the new hotel was designed around
the grand dining room and centerpiece of grandfather Bonnabel's unfinished project and that it
exceeded the expense and class of hotel that I chose to stay in. I tried it once and that was
enough. Neither of the Bonnabels were there when we dropped in to say hello, so we rode on up the
Galibier in the cool morning air.

http://tinyurl.com/kdds

In contrast to last year, cars were waiting at the traffic light at the one way summit tunnel
(2555m) so I didn't try to ride through it as last year.

We road over the top (2645m), where we had a panorama of the glaciers of the Massif de la Vanoise
(3600m) and the Massif du Sorieller
(11a). The descent from the tunnel portal is about 6%-8% to Plan Lachat where it requires pedaling
over a long flat section.

http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/e...tation_tdf.php
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f30.html

Valloire (1430m) streets were jammed with an ATV show that took over the whole town, we lost a bit
of time by not taking the detour around town and weaving through all the stands and parked vehicles.
I didn't believe a trade show could so solidly block all the streets that a bicycle couldn't get
through. It was cloudy with high overcast as we climbed from Valloire (1430m), to the Telegraph
(1570m) before descending to St Michel du Maurienne (712m).

Looking down from the Telegraph, I was reassured that highway construction had progressed enough
that we would have it fairly easy in contrast to the detours and heavy construction traffic of last
year. In fact it was fairly calm as we rode up the old highway with most traffic on the motorway. At
Modane (1057m), the railway heads for the Frejus tunnel (built in 1871) to Torino and the motorway
heads to its 12.9Km tunnel leaving us on a fairly empty Rt N6 toward Lanslebourg (1400m).

http://tinyurl.com/kdo4

Just above Modane, in Le Bourget, we could see the aeronautical research center below at the end of
the valley as we climbed over the narrows of the Barrire de l'Esseillon. This pass is guarded by a
huge fortress that in ancient times posed a formidable obstacle to invaders.

http://www.onera.fr/geographie/modane-avrieux.html
http://www.onera.fr/geographie-en/modane-avrieux.html

I had seen this research center, with its conspicuous group of four spherical air tanks typical of
supersonic research, on previous tours and wondered whether it was still active. As the noise abated
we descended past the Barrire de l'Esseillon to Lanslebourg for a food stop before the Madeleine
(1760m) a short but steep pass that got us into the high valley of the arc river.

Above Modane (1057m), after most traffic took the highway tunnel, we climbed a pleasantly empty
road that rises above Avrieux, the site of subsonic to hypersonic wind tunnels, located here after
WWII, probably for abundant hydropower. This time, as we reached the fortress at the Barrire de
l'Esseillon, the wind tunnel went into action, with roar of a 747 on takeoff, for about two
minutes. In the valley the sound must be deafening, which this makes me wonder what the residents
have to say about it.

The road levels off next to the Barriere de l'Esseillon, a deep defile of the Arc River and natural
obstacle, guarded by a huge fortress. Tourists cross the breathtaking gorge to the fort on the Pont
du Diable, a slender truss foot bridge that accentuates the depth of the chasm. Beyond the gorge, we
descended to the valley floor and rolled gradually up to Termignon (1300m). From here, it's a short
climb up the valley to Lanslebourg (1399m), the foot of the Col du Mont Cenis
(11b), which heads south to Torino.

We stopped for a snack in Lanslevillard, the upper end of Lanslebourg before the Col du Madeleine
(1746m) a short but steep climb into the high valley of the Arc. On the way o Bonneval-sur-Arc at
the end of the valley great panoramas of the Glaciers de Evettes on the slopes of the Croce Rossa
(3546m), Via di Ciamarella (3676m), and l'Albaron
(11c) open to the east. We stooped in Bonneval-sur-Arc (1835m) at the big sweeping turn the main
climb to the Col d'Iseran begins.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

12. Tuesday, 08 July (Bonneval-sur-Arc - Etroubles); 150km, 2968m):

We made the two long traverses from Bonneval the Gorge de la Lenta, a box canyon that lies south of
the pass. The road climbs the east wall of the gorge over waterfalls and through bare rock tunnels.
Near the top of the cliff, the Lenta cascades into the gorge through a slot. Just above the lip of
the gorge, the road crosses the river on a stone bridge and takes two long traverses in a narrow
valley to reach the top of the Col d'Iseran (2770m) surrounded by a breathtaking panorama.

After a photo stop at the large concrete sign at the summit, we put on my jacket and descended
to Val d'Isere. With beautifully clear skies, many vistas that I hadn't seen in recent years
were visible and reminders of past tours. At Ste. Foy-Tarentaise (1051m) we took Rt N90, a
shortcut to Col du Petite St. Bernard, something I hadn't tried before. This was not to be a
great shortcut because the road winds around and goes up and down through several villages
without much scenic interest.

We joined Rt. N90 Below Rosiere (1850m) and rode on to the Col du Petite St. Bernard (2189m) with a
grand view of surrounding snow capped peaks. After an descent along the Dora di Vinnei to Pré St.
Didier, where the road from Courmayeur joins to continue down the Dora Baltea to Aosta (581m). We
took the road to the Col du Grand St. Bernard up to Etroubles (1264m). Although there is no separate
autostrada, traffic was moderate to light, probably because the road is fairly straight and has a
mild grade at least up to Etroubles where we stopped for the day.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

13. Wednesday, 09 July (Etroubles - Brig-Ried; 150km, 1692m):

After breakfast we pushed off into beautiful sunny weather and rolled up the gradual climb of the
Valle del Gran San Bernardo to Bosses
(13a) where the St. Bernard autostrada begins, leaving us with a nearly empty road. The road is a
bit narrower reminding me of my first ride here in 1960 when there was even less traffic.

Val d'Aosta originally being a French speaking region is a mix of French and Italian names of places
in both languages and mixed. Courmayeur at the entrance to the Monte Bianco Tunnel to Chamonix, for
instance is almost entirely French speaking.

As we reached the summit of the Gran San Bernardo (2469m) we rode around the summit lake to take a
picture at one of the last Swiss concrete road signs of the 1950's posed just as I had back then.
The sign is still there because the snow plow driver cannot knock it down, it being up against the
monastery building... but he tried. The base of the post is cracked to expose its reinforcing bar.

I found the kiosks had horribly bad taste but they sell what the tourists buy and that is fuzzy, toy
St. Bernard dogs in all sizes from pocket to life size. The descent seems short before joining the
tunnel road, although it is the same elevation change as the south side. The road has long avalanche
sheds and fast alignment so costing at maximum speed is a breeze.

We reached the valley at Orsiérs (901m) and rode the slight grade to Martigny (471m) pedaling
lightly. As expected, we had a tailwind up the Rhone Valley that made the altitude gain of 210m over
82km almost like flatland. In fair weather, this east-west valley usually has a brisk up hill wind
all summer.

Traffic was light, because most of it was on the parallel A9 motorway. This broad valley is the
great fruit basket of Switzerland, just as the Alto Adige is in Italy. Orchards and vineyards fill
the valley and reach high above on sunny terraced hillsides. Most vineyards are practically paved
with flat river bed rocks to conserve water.

http://www.sion.ch/

After Sion with its twin knobs with castles we passed Raron, at the portal of the new Lötschberg
base tunnel. Tunneling machinery, like that at the Gotthard, was hard at work bringing out huge
tailings from under the mountain. Visp, the gateway to Zermatt has become a huge industrial zone
with chemicals, oil refineries and truck depots, something that is more evident when seen from the
Lötschberg (BLS) railway that gives a birds eye view of the valley on its way up to the tunnel.

After a brief visit in Brig (681m) we started up the Simplon Pass to stop in Brig-Ried (900m) for
the night. It had been a warm afternoon but up on the hill, the air was cooler and pleasant.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

14. Tursday, 10 July (Brig-Ried - Ronco 114km, 3100m):

As I rode up the Simplon, Jeanie took the old road that is both shorter and steeper, and joins the
new road just above the curved Schallberg tunnel, in the Gantertal, high above the Saltina, the
river that flows through Brig. About a kilometer farther, on this nearly flat section of the road, a
high concrete suspension bridge crosses the Gantertal to Berisal (1520m).

http://tinyurl.com/k8at

From Berisal we continued in the shade of a larch forest up to treeline where long avalanche
shelters cover the road most of the distance to the Simplon summit (2005m). The air on the climb was
pleasantly cool and under the clear sky the Eiger and the Aletsch Glacier were visible in the haze
to the north. The Simplon Pass is one of the more exciting and scenic routes in the Alps. Unlike
other major passes, it has no highway tunnel beneath it, yet has remarkably little traffic.

http://www.picswiss.ch/Land10/VS-10-05.html

Today was a low-traffic day as we swept down into the galleries along the granite walls of the Gondo
gorge, high above the Diveria River in the Val Divedro. After a long zigzag down the wall, we
reached the small villages of Gabi, Gondo, and Iselle (672m) where the 20km Simplon railway tunnel
emerges from its south portal to vanish again into a tunnel that makes a loop in the mountain to
lose elevation at Varzo (532m). The Varzo bypass, being built over the Diveria looked like it was
almost finished last year but is seems to be stalled at the moment. The long curved bypass is
entirely on a steel bridge over the Diveria.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s25.html

About a kilometer above Crevoladossola (337m), which lies at the end of the narrow part of the
canyon above the Valle d'Ossola, the highway enters an autos-only tunnel where bicycles must (and
prefer to) take the old road into town. Shortly beyond the tunnel entrance we stopped at the
graceful and ancient stone arch bridge with Jeanie sitting on the railing at the top of the arch. We
turned east at Crevoladossola to the Val Antigorio passing Crodo (the home of Crodo Acqua Minerale)
and on to Baceno (655m) for lunch at the confluence of the Toce and Devero rivers.

It being Thursday, the great waterfall, the Cascata del Toce, would be flowing, but from what was
coming downstream, it looked as though the heat wave and drought reduced the falls to a minimum.
Ente Nazionale Energia Elettrica (ENEL) the electric power authority takes all the water except
Sundays and Thursday afternoons. From Baceno we followed the Toce up the Val Formazza where big
trucks carried huge blocks of granite down to the stone works in Domodossola. This region has many
granite quarries that supply these huge blocks to be made into beams, posts, slabs, curbs, table
tops, roofing stone and decorative sculptures.

As we approached the top of the valley we could see the falls visible through the trees as the road
began its climb in the granite wall of the gorge. Much of the road beneath the falls is in tunnels
and avalanche sheds that end just before the Albergo Cascata del Toce di Riale (1675m) that stands
at the edge of the waterfall.

http://www.itinera2000.org/tedesco/w...serted-117.htm

This year the Giro d'Italia on Friday, 30 May, had a stage finish here, with Gilberto Simoni winning
the stage in his 39t-21t gear, as he says. However, for touring, this is a beautiful route that
above the falls enters a high Valle di Morasco with the village of Riale
(14a). From Riale we took the San Giacomo pass that crosses the border into Switzerland into the
Val Bedretto.

The San Giacomo is an unpaved road from the days of yore, when the road, probably first built by
ENEL to the dam and to end of the lake. The unpaved road traverses the south side of the valley up
to the dam. Although the road has not been graded recently, minimal car traffic keeps it ridable.
Navigating the rough surface was better than last year with little need for dismounting. The
solitude and striking landscape make this one of the great roads in the Alps.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i54.html
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i35.html

The road levels off in the Val Toggia (2000m) and then climbs above the dam of Lago Toggia (2191m).
With the heat wave that preceded our tour, there was no snow or ice on the lake as there was in
other years. Today the lake was emerald blue and surrounded by green meadows and wildflowers. The
road rises gradually past the lake to the San Giacomo Pass (2313m), where a small stone house at the
end of the road marks the Swiss border. From here, only hiking trails continue. Over the years I
have found one route that works best, the one marked for the Gries Pass (2479m) and from it, one
that descends steeply to the Nufenen Pass road in the Val Bedretto.

The technique I use for descending steep hiking trails, is to walk next to the bicycle applying the
front brake while not restraining the bicycle by pulling back (up) on the bars. Pulling on the bars
lifts the front wheel and puts the entire braking burden on the legs of the hiker. When I saw that
Jeanie was having difficulty descending the trail, we traded bicycles and I discovered that what
was easy with my bicycle, even with one hand on the bars, was difficult with Jeanie's dual pivot
brakes, with their higher mechanical advantage. Although we weren't fast, the descent was, because
it was so steep.

Near the bottom of the trail a mine seeking mountain crystals cut across the path so that we had to
take a steep cutoff. However, the miners had installed a good temporary bridge across the Ticino
River so we didn't get wet shoes walking through ice water. We stopped at Ronco (1487m), the first
town, a few kilometers down the valley.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

15. Friday, 11 July (Ronco - Bregalia 190km, 3000m):

The morning was a breeze as we coasted down the Bedretto valley to Airolo and took a picture of
the flying hairpin turn on the Gotthard from Fontana. From Airolo we retraced our earlier route
to Castione
(15a), and turned east before Bellinzona, up the Val Mesolcina to the San Bernardino Pass. The
valley is fairly flat until Soazza, where the road begins to climb smartly to Mesocco (790m).

As we passed Ristorante Beer in Mesocco, where the same host presided for as many years as I can
remember, there was a faded "Chiuso" sign in the door. This was sad because I so much wanted to once
more experience the owner's ability to recite complex menus from memory and to keep in his head what
every guest ordered without notes. The last two years, when he was still in business, I arrived on
Wednesday, his "rest day".

We stopped at the grocery store just up the road and confirmed the suspicion that Hotel Restaurant
Beer was closed for good. After a snack we started up the granite paving stones of Mesocco's 13%
main street into a light breeze. The grade eased a bit at the end of the cobbles as the road climbed
hairpin turns to Pian San Giacomo (1170m). From here the road meanders across a small valley before
climbing over a ridge to San Bernardino (1607m), a charming little town in a glacial depression with
a lake. The motorway takes a tunnel from here into the Hinterrhein Valley, leaving us to ride in
peace over the pass.

After lunch, we rode up the most scenic part of this climb through glacial formations, amidst
running water and green meadows of wildflowers, bog cotton, and alpenrosen. Remnants of the ancient
Roman road, with large edge stones, still remained in a few places where it had not been obliterated
by the new road.

We rode around the summit lake and past the San Bernardino monastery at the top (2603m). There were
no dogs with rum kegs hanging from their collars like those in the gift shop, and I'm not sure there
ever were any.

We descended into the Rheinwald Valley where it was pleasantly still in contrast to the usual
gunnery practice on the artillery range above the village of Hinterrhein. We crossed the Hinterrhein
River at the motorway tunnel portal, passed the town of Hinterrhein (1624m), and took the frontage
road down to Splugen (1457m) into a light headwind. After stopping for some food at the market we
turned south up the Splugen Pass.

We climbed along the stream through lush green meadows of the upper valley were rich with the usual
wildflowers and orange dandelions that seem to thrive at higher elevations. We saw only wagtails
along the creek where in past years I had seen Dippers, odd birds that walk under water. A Swiss
Customs house lies above a stack of hairpin turns, a couple of kilometers below the summit, standing
forlornly on an outcropping in the eye of a hairpin turn. Border guards have a sweeping view of the
road from the valley up to the Splugen summit
(15b). Farther down at the Italian station, they gave our 'documenti' a thorough investigation,
asked no questions and then let us continue.

Monte Spluga (1908m), a small village with granite houses with granite roofs at the upper end of
a large ENEL lake, looked a little less depressing in sunshine than it usual. The granite face
of the dam

here the road is unusual in that much of it is covered in avalanche protection tunnels, some of
which are hairpin turns, stacked one above the other in cliffs. Although most of its one-lane
sections have been widened, tour busses still avoid it for its tight curves. An alternate, but
longer route with more generous curves branches off in Isolato.

We descended the Val San Giacomo along the Liro river as the valley widened and became less steep on
the way to Chiavenna (333m) in the Val Bregaglia. We turned up the valley toward the Maloja Pass and
St. Moritz, crossing into Switzerland at Castasegna (696m) and up to the lovely old fashioned Post
Hotel Bregaglia (820m) in Bondo, where we stopped for the night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

16. Saturday, 12 July (Bregalia - Temú 143km, 2810m):

I was glad to see that although the road was widened, the leaning rock above Sottoponte was not
destroyed and is now a narrows, probably because the new bypass tunnel was completed before getting
a chance to blast this beautiful artifact.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/s15.html

We rode up the Val Bregaglia along the Mera to Casaccia (1458m), where the Septimer Pass (2310m), a
Roman road, heads north, an interesting climbing adventure that I once took over to Bivio (1769m) on
the Julier Pass (2284m). From Casaccia the road climbs steeply into a bowl and ascends the south
wall to the Maloja Pass. The steep ramp was modified recently so that it has a pair of hairpin turns
at the upper end... a sort of bandaid for an excessively steep section.

The Maloja Pass (1815m) is one sided with no descent to the east, which the road convincingly
demonstrates as it follows the shore of the Silsersee and the slightly lower Silvaplanasee. After
the St. Moritzersee, the road descends through a narrows into the Val Bernina where we joined the
Bernina road at Champagna (1714m). We rode south through Pontresina (1805m) where we made a lunch
stop at a grocery store.

Up the Val Bernina, at the Bellavista curve railway crossing (1950m) of the RhB Railway, we stopped
for a picture, but as the year, no train came by to be photographed in front of the glacier. Instead
we took pictures of bicycle racers rounding the curve. The upper Val Bernina is fairly flat but
after the Diavolezza and Lagalp funiculars, the road climbs the last bump to the Bernina summit
(2323m). Two lakes lie on opposite sides of the divide, where the waters of deep blue Lago Negro
flow via the Inn and Danube rivers to the Black Sea, while those of milky white Lago Bianco flow via
the Cavaliasco and Adda rivers to the Po and the Adriatic Sea.

http://www.trainpics.de/gallery/swit...a/rb17134.html

The south side of the Bernina Pass is one of the longer descents in the Alps as it makes its way
into the Val Poschiavo. A kilometer or so below the summit, we passed the junction (2045m) to the
Forcola di Livigno pass (2315m) that connects to Livigno from which a road connects tot he Ofen Pass
and Bormio. After riding around Lago di Poschiavo we made the fast descent to Brusio where we
stopped at Hotel Bottoni for a visit and a large ice cream sundae. Well fueled we passed the famous
Brusio Loop of the RhB railway and crossed into Italy to Madonna di Tirano.

http://www.rail-info.ch/RhB-BB/pics/rhb5374.jpg

A short way down the valley from Madonna di Tirano we crossed the valley to Stazzona and the road up
through the woods to intersect the Aprica Pass road (Rt N39). From Aprica (1176m) on the summit, we
descended the long gentle grade to Edolo (690m), passing the foot of the Mortirolo Pass (1896m) at
Monno (868m) and stopping in Temú.

At Temú (1144m), just below Ponte di Legno, we found lodging just up the street from the Locanda
Veduta dell'Adamello that was booked full but had room for us for a delicious dinner. Silvano
Macculotti, the proprietor, explained that his old hotel across the street was wrapped up in family
disagreement, his family having operated the hotel for more than three generations.

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17. Sunday, 13 July (Temú - Kortsch; 110km, 2964m):

We rode through Ponte di Legno (1258m) where Torrente Frigidolfo rages through the middle of town.
We stayed on the north side of the river to reach the nearly flat, lush green valley below Pezzo
(1565m) a typically picturesque hill town, glued to the side of the mountain in what appears to be
high-risk avalanche territory. The shape of the slopes above apparently protect it from white death.
We climbed through the larch forest to break out into Appolonia (1585m) where the Frigidolfo
meanders across the flat valley with no hint of its cascades below, or waterfalls above.

We stopped at the gazebo which currently offers only one flavor of rusty bubbly mineral water for
those who seek its benefits masked by its foul flavor. This water is thought to give strength to
bicyclists who dare climb the Gavia or at least to those who dare to drink. After getting past the
warning signs of landslides, rockfall, dangerous narrow road, and a requirement to have tire chains
on board from September to July, we were on our way. Past the second hairpin, reality strikes as the
road goes from highway to driveway width, and the 16% sign of poster fame sets the tone. The road is
only that steep in a few places, but the signs are a warning for vehicles that cannot restart on
such a grade after meeting a descending vehicle. The bicyclist can always walk.

We stopped at the cliff, the scene of the poster picture of years ago that hangs on the wall in the
Rifugio Bonetta on the summit. In many attempts we have not been able to match that photo.

http://tinyurl.com/f389

We stopped in at the Rifugio to say hello to Signor. Bonetta. As last year, there was "mail" taped
to the glass on the poster with a greeting from a fellow bikie. There were about 100 riders outside
finishing a club hillclimb that came up from Santa Caterina on the north side. We thanked Signor.
Bonetta for his hospitality and rolled off across the broad summit.

http://www.waltellina.com/ortlescevedale/bonetta/

As we crossed the summit, the Ortler (3905m) and Gran Zebru (3851m) with their glacial caps and
perpetual glistening snow rose to the east as we descended onto the Valle Valfurva. The Val di Gavia
got steeper as we passed Rifugio Breni (2543m) on the way down to the main road in Santa Caterina
(1734m). Valfurva Valley is a steep dash from the town of Valfurva (1339m) to Bormio (1197m). We
rode up Via Roma, a pedestrian mall and main street of Bormio, and stopped at the large Pizzeria
across from Braulio liqueur HQ.

Well fed and rested, we rode up the rocky Val Braulio, where the road clings to the south side below
slopes of scree, ducking into the mountain in long avalanche tunnels before reaching the headwall at
Spondalunga. Here the road makes ten traverses to climb to the Bocca di Braulio, a curved valley
that leads to the Umbrail gap (2502m) and the Stelvio summit (2757m). From the Umbrail, the last 3km
with a steady 10% climb went well.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i79.html

As usual, many motorcyclists and bicyclists were gathered at the summit as Jeanie took my picture
crossing the top. We went to the edge of the precipice to the east where we took pictures of what is
hard to capture with a camera. From here we had a clear view of the road, glued to the wall, as it
starts down the 48 hairpin turns to the Val di Trafoi. In spite of climbing the Gavia before lunch,
I cut almost a half hour off my time up the hill this afternoon.

http://tinyurl.com/lenc http://tinyurl.com/len5

As we rolled out of Prato, we ran into our first major headwind but it only lasted across the Val
Venosta to Spondigna, where we crossed the abandoned FS railway line... wait! the tracks were
cleared of brush and some work had been done on the wires next to the track. After more than five
years of dormancy, the federal railway (FS) changed its mind and is refurbishing the whole line from
Merano to Málles with new track.

We coasted down to Kortsch, just above Spondigna, found comfortable Hotel Sonne and relaxed.
I needed a rest day and this was a good location, still up at higher elevations and out in
the country.

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18. Monday, 14 July (Kortsch - Kortsch; 0km, 0m):

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19. Tuesday, 15 July (Kortsch - Alba; 125km, 1732m):

Although yesterday afternoon was warm, today was the usual pleasantly cool weather we have had all
along. Merano (302m) was 34km down the Val Venosta and another flat 30km run to Bolzano (262m), a
charming south Tyrolean city on the edge of the Dolomites. We stayed on the north side of the Val
Venosta and found that the old highway, in the presence of the Autostrada was almost empty as we
rode down the valley.

We headed north past the Bolzano train station toward the Isarco (Eisack) Valley to Cardano, where I
couldn't find the road (Rt N241) other than a large new tunnel that went into the wall north of
where the Ega rushed out of a narrow defile in the rock wall. We were told that this was the only
way now and that bicycles were allowed, something that was obvious once we went that way. The 1.2km
tunnel took us around the 16% defile for which the Costalunga road was noted. The tunnel was airy
and had broad shoulders, the way a bicyclist would like.

At the upper portal of the tunnel we rejoined the old road, the remains of which came shockingly
steeply out of the defile below. I was convinced that this as a positive change for everyone.
Besides, the convenience, the most scenic part of the canyon remained unchanged. We rode on through
Welschnofen (1182m) and into the forest Just above Hotel Diana, that has a giant mural of Diana the
huntress with bow and arrow, the road flattens as it reaches the summit meadows and turquoise Lago
di Carezza, the reflecting pool for the Latemar
(19a) with its myriad Dolomite spires. Unfortunately the drought and heat wave had reduced the
surface of the lake to less than half its usual area and no reflection was seen beneath its
steep banks.

http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/i92.html

Across the meadows, the Rosengarten (2981m) was left in natural stone color under the light overcast
that robbed it of its sunset colors that give it its name. We passed the junction to the *****joch
Pass, whose lower end is the 24% grade road to Tiers. Then came a short climb with a few turns to
the Costalunga summit (1745m) and a long gradual descent to Vigo di Fassa and up the valley to
Canazei and Alba
(19b) in the Val di Fassa.

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20. Wednesday, 16 July (Alba - Longarone; 130km, 3000m):

Up the valley, a few kilometers from Canazei, we began the climb up the Fedaia Pass. Here the road
goes up the north wall, climbing through tunnels and avalanche sheds to come out above the concrete
arch dam of the Lago di Fedaia (2054m). We took the old road around the south side of the lake and
crossed over the little bump, the official Fedaia Pass (2510m) at the far end of the lake. When I
first visited the Fedaia, it went only as far as the dam. The road we came up is relatively new with
its 8% grade but the "old" descends steeply to the east through a series of hairpin turns followed
by a long 13% straight section into Malga Ciapela (1384m). A little breeze from ahead prevented me
from achieving the usual 100km/h coasting.

From Malga Ciapela we went down into the Serra di Sottoguda canyon instead of taking the high auto
road. This is the beautiful old road, closed to cars, that winds through the deep and narrow gorge
next to the Torrente Pettorina to Sottoguda. From Caprile (1014m), in the shadows of Monte Civetta
(3220m), we headed north, climbing to Racuva
(20a) to follow the canyon to Cernadoi (1495m) to join the road to the Falzarego Pass.

The Falzarego (2105m) lies in a beautiful meadow at the base of Pizo Lagazuoi (2770m), a striking
dolomite peak at the base of which the Valparola Pass (2192m) heads west into the Val di San
Cassiano. The Falzarego descends gradually to Pocol (1480m) above Cortina, at the junction with
Passo Giau. After a hearty lunch at the restaurant at the road junction, we headed off toward the
Giau, first descending and then climbing the odd alignment of this ancient road.

Our trip being in almost perpetual clear skies, the scenery was magnificent as we reached the summit
of the Giau (2236m) with a view across the Valle d' Ampezzo to the Passo Tre Croci and to the
Marmolada to the southwest. Having just eaten lunch we didn't stop at the Rifugio Piezza (2175m), a
half kilometer below the summit, a great place to eat... and stay for the night.

The descent reminded me of how I rode up this steep grade years ago, thinking nothing of it. It
wasn't paved them. We descended to Selva di Cadore (1336m) and headed east to Passo Staulanza
(1773m) along the Torrente Fiorentina all the while heading straight for Monte Pelmo
(20b). The Staulanza is an easy pass and comes as a surprise because there is no apparent gap past
Monte Pelmo. After a hairpin turn just before the mountain, the pass shows up unexpectedly,

Typical of the Dolomites, this route is a scenic wonder. We rode to Longarone (472m), notorious for
the dam disaster at 22:42 on 09 October 1963 when the town was destroyed by a "tidal wave", that a
landslide from Monte Toc (1921m) had forced over a dam and through a narrow gulch across from the
town, to claim 1909 lives. Our hotel as, most in that area, had many before and after pictures on
its walls.

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21. Thursday, 17 July (Longarone - Cárnia: 143km, 2048m):

We started out under blue skies that gradually turned cloudy as the day passed. We crossed the
valley and rode up the granite wall through tunnels as we headed to the gap of death for Longarone.
Below, carved into the vertical wall, we saw the old road notched and tunneled into the gorge as we
passed tunnel openings in our toad. Then we saw the hollow arch of the dam, still in tact, with only
a bit of the rim cracked of on the far side. It is less than 50m across but at least three times
that high, narrowing to almost nothing at its bottom.

After the last tunnel we emerged just above the dam that still has a bit of water between it and
the mountain that slid into the former lake. A memorial chapel by Corbusier stands vigil over
this disaster.

http://tinyurl.com/li6o (before) http://tinyurl.com/li6e (after)
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare...zio/vajont.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare...io/vajont1.htm
http://www.citysite.it/news/page/fot...ajont/diga.htm

From the dam the road climbs over the mountain that slid into the lake