Reise | French Roadtrip – On Tour again
Work before pleasure. Following this phrase, we decided after a busy, hardworking summer that it would be time to reward ourselves with a new adventure. Reminding ourselves of last year’s cruise of three weeks, travelling the Western Alps, caught us with the travel lust again. We needed the perspiration, we wanted the airflow, and we were desperate for the adrenalin shooting through our bodies when going downhill. We needed a second run of our travel from last year.
On the first weekend we visited the Trailtrophy in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Actually, there are worse ways to start such a trip than a relaxed race with friends. So we helped Thomas Schlecking, organizer of the race, to lead the weekend to success. If it was cleaning up the tracks or organizing the start, we were everywhere. In the end, it was a fun race with great sportsmanship and a special weekend for us as well as the participants.
At the time of departure from Lenzerheide, our group had spontaneously grown. Franzi and Joschi, friends of us who had already been travelling the Alps for several weeks, decided to join us. Together we set our next destination to be Lago di Como in Italy. From that day on we went almost every day for a brilliant ride and rolled along a huge variety of trails. Even frosty winds, cold and rain could not stop us and it was worth it. In this case, pictures paint a thousand words!
After the stopover we drove to Bardonecchia. The first cold night in a parking lot, as well as the weather forecast made us rent an apartment. Also, you learn to appreciate a hot shower and a comfortable bed after a cold tour in the rain indeed. Leaving Bardonecchia however, was never an option. Whether Col des Thures or Col de la Roue, the Piemont offers one great tour after another and the views are just amazing.
But at some point even the comfortable life comes to an end and we packed our stuff again to start towards France – Destination: Briançon. But first things first: A night spent on the Col de l’Echelle, where we ate and slept in absolute tranquility under the starry sky followed by a relaxed breakfast in the sleepy hamlet Névache. This is freedom. After arriving in Briancon, we finished the day with a refreshing dip into a lake. It was a Deja vu since it was the same lake we visited last year on our trip.
The next tour we did was in Guillestre before we had dinner in the evening watching the sunset at the lake Serre-Ponçon near Embrun. It was a climb of about 800 meters of altitude to Station de Risoul. The trail down, which was advertised as “Très difficile”, was really exhausting. Steep sections peppered with switchbacks and breathtaking surroundings – what more could you want?
With another stop in Barcelonnette, including another funny tour, we drove up to Valberg. But right before Valberg, while the sun set slowly, we stopped on the Pass de la Coyolle and unloaded the bikes of Franzi and me. Bam! Out of nowhere we rode a fun trail down into the valley while the dark came upon us. Meanwhile, Fabian and Joschi drove the car to the meeting point. In the following days. we rode trails in the Terre Noir by the fluffy forest from Cime de Chamoussillon on the edge of the river valley Var, in the Parc National du Mercantour. Generally, we can only say that you can ride awesome and stunning trails in this region, when you know where to find them.
As Franzi wanted to be early in Finale Ligure, Italy, to have enough time to practice for the last stop of the EWS, we went parted ways from now on before the reunion later in Italy. Fabian and I drove towards Gorge du Verdon, which is the biggest canyon in Europe. Unfortunately, we missed our ultimate goal to go kayaking because of the low water level. Nevertheless, we had some relaxing days off the bike. In addition to an exciting hike down the canyon, we were entertained with a rally, which took place accidentally during our stay in Castellane.
Before our last stop in Finale Ligure, we had a fun ride in Sospel. In Italy, we used a shuttle service and relaxed a bit before we left a few days early due to a rising storm. On our way home we returned the rental bike of Fabian in Southern Germany. After 17 hours on the road in total, we reached Braunschweig, our hometown. 21 days of fun and great experiences were now behind us, which we won’t forget soon. It was again ’très magnifique’!
For more bike adventures head to Sven Frank’s website.
Words: Sven Frank Photos: Sven Frank, Franziska Meyer
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