Day 6: Tue 4th July 2006
Ride: Col de l'Iseran & Petit St. Bernard - 168 miles
The plan today was for a longer ride than our short blast up the Grand St. Bernard yesterday. Phil had planned a route that would explore some magnificent Alpine roads and gain a lot of altitude, and before days end would have us riding to the top of the highest pass in the Alps. There were a lot of miles to cover today if we wanted to get there so the concensus was that we needed to be on the road and rolling by 9.00am.
We were all on the road by 9.00am but not rolling because most of us needed fuel. There are plenty of places to fill up in and around Chamonix but we weren't sure what the situation would be like in the mountains. As we were going to be heading west from Chamonix we dropped a mile of so down the valley into Les Houches and filled up there. Everyone filled up regardless of whether they needed fuel or not - the SV and the Fireblade were brimmed. By 9.30am we were rolling.
From Les Houches we continued west and headed for Megeve on the N212 before turning at Notre Dame de Bellecombe up the D218B and over the Col des Saisies - part of this year's Tour de France route at 1,657m high - and down to Beaufort on the D925. The D218B was good but we had no idea how those cyclists manage to get up the passes. From Beaufort we kept on the D925 up the 1,605m to the top of the Col de Meraillet and then over the Cormet de Roselend at 1,968m. The scenery here was stunning but unfortunately we only stopped briefly at the top of the Meraillet and Roselend so no scenic pictures. There was more hairpin practice coming into Bourg St. Maurice and then again on the D902 through Val d'Isere.
Top of the Col du Meraillet (L) and topof the Cormet de Roselend (R)
We then climbed the 2,770m to the top of the highest pass in the Alps, the Col de l'Iseran. The D902 is justly rated as a 5-star biking road although we did have to stop for roadworks in a couple of the tunnels. However it is well surfaced and not too tight - so it was second gear for the hairpins and third gear for the straights. This was literally the highest we got but despite the altitude all the bikes were running perfectly.
The views from the top were spectacular as you can see from the series of photos below.
The signpost at the top confirms that your altitude is 2,770m
Two views looking north back towards Val d'Isere
And a view looking south towards Lanslebourg
From the top we retraced our steps back towards Bourg St. Maurice before turning right off the D925 at Sainte Foy to cut across to the N90 meeting the pass to La Rosiere close to the top, and turning right for the Col du Petit St. Bernard. The climb up to the pass heading north is gentle and fairly featureless and tops out at 2,188m.
Below are some photos that were taken at the top of the Petit St. Bernard.
Old anti tank barriers, probably left over from WWII (L) and St. Bernard himself (R)
And a sign with some useful information on distances
The pass going down towards Courmayeur is much more challenging with hairpin after hairpin after hairpin. Most of us found the trick was to stay in second gear for all but the tightest hairpins and use both the front and rear brakes before the bend, releasing the front before the bend but keeping the rear on and balancing it against the throttle, before releasing it as the bike straightened up.
From Courmayeur it was another trip through the Mont Blanc tunnel and then home to the chalet.
Coming down the approach to the tunnel on the French side you pass the memorial commemorating the efforts of those who died in the great fire in 1999. The fire started only 750 metres into the tunnel on the Italian side when a lorry carrying flour and margarine stopped and caught fire. 39 people died in this fire but one of the heroes was an Italian security guard named Pierlucio Tinazzi who was also a biker. He rode in and out of the tunnel as the fire raged rescuing a number of those trapped. Eventually he was forced to seek refuge in one of the shelters but it was one which had not been upgraded and he died.
