GPX - Wander across the alps

[er-minio]

Currently in Italy, seaside. Life is good.
I'm sharing the southward leg of my journey here (apart from what described in the XT thread ), as I spent a few days wandering up and down the Alps, on my own first and then with a couple of friends.

I slept south of Dijon and the first day was spent crossing into Italy via Croix de Fer and the neighbouring passes and sleeping near Susa.
Northern pink route in the picture below.

Second day, from Susa, there is some easy offroad going up Colle delle Finestre, following Assietta and then jumping on the motorway to Bardonecchia to reach and go up and down the Sommelier that is unpaved all the way up to 3000m. Amazing views. These are the green and blue tracks in the picture (green: Assietta, blue Sommelier).

I was supposed to move south to then do, on the following day, Via del Sale, but decided to probably do that on my way back to the UK at the end of the month. I met my friend near Limone del Piemonte and we started a proper wander around the alps all the way to Switzerland and back. There was some weather along the route, so we changed directions based on that each day.

I haven't planned the return yet, but most likey would go up the same way crossing the Alps around Turin and then roughly Grenoble or Lyon, then Dijon > Calais as usual.


The routes and tracks from this picture (Crossing into Italy, Finestre, Assietta, and Sommelier offroad + way to Via del Sale) can be found in this gpx file.


This is the full track around the Alps/Switzerland area
You can download it in gpx format here. If you can make any sense of it


Pics and videos from the route.

Climbing up Colle delle Finestre, and Assietta.
A few years ago I went up the Parpillon and tried to ride the Assietta at the time, but it was closed and had to re-route on tarmac to Susa.
Haven't done it before, so it has been on my list for a while.

There is a photographer towards the end (north to south), so you can get your vanity shot(s):

Sommelier really is something. I have a ton of pics still to be sorted, but the views are fantastic. Delightfully chilli on top.
I was a bit in a rush, as I had to meet my friend by 6 south towards Cuneo, otherwise I would have spent some more time up there.
Generally, I left Susa around 10am, and did Finestre/Assietta/Sommelier, coming down from the Sommelier at around 4pm. With some more stops to take in the views, it comes to a nice day of riding.

First day from Limone we went through Colle dell'Agnello.
I've never ridded it before. It's a nice road, but the scenery is beautiful. A very relaxed ride up here:

Rest of the routes are fairly "standard" alps passes (Glandon & friends) with a one day excursion to go across the Swiss Rollercoaster, that is always a nice thing, closing with the Grimsel that is nicely fast.
I'll try to break it down and add some more details later.
Last day from there we crossed through San Bernardo down to Aosta, where we parted ways.

Direct route to Tuscany from Aosta as the weather got fairly hot, around 38/40 degrees and I just wanted to reach the seaside asap

A week of relax now and I'll (loosely) plan the way up.
For the next week or so GS use will be just between home and the beach

This is my full route so far, pretty sure return will follow a similar route, at least the French bit, maybe a tad more east.

 

[Wapping]

Nice one.

Thank you for sharing

 

[er-minio]

Thanks for sorting out forum location

 

[er-minio]

Final trip update now that I'm home... and now that we have verified that my .gpx files actually are sort of OK.

Came back Yesterday eve (Sat). Thursday traveled semi-direct from southern Tuscany to the start of the last offroad section I wanted to do this summer, Via del Sale Alta.
It's quite a popular and easy off road route to do and it's widely known abroad as it's also (didn't know) part of the TET Italy.
It's a paid section (15 euros). Most people travel north to south, I did it the other direction.

GPX: Thursday is from Tuscany to Briga Alta, where I slept. I can wholeheartedly recommend to use the hotel La Briga if you plan to explore the area: booking.com linky. New, large, rooms. Very good food, great atmosphere, really enjoyed the stay.

Route there is fairly direct, so nothing to note. Took some time riding alongside the Amiatina and then Sarzanese (SR439), that I never rode before, and it's fairly curvy medium/fast in a few bits. Have a look if you are crossing the area and not passing more inland on more common routes.
Amiatina in green, Sarzanese in gray. GPX file can be download here. You'll find both route and track for both sections. Second section goes all the way up to the hotel via motorway from about Rosignano (where the motorway actually starts).



Friday was the actual interesting bit, Via del Sale. I might have overshot a tiny bit always ending my day around Chalons sur Saone. I arrived a bit later than my usual (9PM) but took a lot of time taking pictures + a stop for coffee at the refuge midway on the alps crossing and there is a one section part on the Via del Sale regulated by a traffic light. Each red light is 50 minutes, so it's fairly easy to waste an hour (I did). I didn't have time to visit the fort at the end of the road – I'll keep it as an excuse to ride it again.

I'm fairly unskilled offroad, but I'd say the route is easy. There is only one bit with slightly larger loose rocks that can be a bit of a pain on a heavier/loaded bike, but doable, and it's only a couple hundred meters. Just watch where you are putting your front wheel.

The scenery is just amazing. Even being super high season there wasn't that much traffic. Book in advance your crossing online. Some days are for pushbikes only.

Section I've done (including small bit from the hotel) is in cyan. There is an extra bit (southern blue track) I skipped this time.
GPX for this are widely available online of course, but if you want: download here. The file also includes two optional ways (long and short) to reach Lac de Serre-Ponçon and the Rue Napoleon that I followed north to reach the motorway and hotel.





Couple of shots from Via del Sale:

I guess the reason most people go the other direction is because they'll be on the mountain side when riding/driving:

The short section with slightly larger rocks:

 

[er-minio]

Last bit is the (painful) return to London. With the usual "it's all shit in the northern part France".
Well, don't get me wrong: it is, as it's propaedeutic to what you find in southern England

But I've done this route many times and over time I found a nice, enjoyable, flowing route on French D roads from about Dijon all the way up to Reims that I've done by bike multiple times, and once by car too. Once reached Reims, jump on the motorway and blast it for Calais would be my advice

My personal "Via Emilion".
GPX file is here. There are a couple of minor snags when BC probably rerouted (for some reasons) behind a couple of villages (E16F road or something) and may you want to route around Epernay, not through it. But could be used as a base.
This was initially a north to south route that has been reversed, so maybe some of the small snags where introduced then.

I've done a few variants east/west of this over the years, but this remains a favourite. Hope it could be helpful for someone for planning.



I have a few video bits of the roads in questions (my "route samples") to give an idea of what it's like. I'll upload when finished sifting through GoPro's footage.