Basing myself out of Bardonecchia, Italy, I spent 3 days taking in the Colle del Sommeiller, Monte Jafferau, Strada dell'Assietta and Col de Parpaillon.
Leaving Bardonecchia and taking in the lower slopes of the Sommeiller:
At the summit, following the various bikes' and 4x4s' leads and riding to the edge of the lake, but not braving a ride up to the flags....
Sommeiller done, time to tackle the Monte Jafferau. Although, not before being caught out by the tunnel closure, forcing an about turn and tackling the direct climb out of Bardonecchia.
The next day, with the rain teeming down, I headed for the Strada dell'Assietta - a challenging ride, with the Anakee tyres struggling for grip and the visibility just a few feet in places...!
Having spent a day waiting out rain storms and savouring the riding, m rude up the Parpaillon was delayed by a day, but the wait ensured some good weather. However, the rains had resulted in a landslide, blocking my path up the Col
After 3 days of exploring, I headed home across the Alps, but sticking to tarmac! Stunning views as I reached the summit of the Cormet de Roseland and was about to drop down into the rainy valley below.
Seeing the rain, however, and spying a trail disappearing off up the mountain I decided to take in a bit more off road riding before hitting the motorway home...
However, this turned out to be a farmer's private trail and slight panic on my return ride as I met with this... Fortunately they weren't blockading me onto the mountain and quickly let me by!
Leaving Bardonecchia and taking in the lower slopes of the Sommeiller:
At the summit, following the various bikes' and 4x4s' leads and riding to the edge of the lake, but not braving a ride up to the flags....
Sommeiller done, time to tackle the Monte Jafferau. Although, not before being caught out by the tunnel closure, forcing an about turn and tackling the direct climb out of Bardonecchia.
The next day, with the rain teeming down, I headed for the Strada dell'Assietta - a challenging ride, with the Anakee tyres struggling for grip and the visibility just a few feet in places...!
Having spent a day waiting out rain storms and savouring the riding, m rude up the Parpaillon was delayed by a day, but the wait ensured some good weather. However, the rains had resulted in a landslide, blocking my path up the Col
After 3 days of exploring, I headed home across the Alps, but sticking to tarmac! Stunning views as I reached the summit of the Cormet de Roseland and was about to drop down into the rainy valley below.
Seeing the rain, however, and spying a trail disappearing off up the mountain I decided to take in a bit more off road riding before hitting the motorway home...
However, this turned out to be a farmer's private trail and slight panic on my return ride as I met with this... Fortunately they weren't blockading me onto the mountain and quickly let me by!
