This years Epic Summer trip

Mission accomplished! :D

Every day here I keep thinking we will never top yesterday and every day it seems we do. Today was kind of a finale and to say it didn’t disappoint would be a gross understatement. I think today will go down as one of the best in a long history of motorhoming and biking. Up there with the Col De Tourmalet, Cirque du Gavarnie etc. Today was also our last col and really the last chance to see Mont Blanc in all its glory after for a week now it has eluded us.

So the Col Du Joly then. The sat nav was hopeless as was my carefully planned route. The GPS gave up, the data and phone signal gave up and we followed our noses. Slowly we wound our way up what looked from lower down as a totally impossible ascent and all the advice from various sites and chatGPT was wrong. The road was paved all the way to the top but it was a proper goat track in places.

The sudden view from the top though as we crested it was absolutely jaw dropping. As close to Mont Blanc as you could get and stunning clear blue skies!! At last!!

After a very late lunch the afternoon and early evening was taken up with a ride up to Lac de Saint Guerin and while Michelle walked the lake I took off in a Kayak around the lake and down the gorge. Stunning but an hour was enough. My back was aching and I think I was once again nearing my limits. The Alps is absolutely knackering. You can’t seem to do anything without it being strenuous and pretty feckin dangerous to be honest. The lake seemed bottomless, even at the edges and no way to get out if you fell in and probably no chance of rescue. At over 5000ft it was flaming freezing as well.

No Marmots sadly but a Golden Eagle!! Crap photo I am afraid.

Its now time for an ice cold Grumbleweed me thinks! Awesome.

A few pics





















 
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is this similar to Polar steps, Barry?

No not really. Its mainly used by bikers and cyclists I think to map and get a google earth type video of their routes for individual days. The free version used to include photos and all sorts of stats but its been stripped down now. I thought it was good here though as it gives a good 3d view of the rides. Makes North Yorkshire, Cumbria and Scotland look flat! :D
 
Mission accomplished! :D

Every day here I keep thinking we will never top yesterday and every day it seems we do. Today was kind of a finale and to say it didn’t disappoint would be a gross understatement. I think today will go down as one of the best in a long history of motorhoming and biking. Up there with the Col De Tourmalet, Cirque du Gavarnie etc. Today was also our last col and really the last chance to see Mont Blanc in all its glory after for a week now it has eluded us.

So the Col Du Joly then. The sat nav was hopeless as was my carefully planned route. The GPS gave up, the data and phone signal gave up and we followed our noses. Slowly we wound our way up what looked from lower down as a totally impossible ascent and all the advice from various sites and chatGPT was wrong. The road was paved all the way to the top but it was a proper goat track in places.

The sudden view from the top though as we crested it was absolutely jaw dropping. As close to Mont Blanc as you could get and stunning clear blue skies!! At last!!

After a very late lunch the afternoon and early evening was taken up with a ride up to Lac de Saint Guerin and while Michelle walked the lake I took off in a Kayak around the lake and down the gorge. Stunning but an hour was enough. My back was aching and I think I was once again nearing my limits. The Alps is absolutely knackering. You can’t seem to do anything without it being strenuous and pretty feckin dangerous to be honest. The lake seemed bottomless, even at the edges and no way to get out if you fell in and probably no chance of rescue. At over 5000ft it was flaming freezing as well.

No Marmots sadly but a Golden Eagle!! Crap photo I am afraid.

Its now time for an ice cold Grumbleweed me thinks! Awesome.

A few pics





















Fantastic images and commentary, Barry. We passed many road signs from places you have visited while we were enroute to Italy. It is clear, while we enjoyed Annecy, the surrounding areas are a must see. But with you having your two wheel Barry Mobile, this allows you far more freedom to visit areas from your MH base, as witnessed from your posted images and commentary. This has given food for thought, last time I was on two wheel motorbike was 1992 when I sold my Kawasaki, pedal power since (we cycled round Lake Annecy on our electric bikes, me towing doggy hut with our Jack Russel aboard). We have been discussing these three wheeled jobs, or a quad purchase, where we can leave at France address. Two wheels are a no, too auld for that now.

If you do decide to enter into Italy, we entered through the Frejus Tunnel. this was recommended by my Italian brother in law, as a more scenic route than the Mont Blanc tunnel. Cost one way, 75-ish Euro, I recon Hank will be the same.

Cheers for the brilliant images and commentary.
 
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Fantastic images and commentary, Barry. We passed many road signs from places you have visited while we were enroute to Italy. It is clear, while we enjoyed Annecy, the surrounding areas are a must see. But with you having your two wheel Barry Mobile, this allows you far more freedom to visit areas from your MH base, as witnessed from your posted images and commentary. This has given food for thought, last time I was on two wheel motorbike was 1992 when I sold my Kawasaki, pedal power since (we cycled round Lake Annecy on our electric bikes, me towing doggy hut with our Jack Russel aboard). We have been discussing these three wheeled jobs, or a quad purchase, where we can leave at France address. Two wheels are a no, too auld for that now.

If you do decide to enter into Italy, we entered through the Frejus Tunnel. this was recommended by my Italian brother in law, as a more scenic route than the Mont Blanc tunnel. Cost one way, 75-ish Euro, I recon Hank will be the same.

Cheers for the brilliant images and commentary.

Thanks and I am glad you enjoyed them. I love posting this bollox. I was going to do a website or blog like I used to to but this is more fun I think. Yeah you really should go for it and get a quad or something. It would be fantastic here. Whilst I enjoyed Annecy to an extent the main bits we really loved were the rides out "Away" from or overlooking Annecy. This place around Beaufort is just 2000% better. Its just perfect. It will be a real wrench to leave on Monday.
 
Mission accomplished! :D

Every day here I keep thinking we will never top yesterday and every day it seems we do. Today was kind of a finale and to say it didn’t disappoint would be a gross understatement. I think today will go down as one of the best in a long history of motorhoming and biking. Up there with the Col De Tourmalet, Cirque du Gavarnie etc. Today was also our last col and really the last chance to see Mont Blanc in all its glory after for a week now it has eluded us.

So the Col Du Joly then. The sat nav was hopeless as was my carefully planned route. The GPS gave up, the data and phone signal gave up and we followed our noses. Slowly we wound our way up what looked from lower down as a totally impossible ascent and all the advice from various sites and chatGPT was wrong. The road was paved all the way to the top but it was a proper goat track in places.

The sudden view from the top though as we crested it was absolutely jaw dropping. As close to Mont Blanc as you could get and stunning clear blue skies!! At last!!

After a very late lunch the afternoon and early evening was taken up with a ride up to Lac de Saint Guerin and while Michelle walked the lake I took off in a Kayak around the lake and down the gorge. Stunning but an hour was enough. My back was aching and I think I was once again nearing my limits. The Alps is absolutely knackering. You can’t seem to do anything without it being strenuous and pretty feckin dangerous to be honest. The lake seemed bottomless, even at the edges and no way to get out if you fell in and probably no chance of rescue. At over 5000ft it was flaming freezing as well.

No Marmots sadly but a Golden Eagle!! Crap photo I am afraid.

Its now time for an ice cold Grumbleweed me thinks! Awesome.

A few pics





















If I had legs like that...
 
The weather has come into play now. Great that today is a bit of a rest day as its horrible right now :D Chucking it down and I've had to close the windows as the breeze is cool. Who would have thought it after yesterday where down in Beaufort (which is still at 2500ft) it was boiling hot and sunny that it could change to this in 24 hours? Well anyone who knows the Alps thats who of course! :D

The dilemma now is what to do next as the weather looks set to ruin the plans. The weather for the Tour de France stage down towards the Col Du Glandon and our stopover near Alp d'huez for Thursday when it passes through looks grim. It looks ok there Monday and Tuesday but we were going to go to Bourget then. After that its iffy. Do we forget the Tour de France, hang around Lac Bourget for longer, hope it clears and then head down to the big mountains around Huez? We did even contemplate staying here another week and seeing the tour when it comes through for the real race on Friday but we have kind of done everything there is to do here.

Decisions decisions. Can't complain though. Its been fantastic here and clearly we got lucky with the weather most of the time.

This is it now. :D

 
I still got out on the bike just now. 😁 Sun came out about 3pm. Not too bad now. Super quiet up here. Spent most of the day plotting stuff and still not sure what we will do. Lake Bourget Monday though. I think. 😂

Etape Tour de France in the morning though. Not sure what to expect.
 
Great atmosphere in the village of Areches this morning which is just down the mountain from where we are parked although I almost got a bollocking from the local Gendarme for riding the bike up a back alley to the Village square fountain but then I think he couldn't be arsed. 😁

Then went and sat on a bench across the valley watching them proceed along like speedy ants. Lots of drums and horns echoing across the valley. Might try and get to Beaufort in a bit and if I can find a friendly Gendarme see if I can get the bike across the route and up to lac Roselend and catch it there. 16000 cyclists!

Back at the van now scoffing a Beaufort Tart and watching them all bunched up together crawling up the col Du Pre (Where the video I posted a while back was taken).















 
I wonder if these French lads will be there, they were really fun.

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