Don,
Just so I can get a rough sense of what the daily ride length would be...what were your usual KSU times, and what were your usual KSD in the evenings?
Also, my wife is a sweet midwestern church going gal, would she be astonished and/or mortified at your behaviour on this trip? Or are you going to keep the animal grunting and other noises to a minimum on this trip?
1) Between 200 and 250 miles a day, the most AZ Beemers rode in a day was 275 miles from Merano, Italia to Lago Como, IT. But, it takes at least 8 hours to ride those miles in the Alps; typically kickstands are up at 0830 and we are at the night's hotel by 1630 hours, perhaps 1730 hours at the very latest.
2) Au contraire mon Ami, Papa Chuy is ALWAYS the most PERFECT of Gentlemen! Hopefully, and I know of no reason why this won't happen, my Gal Donna will be with me. If for some reason Donna cannot go, such as having her four Grandchildren for that Summer, then I will bring my then 16 year old Son Seth with me!
3) I'm just so damn happy Orestes Dave of England is looking over my shoulder on this trip planning, it would be fantastic if Dave could join us on this FJR Forum Romp. I had it in my old head bone that The Tour de France always started in the second week of July.
I just received the e-mail below from Dave pointing out to me that the Tour de France could very well start in the first week of July. So, just to ensure we have no conflicts with this HUGE EVENT, the dates of our Alps romp will be Saturday, June 8 through Sunday, June 31. Only risk we face is that perhaps Passo di Stelvio will not be open, but it all depends on the weather. In late May of 2007 we hit Timmelsjoch, Austria on the day that it opened, yet Stilfserjoch did not open until late July that year!
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Hi Don
Just been looking at my maps and have just put this route together. it
means staying at a different location every night but it covers a lot of
ground.
Day 1 Heidelberg to Martigny (nr Chamonix Mt Blanc CH, there are others
but I think this is the one you mean).
Day 2 Martigny to Valloire. Via Cols Grand St Bernard, Petit St Bernard,
Col de L'Iseran, Col du Telegraphique.
Day 3 Valloire to Barcelonette. Via Col de Galibier,, Col d'Izoard, Col
de Vars and a loop over the Col de la Bonette before returning North to
Barcelonette
Another possibility is instead of looping back from de la Bonette to
Barcelonette carry on SW and overnight near Castellane. The following
day you would be able to go through the Grand Canyon du Verdon and
Moustieres Sante Marie before turning north again to Rencurel
Day 4 Barcelonette to Rencurel .Via Gap, Die, Col Du Rousett,various
roads in the Vercors NP.
Day 5 Rencurel to Albertville. Via Col du Rousett, Mens, La Mure, Col du
Ornon, Alpe de Huez and Col de Sarenne, Col de la Croix de Fer Col and
Col de la Madelaine.
Day 6 Albertville to Zurich.
Day 7 Zurich to Heidelberg.
I have tried to keep the daily mileage between 200 and 250
Key points on Dave's attached map below.
Overnight stays at:
Point 2 - Martigny
Point 6 - Valloire
Point 11 - Barcelonette
Point 17 - Rencurel
Point 25 - Albertville
Be aware that Tour de France cycle race starts at the beginning of July,
I suspect the following week but it will be worth checking in July 2012.
A number of the passes listed WILL be on the route, probably towards the
end of the first week after they depart from Corsica.
Dave
https://mail.aol.com/34122-111/aol-6/en-us/mail/get-attachment.aspx?uid=29361863&folder=OldMail&partId=1 Dave's Map - Please note the key points listed above for overnight stay locations.
