The Alps west of Austria - looking for small roads

Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
Colle San Carlo is the next one. Really nice not much traffic. When you descend towards La Thuile there are some first class vistas over the valley up to Petit Saint Bernard. Meanwhile the drizzle and rain is gone. Time to change some gear.
And then up to Petit Saint Bernard :woot: perfect. I carried on without stopping down the west ramp. The weather in France is even better. I want to go into the direction of Val d'Isere but I missed a turnoff. Well that was fine miss - the tornantis down to Seez are first class.

Before you reach Val d'Isere you pass the ski resort Lac de Tignes.
This is a small barrier lake near the main road it's not Lac de Tignes.


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Only some minutes later you are in Val d'Isere. The French have changed the style of the architecture from concrete to concrete covered with wood.

First an old one then comes the new generation.

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But I'm not here for Val d'Isere I'm here for the Col de L'Iseran :glu
After the first tornantis.


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Finally at the top unfortunately a grey-white sky.



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Oh, quite cold so down again.


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I reached Lanslebourg and called it a day.
:scull:
 

Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
It wa s a bit time to kill, so I strolled through town. lanslebourg for sure is not a gem. The D 1006, which brings traffic to Italy, runs through the town. But when you look around you find some intersting things.

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And as we know the French are proud of their country, that is fair enough.


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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
. lanslebourg for sure is not a gem. But when you look around you find some intersting things.

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Ohhh, Les Marmottes (the Hotel just on the corner to the right)
Memories of 2007....and the sports store on the other corner also still exists.


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True, Lanslebourg isn't the prettiest place, but around the back, they've got one of the best cheese-shops within a day's travel.

Co-op Laitiere de Haute-Maurienne

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Lots of exceptional riding just to the South :glu:glu

Can't wait to see where to next...Susa?
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
The French have changed the style of the architecture from concrete to concrete covered with wood.


Their '60s/'70s style ski-resorts used to look like Russian prison camps...real bad.:doh:
Solely built for the 3-4 months of snow-season and abandoned through the rest of the year, those were single-purpose chicken-coops.
Not that much has changed inside, I guess, but at least the outside looks a bit less severe nowadays....still a mile away from "inviting" in the Austrian/ Swiss sense...
 

Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
Ohhh, Les Marmottes (the Hotel just on the corner to the right)
Memories of 2007....and the sports store on the other corner also still exists.


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True, Lanslebourg isn't the prettiest place, but around the back, they've got one of the best cheese-shops within a day's travel.





Lots of exceptional riding just to the South :glu:glu

Can't wait to see where to next...Susa?




Right you are, next is crossing the Col dê Cenis.


Amazing that you nearly had the same photo position. But you had much more flowers.
 

Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
I wanted to stay two nights in Lanslebourg, one day looking for small roads westbound and one day southbound.

In the morning the first way was to the gas station to fill up and contol air pressure. Yesterday evening I got the feeling that it is a bit soft in the back of the bike.

Result 1.4 bar :eek: what's the reason?

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These two white spots in the picture looked in reality of course like metal. Ok new plan, what to do next. In Lanslebourg was no gommista. Obviously air was staying on 1.4 bar at least up to now. Where to go for a quick solution of the problem? The French towns around looked to small for a good sorted gommista. Susa looked promising and also not far away from Torino if necessary.


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It was no problem to go to Susa. On Susa's main street I found tires at gas stations and Paolo Gomme he made my day. Before the puncture the plan was to change the rear tire anyway back in Germany so I didn't look for a repair. He had the right dimension in his shop, used but after 40 minutes I was back in business. :clap::clap:

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W-)W-)W-)
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I used the brake to stroll through the really old town where the Romans left their footprints. :photo:
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Of course they had also newer buildings with the tyypical Italian look.

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Now it's time to ride again. Moncenisio looked promising. It is a nice ride up to Moncenisio and then .... what a lake!!!

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The building you see in the pic is the nice looking hotel Chalet sul Lago. For sure it's worth a try when you are around.

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Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
Leaving the lake it's five minutes and you are on the southern ramp of the Col du Mont Cenis. I like the southern ramp most. The road is nicely winding up through the forest then the forest is stepping back: You look up and see all the poles of the guard rail and you know where you will be in a minute.


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I left the road at the Hotel Le Malamot. Followed by the Chapelle Notre-Dame des Neiges. Up on the hill on the left is Fort Variselle. More to the left is the cutting, which brings you to the west shore of Lake Cenis. You can reach the cutting from the chapel on a bumpy gravel track or on the smooth gravel road over the barrier of Lake Cenis.

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After the cutting it looks like this.

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Awesome! :slobb
 
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Zuckerbaron

Tour Pro
One can follow easily the west shore of Lake Mont Cenis.
I had to stop for pictures.

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Looking back you can see the gravel road coming from the cutting and Fort Variselle.


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Finally gravel turns to tarmac and you can follow the singel-laner for some km into the Vallon de Savalain. There is the Refuge Petit Mont Cenis.

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Around Mont Cenis you find everywhere informations about Hannibal and his elephants. The story is that the North African King Hannibal crossed here from France to Italy with his soldiers and their elephant cavalry to fight the Romans.

The Vallon was packed with thick heavy marmots.

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Some years ago it was possible to cross from here over Col de Bellecombe to Lanslebourg. W-)

Today you have to turn back and finally reach Col du Mont Cenis.

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Nice signs on the Col.:D
 
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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Right you are, next is crossing the Col dê Cenis.
Amazing that you nearly had the same photo position. But you had much more flowers.

I think we were there a little earlier in the year. Stayed at the "Marmottes" for 2 or 3 nights to sit out a bad-weather front.

Result 1.4 bar :eek: what's the reason?

A stroke of luck then, finding the right "gommisto" :so

And thanks for those shots of the old Susa....BEAUTIFUL!!
Never knew it existed!.

Moncenisio....more memories here... a sharp, semi-blind turn-off when coming from the top, nearly got taken out by a cement-truck there while waiting for my turn and gazing into the scenery :)
 
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