30 Sept
Woke up to coffee and a croissant for breakfast then packed up and headed off. The forecast wasnt great so we decided on a less windy route towards Chamonix on the advice of our warm showers host. We took the Route des grand alpes out of Thonon-les-Bains and headed for the hills. The weather was clear so after riding 108km we jumped on a train at Le fayet through to Chamonix. We got great views of Mont blanc and the surrounding mountains then headed to find a camping ground for the night. As it is late in the season the first couple we visited were closed. Luckily we found one still open just before dark. It was lovely setting up the tent and cooking at the base of Mont blanc
1st October Woke up to light rain so got packed up before the big rain set in. Rode 5km to our warm showers host then spent the day hanging in town and relaxing at our warm showers place. It rained all day and all night so we were extremely grateful to have a place to be. Fingers crossed the weather improves tomorrow and we can get up to see Mont Blanc up close and personal. We had a lovely evening with our warm showers hosts sharing stories and travel plans. 😀
2nd October
Woke up to low cloud in Chamonix no rain and the feeling the sun was trying to push through. We were lucky enough to be able to leave our bikes and luggage at our warm showers place for the day so headed out to explore. We got the gondola up to 3842 metres at Aguille du Midi 😲 Omg what an experience 😳 😍 The views, the engineering, the lack of oxygen, the huge number of platforms to view different part of the mountain. It truly was spectacular and an absolute highlight. We were so so lucky with the weather. We then took a train up to the Glacier before heading back to our warm showers to collect our bikes and head a few kms down the road to another warm showers host. We are feeling pretty spoilt right now. We met a lovely like minded British couple this morning and spent the day chatting and waving out to them in the different locations. Today was the total package. Packed up our bikes and rolled down to our warm showers for the night. Scot was British and has done a lot of bikepacking around the world. We cooked dinner and had a nice evening sharing bike stories
3rd October Today unlike yesterday was a total disaster. We left our warmshowers around 8am hoping for a good day of biking on the Alps Divide route. Things started off ok on a lovely gravel road but on our second pass of the day the weather deteriorated and we were forced to bail on the route and head down into the valley below in search of a warm shower and a cosy bed for the night. Its a little frustrating 🙃 for us as all we want to do is ride. But safety comes first. We will review our options tomorrow as we have a number of route options to follow from here and it will depend on what the weather brings us. 52km
4th October 78km
After a lovely warm night in the hotel and a delicious breakfast we set off full of hope for the day. The ride up to Lake .... was nice and we got a glimpse of the lake before climbing further. Luckily the rain held off until just before the main pass when it turned to snow over the top and then rain down into Maurice. The ride down from the pass was beautiful with glaciers steep cliffs and autumn colours. We stopped for something to eat and did a quick resupply before getting back on the bikes and heading towards Val- dsere for the night. The forecast is for sun tomorrow so hopefully it will deliver some views for us. We arrived in Val Dsere only to find that all the accommodation was closed. We chatted to some people walking down the road and they told us where they were staying and that we might get a room if the reception was open. It wasn't but they let us in and gave us the code for the bike shed and suggested we sleep on the couch. We were so grateful as if was below zero outside and set to get colder. What a stroke of luck as our other option was to sleep in the underground carpark or in a bus shelter.
5th October
Bingo ! We woke to a stunning day. A hotel worker offered us a coffee and we had our muesli then packed up as quickly as we could to make the most of tge day. It was icey cold as we made our way up Col du .... Luckily the sun hit us and we were able to warm up. Decided to head down to Italy to find warmer weather so went over Col du Magdalene. We instantly felt the italian vibe Warm temperatures juicy sweet figs, fast motorbikes, loud music and a nice cheap bnb for the night with a washing machine. Happy girls.100km
6th October
After a nice breakfast and coffee we headed for Asti but after zigzagging through villages fields and bike lanes we opted to get on a train and head directly to Levanto to do the Cinquterri walk and then make our way to Livorno to take a ferry to Corsica. It is so relaxing being out of the alps and into the warmer climate but we are keen to bike in more beautiful places hence our decision to get South by train. We took a train to Genova, got off the train and spent 2 hours riding around the beautiful city before getting back on the train to Levanto where we had booked an airbnb for 2 nights. Before getting back on the train we decided to pick up some pizza for dinner. Being in Italy we were quite excited about having pizza. We were short on time so ordered takeaway. What a disappointment! It was barely edible and not our finest moment at all. Then on the train we were forced to sir in the end carriage to keep an eye on our bikes. We were joined by a slightly wacky family who spent the trip shouting abuse at each other. What an experience 😳 We were so so glad to get off the train and checked into our airbnb. What a day.
7th October
Woke to grey skies but no rain so set off to explore the Cinque Terre trails and coastline. Wow it was a bit gloomy but still stunning. We spent the day walking then catching a train and exploring all the small towns. We splashed out on calamari and chips for lunch but after our eating out disaster in Genoa decided to eat indoors and cook fresh pasta for ourselves. The forecast was for torrential rain so we decided to stay another night
8th Oct Woke up to light rain so jumped on our bikes and road a cycle trail to Framura. Had a coffee and delicious pastry out then headed back to our room before the torreial rain arrived. Instead of hanging alone in our room we decided to head to Genova for dinner to catch up with our Swiss family. We mucked up the train tickets so it was all a bit of a mess but we managed to sort it out with the less than friendly train station lady and finally got on the right train. We had a lovely evening with Hannah and Christian and experienced a delicious Italian dinner, wine and coffee. What a treat. We then sprinted to the train station to get back to Levanto. Phew what a day what an evening. We are feeling lucky to have bypassed the worst of the rain and flooding and to be safe and dry in an airbnb. We are also excited about getting on our bikes tomorrow visiting Pisa and then catching a ferry to Corsica to continue our journey South 😀
9th October
Woke up to no rain so we packed up and cycled out of town. The road wound its way up through tropical raIn forest persimmon trees and grapevines . It reminded us of Ecuador and the hot steamy weather. What a change from a few days ago when we were freezing cold and cycling on icey roads. We went up into the fog then dropped backdown to views of the Cinquterri coast. Quite stunning. Emma got a puncture which we sorted with a tyre plug as the sealant wasn't doing its job. We dropped down to La Spezia which was a big but pretty city. From here we jumped on a train to Pisa. It's so easy to travel by train here. Buy your ticket pay for your bike and jump on! Very relaxed. Pisa was cool but lots of tourists we then cycled a pretty average route to Livorno via a soggy off road track down a Canal, along a long flat busy road then through a built up industrial area with crap everywhere. Our ferry time tomorrow had been changed so we decided to head to the Port to see what we could find out. We stopped off at a supermarket on the way to stock up on basic essentials for Corsica. The Italian culture has captured our hearts but these roads and the big towns are not great for biking. We decided to book a bed on the ferry to save panicking in the morning with a super early wake up. Our ferry is now leaving at 6am not 8am as first scheduled.
Musings; travelling is packed with challenges. For us at the moments it's the challenge of the weather. We are not ungrateful nor do we not want to be here, we are so grateful for getting to dowhatxwe have done,but the last week or so has been the low point of the trip. Having to bail from the alps route was hard and we have been constantly rerouting and replanning since due to the weather and it is draining. It's so much easier when you choose a route and the conditions allow you to achieve your goals and finish the route. Here's hoping that now we are basking in 26 degrees and now the storm and floodibg has passed, we can enjoy at least a week but hopefully a month of warm relaxed riding where we can get our Zen back and do what we love doing most which is riding our bikes whilst embracing nature and the culture of where we are. Corsica will hopefully deliver and we will quickly settle back into our rhythm.
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