North Appenine: Liguria, Emilia, Toscana

Having noticed that after all my summer BIGs, the nearest from Nice was now passo del Ghiffi, which was the first of a string of BIGs in the north Apennine, I began to think seriously about going this way. As the highest BIGs of the set topped no more than 1600 m, I thought it was perfect for a mid-season trip. So in the last days of October I was back on the BIGs road again.

My initial plan was to go directly to Florence by train and to turn back to Chiavari, at the foot of the passo del Ghiffi, where I could take easily a train back to Genoa, Ventimiglia and Nice. But when I arrived in Ventimiglia to take the 4.40 am train that would lead me to Florence, I had the unpleasant surprise to find all the doors locked, so I had to go to train head where the “capotreno” saw my bike and refused me access. Though I told him I intended of course to dismount it, I had to resign to take the regional train that left 20 minutes later, disappointed to see that in Italy the train inspectors were as stupid as in France. But the problems were not finished as a few minutes later we were all invited to get out of this train to take the following one that was

supposed to leave 15 minutes later. We left in fact even later, and two trains having been replaced by one, it was overcrowded while approaching Genoa. I felt that reaching Florence in these conditions would take me the whole day, so I decided to leave the train in Chiavari and perform the trip in the other way. I sacrificed the passo della Futa, as it seemed now highly unlikely that I could ride to Florence and turn back to Nice on time for the Nice-Lille football match. But I still had 8 BIGs left on my program which was quite enough to satisfy me.

I left the Chiavari suburbs heading north towards Borzonasca. The 3 kilometres before the last one of passo del Ghiffi are very hard but fortunately the road gets easier 1 kilometre from the pass and the last 500 m go downhill (the other side seems easier, as more regular). After the pass, the descent continues to passo del Bocco where I crossed the road that was fatal to Wouter Weylandt, heading towards Varese Ligure and Sesta Godano. The road climbs again with some drops until the start of the Zum Zeri climb where things get tougher as this climb is a serious one.

As an effect of my usual absent-mindedness, I forgot to close my saddle bag before beginning the descent and the jacket I had inside fell into the rear wheel, blocking its rotation and causing the tire to rip on the road, which led to a hole and a flat before I realised what was happening. At first the hole seemed enormous but seen from the inside it was much smaller. So I put a patch inside the tire and went down slowly to Pontremoli. I was wondering whether I’d find a bike shop in this city but to my great delight there was a big one at the first roundabout when entering town. I had some talk with the shop owner while he was fixing the wheel. He looked incredulous when I told him I was about to go to passo

del Cirone as soon as my bike was ready, as it was now nearly dark. He told me that the possibilities of sleep on the other side of the pass seemed to him very scarce and that I’d better go to the convent of Pontremoli where they had rooms for travellers. My fighting spirit had been greatly lowered by the tire incident, so I followed the advice and went to the convent. There were two people here waiting for the eventual pilgrims, I was asked for my pilgrim card, which of course I had not, but they accepted me anyway, telling I would be the one and only to stay here this night.

As I’ve been left free to leave my cell at any time, I was up at 4 a.m. to attack passo del Cirone. The first part is on the passo della Cisa road, but leaves it at the first hairpin. There are some drops at the beginning but the gradient increases as the pass comes closer. As I’ve been told the day before, I didn’t see many hotels in my descent towards Corniglio. I crossed passo del Ticchiano on my way to passo Lagastrello, where I turned back to go to Passo di Pradarena (it was possible here to go down the tuscanian side, and come back by passo del Ceretto but it was a bit longer). On my way to Pradarena I had to cross Passo di

Pratizzano which is not a little job. At the beginning of Pradarena climb, there was a post indicating a 10% gradient for 1 km, so I thought things would get easier after 1 km, but at the end of this kilometre there was the same 10% post for 2 km more! Anyway after these 3 km the road gets a little easier up to the pass. I had then a long descent down to Piazza al Serchio and along the Garfagnana valley when finally I turned left to take the San Pellegrino climb.

All these roads in the Apennine are generally quite steep, but San Pellegrino is by far the hardest. From the outskirts of Pieve Foscagno, there are 13 km from which 11 are hard, the last stretches before the sanctuary reaching the 20% gradient. There was a very high wind coming from the mountain, so it was impossible, with in addition the weight of my bag, to stand on the pedals. So I had to join the fraternity of walking pilgrims in some parts to reach the San Pellegrino hamlet. It was 7 p.m., I intended first to ride to Abetone before stopping for the night but the wind was so strong that I stopped at the hotel in San Pellegrino.

In the morning, the wind having blown all night long, there was not a single cloud in the sky and the view over the Apuan Alps made me happy not to have missed it passing by at night. I finished the climb of passo Pradaccio and went down to Pievepelago and turned in the direction of Abetone, which turned out to be the easiest climb of the trip. On the descent, I went down to Rivoreta and a succession of downs and very steep highs led me to Melo and the start of the Croce Arcana. This road climbs steadily but never inhuman up to a small ski resort called Doganaccio. At the end of Doganaccia, the asphalt stops but there are just 2 km of track that can be ridden easily. I turned back at the top so can’t tell how the track is on the other side.

The BIGs were now over and I just had to get home. In Melo, I stayed on the road going down to Cutigliano and La Lima. There I had to choose between going to Pistoia or Lucca. I chose Lucca, Pistoia would have been closer but as both towns are on the same train line, I don’t think it would have changed anything. I took the first train to Viareggio where I had soon a train to La Spezia, followed by a train to Savona. In Savona, I saw that the next train was an InterCity, so forbidden to bikes. I dismounted it carefully and I had no problem with the capotreno, although he had a remark about the bike not being in a bag. I was in Ventimiglia at midnight, later than the last train to Nice, so I had to make a last two-hours ride along the sea to turn back home.

Pictures: http://cathie.charbonnier.free.fr/piwigo/index.php?/category/124

Nivolet, Savoie

Back in Nice, I was a bit disappointed to have turned back from the Dolomites a bit too quickly. It was Tuesday, the wife had three days of work to come, from Wednesday night to Saturday, and the children didn’t come back from their pilgrimage in Lourdes before Sunday. So my perspectives were to turn back to the office or, why not, to turn back to the Alps. I hesitated a bit (approximately the third part of a second) before making a decision. I have had in project since a long time now of climbing the Nivolet, since it was first on the list of the highest European passes I had not yet cycled. So on Wednesday afternoon I was back in the train direction Rivarolo Canavese.

I had made a reservation in a hotel in Cuorgné, and Rivarolo Canavese was the nearest station. But here came one of my stupid goofs. The train I took in Ventimiglia went to Torino Porta Nuova, and the train to Rivarolo started from Torino Porta Susa. I didn’t pay attention that it was not the same door and looked in vain for the train to Rivarolo in Porta Nuova station (in fact I should have made the connection in Torino Lingotto). Having realized my mistake, I rode to Porta Susa, to find out there were no more trains. I phoned the hotel telling I would arrive a bit late and rode the 40 kilometers to Cuorgné, arriving finally at about 11 p.m. Well, finally everything was fine as I was where I intended to be first and I had a nice (albeit nocturne) ride through the Torinese countryside.

The Nivolet road starts really to climb when leaving Noasca. There’s a 3.5 km tunnel just after, but the old road is on the left just before entering it. At first I was afraid, as I encountered immediately an un-paved stretch, with big rocks overhanging the road, but it was a very short passage, and the old road continues very nice afterwards. At some point, it enters briefly the tunnel, but gets out on the left just 200m after, up to the Ceresole Lake. After the lake the road continues to climb to two other lakes. There’s a brief descent to Lago Agnel before the start of the last stretch of the ascent. The views on this part are wonderful, as the road’s hairpins overlook both lakes.

After the pass, the road goes down a little then stops. To reach Val d’Aoste from here, there’s a path going down to Pont Valsavarenche where the road starts again (the alternative being 150 km of riding, all on valley roads full of traffic and in the heat). I had of course a pair of light sandals in my luggage for this purpose and so went ahead on the path. First it was more or less flat, with some parts that could be done on the bike, but finally the path begins a very steep descent, with Pont Valsavarenche far below (and a great view to the Grand Paradis in front). Well, it’s just a matter of walking aside the bike, and two hours after my start at the Nivolet, I was back on the asphalt again, on top of a long descent to Arvier and the Val d’Aoste road.

As I was riding towards Morgex, and the foot of the Colle San Carlo, I fell suddenly in front of the Mont Blanc. I was very impressed, as it looks so huge, one sees immediately it’s a mountain bigger than the others, great sighting. After San Carlo pass that was everything but easy and a downhill to La Thuile, I went for the last part of the passo del Piccolo San Bernardo. Although it was easier than the San Carlo pass, I was happy to reach the top as it was the beginning of the evening and I aspired to a rest. In Bourg-Saint-Maurice, I stopped in Relais de la Vanoise, which appeared to be perfect: nearly on the road of the Cormet de Roselend, good meal in the evening, correct room and breakfast at 6.30.

So at 7.00 a.m., I was climbing my fourth BIG of the trip, Cormet de Roselend, where here again Mont Blanc can be seen on the right. In the descent, after crossing the dam of Roselend, a short ascent leads to col du Pré, where begins a steep descend towards Arêches. From my studies of the maps, I’ve thought than taking the so-called Route des Colombières over Boudin instead of following the road would save me distance and elevation. In fact, it was not asphalted and the 12 m elevation I saved weren’t worth the detour. Anyway, it was a good rehearsal for what was going to follow.

Effectively, a few kilometres upper, the road turned unpaved once again, but this time there was no way to avoid it. In fact, the gravel section of the Cormet d’Arêches is not so terrible. I was with 700x23 tires and was never constrained to stop cycling, and I was at the pass in less time I had feared first. The only unpleasant thing being that at the end of the unpaved road, the asphalt comes back but only in the hairpins, the stones turning back after each curve. In the valley, the heat was intense. I had hoped that La Plagne climb was going to be a bit shady but in fact it was nearly not.

After La Plagne, my next BIG target was the Grand Cucheron, having done La Madeleine during a former stay in the Maurienne. I went to Aime station, aiming to travel by train along the Isere valley to Gresy-sur-Isère, but I had to cycle to Moûtiers, as a rock fall had destroyed the railway between Aime and Moûtiers. Cycling on the big Tarentaise road was not that horrible, as it was mostly downhill, it was quickly done and I could finally relax in the train.

It was late in the afternoon when I left the Gresy station. I was thinking of sleeping in Aiguebelle, which was not far away. But Aiguebelle turned out to be much smaller than I imagined. In fact it is a one-street town and the two hotels I saw were closed since years. I asked people for a hotel but they were sending me 20 km away in the opposite direction, so I kept heading towards Grand Cucheron. Fortunately, at the point where the Grand Cucheron road leaves the Maurienne road, I saw a sign indicating a B&B ahead. I immediately dialled the phone number and was really happy to hear a lady tell me she was OK to receive me. So I rode the fastest than I could the 5 kilometres climb that led to Saint-Georges d’Hurtières and found a bed I didn’t hope no more.

What’s more, I have been left alone in the flat, and I was free to go at any time in the morning. So I woke up at 4 a.m. and went for what was left of the Grand Cucheron climb in the dark. I arrived at the pass as dawn was breaking so had no problem of light in the descent. I arrived in Allevard as the bread shops were opening and had a nice breakfast before the Collet d’Allevard climb.

After the Collet d’Allevard, I went down and crossed the Isère in Pontcharra, on my way to the last climb of my trip, le col du Granier. Well the expression last but not least was here fully justified. The col du Granier appeared to be very steep, with very grainy asphalt difficult to ride on. On some places, there were patches of new asphalt that made me ride on the right or left of the road

indifferently as long as I was on the good coating. But after this hard climb, I had only 15

kilometres of downhill left to be in Chambery station.

This time I bought a roll of wrap film, as I knew I had to take the high-speed train to turn home. I had the time in the regional train between Chambery and Lyon to dismount the bike and wrap the chain and derailleur. In the TGV I had an unpleasant remark from a ticket inspector about the way my bike was packed but nothing more, and at the end of the afternoon I was happily back home.

Pictures: http://cathie.charbonnier.free.fr/piwigo/index.php?/category/130

Domodossola – Locarno – Chur – Saint-Moritz – Davos – Auer - Tesero

Domodossola was the starting point of my first trip, in the beginning of July, my first climb being the Cascata del Toce. There’s a long tunnel (doing a loop), but the old road is still in good condition and is perfect for cyclists, with nice hairpins. The BIG is located right at the top of the cascade, but it would be a shame not to continue to the Morasco Dam. On my way down, I went through the tunnel, but I should discourage cyclists without a proper light to take it, as it is quite dark in some parts. I then climbed the Alpe di Cheggio, which is a good climb, with a nice lake at the top, then turned back to Domodossola.

My next target was the Lago di Naret, in Switzerland. To reach Ponte Brolla, which is the start of the Maggia valley, I had to take the Locarno main road. There is a train (http://www.vigezzina.com) going this way, but forbidden to bikes. As this train was quite slow, and I had to wait for the departure, I decided it wasn’t worth the time I’d lose going to the station to see my access refused, so I took directly the Locarno road. Well, the first part of the road should make cyclists consider more thoroughly the train option. It was a horrible section of road: many, many cars, a lot of tunnels and in a very steep ascent (not the best moment of my travel). Fortunately, at the top of the slope, the road gets wider and the scenery nicer. Even the flow of vehicles seems to decrease. Arriving in Ponte Brolla, I tried my luck at the bus stop, even if here again, it was stated that bicycles were forbidden. Well, I had no problem getting my bike into the bus, and I went up to Bignasca where I finished my first day of travel, at the Albergo della Posta.

The morning after, I continued my way up to Lago di Naret. It is a very beautiful climb (but in fact, all these mountain roads are nice), particularly after the Sambucco dam, but it’s also at this point that things get tougher. There are a lot of 13% stretches before reaching the top. The road arrives first at a little car park, where the dam can be seen at a little distance. There’s a short downhill before the last climb to the dam. When I was there, the last part, between the car park and the dam, was blocked by a bulldozer, because falling rocks obstructed the road ahead. I had to make my way walking along the rocks to get to the other side and finally reach the lake.

I then turned down to Locarno. To cross the city, nice bicycle paths can be found along the lake, with lot of people taking the sun by the water, that make you wonder why you spend your time suffering on a bike (I don’t think this question has an answer). After Locarno, a set of highways leads to the east shore of Lago Maggiore and the start of the Alpe di Neggia. The beginning of this climb offers great views over the lake, while the second part provides a more mountainous atmosphere. At the top, I turned back and went down to Bellinzona, going directly to the station. A train for Biasca was soon to come, so I saved myself 25 km of not very pleasant road up to there. After Biasca, the road climbs gently towards the Lucomagno pass. I took on the left a little road passing by Semione, which was nice to ride, even if the traffic on the main road wasn’t too important. I arrived in Olivone as the night was beginning (so did the rain) and took a room at the Osteria Centrale.

As the innkeeper showed me the room, I felt something strange about him. Finally, he told me, very embarrassed, that due to works on the Town Hall roof just opposite, there was a possibility of some noise, starting at 5 a.m. With a big smile, I answered this was perfect for me, as long as I could take my bike for a ride before breakfast. He looked so relieved to hear me speak in such a way that he gave me the keys of the hotel, the keys of the bike shed, to my great pleasure.

So, as the first hammer hit the roof, I got up and went for an early ride up to Lucomagno Pass. The slope is quite gentle on this side (don’t know about the other side), the road is wide, the mountain views were nice, so everything was right up to the hospice located at the pass. I saw however that the road was still climbing after the pass, entering into a tunnel overhanging the lake. I continued until the downhill began, but that was of no interest as it was all inside the tunnel. After my breakfast, I left the hotel for Lago Luzzone. Just before the dam, a crossway with three tunnels appears, and of course I had to try the other two before finding the one that leads to the dam (it was the one on the left if I remember well). I went then all the way down to the San Bernardino road. When I arrived, I looked at the bus timetable, and saw that I had just time for an ice-cream before the bus arrived. Here again, I was happy to avoid a long stretch of valley road into the July mid-day heat.

I feared that the San Bernardino was a big pass and thus there would be a heavy load of vehicles, but the nearby highway takes most part of the traffic, and it appeared that it was one of the nicest climbs of my trip: big pass over 2000m, nice scenery, reasonable steepness, everything was fine. After this pass, I went back and forth to the Splügen pass, where nice sets of hairpins can be found.

The following BIG was Juf. It was getting late as I reached the upper part of the climb, so I began to look at the hotels. The first one was full, there was another one but closed (hotels in Switzerland close one day per week, usually the day you pass by). Finally I was happy to find a little B&B where I was the second client. So, early in the morning, I finished the last stretch of the climb and turned back towards Thusis and the Glaspass.

I regretted afterwards not to have thought of the train option between Thusis and Chur, as these trains appear to be frequent, but I arrived anyway in Chur, at the foot of Arosa climb. At the Calfreisen tunnel, I took a little track that starts on the

right just before the tunnel entrance. It was certainly the old road, abandoned since years, but that could still be ridden by bike. Of course on the way down I took the tunnel. Back in Chur, I began to climb the Lenzerheide road as the day was finishing. I was trying to find a hotel for the night when I was caught by a hailstorm just when entering Churwalden. I tried to shelter under a balcony, but a strong wind kept pushing the rain in my direction. Fortunately, a lady saw me and offered me to enter her home (her husband was here, don’t imagine anything). She even phoned a nearby hotel for me, and so after the rain had slowed down, I left her to go to Hotel Krone, just a few hundred meters away. The breakfast at this hotel was not before 8 a.m., but having arrived in the evening all wet and helpless I didn’t ask for the possibility of an earlier start. So I spent some time in the morning trying to find a way to take my bike out of their shed but it was locked for good, and finally I had to wait in my room till 8 o’clock.

Starting in Churwalden, the Lenzerheide was no big deal and I was soon at the foot of the Julier Pass. Instead of taking the highway, I took a small parallel road passing by Mon and Salouf. This road overlooks the normal Julier Pass road, where I saw lots of cars and lorries. This made me think that I had made a good decision, even if at the end the Salouf road loses some elevation before returning to the Julier Pass road. After the descent I crossed Saint-Moritz and went down to Samedan. At some point here, I followed a sign indicating a bicycle path that turned to be un-asphalted, so it would have been better to stay on the normal roads up to La Punt.

On the Albula climb, it was rainy and foggy, but at the bottom of the descent the weather had improved. I then started the long stretch along the Landwasser River that lead to

Davos. I have seen there was a 3 km long tunnel and made researches on the internet that showed that apparently a road existed that followed the river, thus avoiding the new tunnel. I saw the start of this road, which passes under a bridge just before the tunnel, but its access was through some kind of quarry, closed by a barrier, not inviting at all, so I went through the tunnel. It was not pleasant, but as I stayed the more I could on the sidewalk, I haven’t felt in danger.

Going out of Davos, I saw on the left a kind of giant flying saucer that turned to be the Intercontinental hotel. I thought that riding away from the town center would allow me to find a cheaper place to stay, so I followed my way towards the

Flüela Pass. The place looked poor in hotels, the only one I saw was closed on Wednesdays (as it was Wednesday). I arrived at the top at nearly 10 p.m., I had already resigned for a descent in the dark, without being sure to find anything still open below, but, fortunately, I saw two people by the garage door of the Flüela hospice, that were about to close it for the night. They let me accommodate so I had the highest night of my life, at 2383 m (2386 considering I slept at the first floor).

As expected, the descent from there in the early morning was everything but hot. When I arrived in the valley I tried to take the cycle paths to join the Pass del Fuorn road, but they turned out once again to be un-asphalted (Switzerland seems to make a specialty of non-cyclable paths). The climb on this side of the pass is nice, although

not exceptional, but the view at the top is fantastic, with the Ortles appearing, full of snow, above all the surrounding mountains. Down in the valley, the temperature had seriously increased. I was happy to find nice bike tracks this time, and small roads to arrive at the beginning of Val Martello. On this ascent, I ate a lot of strawberries as these fruits are produced and sold everywhere (and cherries, and apples …). And after a long ascent in the heat, I turned back to the Adige valley.

In my initial program, I should have headed towards Val Senales and Merano 2000. But I was behind my schedule as I had to be in Tesero on Saturday (we were Thursday) for the Randolomitics. So I left these two ones for later and took a train from Coldrano to Vilpiano, and at the nearby village of Nalles I took a hotel that was on the really start of the passo delle Palade climb.

The following day was light, as I knew the Randolomitics (467 km, 14200 m elevation) expected me. I performed just a little loop with Passo delle Palade and passo della Mendalo, went down to Auer and took a bus to Cavalese. Then I had a little ride to Tesero, where I enjoyed a half-afternoon of rest, quite unusual since I left home.

The Saturday and Sunday, I was occupied with the Randolomitics. Even if the route was imposed by the organization, there were enough new BIGs to satisfy me. Here is the list of the passes, where the BIGs are starred: Passo Valles, Passo San Pellegrino, Passo Pordoi*, Passo di Fedaia* (very hard), Passo Sella*, Passo Gardena*, Passo Valparola*, Passo Falzarego, Passo Giau*, Forcella Staulanza, Passo Duran*, Forcella Aurine, Passo Cereda, Passo Brocon and finally Passo Manghen*.

At the start of the Manghen, I was riding for more than 30 hours, and the tiredness of the week I had spent on the bike fell suddenly on my shoulders. Moreover, it was the beginning of the afternoon and the heat was intense. I suddenly wasn’t able to go ahead: I drank, ate, tried to sleep without success, ate again, stopped, rode two kilometers and so on for hours and hours. At the top of the climb I wasn’t able to ride anymore, I walked along the bike, it has certainly been my wrong moment on a bike. I managed finally to reach the top after seven hours of struggle. Needless to say that I quit the Randolomitics, and didn’t make the passo Lavaze and Pampeago climb that were on the official route. Instead I turned back to Tesero following 8 kilometers of nice bike paths along the river, and took a room in the hotel where I have stayed two nights before.

In my room, after dinner, not having slept since 5 a.m. the day before, I had a little moment of distress. So I made the error of taking my phone, call the wife and tell her that two weeks were too much, that I was exhausted and that I came back home the day after. The fact is that, after a good night of sleep, I was much less willing to turn back, but I couldn’t renege. So I came down to Auer and took the train home. From Verona, I had to take long-distance trains, where bikes have to be dismounted and in a bag. I had no bag so I took a piece of cardboard and wrapped it around the derailleur and the chain and I had no problem with that in the train. I had however to pay a fine, because, for some strange reason, the vending machine in Auer sold me a ticket for a Verona-Milano that passed much later than my arrival in the Verona station. I paid no attention to the schedule printed on the ticket and took the first train to Milano, which was not the one I have made my reservation in. But anyway, I was in Nice the Monday night, much satisfied of my trip, but with the little regret of not having thought over a bit more my decision to come back.

Pictures : http://cathie.charbonnier.free.fr/piwigo/index.php?/category/132

Turini sans limites

As a passionate cyclotourist, I’m always on the lookout of new challenges to satisfy my perpetual hunger for kilometres. When I heard of Everesting (http://www.everesting.cc : choose a climb and ride it as many times as necessary to reach the height of Mount Everest in elevation gain), I knew at once it was something for me. So, in November 2014, I took my bike and climbed 22 times the Mont Chauve (Bald Mount), a big hill that dominates my hometown of Nice, performing a 228 km, 8934 m, little ride.

Some time after this accomplishment, I received a mail from the guys at the Everesting project, presenting the new challenge they intended to throw down to the impatient cycling crowds around the world. They called it “High Rouleurs Society” (http://www.highrouleur.cc), and basically, one had to perform a (at least) 400 km and 10000 m elevation gain ride, to be part of this very select community.

I immediately started to draw routes that would allow me to reach the target. It was not a difficult task, given the nearly infinite number of beautiful climbs surrounding Nice. But the accumulations of ups and downs I was building didn’t satisfy me, as I felt they lacked some underlying concept that would unite them in one way or another.

I then remembered an old project that once crossed my mind. It was inspired by an event called “Monte Grappa Challenge”, which proposed to climb the Monte Grappa by six of its different sides. Monte Grappa being a mountain rich of history (intense battles took place there during WW I) and cycling feats, in the Venetian region of Italy.

It appeared to me that the col du Turini, with its ascents from the valley of the Vésubie, valley of the Bevera, and the four of five variants on the Paillons side, could be the place for the same type of event. The similarity between both was even more obvious, as the Authion (the massif overlooking the pass) saw fights in WW II that lasted nearly until the very end of the war. Furthermore, a little road taking its start on the pass and looping around the mountains above permits to visit the remains of the military installations, and to reach the symbolic altitude of 2000 m.

A quick study on Openrunner showed that, starting and finishing from home, doing the Authion loop after the first ascent and performing five more ascents from the different sides, seemed sufficient to fill the distance and elevation constraints imposed by the High Rouleurs Society.

I then searched for a title to give to this achievement. Already existing were “les Cinglés du Ventoux”, “les Fêlés du Grand Colombier”, ”les Fondus de l’Ubaye”, … all being some synonym of “crazy” followed by the name of the mountain. On this model, I could have build ”les Calus du Turini”, calu being a typical niçois word to designate a crazy guy, but, as a Niçois, I dislike much doing things the way that other people do, so I chose instead the name “Turini sans limites”.

At this point, it was nearly finished. The only remaining thing to do was to pick my Garmin, put it on the bike and stroll it upon the track designed at home. In mid-april, I’ve already climbed the Authion to be sure that the road was now free of snow, so I decided that may the 6^th would be the appropriate day.

For those who’d like to follow my route on the map, my milestones have been Nice, l’Escarène, Peira-Cava, Turini, Authion, Turini, La Bollène, Lantosque, Col Saint-Roch, Turini, Peira-Cava, col de Braus, Sospel, Moulinet, Turini, Peira-Cava, Col Saint-Roch, Lantosque, La Bollène, Turini, Peira-Cava, Col Saint-Roch, l’Escarène, la Pointe, Contes, Coaraze, Col Saint-Roch, Turini, Moulinet, Sospel, Col de Braus, Peira-Cava, Turini, Peira-Cava, l’Escarène and Nice.

On my way back home, when in l’Escarène, I saw that a direct return home would put me below the 10000 m target. So at the col de Nice, I turned right and added the col du Calaïson to the record. But it was a too modest climb, and I had to do a last detour to the Monastère de Cimiez before I could finally go home. With a 414 km, 10068 m record proudly uploaded on Strava.

Though not envisaging it, should this ride see the day of light, I think that the six ascents I challenged myself to are a bit too much. But a cycling meeting that would propose a few different options: a single climb to the Authion for everybody, the addition of the two other main sides (Vésubie and Bévéra) for the tougher cyclists, and finally the Coaraze side for those who want the biggest challenge, looks like something appealing. The possibility to climb at 2000 m at the end of april, and the renown of French Riviera, are other assets that could attract people from northernmost countries. But I think I will be too busy cycling to dedicate myself to the organizational tasks.