Oh, and also... thank you to ZeroDarkBivy for the generous donation of a couple of tins of tuna and a loaf of bread. We bumped into him on the way up to Col Turini as he was retreating. We'd missed all resupply options, but were pushing on with what we knew was going to be not quite enough for the duration we'd be out for. I only realised hours afterwards that I'd not even offered any money in return. Let me know your address and I'll send some beer tokens your way

I'm thinking something like a 650b 55mm tyre with a file-tread could be perfect

I thought so.

So….just found out I rode 550km with around 18000m of climbing…with….a fractured femur! Bit shocked to find out. Happened as many of you will know on Day 1 coming out of Turin when I had an altercation with a post on a cycle lane.

Got home. Went to the doctors, she wanted me to have a scan and x-ray because of the bruise and worrying about fluid build-up. So off I go on my kick-start only(same side as leg in question) single cylinder 600cc bike (think of the forces involved in kick starting it…) to the x-ray centre only to be told I need to go to A and E as I have broken my leg!

Out of the hospital now and I’m on crutches for 45 days and not allowed to weight it at all. They don’t want to operate seeing as I have tested it a fair bit: there does not seem much chance of it displacing.

Gear wise: I run what I had. I could have come on my Ogre, but Béné would have had a less well prepared bike as we combined bits for her bike. My Uncle John did the job fine enough with some 40mm Nano’s on. Sure it’s not the prettiest most interesting bike there was but it did the job. The cantis (the best avid ones) were maybe the weakest point but they never needed adjusting and always stopped me. I had to ride on the drops though to brake with them hard enough which was tiring after a while (well known from my 3 peaks CX). In the conditions we had a file tread tyre would have been better, but hey ho it could have been different weather. I never cursed any of my kit choices, it’s that kind of ride; you run what you brung. Was glad I put the 36 cassette on though giving me a lowest gear of 33:36.

Dan

Mugsys_m8 wrote:So….just found out I rode 550km with around 18000m of climbing…with….a fractured femur! Bit shocked to find out. Happened as many of you will know on Day 1 coming out of Turin when I had an altercation with a post on a cycle lane.

Bugger!

Hard as nails.

Well done that man.

Mugsys_m8 wrote:550km with around 18000m of climbing…with….a fractured femur!

That definitely trumps my poxy cracked rib(s)...

24Tom - Was nice meeting you guys along the route, and very happy to help you out with a little 'Trail Magic'. Buy me a gelato in Turin next year!

Cheeky Monkey wrote:Was the Rohlofff new?

Yes; 300km prior to the ride. Run-in period is often quoted as around 1000km, so should be almost there now! Still think a conventional transmission is better for this kind of ride.

benp1 wrote:How did everyone get on with their bike choice? Any regrets?

Whyte 529 hardtail with 2.2 tyres.

Regrets? No.

I think that unless you were riding a completely unsuitable bike, maybe an Boris Bike or a narrow barred, high geared fixed wheel you shouldn't be regretting your bike choice. There were definitely times I wanted a drop bar gravel bike or the sweep and loop of some Jones bars. There were even times when I would have loved to be riding a full-susser. However, there were plenty of times I was glad to be hopping down some mildly technical stuff with straight bars and some bounce in the front forks. For the majority of the rest of the time, it really didn't matter that I wasn't on an "ideal" bike. For this ride, there isn't one "ideal" bike but as long as you're a moderately competent and adaptable rider then you'll have a good ride as long as you make a sensible choice.

Back to it all here at 2am Sunday .. ah well. Coffee break means back to faffing with TNR images and BB forum : )

Thanks so much to everyone who came along and made this such a good trip. Overall, personally I really liked the level of un-racing and socialising and the weather and views justified it. There's a lot of hills and the pushes / carries weren't easy but it was all worthwhile. Riding things a second time was good as I've got a few iron-outs and tweaks in mind for next year that will make it no less easy but a little more natural in places perhaps. Those who did the carries, think positive, you got to experience the route as we did last year .. next year I think it'll be an either-or at those points?

A few pics up here https://www.flickr.com/photos/67338272@ ... 0727522304

Monster day in the Swiss Alps during the 4 day ride to Turin from Eurobike - 4 big passes the day after a 2 snack bar dinner at 11pm while bivied at 1700m below the Klausenpass summit .. 'great prep..'


The start -


'boners on the way up the Finestre -


Little Peru -


Descending toward Dronero -


Looking back along the Assietta at sunset as it got pretty damn cold -


Tunnel bike path toward Briancon -


Agnel sunrise -


The rockfall-strafed Vallon d'Elva - hard-hats not a bad idea


Preit at night - ended well thanks to the refuge re-opening a recently closed kitchen when we arrived ..


Col Tende -


Col Braus -


.. we'd taken a shorter route to Nice after 5 days, direct from Tende to the Col Brouis and onto Sospel for a relaxed steak, frites and beers then early the next morning up the Braus and a direct descent to Nice. If there's one thing I learned this ride it's that riding with a good bunch and taking plenty of downtime really eats into ride time but is 100% worth it. It was a really good social ride and even at that pace it was tough at times. 4-6 days on this route is fine if you ride quickly and efficiently, 6-10 is more realistic for anyone not wanting to ride 3-4 cols a day or be on the road before sunrise!

Tech stuff - my bike. Ben also had one set up 1x11 with Anything cage copies on the forks. It's a continuation of the 650B all-roader ideas I've been working on over the last 3 years now. The TNR is a pretty-much perfect test for the bike. It rode really well, despite losing skin (as I said I would) after pushing through a hairpin a bit too hard a few days in (getting over-confident..) and losing the front wheel. Big tyres like that make a horrible screech on dry tarmac as they let go, in just enough time to know what's coming up! Scuffed right through my Revelate pocket and my 'Get Rad' patch too - a nice detail / memento now ..
The wheel and geometry combo is pretty much perfect for what I want a 'road-ish' bike to do on a ride like this but I'd be equally happy riding my Jones next time, I'd just get more rad on the descents and ease off on the climbs. This bike was the most comfortable I've been on drops for a 10-day ride though, the mix of comfort and easy speed is there. Next time I'll not bother with the tarp or stove to save space and 800g or so, cafes were good to stop at and brewing for 3 or 4 takes a while.
Wildcat gear was perfect, the custom frame bag is everything you'd expect from them and the taper dry bag addition to the seat pack works so well, so quickly, I wonder how many bonus miles it would have got me via time saved overall on the TD .. it really is that much faster to pack. Not cheap but considering the volumes etc it's understandable and having used it I'm a big fan.
Credit to the WTB tyres too, on I25 rims at ~30-33psi they took a beating. Ben is a fairly heavy guy and wasn't packing light and he had no issues. I managed to flip a rock into my rim that nicked the alu and scored a tiny hole in the bead but that was fixed easily. A bit of side tread could be good on the stradas, WTB Will was riding the route and was suprised by what we call 'gravel' .. ha. New tyre idea seeds planted.



(Might even get round to threading that dyno wire properly this weekend)

Nice write up James. How wide are the horizons on i25s? Want to fit them to my BBB.
Those pics really make me regret not going this year.

Back on Saturday, having planned 11 days to ride the full course - less the Molini Pool extension - at a relaxed, social pace. Arrived in Nice a day sooner than scheduled, so should have done Molini after all! (I say full course, but I took Izoard and Preit over the HAB options though. I'm no hero!)

It was absolutely incredible. It's hard to pick highlights from such a great route, but the high altitude Via del Sale from Col de Tende to (and on from) Rifugio Don Barbera must be one of them. It helped that we arrived there late, in mist, and co-incidentally on a day when the track was closed to all motor traffic. I very much hope to get to ride that again next year. I might even find my blue FWE jersey, mini tripod and bananas that made a successful break for freedom from being strapped to the outside of my seatpack...

But if the route was great, the camaraderie was even better. You never had to eat alone, if you walked into a cafe there'd be someone there from the Rally already, or someone would arrive soon and join you. You'd find yourself crossing paths with the same riders over again, and riding together made the journey more enjoyable. I actually started in a group of 4 friends but we had different paces, and different schedules, so always expected we wouldn't stay together. I didn't expect however it would be so easy to find others to ride with, but it just happened, and I finished in a group of 4 new friends.

Some of my pics. More at https://500px.com/laurencefinlay/galler ... nice-rally











































Same time next year, James?

Great pics Laurence .. we missed the V d S this year so it's good to see those. I see you rode with 'Man of the Rally', Cyril, too.

I might even find my blue FWE jersey

Pop some blog words together on the ride from a Pinnacle + FWE user and PM to me and I'll try to get you an Evans voucher that'll cover a couple of jerseys?

But if the route was great, the camaraderie was even better. You never had to eat alone, if you walked into a cafe there'd be someone there from the Rally already, or someone would arrive soon and join you. You'd find yourself crossing paths with the same riders over again, and riding together made the journey more enjoyable.

seems that all worked well for a number of us.

Nice write up James. How wide are the horizons on i25s? Want to fit them to my BBB.
Those pics really make me regret not going this year.

Thanks Gari. Tyres are a true 47mm on the I25s. I'll check though.

Next year - looks like Tues 5th Sept, same start point and a dinner on Monday night again.

PS if anyone on here apart from Stuart and Craig didn't get a patch in Turin but was due one, or it fell off mid-ride etc and you need a new one, please shout and I'll try to post them tomorrow.

I need my patch please!

Would a UK address make things easier?

If so I'll PM one over.

Cheers, Gairy.

I need my patch please!

Would a UK address make things easier?

If so I'll PM one over.

Cheers, Gairy.

If it helps, pop it in with mine and I'll have it at the BB200?

OK

jameso wrote: Pop some blog words together on the ride from a Pinnacle + FWE user and PM to me and I'll try to get you an Evans voucher that'll cover a couple of jerseys?

Deal! Give me a few days and I'll get something over to you

What we missed for ten days. Too bad :)

robert wrote:What we missed for ten days. Too bad :)

Wow, is that what it's like right now?

Sticker to the top left of 130 says "Stop being Soft" ;-)

If that's what is like currently it answers my earlier question eh!

SixPotBelly wrote:

robert wrote:What we missed for ten days. Too bad :)

Wow, is that what it's like right now?

Picture has been taken sunday.

Robert - have you swapped you bike for skis now?
What an incredible change; how lucky the Rally was with amazing weather!

robert wrote:

SixPotBelly wrote:

robert wrote:What we missed for ten days. Too bad :)

Wow, is that what it's like right now?

Picture has been taken sunday.

Was prepared for the cold, guess it's only a matter of time before seeing a Giro-style snow stage on the route!

Preparing a mail-out to follow up the ride and get feedback to improve for next year and thought I'd post the main points I'd noted here for discussion. I have a few revisions to the route in mind, feedback encouraged,

- Make Colle du Priet or Chialvetta-to-carry sections into Little Peru / Gardetta an either-or option or make Priet the main route? Also be more realistic about time and effort needed for the Chialvetta route and the Col des Peas carry. It was 45 mins or less of actual carrying at the top section of the Peas from my rose-tinted memory, honest. But the push to get there took a while..

- Take out minor track diversion toward end of Little Peru, the side trip nr Rocca Meja. Steep, and rough on descent for all but MTBs, lack of trail continuity. Stay on main track and just list it as a side-option. Or is this being soft?

- Checked OSM for correct road on descent to Verante (the Barter diversion). Revise GPS to show actual route there not a short path down the fall-line that Google seems to think is a road!

- Re-route through Limone Piemonte past supermarket and bars near main square/church (the Barter refuel). Currently follows road one street away in error – intent was to go directly past the supermarket.

- Add Col Braus climb/descent on road as a quicker finish option, onto a d/h valley road to Nice – also the Col Brouis via Val Roya and Sospel to get there as a more road-orientated finish after the Tende options - would skip the Forca/Turini climb. Get the impression most of us were thinking of a swim by either point, keen for the ride end on a high at the right time. Many shortened their route at these points so creating GPS for them either helps or it removes the element of wing-it that many enjoyed? I'm a fan of the 'may need to wing-it' clause.

- Possibly remove the Madone de Gorbio climb from main route (the last ~200m rise near Nice). ie you'd crest the col Braus climb and know ‘that’s it, downhill all the way’? (As above).

- What did you think of the climb up through the woods to the Col Braus from near Sospel?

- End route at Café du Cycliste. There’s an incentive for getting there during opening hours next year.

- Highlight the climbing needed more clearly and create GPX files in a format that shows elevation on more devices – elevation profile didn’t display on some Garmins so anyone who’d not checked the route on bikehike or ridewithgps got a surprise : )
Will use ridewithgps for mapping as bikehike’s elevation source seems to be down. Ridewithgps gives easy elevation profile images per stage and other resources that will make the route info more detailed for those that want it. Any other suggestions for mapping?
(Also see the cause of much of the route over-estimation of actual elevation gain after looking at a couple of GPS blips I found on the ride – in places the track or road location doesn’t match the satellite data, so the elevation data may come from locations that could include a dip into the gorge 20ft off to the side of the road, and back!)

- Revise estimated time from 3-7 to 4-10 days. Shorter route was ridden in 3.5 days during good weather this year but the full route at a more social pace could end up being 6-7 even for relatively fit and efficient riders.

Any other GPS file blips or similar issues spotted on the route, or bits you'd skip to improve continuity or the general experience? Comments welcome here, or on PM / via email, james.olsen.remote at hotmail dot co.uk. Thanks.

There was only one bit I disliked but sadly can't recall what it's called. However, what came after it (road of death) more than made up for it and in reality, it probably wasn't that bad and I was likely just having a 'moment'.

The cafe does make a good finishing point but when Chew and me arrived, it did feel like a real anti-climax ... mainly because, no one bothered to talk to us or even say hello and that was after spending nearly twelve quid on coke However, that could say more about us than the people at the cafe and we might not have looked too approachable by that point. I did think it would be nice to collect a patch from the cafe at the end as an incentive to visit and to signify (not prove) finishing?

I would also say, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Personally, I like the whole 'winging it' way and to be honest, the thought of reaching Nice never actually crossed my mind until we were less than 50km away. I had no idea what was round the corner (literally) or what the next hour would bring, so it was always (apart from that one climb mentioned above) interesting.

Are you looking to run it in September again, re-reading the start of the discussion, you initially said early summer would be your choice. I suppose bad weather can hit at any time in the Alps, I've had snow in Morzine in early August. Just thinking that the longer days of May/June might suit some.