(Vatiation to) Route des Grandes Alpes, France, August 2024

So, a while back I asked for route recommendations, and here is the update.

My trip had two parts. I first went to Austria and cycled from Graz to Salzburg, to warm up, since I was terribly out of shape. I spent about 10 days doing that, I then took the train across Germany all the way to Basel, then cycled first to Geneva, then all the way to the sea in Menton. I mostly followed the Route des Grandes Alpes, though I made some alterations in order to survive and to save my poor knees.
All in all I spent 39 days on the trip. There were days without riding, because of the shitty weather. I had the worst luck, only maybe 5 or 6 completely dry days, out of 39.

My bike was fully loaded because I mostly camped and cooked. I spent 20 days wild camping and about 16 in camps. French camps in the Alps are so cheap, about 8e on average. Plus they are so lax when it comes to wild camping, that I was often not even alone in the spots I chose for the night.

I did about 1500km with approximately 22000m climbing. I passed 7 major passes:
1. Semnoz (1670m)
2. Roselend (1968m)
3. Iseran (2770m)
4. Telegraphe (1566m) and Galibier (2642m); then I skipped Izoard and Vars, went along the Serre-Poncon lake, then
5. Bonette (2802m)
6. St Martin (1503m) and
7. Turini (1607m)
I finished 7 audiobooks, ate 46625 baguettes, 238126819 pain au chocolats and 37289191 kilos of stinky cheese. Drank 0 liters of wine though, only about 4 liters of beer.

For navigation I used google maps and the physical Route des Grandes Alpes map. It was invaluable, screw technology lol.

For the first time I didn't have any troubles with the bike whatsoever, not even a puncture. I did however get my powerbank and charger stolen, and I had to buy a new pair of sneakers as they got drenched in mud. I actually had to ride for about 20 kilometers in flip-flops. 1/10, would not recommend. Thankfully, there are more Decathlon shops in France than boulangeries so it wasn't so difficult to get new ones.

The scenery is why I went, and I couldn't tell you which country is more beautiful. Switzerland is by far the best for cycling, although it is the most expensive. I had zero incidents with car drivers, not a single honk during the entire journey. The Alps will remain my favourite place to cycle. The mountains, the ice, snow, peaks, forests, grass, turquoise lakes, cows, horses, marmots, descents, climbs, oh my god. Out of this world.
Now I mark them – complete.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/220282910

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/220016247

stealth camping at Bieler See

bored farmers..

Mont Blanc overlooking Lake Annecy

Wild camp on lake Roselend, also overlooked by Mont Blanc

Tignes and l'Isere

The highest pass is conquered