Annecy to Courmayeur

Today (Mon) is the day where the real riding starts as we begin to ride the mountain passes at last. Myself and Steve set off at exactly 8.26 with a little bus lane riding (sorry Steve) out of Annecy, at breakfast I had joked with Ian who was looking relaxed in jeans and at shirt while I in full bike gear that he and Nadia would burn us off somewhere later today and I wasn't disappointed, after filling up with fuel on the road to Albertville I heard this GS growl from behind and sure enough they blasted past us and off in to the distance, hilarious, don't know how they do it, sat having a fag one minute without bike gear and catching us up the next and we weren't hanging about either, hilarious !

What a lot of fun weaving our way up the Col du Madelaine winding up to the cafe at the top.

Steve half way up Madelaine.

The cafe at the top of Madelaine,

It started raining just as we neared the top, a slight drizzle and hanging cloud but nothing too bad. Here's Ian and Nadia again, I think they took a wrong turn and caught up later. The tortoise and the hare springs to mind?

After a Hot Chocolate we came outside to heavier rain and I grabbed my rain over jacket and trousers to wear on the ride down.  The rain stopped as we descended again, that was the heaviest rain we saw all day except the top of the last pass of the day on the Petit Grand St Bernard. We headed on up the next two passes a lot of fun on the Col du Glandon and  Col de la Croix Fer before heading to St Jean de Maurianne where we met some  of the other guys at a roadside cafe where me and Steve shared a really good Pizza to set us up for the big one The Col d'Iseran. The route took us through Lanslebourg where after overtaking the tour leader Steve and   some of the rest of the group I missed instruction to turn off on a bend as we headed up toward Mont Cenis. Steve went the correct route an and we were split for the rest of the day as I headed up and over Mont Cenis on my own before realising my error although it took me a while to get back on route not until I had ridden across the border in to Italy did I turn around and eventually foud the turn I should have took right off a sharp bend. At least the mistake allows me to stop and bolt the GoPro on first day and film the Mont Cernis lake and the ride up and over the Col d l'Iseran.

Mont Cenis

At the famous sign post at the peak. It was very windy nearly blew me back on to the road as I got off the bike. Just enough time taken for this photo as the cloud in the background blew in.

On the other side if the pass, much calmer weather.

Val d'Isere the ski resort behind my left shoulder.

Later I caught up with others on the tour and stayed with them down the Petit Grand St Bernard to our Hotel for the night in Courmayeur in Italy. On the way down I caught a glimpse of Mont Blanc as the cloud it revealed its peak. The mountain in the view here is in the shadow of Mont Blanc an and quite tiny in comparison.

Great hotel really pleased. Went out for a meal at a restaurant up the road, must get the name later and had the most amazing Venison and then Pork for main. Steve chose the wine, the meal was on BMW Motorrad that made it all the better!