This post is a slight departure from what I usually write about, but not being a one dimensional being, I have hobbies that aren’t related to programming/design/etc., and couple of them fall under the umbrella of bikepacking. I won’t dwell into what bikepacking is and what it entails due to vast amount of material on the topic, but at surface level it’s simply traveling via a bike and carrying all the necessities to be self-sufficient. There’s much more to it, and I’ve found it to easily be one of the best ways to travel and see the world. For about a year now, I’ve been pushing myself towards bikepacking, all of which lead me to a week-long trip to the Alps.

The plan for the week was for me to cycle from UK to French Alps, ride some of the most iconic roads on cycling and alpine map (i.e., Alpe D’Huez, Col de L’Iseran) and return, all by two wheels, ferries and couple of trains. For this trip, I’ve combined my love for mountains, desire to experience bikepacking and to have a fun holiday. Not wanting to overwhelm myself I sidelined the camping aspect of bikepacking and decided to stay at hotels. While this upped the price of the trip and reduced the length of the trip, I thought extra comfort would be worthwhile (to find out whether it was, read on!).

Grand Depart

Start: Oxford (UK)
Destination: Newhaven (UK)
Distance: 178.85km
Ascent: 1681m

Having finished last exam of my degree, packed my kit & rigged up the bike I headed home for a night. Early the following morning I caught a train to Oxford, where I grabbed breakfast and layered up to ride through light showers. Rain continued throughout the morning until I reached Dorking where I decided to stop for lunch seeing as it was just over half way through the days’ route and would be the last major town before my destination.

Fortunately, the sun came out for a while and things were going swimmingly as I cruised through what remained of Surrey Hills this far south. My fortune didn’t last very long however, as the heaven’s opened up and one of the biggest thunderstorms I’ve experienced in a long time started to turn roads into rivers. As prepared as I thought I was with my waterproof layers and overshoes, the continues downpour was too much and I was left soaking wet.

Knowing that this thunderstorm was headed north, I decided to continue on south as fast as I could to escape the rain clouds. One near miss with a lightning strike and one cleat bolt lost, my plan was a success. As I neared my destination and headed through South Downs, the weather turned again, this time it was warm, humid and very windy. Only way to try and explain how windy it was:

1. All of my layers that were soaked previously, were dry by the time I arrived in Newhaven
2. Going at ~30kph I felt like I was either barely moving or I was being pushed backwards

Weather wasn’t my only challenge on the first day, I was also plagued with various mechanical issues, from previously mentioned loss of cleat bolt, I also dropped my chain several times, and I also managed to get a flat when I pulled over to grab some food out of my bag. As frustrating as these issues were to have on the first day, I luckily didn’t have any more mechanical issues during rest of the trip, and amazing views in addition to great food really made the day.

Rue de Paris

Start: Dieppe (FR)
Destination: Paris (FR)
Distance: 187.69km
Ascent: 1329m

5am on the north coast of France, I set off immediately as I had another long day in the saddle. I wasn’t off to a great start as having ridden all previous day through relatively tough conditions, I didn’t get much sleep on the ferry – next time I’d book myself a cabin & grab some ear plugs. But nothing like an overpriced ferry coffee, fresh morning air and lovely views of the sun rising through forest covered hills to wake you up.

One of the most memorable things of the day was travelling through farmlands of northern France in the early hours of Sunday, and not seeing a single car or a person for around 2-3h. The expansive, flat crop fields in combination with eerily silent air took my tired mind to those desolate post-apocalyptic sci-fi worlds, and made me question how would I actually behave, had I ended up utterly isolated without any remnants of comforts modern civilization offers.

Traffic grew continuously, as I headed south. While I chose the most direct & fastest route to Paris, it required me to share road with cars doing at least 90kph, which isn’t particularly comforting to a tired cyclist. With an early start and high pace it meant that I reached Paris in the early afternooon. Difference between not seeing a soul for hours on end, and bumper to bumper organised chaos of Parisian streets is an strangely interesting experience!

Mountain Sighting

Start: Lyon (FR)
Destination: Grenoble (FR)
Distance: 111.89km
Ascent: 790m

Day three was quite a bit easier and scenic than previous two. To make most of the limited time, I caught a train from Paris down to Lyon, and then started making my way east towards the mountains!

To further tire me out, the train to Lyon was delayed by 2 hours, which meant I had rush to my hotel in order to get in before sundown.. Weather forecast for the day predicted a storm, however delayed arrival meant that I only saw what it left behind - yay!

Relatively flat route, getting low and maintaining “aero” position for 4.5hrs meant I managed to reach hotel before it got too late. Seeing mountains peak through clouds and slowly stretch out as far as the eye can see, doesn’t seem to ever get old.

Highlights of the day:

1. SNCF treating passengers with lunch due to train delays – UK railway companies should definitely take note.
2. Skipping detour signs to cut through a small country road and within minutes riding through mud tracks, with grass up to my waist and ever steeper gradients. With main road not far off and my wheels spinning through the mud and rocks I made it to the top. Sound of rapidly approaching car made me stop & wait until it was safe to join the road, but I forgot how steep the path was and I flopping into the wet grass like a fish.
3. Seeing fog over a fast flowing river at the bottom of some pretty mountains.

Food Poisoning

Start: Hotel bed
Destination: Hotel bathroom
Distance: 0km
Ascent: 0m

According to my original plan, I was going to rest for a day, following day take on the famous Alpe D’Huez, and then depart for Italy. Unfortunately, none of that happened. After arriving into Grenoble late in the evening & having a shower I decided to treat myself to a takeaway pizza. While this usually isn’t a big deal, this was a one off and I woke up with a terrible case of food poisoning.

I had to write off two days and do my best to recover. As unfortunate as this may have been, it reminded me that you can’t plan for everything, and it’s about your ability to quickly adapt to changing situation and handle problems one step at a time. And even though I could have potentially handled this better, not worrying about missing out and simply doing what was right meant that I could get back on the bike and continue with my trip.

Italy Bound

Start: Grenoble (FR)
Destination: Susa (IT)
Distance: 183.05km
Ascent: 2921m

After two bed ridden days, it was time to get a move on. This was to be my longest/hardest leg of the trip, luckily I had enough foresight to consider fatigue and prepare easier, back-up routes. Seeing as I was feeling fairly faint within first 10km I had a terribly long day ahead of me… One of key guidelines of cycling is to eat little and often, and in my poorly state and hot weather conditions this was more necessary than ever. However, I could not force myself to eat more than few bites at a time.

Even though I was hoping to conquer Col du Galibier and Telegraphe, Col du Lauturet was plenty hard. With numerous pit stops along the way, I managed to push on & reach the summit of the col, albeit hours later than I had aimed for, with cafes and restaurants shutting for the day by the time I arrived. Luckily owners were nice enough to scape together some food along with a cold pint!

Following ~30km was a steady downhill/flat which offered much needed rest, and allowed to make actual progress. However, the final climb and descend into Susa proved to a real challenge. Initial couple of kilometers were absolutely magnificent, smooth forest lined roads winding through small villages with orange glow along mountain tops in the distance as the sun lowered behind the peaks. This stretch was yet another fantastic reminder of why I chose to go on this trip.

Sudden realization, that the valleys will quickly envelop in darkness and the temperature will drop quickly, making descending for about ~50km difficult. Making the final push over Colle della Scala de la Vachette proved quite difficult as tired legs, fatigued mind and seemingly never ending and ever steeper road nearly cracked me. With every passing kilometer it got darker and I kept trying to push myself further and further. With dead rear light and front light running low, I had to remain even more focussed & vigilant as I was nearing my physical and mental limit.

Arriving at the hotel around 11pm, after 15hrs on the road felt amazing, and while I planned to grab a kebab from a fast food place around the corner, I was so exhausted that I hit the pillow like a sack of potatoes after taking a shower.

Finally Getting It

Start: Susa (IT)
Destination: Albertville (FR)
Distance: 73.18km + 23.36km
Ascent: 1941m + 327m

Still feeling somewhat ill in the morning, and having learnt that while long distances can be fun, consecutively their charm dwindles. Hence I’ve altered my route on the fly to reduce distance and break up the ride in two by catching a train in the afternoon.

First 2-3hrs were slow, very slow, ~9kph going up an old alpine road towards Mont Cenis, this has easily been one of the finer climbs of the trip. Quiet, small road with spectacular views made the suffering worth every minute!

“Shorter distances and one (maybe two) major targets is what you need during relaxing bikepacking trip, not this wannabe-ultra endurance sh*t I was trying to pull off. I’m a slow learner, what can I say.” – Me, reflecting on the days ride after arriving in Albertville

Revard-ing Views

Start: Albertville (FR)
Destination: Aix-les-Bains (FR)
Distance: 127.92km
Ascent: 2381m

After taking a day off in Albertville and (luckily) avoiding a thunderstorm, I wiggled my way to Aix-les-Bains via Annecy. The bike path between Albertville and Annecy via Ugine was what every bike path should strive to be, easily one of the best if not the best bike path I’ve ever ridden - highly recommend its.

Day 6 of riding, I focussed on riding and taking in my surroundings. While the whole day was ace, the final stretch was catching a train from Aix-les-Bains to Lyon.

Fin

Start: Paris (FR)
Destination: Rouen (FR)
Distance: 144.69km
Ascent: 1223m

During 5h train ride from Lyon to Paris, I decided that doing the reverse of 2nd day of my trip would be quite boring, so I decided to switch things up and head to slightly further west to Rouen, with a short train ride to Dieppe.

While switching up the route did give me something new to look at, the day wasn’t particularly interesting, just more empty fields, and now bugs in my mouth. I met numerous lovely people and even had an entourage of scouters escorting me at one point! These small encounters and experiences helped me from being consumed by the scorching summer heat and I’m terribly thankful for them!

Stats

Total Distance Ridden: ~1030.63km
Total Meters Climbed: ~12,593m
Total Time On The Bike: ~51.3h
Punctures: 1
Lost Cleat Bolts: 1
Falls: 1
Food Poisonings: 1