The campsite at Digne does offer a substantial continental breakfast, but it’s not served until 08:30 which makes for a late start, and I was off to Italy for a proper pizza on Monday. I decided to skip the breakfast offer and rode out of the gates at 10 to 8. What a mistake that was, it was freezing. After all I’m in the Maritime Alps, what did I expect in September. The longed for whizz up the D900 through Seyne les Alpes, was taken at a very sedate pace with the heated grips on max and not enjoying it at all.
By the time I’d got to Barcelonette, the sun was on my side of the road and felt a little better. The plan was to cross into Italy via the Col de Larche, then east to Borgo San Dalmazzo, and on to Cuneo. The D900 being the road to follow on the French side. However the approach to the Col was blocked with barriers with quite a queue of traffic already formed. I filtered to the front where ten or so bikes were waiting. A French rider on a Beemer XR, recognised my Bol sticker, and came over to explain the wait. There were roadworks on the pass, so a half hour one way system was in place, luckily for me there was only 10 minutes to go before the barriers were removed. The traffic lights had a system that counted down the waiting period in minutes. The XR rider and his two pals were the first to make a move, so tagged on at the back. It soon became obvious that XR man had been up and down this pass more than a few times in the past, and set a brisk but comfortable pace which was very much appreciated and enjoyed. We waved our goodbyes as they pulled in for petrol just before Borgo, while I carried on in search of a pizzeria that was open. It seemed in this neck of the woods, most were closed on a Monday. A few of the roundabouts were quite liberally doused in diesel which did produce one lucky to get away with slide. Before my heart rate had returned to something like normal I spied my target lunchtime destination, and was soon tucking into a perfect capricciossa.
I had two options for my return journey, either backtrack the way I’d come ,which I knew would be very enjoyable. Or, press on north of Cuneo before picking a road to another pass, the Col dell Agnello, which is what I chose. The Garmin wasn’t too much help as the roads I’d chosen weren’t covered by Garmin until I was actually on them. As the pass rose and rose, I was tempted to stop at every turn to admire the view, but would have lost too much time, so saved the sight seeing for the summit, which did not disappoint. Several of us Billy no mates riders did the honours for each other, by taking hopefully memorable photos. I had a nice pigeon English chat with my Italian photo taker.
Coming off the Col, again there were two choices. Either Col de Vars and back to the D900, or westward a short distance to pick up the N94, and the road to Savines Le Lac, which is the way I went. All roads in the area seem to home in on the D900, and was soon enjoying its delights on my way back to the campsite.
By the time I’d got to Barcelonette, the sun was on my side of the road and felt a little better. The plan was to cross into Italy via the Col de Larche, then east to Borgo San Dalmazzo, and on to Cuneo. The D900 being the road to follow on the French side. However the approach to the Col was blocked with barriers with quite a queue of traffic already formed. I filtered to the front where ten or so bikes were waiting. A French rider on a Beemer XR, recognised my Bol sticker, and came over to explain the wait. There were roadworks on the pass, so a half hour one way system was in place, luckily for me there was only 10 minutes to go before the barriers were removed. The traffic lights had a system that counted down the waiting period in minutes. The XR rider and his two pals were the first to make a move, so tagged on at the back. It soon became obvious that XR man had been up and down this pass more than a few times in the past, and set a brisk but comfortable pace which was very much appreciated and enjoyed. We waved our goodbyes as they pulled in for petrol just before Borgo, while I carried on in search of a pizzeria that was open. It seemed in this neck of the woods, most were closed on a Monday. A few of the roundabouts were quite liberally doused in diesel which did produce one lucky to get away with slide. Before my heart rate had returned to something like normal I spied my target lunchtime destination, and was soon tucking into a perfect capricciossa.
I had two options for my return journey, either backtrack the way I’d come ,which I knew would be very enjoyable. Or, press on north of Cuneo before picking a road to another pass, the Col dell Agnello, which is what I chose. The Garmin wasn’t too much help as the roads I’d chosen weren’t covered by Garmin until I was actually on them. As the pass rose and rose, I was tempted to stop at every turn to admire the view, but would have lost too much time, so saved the sight seeing for the summit, which did not disappoint. Several of us Billy no mates riders did the honours for each other, by taking hopefully memorable photos. I had a nice pigeon English chat with my Italian photo taker.
Coming off the Col, again there were two choices. Either Col de Vars and back to the D900, or westward a short distance to pick up the N94, and the road to Savines Le Lac, which is the way I went. All roads in the area seem to home in on the D900, and was soon enjoying its delights on my way back to the campsite.
Whizz kid sitting pretty on his two wheeled stallion.