Two years after we sent in our postcard to James and with some minor Covid logistics in-between, Paul and I were finally able to ride the Torino-Nice Rally; starting in Modane instead of Turin due to UK travel restrictions at the time. Our 700km (16,700m) journey along high stradas and cols bordering France and Italy taking a mix of rocky-gravel based military stradas and tarmac roads was truly a magical adventure. Part 1: Some highlights from the first part included riding the Colle delle Finestre, Strada dell'Assietta, and meeting a wonderful Romanian family who fed us and taught us some traditional dancing.Part 2 (Briançon to Val Maira): Flipped a coin to decide between Izoard (road climb) or Col des Péas (hike-a-bike), hike-a-bike won, paying homage to the @rsfarchive. After the lovely descent from the col, we made our way up some incredible #switchbackporn on Colle dell’ Agnello on the French/Italian border.
The next day we took off climbing the Col du Sampeyre and were rewarded with a rocky, yet beautiful descent down the Strada Cannoni.Part 3 (Val Maira to Limone): Another Hike-a-Bike climb up to Colle della Gardetta spotting military bunkers hidden on the hillside. After a rest at the refugio for some polenta cheese soup #polentapower ⚡️ we road along a beautiful alpine route aptly named “little Peru”.
After eating some bad pizza resulting in food poisoning, Paul and I had an unplanned rest day in Limone.Part 4 (Via Del Sale to Nice) Playing border patrol along the iconic Via del Sale route before making our way to Nice.