2007 It Had to Happen Sometime-Drivin' South

Breakfasted, Guzzi back out of the garage and loaded, farewells farewelled, we were back on the road. Playtime.

Today’s route included some of the roads that had recently been recommended in Motor Cycle News, a weekly paper in the United Kingdom. The route we took had excellent scenery, married with the local wildlife and paragliders.

We first headed for Briançon and followed the D902, Le Col d’Izoard. This road is often part of the Tour de France. The day could not have been better for motorcycling and the scenery was breathtaking.

As we were in no hurry today Ian let the other road users pass,

thus letting us enjoy the views in peace.

If my memory is correct all of the photos were taken on Le Col d’Izoard, however there are many similarities between that particular pass and the Col de Vars. Like

Le Col d’Izoard, this mountain pass has also been used for the Tour de France, 33 times in total.

Completing our ride over the Col de Vars we headed west on the D900 at St Paul before adding the Col du Labouret to the collection of completed passes. This brought us to our destination, Digne-les-Bains.

With a short visit to the tourist information centre the Hôtel de Provence was selected as our base. The hotel had an area off road at the front for parking, which is in short supply for the town centre hotels.

Relaxed, showered and ready to hit the town, however, something is missing. It was almost like boarding the Mary Celeste. Many of the town’s restaurants were open for business, but the hungry hoard consisted of Ian, Guzzisue and myself. Digne, where the action isn’t!

2004 Within These Walls - We Shall Pass

Here I am at 09:20 waiting in place for Ian and Guzzisue to appear. I was a little impatient as the sun was out and I wanted to ride.
They turned up 10 minutes later and we headed for the first pass of the day, the Jaun Pass.


This was then followed by the Grimsel Pass



and after doing some Marmot watching at the top

we headed down the Furker,

onto the Oberal, then onwards to the Lukmanier before ending the day completing the San Bernardino.


The day was spent in glorious sunshine with wonderful scenery. We saw a glacier and several large dams and snow on the mountain tops. Things are a little vague as we just lost ourselves in the joy of riding such great biking roads. If only we could bring them closer to home!
With the evening drawing in we stayed the night at the Hotel Suretta in Splugen.
Having unpacked the Guzzi it was time for a walk around the town. This didn't take too long as it was a very small place. It did however give Guzzisue chance to take a few photographs.