2007 It Had to Happen Sometime-Reaching New Heights

Saturday. The centre of Digne is a hive of activity. Saturday is market day.

There are traders from the surrounding districts selling their wares. Everything was available from fruit and veg to wooden kitchen utensils, to clothes. There was an area allocated for the locals selling their bric-a-brac. Guzzisue was stopping at many of the stalls to have a look with Ian and myself getting restless. The weather was good and the mountains were calling.

Today’s challenge is to climb the Col de la Bonette, sometimes mistakenly called the Col de Restefond. The Col de Restefond is a gravel track, located off the D64, close to the summit of the Col de la Bonette.

There are claims of the Col de la Bonette being the highest mountain road in Europe. These claims can be argued with good cause. Although the actual Col de la Bonette rises to 2715 metres, there are three other passes that go higher. These are Col de l’Lseran (2770 metres), Stelvio Pass (2757 metres) and the Col Agnel (2744 metres). There is also a no through road in Spain, reaching 3392 metres to the village of Veleta, Sierra Nevada. Col de la Bonette’s road reaches an altitude of 2802 metres, but cannot be described as a “pass” because it is merely a loop road around the Cime de le Bonette. There is no argument that it is indeed the highest asphalted road in Europe.

I am not too sure of the route we took to arrive at the northern side of the Col de la Bonette, but it was an interesting journey nonetheless. One of the buildings we passed was this.

It looks like it may have either been a prison or military building in an earlier time. I believe it could now be a tourist information centre. If anyone recognises it I would be interested for future reference.

Having passed through a village,

we caught up with a local taking his trials bike for a spin.

Leaving behind a holiday resort that is in the process of being expanded we began to climb into the mountains.

Eventually we saw the ski lift, some distance from the resort.

And still we climb.

Eventually we reach the summit and have to refuse the welcome sight of a café due to the time. Guzzisue continues taking pictures on the decent.

The first pass of the day completed, refreshment is taken in Jausiers, prior to turning onto the D64 and the Col de la Bonette. O n the climb we pass an old military building, Casernes de Restefond.

Close to the summit there are some bunkers by the roadside, dating to the Second World War.

Deciding not to take the circular road to the highest point, Ian pointed the Guzzi to start the descent. Negotiating the mountain’s rush hour,

8kms from the Col de la Bonette, well camouflaged from a distance we came upon this little ‘settlement’.

The settlement is Camp Fork, built between 1896 and 1910 with additions up to the Second World War. There are a total of 26 buildings, built to look like cottages but included stables, kitchen and a bread oven. There was a cable car built in the 1930s, giving contact with the village of Pra, thus a supply route was built. Unfortunately the building was destroyed to widen the road at the forts entrance in 2006.

When at full strength the fort was manned by 150 guards, less in the winter months. Although there was fighting in the area around the fort in 1939 and 1944 there are no records of the fort being damaged in conflict.

Inside the command post there are some murals painted, along with some in the other buildings. These are slowly crumbling away, like the buildings themselves.

Having spent some times wandering round the camp it was time to head on down the pass and back towards Digne.

It was on the return journey that the mountain pass was not the only thing to be heading in a downwards direction.

1st Monday Music Movie - Imelda May

Born in Dublin, the youngest of 5 children, Imelda was influenced by her elders music tastes. At 14 she made her professional debut on a Findus Fish Finger commercial singing 'Betcha never put your finger on a crunchier crumb!'

She began singing in clubs at the age of 16 and was occasionally barred from her own shows at Dublin's Bruxelles clud for being underage!

Forming her own band in2006 her popularity began to grow and in 2009 she became the first femail Irish artist to top her home country's chart for 20 years.

Here we see Imelda performing 'Train kept a rollin'' and 'Go tell the devil' at Nottingham's City Pulse in 2010

2007 It Had to Happen Sometime-Bucket & Spade Required

Over the years we have been spoilt. As long as I recall, every breakfast in France has been a feast. The breakfast room has been filled with breads, various meats and cheeses, an assortment of fruit juices along with hot beverages, amongst other delights. It was easy to see the disappointment in Ian’s face when he saw a traditional French breakfast. Jam, croissant and some dry bread. Not being a caffeine drinker, Ian managed to obtain a bottle of cold water to wash everything down with. A large mental note was made by the three of us to grab a large bite to eat later. We were not the only travellers to be disappointed as we saw a couple taking food up to their room!

As Ian had never seen the Mediterranean we all agreed that would be a good ride for today, so departing Digne we soon picked up the N85, Route Napoléon and enjoyed a steady ride south, unlike the Emperor himself who headed north and ultimately to his defeat at Waterloo.

Stopping briefly for our first view of the Mediterranean

We started down the mountain road, reaching Grasse, where the French perfume industry is centred. Grasse is a mere 9 miles northwest of Cannes, our destination, however due to traffic lights stopping us at regular intervals, the final stretch took a long time. The temperature was hovering around 28°C, Ian was getting somewhat overheated in his riding gear, I was wishing I could remove my jacket and cut my fur as my perch on the left hand front indicator was getting rather warm.

Eventually the coast was reached, the Guzzi parked up to admire the Med’s horizon.

It was rather a windswept day but it did not deter guests from various hotels making the most of the midday sun.

In fact the wind must have been around force 9 or 10 due to the amount of boats seeking refuge in the local harbour.

The natives are used to these local weather conditions, undeterred they continued on their promenading along the palm tree lined Promenade de la Croisette.

Mingling with the locals we also sauntered along the Promenade and found this movie camera statue situated near the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, which surprisingly none of us took a photo of!

We had very little time in Cannes, but did manage to break an (almost) unwritten law and went into a nearby McD****d’s. Well nature was calling. I could escape into some shrubbery but not Ian or Guzzisue. A walk round some of the local shops, down some narrow streets, shoppers tottering on high heels whilst balancing designer labelled carrier bags in their hands and too big sunglasses on too small noses.

Ice creams were required and had to be consumed rapidly before they melted. This was successfully accomplished sitting on a bench, looking out to sea.

Two hours in Cannes was certainly not long enough to give an honest opinion of the town. We did not have any idea that we would end up there on this holiday as our original break had been scuppered by some unseasonable weather, therefore we had no idea what to look for. Also due to limited time there may not have been long enough to look round any place of interest. A return visit is necessary in the future.

Riding back the same way gave us the opportunity to notice previously missed stopping off places, for example, there was a small local Citroen Museum and a Resistance Museum, both of which could have been visited if we had the time.

The course had been set and we had 83 miles to cover along interesting roads to return us to Digne for the evening.

1st Monday Music Movie-Seven Little Sisters

Named after William Willis' raft, on which he sailed from South America to American Samoa in 1954, the Seven Little Sisiters (SLS) also have their own story.

Ian and Guzzisue first met the band back in 1993 or 1994 on their tour of Scotland. Ian had noticed a poster in the tourist information centre in Portree, Isle of Skye, advertising a concert taking place down at the Sligachan Hotel that night. Upon entering the hotel, as the band were setting up their equipment, they were asked the question "How many are in the group now?" The band members were taken aback as they had not realised that their fame had stretched this far north. And so began a friendship that would last for some time.

In 1995 SLS released their album Cow Trousers, with a small gig in Nottingham's Virgin Megastore. Below is the poster advertising this gig.

Slowly the band were getting a reputation for being a great live act with their celtic, folk rock, bluegrass style. They had even supported the Oyster Band on several occasions. Things were really on a roll until the fateful day when their van, including all their instruments and equipment was stolen.

From that fateful moment the band just fell apart and the boys all drifted apart. Ian and Guzzisue bumped into Jon Harris in early 2010 and there was no mention of the band reforming, so how did this come about?

The tale starts one day when a friend of Jon's mentions a website, the A-Z of Bushcraft. This site has many short videos on Youtube, with SLS's song When The Wind Blows as theme music! There are many comments about the theme music, who is the group? are they playing anywhere? etc, etc, etc. One of the older comments was from a band member saying that they had split up some years ago and that a comeback was unlikely.....

Ian receives an email every week giving information about events, gigs and films for the following week in Nottingham. One that caught his eye was for a gig by SLS at the Salutation on September 25th! Well it would have been rude not to go.

Ian had already mentioned the gig to his friends and Guzzisue had informed her knitting companion. As we approached the pub several Sisters were outside having a cigarette and talk when they saw us. They were surprised and pleased to see faces from 12 years previous.

Understandably the band were nervous about their return, but the packed upstairs audience was with them all the way.

The reformed band have now played three times and have been well received at each venue. Gigs and festival bookings are now building for this year and a follow up album is being recorded.

Although the film clip is of poor picture quality, the sound makes up for this. Recorded at the Robin Hood Hotel, Sherwood, Nottingham. I give you the Seven Little Sisters!

1st Monday Music Movie - Wee Willie Harris

The legendary Wee Willie Harris, as mentioned in Ian Dury and The Blockheads song Reasons To Be Cheerful Part 3. He was the second act on the stage in the Old Market Square on Saturday 29th May, still going strong in his seventies.

He came to fame in the 1950's when he became known as Britain's wild man of rock 'n' roll. TV appearences on BBC's Six-Five Special leading to concerns in the national media as the BBC was promoting "teenage decadence". Rock on Charles William Harris!

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!

1st Monday Music Movie -The Grinnigogs

Belatedly inspired by Ten-Inch Wheels occasional series entitled Lazy Blogging, I bring my version of this. The one difference is that the musical interludes will be filmed by yours truly.

Bank Holiday in Nottingham, the rain comes down and we are getting ratty with each other. Doing our, what was to be final lap of the stages, we come across the Grinnigogs. Medieval music with attitude! Despite the weather they had a pretty good crowd and a great sound. Medieval electric rock with a hammer dulcimer, hurdy-gurdy, fiddle and drum. The tune being played is the 8 step trance.

The Grinnigogs were one of many bands playing over the holiday weekend as part of the City Pulse event. The Robin Hood Pageant was drawing to a close at the castle and it was fitting that a medieval music event drew peoples' attention to this.

2007 It Had to Happen Sometime-It's Cold Up Top

We awoke with clear blue skies and Ian did what he does best, put on the TV. In the early morning there are a few channels that show the mountain passes via a camera located on the top of restaurants or ski lifts. The live pictures are often accompanied by accordion music. This certainly was not music to our ears when the passes that we wanted to ride were closed as they had six inches of snow on them! Travelling east was therefore out of the equation. Up north the weather did not look too promising, travelling west would only take us back the way we had come, therefore south was the only answer, besides Ian had never seen the Med.

With our plans rescheduled it was time to hit the open road. Our route to the south was over Grimsel Pass, a road that we have travelled before and enjoyed. Looking back down the pass did nothing to prepare us for what lay ahead.

As we climbed higher the temperature began to fall. The results from the previous days weather fronts were becoming visible.

With Ian’s sometimes legendary map reading skills not required due to there being no junctions to negotiate, it was just as well if this information post was a sign of things to come.

We passed by a group of bikers that had parked up to take a photo for their holiday album.

Eventually reaching the summit and carefully bringing the Guzzi to a standstill, cups of hot chocolate and a warm snack were certainly welcome. It was so warm in the restaurant that we were almost falling asleep.

Returning outside we took a photo of perhaps the most photographed motorcyclists in Switzerland.

Crossing over the road there is a small enclosure that is home to a family of marmots.

This is reached by going up some steps, not surprisingly covered in ice. Ian managed to scale these without problems, finding himself knee deep in snow!

A group of tourists from one of the parked coaches also tried to walk up the steps have a look, only succeeding in sliding all over. When will people realise when to change into appropriate footwear?

Returning to the Guzzi we had a welcoming committee. Waiting by their coach, camcorders at the ready, we became minor film stars as Ian and Guzzisue mounted the Guzzi, gunned her into life and rode away. Travelling down the pass and out of the snow we had to do a quick country check. Yes we were still in Switzerland.

Warmer climate and our world’s back in balance.

Away from the Grimsel Pass we were able to cover ground at a steady rate, passing near Mont Blanc and surviving the rush hour in Grenoble, we picked out the N91, heading for Le Bourg d’Oisans and a welcome overnight stop.

Some hope! This was like a Goldilocks moment. The first B&B, Guzzisue almost suffocated herself trying the mattress as it wrapped itself around her, the second was very cheap, very tatty with a dubious clientele. The next was full.

With daylight fading we eventually came to Le Freney d’Oisans and the Hotel-Restaurant Le Cassini. Although it seemed to be expensive at €69 each for half board and another €2 for having the Guzzi under cover for the night, we had no option but to accept.

Having unpacked it was time to have our evening meal. Not knowing what to expect the set menu was handed to us.

Roast Chicken Salad

Venison with sauté potatoes and vegetables

Cheese Platter

Chocolate Mousse

Coffee was offered in the lounge to those requiring a caffeine fix.

Good company with a couple of American cyclists made for a pleasant end to the day.

2007 It Had to Happen Sometime-Did I Mention The Rain?

The day was planned to travel slowly east through Switzerland towards the Austrian Alp region, managing to complete three passes on the way. These were the Col de Corbier, Col de la Croix and finally, Col du Pillion.

Stopping at the summit of the Col du Pillion there is a cable car that can take punters up to the world’s highest Alpine Coaster ride. We were tempted to try this however the price 6 Swiss Francs (CHF) for the coaster but another 33 CHF for the cable car. A trip to the nearby could be taken for a mere 54 CHF. All these went under the banner of Glacier 3000. With the cloud coming down and obscuring the mountain tops this helped our decision to move on.

Travelling along the A8 towards Interlaken there were a few spots of rain in the air so we turned towards the town, booking in at the Hotel Derby. The Guzzi was placed in the garage for the evening.

Then the rain came down. It was time to shelter in our room for a couple of hours. With the need to eat becoming stronger we headed towards the centre of town and

decided on Bebbie’s tacky burger bar. Inside there was a group of Japanese tourists getting the complete Swiss “Experience”. The décor was a mixture of wood panelling, pictures, various flags from around the world, wooden figures holding a glass of beer or an Alpen horn and a ladder suspended from the ceiling festooned with various bells, which the owner shook on occasions to try an liven up the place. A few of the Japanese tourists then became the floorshow as a selection of Alpen horns were brought into the centre of the restaurant, not very tuneful but taken in good spirit. Some of the members of staff then showed us how they should be played. At least this took our minds off the rain.

Back in the warmth of the hotel Guzzisue had a play on the hotel’s internet to check out her blog and the weather forecast. Rain was expected for the next four days across Austria and Germany, heavy rain for Tuesday in Southern Switzerland. We are seriously thinking of changing our plans, but for now we will sleep on this and see what happens in the morning.

Any idea of going further east disappeared, like the sun, from the start. We were woken up by a dawn chorus of the heavy spotted thunderstorm. Having checked out the weather forecast on the morning television, the weathermen had indeed got it correct last night. It did not take much of a decision to stay in Interlaken for another night.

Eventually the rain abated and we went for a walk down to the lakeside. On the way this little mountain goat came up to their enclosure fence

and told us to look at the mountain tops.

There was some fresh snow on the high ground. We had been so engrossed in looking at various items along the way that the snow had not been noticed by any of us. It did not appear to be too much to worry about, so it was soon forgotten about.

As its name may suggest, Interlaken is situated between two lakes, Brienz to the east and Thun to the west. The river Aare connects the lakes. Our walk took us to the local sailing club, situated close to Lake Brienz. Several yachts were moored up in the harbour, sheltering from the incoming weather. The clubhouse was all locked up so there was no chance for a warming drink.

And then the rain came down again. Fortune was on our side as there was a bus shelter nearby with one due in ten minutes.

Back in the town centre we found the local museum, situated behind a fountain in a quiet area.

Eventually there was a small break in the deluge and Guzzisue managed to take a few photos. As we have come to expect, many of the building are brightly painted with the occasional mural thrown in.

Hiding in some local foliage was this woodcarving titled Potscheboum.

With more rain coming down it was back to the hotel and hide for a while. This persisted into the evening when we trudged back into town for a meal. Not wanting the same as last night Hooters gave us lads some beautiful scenery to look at. Guzzisue even thought that the fayre was not too bad either.

No matter where you are rain literally puts the dampers on everything. It would be too judgemental to give Interlaken the thumbs down because of this. In the vicinity

there is the Schilthorn, advertised as the top of Europe and used in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. This is a must for us in the future, however because of the cost it may well be way into the future.

Roll on tomorrow and we will be rolling on whatever happens.