Aigle to Martigny
Our original plan was to ride from Aigle to Martigny, but on closer inspection we realised that this was quite a short easy ride whereas the following day’s ride was a gruelling 63 miles with 3,200 metres of climbing (imagine cycling up Chalfont Heights 400 times in a day). So we decided to tack the first part of tomorrow's journey onto the end of today, taking us to Orsiers. This would normally mean the van driving ahead to pick us up after the ride and drive us back to the hotel, but in this instance the lie of the land that we could coast back along the albeit busy main road.
We did a recce beforehand and found that this Swiss equivalent of our A roads has a very good surface and a dedicated cycle lane for most of the way. Not needing the van was great for Malcolm and Denese as it saved them time, it also saved us squeezing bikes, luggage and riders all into the van which is a very tight.
We were due to drive the 12 miles from our hotel at Leysin to the start point at Aigle, but discovered that this was all downhill so we were treated to a run of exhilarating hairpins. By the time we had descended through the cloud the temperature had gone from 10C to 20C and it was dry again, so safe to move my phone out of its waterproof bag in my backpack into pocket for easy access and plenty of pictures on the go.
Tuesday 14th June
Orsiers in Switzerland to Aosta in Italy
Via the Grand St Bernard Pass
We drove to Orsiers, where we had left off at the end of the previous day, for one of the highlights of the journey, crossing the Grand St Bernard Pass from Switzerland into Italy!
The official Via Francigena route includes a lot of mountain tracks which are very difficult even on foot let alone a bike, so we used what small roads are available. These led us to the base of a huge dam, which we were soon looking down on. Then we had to take the road tunnel for about a mile, being the only way to cover that part. We were prepared, fitting our bright flashing front and rear lights. There is no cycle lane in the tunnel, only a white line right next to the Armco. We listened carefully for lorries and stopped to let them by as there wasn’t much room to spare, not particularly pleasant!
Leaving the tunnel we emerged into a bit of a no-mans land, the only feature being a disused ski cafe where Malcolm and Denise met us with our lunch. Then we started grinding up the steady 5-10% incline, looking up at the snow line trying to see where the top was but it just seemed to go on forever. A few hours later and we were looking down at the snow, with only a few ledges of the snaking road winding above us.
Finally after 1,600m of climbing (20 times as high as Chalfont heights!) we arrived at the summit - to be rewarded with a well earned beer and some spectacular views. We also met our first fellow pilgrim, Tim from South London, who is walking to Rome carrying all his belongings for the journey.
We visit the beautiful chapel and rest a while before being treated to the most amazing descent. Mick Claridge and I relish the now dry hairpins as we pass a few cars on the way down (its quite safe as we have much more room being a lot narrower). We notice our exit just in time, to avoid the motorway tunnel and take some small alpine roads and tracks through picturesque Italian villages. The ride into Aosta is similar, with only a few wrong turns and some interesting detours to find our way back onto the route.
Finding the hotel was easy - now that I know how to tell the Garmin about one-way streets, it removes a lot of trial and error and took us straight there. We arrive just after Malcolm and Denise and enjoy the 'recovery' drink that they have prepared for us, then a delicious pasta meal in the town, our first meal in Italy.
Wednesday 15th June
Aosta to Quincinetto
Today’s route was originally intended to take us all the way to Bollengo but was too arduous, with tomorrow's route being too easy so we evened them out by ending at Quincinetto.
As we get nearer to Rome the Via Francigena becomes more popular and well marked so we don’t need to keep such a close eye on the Garmin’s little red line, a blessed relief for the navigator, and a lot less 'wrong turn' frustration for everyone else!
After two hours, to our huge relief, he arrived intact in a taxi and we were all very glad to be re-united.
From Quincinetto we drove an hour east to the amazing Santurio Oropa for the night. It is a sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin Mary, founded in 400 AD. As well as its basilica, chapels and meeting rooms it has room to accommodate 300 guests, and twelve separate restaurants to feed them.
Thursday 16th June
Spent some time looking around the Santuario Oropa then rode to Vercelli. A fairly unpleasant rainy ride which took Fr Michael through a puddle which turned out to be a pothole. This wrenched his front tyre off sending him crashing to the tarmac. Luckily the Irish guys are "flippin' tough" (Fr Michael's words) and after a few strong words and a bit of tic for his bike we were on the way again.
Mike Burton
