19 Bourg-Saint-Pierre to Col du Grand St-Bernard
814 m climbing
2h 58m elapsed
1st August 2020, 15°C, mostly sunny
13.90 km
2h 05m moving
58% off-road
Halfway to Rome. 2473m, 0930 in the morning
So for a long time I'd thought the climb from Martigny to the Col would be extremely tough and was something I'd have trouble with, not being supremely fit and all. I was so conservative about it that I stopped half way. But today I was pretty shocked how "quick and easy" it was to get there... the off road sections were largely ok on a bike, though the bits by the side of the lake were more "hike-a-bike", but nothing like yesterday. I thought that the road section (the walking path for the last 9km or so would have been all "hike-a-bike" so really no fun) was actually pretty easy and, yes, I stopped a couple of times for some water and sugar but only a few minutes each time. I almost sprinted up the last section of road with a mixture of elation, energy (probably from the sugar) and slight disappointment that it wasn't going to be a bit tougher.
After today, having got from Bourg-Saint-Pierre to the Col in 2 hours, mainly offroad, I'd definitely have said I could do it all in one stage. The only caveat to that was that yesterday was extrememly hot and I'd taken some very off-road approaches to the route so by the time I got to Bourg-Saint-Pierre in the heat of the afternoon, I think it would have been too much to tack on the route I took today. Though if I were to do this again I'd probably try to do it all in one day.
Bourg Saint Pierre
Thankful to avoid the road up above, the galleries are probably a nightmare to cycle through.
You can clearly see the galleries of the road on the other side of the reservoir
On “my side” of the reservoir the gravel track runs out and you’re left with stuff like this. Tricky, but not impossible to cycle. Still plenty of hike-a-bike.
Fine to cycle, but falling off would have consequences. It is very steep.
A solar power plant. Less atmosphere, more solar radiation at 2000m so more efficient than lower down.
Looking over at the start of the tunnel under the Col.
I did take the road the last few km.
It was steep but didn’t feel that bad. Likely I’d just got some fitness over the preceeding few days.
The last 100-200m. (I came back and took this picture)
The highest point is just under the bridge between the hotel (on the right) and the monastery/hostel (on the left).
Its a stunning place.
Overnight: Col du Grand St-Bernard, Auberge de l'Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard
The main issue with arriving at your destination early in the morning is that there's almost no chance of checking into your accommodation. But on this trip all the places I've stayed have helped me store my luggage and put my bike away, today was the same.
That just gave me about 10 hours to kill until dinner so I took a hike and relaxed. There's good places on the Italian side for lasagne and ice cream (they're also a little cheaper than the Swiss side).
There are actually more choices for accomodation at the Col than anywhere down the valley apart from perhaps Martigny. But I had it in my head that this was going to be a really tough day and I needed somewhere good so I'd booked the most expensive place to stay: the Auberge de l'Hospice du Grand-Saint-Bernard. I'd stay here again, very friendly people and wonderful food: 1st August is the Swiss National Day and so it was fondue for dinner, and it was the best I've ever had.
I was woken up at night by what I thought were drunken Arsenal fans (they'd been playing some big game the night before, and they don’t win that often) but when I listened more carefully it was the monks next door chanting. I can say for certain those guys are never going to end up on X-factor.