A motorcycle parked in front of a tent on a pleasant green campsite

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A High Mountain Pass And High Prices

Day 6

By Bogger

It had been quite cold during the night and we awoke to clear and sunny skies. Hooray! As we are staying another night in Barcelonnette it was a lazy start again to the day. A couple of French ladies amble past our encampment and ask where we are from and what our plans were. They suggested a couple of nice ride outs and departed. Nige, however, had decided what was on the cards today. 

Three older chaps sit around a bench table looking at maps in the morning sun
The tents, the 125cc motorcycles, the sunshine and the blokes getting ready to ride out

A ride to the summit of the highest road in Europe, the Col de Bonnet.

The road to the top was just a massive series of switchback hairpins. The higher you went you could feel the altitude sucking all the power out of the engine. It was relatively slow going - all 9,000ft of it. It was also a mecca for the hard core cyclists. Fair play to them.

Looking down the mountainside we see a gnarly twisting road climbing steeply
Stunning view across mountain tops of The Alps with sunshine and peaks
Bogger's Cub C125 at the top of the Col De La Bonette
The 5 chaps and the 5 125s at the top of the highest road in Europe

The mileage for the day was only 45 miles, either all uphill or all downhill. On the way back down we had a coffee at what must be one of the remotest cafes in France and were back in the second most expensive supermarket in the world, Barcelonnette's Carrefour. No beer tonight... Errrrr... just red and white wine. Well a change is as good as a rest as they say.

A table with coffees and sunglasses


Share your experience - click here.

Let The Chaos Commence It's a typical start to a trip and overall things seem to be going well. Except for the weather. And the traffic. And the suspect motorcycles. And the disorganisation.
The Chaos Increases Whilst muppetry and stupidity abound the world needs a hero - in the meantime Bogger will have to do. Fear not brave reader, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. I fear it may be a train coming towards this lot...
More Progress, Less Chaos It's a considerably less chaotic day for Bogger and pals as they make their way south through France. And yet they encounter muppetry on the roads and something's been troubling our heroic author.
And Finally The Alps! There's a disappointing level of breakdowns and mayhem for Bogger et al today. Luckily the stunning scenery and clement weather makes up for this. Shame about the traffic eh.
A Lazy Day In Barcelonnette In an unexpected turn of events - today is definitely lacking in chaos. It's just a quiet, peaceful and pleasant day for Bogger's crew. It'd be perfect if he could buy the right beer.
A High Mountain Pass And High Prices Without any disasters or mayhem let's hope Bogger's climb up one of Europe's highest roads comes with some spectacular images.
Inappropriate Alpine Off-Roading Bogger et al take a dirt track shortcut across The Alps. It'll be fine, I mean he's still here to write up this report isn't he? There's also a video to accompany the words in case you're not convinced.
More Mountains And Mayhem After achieving the impossible yesterday today's journey is merely improbable. This time the Col de l'Iseran is the challenge alongside a regular dose of disaster.
The Business Of Miles It's a short one from Bogger today. They're in the business of clocking up miles in the hope of getting home on time, there's not enough time for tomfoolery. Oddly there's always time for a beer though.
Miles, More Miles, Cafes And Campsites Many more miles on the French roads today along with cafes and pretty French towns. This is still very much the business of getting back to blighty, more's the shame.
A Cafe Lost In Time And A Funfair It's another hard day on the road for Bogger and pals. They enter a time warp in search of refreshment, take a moment to remember, then get giddy at the fair.
A Very Brief Epilogue Just a brief note from Bogger as he wraps up his Alpine Adventures on a Cub 125. It's only a short 355 miles today.

Reader's Comments

nab301 said :-
Looks stunning and you managed to get there with a 2012 road atlas!
Nigel
22/06/2024 09:06:55 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Well done Bogger and team. Actually, there are higher roads even in France but the one you climbed was the highest one with tarmac. I always thought the Iseran, which I went over many years ago on the Commando, was the highest but turned out I was wrong....

The highest gravel road in France is the one in the link.
https://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/france/9204-col-des-ruillans.html...
22/06/2024 10:24:03 UTC
Bogger said :-
Lots more climbing to come including the Cold de L'Iseran. I don't think the roads have changed much since 2012.

Bogger
22/06/2024 12:35:47 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ooooh, nice coffee.
Gotta love the mountains.
Those poor little tiddlers.
Upt.
22/06/2024 13:13:25 UTC

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