Which side of the Lake?

[Rasher]

I have now booked a Hotel for our run down from the Black Forest to the Alps, we will be stopping for just one night outside bourg St Maurice at this hotel:

http://www.le-monal.com/english/

But we have a choice of routes on the way down, going one of two ways around the Lake,

To the right we have:

Forclaz, montets and Petite Saint Bernard

To the left we have:

Saises
Pre
Roseland

According to Google the left hand route is longer at 355 miles and 6hrs 19m, compared to 307 miles and 6hrs 10m, although this route takes us through the Mont Blanc tunnel, we could go also use the Forclaz, Montets, Saises, Pre and Roseland avoiding the tunnel but this shows as a 255 mile 6hrs 30m route which by the time we add in stops starts looking like a long day.

Any thoughts (i.e. is the tunnel pure hell on a bike?) I have ridden all of these passes before (but in the other direction) if the weather is bad we will actually take main roads and skip the passes entirely, so based on a fair day what is best

[Michael J]

Which side of the lake, indeed.

My first reaction was the top side (from the surface up), but then I saw the map...

I haven't ridden the north shore, but I have the south and enjoyed it - nice roads and very little traffic. I especially enjoyed St. Gingolph where the French-Swiss border bisects the town, and if you aren't paying attention, can easily mis it.

[tim]

My first thought was "Are you going to do the Roseland on the way back? If not I'd take that route over the tunnel any day." then alternatives .....

How about Martigny south past Verbier to Gr. St.Bernard & Pte.St Bernard. .... avoiding the tunnel.
Alternatively, cut through south of the lake to Chapel* and down past Morzine. Not so spectacular, but the road is quite fast one down in the forested valley and pretty twisty so it's still al load of fun.

*[correction La Chapelle-d'Abondance ]

[mingy]

top side is a bit dull, bottom side is better,

Dave,

[Rasher]

The GSB is a good idea, just done the googlemapping and it is not much further, it comes in at 330 miles and 6hrs 20m, and I also get to go over the Col San Carlo again.

A lot of tough choices, but I have ridden the GSB / PSB in the very same direction before.

I have also just noticed that if you look at the "All around Mont Blanc" trip in the Motorcyle Journey's book from the start at Martigny I have the choice of the Eastern or Western half of the trip, going the "other way" gives me Forclaz, montets, Saises, Pre and Roseland which looks like a 5-3 result. Although the Montets is not so impressive I think the Saises and Roseland compete with the St Bernards, especially as I get to try them in the opposite direction to last time.

The other side of the lake also offers up Saises, Pre and Roseland so even if i choose these passes I still have the Montruex Vs Geneve choice of which way to go around the lake is best. I think the Geneve route is mainly Motorway and assuming congestion is not an issue would probably get me to the Saises fastest, with Montreux being the way to go if I fancy going over the St Bernards.

So now I have 3 choices:

1. RHS of lake taking in Forclaz, Montets, Saises, Pre and Roseland = 337 miles / 6.35 ride time
2. RHS of Lake taking in Grand SB, Col San Carlo and Petite SB = 331 miles / 6.21 ride time
3. LHS of Lake taking in Saises, Pre and Roseland= 354 miles / 6.21

I think the RHS wins, so a choice of option 1 or option 2

Any thoughts on which would be quickest / safest / least miserable if the weather is poor

[Torque]

If the weather is really crap, you may even consider the tunnel, depending on what time you've allready lost on your original planning.

I'd go for the Saint Bernards anyway. Did the GSB last year, the Italian side has a new surface, it's like riding on a pooltable. Perfect tarmac, great fun.
And the Colle San Carlo is always fun to ride. Try to do a stop at the top. Leave the bike near the summit, and walk to the northside, should be one of the best views on the Mont Blanc.

Grtz, Philip!

[Rasher]

Thanks Phillip, is the top clearly marked and how far is this walk

[Torque]

For what I remember, there's a plate at the top, like on every descent passroad. Should be obvious once you're there.
The walk is said to be around 15 minutes, never did it though, only found out when I was back home, and didn't ride the San Carlo since.
I'm sure there should be some info on the net available, somewhere

Grtz, Philip!

[Torque]

Found this pic on the net, this is the view on the Mont Balc Massif as seen from the Colle San Carlo. Or rather, from the spot where you can walk to.



Grtz, Philip!

[Michael J]

The walk is said to be around 15 minutes, never did it though...

Spoken like a true biker. If you can't ride there, it's not worth going.

[Torque]

Grtz, Philip!

[Rasher]

The walk is said to be around 15 minutes, never did it though...

Spoken like a true biker. If you can't ride there, it's not worth going.

I think 2 minutes is about my limit, are you sure a GS cannot make it all the way

[BourneToRide]

RHS has the Freddie Mercury memorial at Montreux.
LHS has Geneve which is to be avoided as its horrible and congested, well it was when I drove through
You can still do Col du Pre & Roseland after RHS
or even do 3 different Forclaz in 1 day

[Emppu]

The walk is said to be around 15 minutes, never did it though...

Spoken like a true biker. If you can't ride there, it's not worth going.

I think 2 minutes is about my limit, are you sure a GS cannot make it all the way

In case you're doing Roselend instead of the Bernards, but would like to take a couple of pics of Mont Blanc anyway, there are two shooting spots with absolutely no walking required!

If the weather is good and you've got an extra hour to spend, go and see if you like the view from Col du Joly. I'd say it's worth a detour.

Signal de Bisanne, with a view over the Saisies ski resort, takes no more than twenty minutes. Also recommended by yours truly.

[Rasher]

Thanks, I will look them up, unfortunately this is a long and busy day - really an "in-transit" day so cannot grumble at having to make such choices compared to the normal "transit days" which involve 7 hours of motorway and no fun!

All I need to do is get from the Black Forest to somewhere north of Col de l'Iseran, just taking in a few great passes seemed too good an opportunity to miss.