I just can't seem to keep this blog up to date so again, apologies for not updating for an absolute age.

 

This past month has flown by and I cant believe it was back in mid July that Rich and I headed out on our 2 week holiday around Europe.  I hope you have had a glance over the photos because they really do give you an idea of the riding we did and the scenery we got to see.  I would rate this holiday as one of the best I have ever been on, it was just an awesome adventure.

 

We started our trip driving down to Dover and catching the speedy ferry over to Boulogne, hassle free and there under an hour - perfect!  Our first destination was Dijon which was about a 5 hour drive.  The french motorways are superb and you can speed along without dealing with hardly any traffic, having said that we were concerned that we would be arriving late at the hotel.  We decided it would be best to call ahead to let them know this as we wanted to make sure we could check in ok.  I got the details out from our huge folder of info printouts and couldnt find a bloody number at all.  I managed to phone through to a french BT Directory type guy and had to get the number from him.  I was really proud of myself as he didnt speak a word of english so I had to use my (extremely limited) french on him.  It seemed to work and I got the number!!!

 

We finally arrived in Dijon at about 10.30pm and had a quick wander around.  Our hotel was nice enough and we just crashed.  All in all we weren't overly impressed with the city, it had some great architecture but apart from that, it was kind of OK.  We didnt each that well, although it is supposed to be a gastronomic hub and the mustard was more expensive than at home :(  I know I know I hear your gasps of shock ;)

 

After two days in Dijon we started our drive to Meribel, the first destination on our Alps tour.  Again the roads were great and we got there mid afternoon.  We had booked a small studio chalet which was pretty tiny actually and had the most uncomfortable beds.  We got up the next day and checked out the riding on the mountains.  We took the ski lift up and walked down the first time but then grabbed our bikes and did it again.  Just as we got to the top of the mountain and donned our bike gear - the heavens opened so I had to do my first mountain bike in the rain :(  It had taken us 2 hours to walk down the mountain and about 30 mins to ride it!!!

 

That night we got back to the chalet and had noticed that neither of the other two, larger chalets were occupied.  The following morning I called the rental company and they very kindly let us move into the bigger chalet which was great and totally made a difference to our stay. 

 

We visited Chamonix for the day and went up Mont Blanc.  It was weird wearing my shorts and silver slippers on the top of a mountain, I felt a little over dressed:)  I have to say that I have never eaten my lunch in a place more stunning than the top of Mont Blanc, it was a panaromic view of mountains for as far as the eye could see...truly spectacular.  I definately felt the altitude up there and was feeling really shaky for most of the time.

 

Rich did loads of riding the following day and I joined him on the last run, god it was hard but I felt so great afterwards.  Richard wasn't even sure if I would be able to ride it but I did, and it was amazing.  The most embarrassing part was when I tried to get off my bike at one point and just stacked it completely...tumbled down a little...in front of the ONLY people we passed on the entire mountain .  The guy was really concerned but I think just my pride was hurt.

 

We really enjoyed Meribel and can only imagine how magical it would look in the ski seasons - we would definately go back

 

After nearly a week in Meribel we started our trip again and drove for ages and ages and ages to St Moritz.  We drove right out of the mountains and through the stifling heat of Milan, passed some gorgeous Italian Lakes and then back up into the Swiss Alps.  St Moritz was really just a stopover for us and served us well.  We liked it there but it does feel a little 'dated' and quite euro trashy.  However, I did try schitzel (which was just a breaded pork escalope) - it felt like I was eating native cuisine though :)

 

After just the one night in St Moritz we drove around the Alps and over to Italy - we were spending the next 3 days in Livigno for our guided biking part of the trip.  Now throughout the whole time we were booking our holiday right up to when we got on our bikes the first day we were in Italy I was soooooo nervous about the riding they were expecting from us.  Even though I had had some practice runs in Meribel I was just really worried that the level would be too high and I would always be the one left behind in the group.  I needn't have worried at all.......we had the guides to ourselves so I was only ever the one left behind...Richard!

 

We got there in the morning and the first thing the guide took us on was the Championship Downhill Kona track, I couldnt believe it, I was having to get out of the way of these guys in full body armour and front facial head gear - I was scared.  Having said that, after a couple of runs I was getting faster and enjoying the track more and more.  We had some lunch and then she took us out on what was called the 'chocolate roller coaster'  We had to cross this Alpine Pass first which was so very hard.  The climbs combined with high altitude really took my breath away and I found it tough, but the 'roller coaster' part of it was excellent and Rich was totally loving it.

 

The evening after our first day I am sure the exhaustion, altitude and general low self esteem feeling of failure (because I felt I was slow) lead to me having a bit of a flip out and wandering if I could really do the next two days of riding, I even had a little cry :(

 

The next day came and I was really nervous, not wanting to back out I went out again.  I had the BEST day of riding I think I may ever experience and I have never buzzed so much as I did after that day.  The ups were manageble and the downs were sooo amazing.  God the smell of the Alpine forests were so beautiful and my riding improved ten fold....oh it may have had something to do with the fact that I rented a £3k bike for the rest of our trip.  Seriously it was just awesome and the previous days' slog had almost seemed worth it.

 

Our last day of biking was going to be a ride through to an old Roman Spa - perfect we thought.  We were going to drive out to some of it and then ride the rest of the way.  A closed underpass changed this plan so we had to change our route - we cycled across a complete alpine pass, which is really just a slow, steep climb in between a few mountains.  It hurt and I decided to rename our trip from 'La Dolce Vita' (the companies description for our 'novice' bike tour) to 'The Dont ya feet hurt'.  We really wondered how they thought that this was supposed to be a relaxing and rewarding ride to a spa - it was very hard.  But needless to say, we did make it and the spa was perfect.

 

As a review of Italian Bike Safaris (the company we used), we would definately go with them again.  The hotel they had us in was fab (the food was devine)  the riding scenery was the best, the mountain refugios they found for lunch were great and yes the spa was absolutely a perfect end to such a hard ride.  But we would also say that they did misadvertise the riding because it was hard.  For me personally though, my riding in 3 days improved more that it would have done in several months of riding in the UK.  I just have to keep it up now so I am ready for them when we go again!

 

Our last destination on the trip was Troyes, in the champagne region of France.  Unfortunately for the end of the trip it was actually the worst hotel.  The city was very medieval so had great architecture and the food was the best we had eaten in France.  On our very last day we even got to indulge in a champagne tour in Reims which finished off a fab holiday.

 

We totally loved driving all over the place and we would definately do it again.  It felt like we had been away for ages.

 

Anyway if you managed to read down this far then thanks, I know it was a long one!

 

I have banged on about the scenery and we couldnt stop taking photos and as you may have guessed, the riding was great too.  We ate well and drank great wine.  However, one of my most distinct memories of the trip was on our drive to Chamonix, the sun was shining and we were driving up one of the many mountains.  I was taking loads of pictures of the views and decided to do a bit of videoing.  I videod as Rich drove along and when I played it back, it was just sooo perfect.  It was just a small capture of the mountain ranges, in beautiful sunshine with loads of alpine trees and the feint music of Radiohead in the background, life felt great at that moment!!!