France, Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland - Autumn '19

Work in progress...

07:57

Waking up between vines in Provence... feels pretty good to be back on the road!

12:26

Quick break in Gorges de la Meouge. Think we've been through here before & never stopped but it's a nice spot.

14:18

Random stop for lunch overlooking Lac de Serre-Poncon. It's not about the destination... smile

16:57

Views from the road: N94 West of Montgenevre to be precise. Said goodbye to the sunshine & drove into rain & cloud sad

12:30

The joys of off-season travel: arrived to a beautiful, but pretty much deserted campsite by Lake Maggiore. Perfect!

14:15

Today's ride: smash fest up Passo del Cuvignone then cruise on shores of lake Maggiore through Laveno. Lovely stuff.

18:51

Pre-dinner drinks by Lake Maggiore. I guess there are worse places to sip beer & watch the sunset... smile

19:14

OMG! Forgotten how much the Italians eat with this 1st/2nd dish thing. Absolutely stuffed! More cycling required! wink

16:34

Passing a pretty grey Passo Gardena. Spectacular area, can't wait to see it in sunshine - hopefully!

11:52

Grey day in the Dolomites so little stroll in the village (La Villa) & stumbled across this pretty little church.

18:32

Afternoon snack: hot chocolate, coffee & apple strudel. Not a bad view either from this coffee shop in La Villa.

10:04

This morning's ride: Sella Ronda (clockwise). 4 passes, 3 of them higher than the Tourmalet. Simply Spectacular!

15:29

Afternoon ride: Passo Valparola... as you can never ride too many epic passes in a day (before it starts to rain)! wink

14:11

Rest day stroll around La Villa - just a few paths & tracks on the edge of the village. Beautiful.

11:09

Transfer day wink Views between La Villa & Cortina d'Ampezzo. Limited scope though due to overcast conditions sad

12:04

Cortina d'Ampezzo, what a beautiful place. Would love to ski from here one day, although it does feel very A-list!

13:13

Clouds cleared as we were looking for a lunch spot so: beer & pizza in sunshine! Yes, quite big. Yes, ate the lot! tongue

09:49

Stunning scenery & brutal gradients. Passes Falzarego, Valparola, Falzarego - again wink - & Giau. Utter perfection.

09:48

Waking up to blue skies by a little stream. Lovely as it is time to say goodbye to the Dolomites. It's been great!

11:58

Entered Austria & heading East towards Lienz. Beautiful views & pretty quite roads make for an enjoyable drive.

19:18

Candlelight dinner by the twinkling lights of Putterersee - which sadly are barely visible here but we enjoyed wink

10:31

Durrensee: Passed this nice little lake on the way down the valley. Love stumbling across this kind of thing smile

10:37

Morning tootle on the bike. Austrian valleys, lakes, churches & castles under brilliant blue skies. Beautiful stuff.

14:47

Another beautiful, yet pretty much deserted camping location by Putterersee in Austria smile

17:32

More random pics from a lakeside campsite. Gotta love out of season travel - this place would be packed in summer!

18:42

Sunset by Chiemsee. Spectacular! Feel like we could be on a Pacific island - if not for Alps on the horizon wink

07:24

Waking up to a beautiful day by Chiemsee... going to be a good one! smile

12:33

Today's ride: lovely sunny loop from Chiemsee round by Reit im Winkl & return. Felt flat as a pancake! grin

18:55

We've been gifted with some spectacular light these last two days by Chiemsee. Always a treat when it's like this.

10:43

You know it's classy accommodation when you have to wear one of these, right...? Ermmmm... right? wink

12:00

We accidentally find ourselves in Munich, in October. Oops! wink Beer, best pork knuckle ever & other treats. Prost! grin

09:31

Imagine sleeping in a tent in an exhibition centre car park? No thanks! Thankful for the relatively luxurious snail!

16:22

Microbrewery next to this evening's camp. Sadly closed for the season, doh! Oh well - next time sad

16:32

Little forest walk to the shore of Brombachsee.

17:03

Rothenburg ob der Tauber in the rain... still a lovely place but let's find somewhere warm to eat and drink! grin

18:33

Dinner in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Pork with awesome crackling, apple something dessert & more beer of course. Prost!

12:30

Willkommen in Deutschland. Prost!

20:17

Pre-birthday - which became actual birthday grin - celebrations with friends. Happy birthday Claudia! Always fun! smile

08:28

German breakfast at our birthday girl friend's. Thank you guys - generous as always. Nom, nom, nom! tongue

15:50

Ziegler's BACKloft... in the Black Forest. Oh... if we must... wink tongue

11:36

Feeding the ducks on a quick stop in Schiltach. What an idyllic little place.

11:49

Dragged into another bakery in the Black Forest. Well... one has to compare & contrast the local fare, yes? wink

17:52

On the shores of Untersee. We were last guests of the season in this campsite & they gifted us the stay! Danke! smile

13:00

Crossing a surprisingly clear river Rhine on today's ride... where the Swiss/German border was also crossed 5 times!

07:41

Sunrise at French motorway services. Views around here were fantastic from the road but no photos while driving! smile