#21
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Alps (2005)
Sergio Servadio wrote:
Â*I fault the region for not having reinstated that train after the Longarone Dam disaster that wiped out the town and railroad junction with FS Italia. I doubt that was the reason for abandoning for good the railroad connection with the upper valley. Rail service ended with destruction of the junction and right-of-way in Longarone. The route still exists as a "rails to trails" asphalt paved route up to Cortina but from there to Dobiaco it lies ready to use ballast. Anyhow, Cortina should be regarded as an exceptionally good example of city planning. There are so many neighborhoods that are impossible to go through, unless you really know your way around; so they are untouched by the passing traffic. It is a jewel to behold in spite of having been a winter Olympic host, something evident from the Olympic ski jump in the middle of town, so to speak. It fared better than Val d'Isère that got its coup de grace with the 1992 winter Olympics. Let us just hope, God forbid!, they will never build the Autostrada di Alemagna which would run over Cimabenche and along Vallone di Landro. ....or many other autostrada plans that various business interests are driving, in the USA and elsewhere. HSR is an alternative: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=522 http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpo...&postcount=526 With built in sound barrier. Jobst Brandt |
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#22
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Alps (2005)
I think there are some cases where the construction of an autostrada /
motorway / superhighway has _improved_ the bicycle touring in some region. Examples: * riding in NW Italy from Aosta up to Courmayeur on the Strada Statiale road is much better since most of the vehicle traffic is on the autostrada to the Mont Blanc tunnel. * riding in NW Italy from Susa to Cesana Torinese is much better since most of the traffic is on the autostrada to the Tunnel de Frejus -- and the autostrada is mostly inside tunnels already long before it reaches the Tunnel de Frejus -- so it's presence is not much noticed in the valley. * riding in France from St Jean de Maurienne to Modane on the Route National is much better with most of the traffic on the A43 autoroute to the Tunnel de Frejus. as for Val d'Isere losing its old character, there are other villages just a little off that same road which have retained. Just a few minutes above the town of Val d'Isere is le Fornet. And west off the road a ways further down north is la Gurraz. So if you really love the older style, just ride fast thru the modern town but take two five-minute side trips and go slow thru the older-style villages. * photo at bottom of http://roberts-1.com/t/b07/f/s/e * photo at top of http://roberts-1.com/t/s06/fr/m/f Ken |
#23
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Alps (2005)
Tim McNamara wrote
it seems like there would be nicer options angling into Nice from closer to Italy. Coming in from Saint-Martin-Vésubie via the D19 . . . It would have been hard to go that way after going through the Gorge du Cians, which really is a "don't miss this" stretch of road I do think Gorge du Cians is a good candidate for the most interesting road segment between Barcellonette and Nice. It was on my first single-day loop route for riding over all the passes between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Geneva. I think if you're going to ride over Col de la Cayolle because it's more interesting and pretty than the alternatives at that stage (though I don't think most riders would pay much attention to Cayolle if it were found in central Switzerland), that same logic points to connecting it with Cians. So I was surprised to learn that Cians was not included in the official "Route des Grandes Alpes" (and some popular organized bike tours). I think it's because (like you discovered) it doesn't "connect" well on both ends with other obvious mountain roads. At the time I rode it, I thought I was going to connect to the Mediterranean at Cannes or St Tropez, not Nice or Menton -- but with more exploration I decided that I wasn't so interested in connecting between Cians and further south. When I rode a clockwise loop with Cians and Col Coulouille (sp?), I was able connect between the south (bottom) end of Gorges du Cians and the next valley east by riding a secondary road which runs roughly SW / NE and sort of cuts off the corner between the main valley roads. Then on a different day I climbed from that next valley up to la Tour and on some obscure roads up to Utelle and down to St-Jean-la-Riviere in the yet next valley to the east -- which offers less-trafficked options for riding south to Nice. (but I can well understand how Tim would not have risked trying something like that in his short timeframe). Other strategy for riding thru the southern French Alps is to go for the "high pass" climbing accomplishments -- which must include Col Bonette / Restefond, and then logically also includes Col Turini. That pretty much determines the route between the two (and it doesn't include Cians). A hybrid strategy would be climb the north side of Bonette / Restefond up-and-back from Jausiers, then ride to Barcellonette and continue south over Cayolle. I didn't like Nice all that much, but maybe I just got off to a bad start with it. Other than exploring the Grand Corniche, and riding along the seacoast very early in the morning, I didn't ride much in Nice. I did find that the old quarter and the beach were pleasant at night. What I tried in the hills to the north of the city seemed fun, and I'd be glad to explore that area more. One idea for "cheating" (which I haven't tried yet) might be to take a train or bus from Nice up to near one of the "perched" villages (likely with some uphill riding?) I think maybe Peille, then ride south to la Turbie, then west on the Grand Corniche road back to Nice. Ken |
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