Ride above the clouds with an awesome Alpine adventure
Stunning Alpine roads and trails offer an amazing motorcycle mission
‘I burst through the clouds into bright sunshine’
‘Take paths 4x4 owners only dream of’
Riding a motorcycle so high that you’re actually above the clouds sounds like an impossible dream, especially if you spend the vast majority of your life riding below sea level on Cambridgeshire’s dead flat roads and trails as I do. But the dream has been on my bucket list for years and, as it turned out, is far easier to achieve than you might think. My planned destination was Bourg St-Maurice, an Alpine town at the heart of the Savoie department in the French Alps that sits in the centre of Europe’s highest mountain range, and is only a nine-hour drive away from Calais. Setting out from there it’s possible to get pretty high up on a road bike in these parts by carrying on from Bourg up towards, and then through, Val d’Isere you can (weather permitting) ride Europe’s highest surfaced passes up to the Col de l’Iseran. This is accessed by the D902, which can take you all the way to Italy if you’re travelling in the summer months. At the peak the Col is 9000ft (2764m) above sea level and offers views far across the Alps. But I decided to tackle this particular adventure on an enduro bike, which meant I could use the tarmac roads and also take advantage of the bike-legal trails that make Alpine riding a must for any bucket list. I chose to borrow a mate’s KTM250 EXC for the climb because it’s light, compact and powered by a usable and zippy engine that’s perfect for Alpine terrain. A fuel-injected two-stroke is also great on fuel consumption and compensates for the thinning air as you start to climb higher (a bike fitted with carbs and on standard jetting will start to struggle at about 1800m). The only downside is I had to stick it in a van rather than ride to Bourg. Having driven down on the Friday, I set out early Saturday morning on the EXC and decided to follow a clearly marked route up from the valley floor towards the ski resort of La Plagne, climbing steeply on technical, flinty tracks. After a seemingly endless ribbon of twists and turns through the forests, I burst through the clouds and found myself in bright sunshine just above the tree line. I killed the engine and the silence was deafening. As I stood perfectly still, looking across at the snowcapped peak of Mt Blanc, some
enormous birds of prey soared and swooped above me, sizing me up as potential carrion. The view was breathtaking, so I drank it in and felt a million miles from the fenland roads I’m used to.
Rested and watered, I headed away from the tarmac again. Despite the expanse of space, you can’t just ride your off-roader anywhere you like; research and local knowledge are everything because riding on footpaths and mountain-bike routes is absolutely not allowed. The good news is that as well as the normal rights of way for all motorised vehicles there are trails dedicated to motorcycles, which are marked by a circular blue sign showing a white motorcycle symbol. These are few and far between but often take you to places four-wheel drive users can only dream of.
Many riders consider the Alps as a summer-only destination but for a ride like this autumn and spring are better. In fact, timing is critical. Winter is obviously out given the region is snowed under with skiers, while summer sees the trails open but swarming (relatively speaking) with cyclists and walkers. Spring and, ideally, autumn are the seasons to aim for, though the trails are still wet from the meltwater in April and May. The optimum window is in the middle of October, but even then weather can be changeable. It can be sunny and 20 degrees on the valley floor but below freezing at altitude. But the mountains are deserted and yours for the taking and if you haggle there are hotel bargains to be had. See you up in the clouds!