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John and Sheila
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  • Germany + Switzerland + France 2015
  • test Germany + Switzerland + France 2015
Day 12: No Signal on the Télégraph - Col du Télégraph  TdF Cat 1  1,566m
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A rather restful day. We just climbed the Col du Télégraphe, chatted to some other cyclists on an organised sponsored trip, then came down and idled our way through a picnic lunch and the afternoon.

This is ridiculous we had just been to the top of a Cat1 TdF col and we are now describing it as a rest. How one’s perspective changed in a week!!

But the truth is that the Col du T
élégraphe and the Col du Galibier are always climbed together on the TdF, but being tourists we decided to have a night in a hotel in between :-) and from Valloire at the foot of the descent from Galibier to the top of the Col du Telegraphe at 1,566m is no great distance or height gain, although coming down seemed speedier than we expected from the climb up.

The weather was almost perfect, blue sky sunshine with some clouds and the temperature down to manageable 20s
℃.

A 4 marmot day. Well actually 4 for Sheila and 3 for John who was looking the wrong way admiring the drift of Alpine flowers in a passing meadow.

But another first – we had climbed to the top of a TdF Col in the middle ring. We could have changed down at one point, but it was a very short only slightly grippy (well not really even bottom of scale grippy) bit so we pushed through.

So to summarise: If you ever find yourself in Valloire with a bicycle, head north for a very pleasant short and steady cycle trip to the T
élégraphe or head south for the full-on HC high altitude experience of Galibier.

No cycling the next day, because we were relocating the car to Brian
çon for our next challenge. We had decided to go via the valley roads and the Fréjus tunnel for some different scenery and a long underground mountain trip.

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Col du Télégraphe
Col du Télégraphe
Dropping back down from the Col du Télégraphe
Dropping back down from the Col du Télégraphe
Dropping back down from the Col du Télégraphe
Picnic spot in Valloire
Picnic spot in Valloire
Picnic spot in Valloire
Valloir church

Day 12: By Car to Italy via the Fréjus tunnel, then back over the top to Briançon
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A very short time in Italy - we did not even stop for coffee. It was looking a bit rainy when we arrived in Briançon and checked into our hotel. The auberge had given us an upgrade to a room with a balcony at no extra charge. But as the balcony just looked straight into a building site we did wonder if the upgrade should have been to give people with balconies a quieter room on the other side without a balcony !

We set off to explore the old town, described as artistic and historic with its Vauban fortifications designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Obviously not the tourist season. Narrow streets that one would expect to be teeming with visitors were quite empty and most of the boutiques, shops and cafés were closed.

Brian
çon really does not push its historic town. No walking tour, no descriptive plaques on key buildings and the tourist office has leaflets on nearby attractions, white water rafting etc but nothing at all about its own historic town

We stopped for a snack lunch just in in time to sit out heavy rain and thunder. When it cleared, the weather remained very cloudy so we retreated in drizzle down the hill and back to our auberge.

Clouds and rain remained – it felt a bit like the Lake District, just a lot higher.


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Fréjus tunnel
The view from our balcony
Briançon UNESCO World Heritage site
Briançon UNESCO World Heritage site
Briançon UNESCO World Heritage site
Briançon UNESCO World Heritage site
Briançon UNESCO World Heritage site
Briançon UNESCO World Heritage site

> DAY 14 FROM OUR BLOG and PHOTOS <

Day 1: Col de la Bataille (1,313m)
Day 2: Col de la Machine (1,015m),
Col de Carri (1,215m),
Tunnel des Grands Goulets (1710m long)
Day 3: Col de Preletang (1,267m)

Day 5: Avoriaz (1,800m)
Day 6: Col de la Colombière (1,618m Cat 1)

Day 7: Cormet de Roselend (1,968m  Cat 1)
Day 8: Col de la Madeleine (2,000m Cat HC)

Day 9: Col de la Croix de Fer (2,067m Cat HC),
Marmotte 1 - Col du Glandon (1,924m Cat HC)
Day 10: Marmotte 2 - Alpe d’Huez (1,860 Cat HC)
Day 11: Marmotte 3 - Col du Galibier (2,642m Cat HC),
Col du Lauteret (2,058m)

Day 12: Marmotte 4 - Col du Télégraphe (1,566m Cat 1)
Day 14: Tourism by car from Briançon
Day 15: Col d'Izoard (2,360m Cat HC)
Day 16: Mercantour 1 - Col de la Bonette (2,715m Cat HC),
La Bonette - highest point in Europe by road 2,802m

Day 17: Mercantour 2 - Touring in the Tinée Gorge
Day 18: Mercantour 3 - Col de la Cayolle (2,326 Cat HC)

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