Italian TET Day 5 - Best day ever?

With a hearty breakfast and a few stern words from Jason about goat trails we planned a route and hit the road. Rolling green hills, mountains, rivers and tiny Italian villages marked the morning, until we got to the first dirt track. 

  

The track wound its way over a mountain, midway up was a windmill and at the top was a church with sinewy tanned man with long hair and a dog.  He immediately made his way over to us gesturing and talking Italian (naturally).  When he realised we were English and he couldnt read our translators he attempted to draw on the trail. That didnt help, so sinewy wild man waved us on and we parted company.



After yesterdays massive stint in the saddle we'd planned a break for lunch to feed the body and rest our arses.  Anyone thats done any kind of miles on a dirt bike knows the seat is little more than plank of wood and travelling 150miles a day on a plank of wood is not kind to ones behind.

A bistro up a mountain fitted the bill perfectly.  The view from the back over looked the valley, but we wanted to stay near the bikes at the front on the road, the proprietor clearly thought we were mad, but served us our pasta all same.

Fed and water we followed the TET over another mountain trail.

Trees lined the mountain sides and clouds hung low in the sky, water vapour played with the sunlight as we ascended.

The trail rose to an altitude of 2100 meters and went on for miles and miles. No mountain wild men accosted us, no one came the other way.  The track wasn't technical, the weather good and the miles came easy, pure motorbiking bliss.


As we descended i'd planned a slightly different route to take us back to the start of TET Section 1.  Id noted in the morning that the nav software was adamant it didnt want to plot it.  But in off road mode it eventually did.   The reason became obvious as we approached, the path was little more than an ancient stone foot path to a deserted village.  Mindfull of the previous days goat trail episode we stayed in radio contact and Jason only came forward when there was somewhere we could turn around.   We only wanted one bike stuck if we could help it.   It took some time, but we plotted a steady path down and eventually hit tarmac.



A natural spring directed though a tree trunk.







I'd been studying the TET route as i always do, looking for sections that stand out, sections that the linesmen add because they offer something special, perhaps nice road riding, beautiful vistas or good tracks.


I'd had my eye on one particular point for weeks since i knew i'd be coming to Italy.  Its actually a loop at the points where Section 1 and 2 meet on my previous maps.   

A loop that looks entirely off road, rises to almost 3000m and a loop that i hoped was added because it offered something special.

It didnt disappoint.  Tight gravel hairpins zig zagged up the face of the mountain. Rising to 2300m

Joining the loop at the top of the ascent we travelled counter clock wise and arrived at this church.  Owing to the cloud cover we assumed we were at that top.

 ...but we werent.

Like a scene from the TV program Top Gear, we traversed one of the best routes in the world atop a mountain ridge with panoramic views.  Look at that trail!

At approx 3000m we reached the actual peak.

Above even the snow lifts we picked our way down.  The route down on this side of the mountain was steeper than the route up.

Eventually at the bottom for a quick rest with a trail riding party.

We needed to head north to get within striking distance of Geneva for the bike pickups tomorrow morning.   Albertville was about 70KM in the right direction, and right next to it is the medieval wallled settlement of Conflans.  

We stayed in 'La Citadelle de Conflans' parking our bikes in the gated gardens.   Conflans is beautiful, the little ancient village has a bar, three resturants and some other shops.

We ate, we drank, we marveled at the surroundings, spoke of our adventures and began asking, where next?