Crossing the Alps by Gravel Bike

[chriswoody]

For this years summer tour I’d decided that I really wanted an adventure on the gravel bike, after all, it is a bike designed long distance touring. The next question was where to go and the idea of crossing the Alps was one I kept circling back to. I just needed to find a route that was both challenging and fun, but at the same time feasible for a gravel bike to traverse. Casting around the internet I came upon a route called the Albrecht route after it’s creator and looked to be just the thing I was after. It was a mix of gravel, single track, cycle path and a small amount of road, starting in Germany, crossing Austria and Switzerland before finishing in Italy at Lake Garda.

So on a Muggy night in late June I found myself on the platform at Hannover main station waiting for the high speed ICE train to take me down to Munich. From there I jumped on a regional express train to Garmisch Partenkirchen in the shadow of the mighty Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain.

Day One - Garmisch to Imst 62.6 km 1383m Height Gain

First order of the day after rolling into Garmisch at 08:00 is to find some breakfast. A lovely little cafe not far from the station provided banana pancakes and fresh coffee which was just what was needed. The first kilometres are along the valley floor under the shadow of the mighty Zugspitze, there’s no clouds in the sky and the sun is already feeling intense.

Soon though the trail turns rough and heads uphill towards the emerald green lake of Eibsee, a major tourist hotspot. I stop awhile and cool myself off in the cold waters before leaving behind the tourists and heading into the forest.

From here the trail turns brutally steep and the sun is beating down, the thermometer showing over 30c and no immediate cover. Just after we cross the invisible border to Austria, the summit appears and a lovely cooling descent on tarmac roads leads me onto another gravel trail.

Before long the next hill appears, the ascent to the old Fernpass, again an old gravel road winding its way up, surrounded by beautiful hills. After cresting the summit a technical downhill awaits on some interesting and rough track, a tunnel under a castle signifies the end of this section and I linger on the shores of the emerald green Fernsee. Around the corner a quiet river bank allows me to cool myself down in the icy waters before the final kilometres into the town of Imst are tackled.

Day Two Imst to Scoul. 87.9 km 1110m Height Gain.

An interesting day today, despite gaining over a 1000 metres of height, there are no climbs as such today. Instead my route will follow the Inn river and the wonderful cycle path there, gaining height all the time with a few short punchy climbs thrown in for good measure. The trail starts easily enough in the cool overcast morning and I’m enjoying the amazing views all around.

A short while in and i reach the town of Landeck, sandwiched between steep hillsides and rivers. A complete maze of trails and roads, I stop for second breakfast in the town square before pressing on. The trail shadows the turquoise waters of the Inn river and now the sun has appeared, the temperature is in the mid thirties and I stop for lunch in a lovely bike cafe in Pfunds.

The trail now shadows the river, but keeps rising and falling in a serious of lung busting climbs. Soon we are back on the road and crossing the Austrian/Swiss border, I stop for an Ice cream and Ice cold radler, finding some shade to escape the burning sun. Moving onwards I’m soon plunging back onto gravel roads, then I round a corner to find a castle built into the steep rock sides of the gorge and stop a while to explore this fascinating place.

Pushing on I’m really starting to boil now and it’s with relief that on a quiet section of trail I find a side path leading off and down to the river. I drop the bike and go for a swim in the icy waters, sheer relief. The last kilometers pass easy enough on gravel trails and I arrive into the gorgeous town of Scoul.

 

[chriswoody]

Day Three Scoul to Val Müstair. 38.6km 1211m Height Gain

We’re now back to familiar territory, I was here a few years ago with my mountain bike covering these same trails, now I’m here again on my gravel bike. It’s been a wet night last night with heavy thunderstorms, so I delay a little as I try to dry everything. Setting off it’s straight into uphill mode onto a series of punishing switchbacks. I swear blind these have got steeper since last time! A while later we gain the entrance into the hanging valley behind, the scenery all around is stunning.

We lose the tarmac now, but this is still a road and cars and buses do come pass from time to time. A few hours after setting off I roll into S-Charl, at 1800m the highest continually inhabited settlement in the Alps. I pause for a while and replenish my water bottles before setting off again.

The trail has now narrowed to a walkers trail, but it still climbs ever upwards and I settle into a slow rhythm.Higher up I take a break at a bench and get chatting to a walker and some other cyclists on EMTB’s. We continue to meet and chat all the way to the summit, I’m really taken by how willing to chat and share stories folk are.

I really love the language here, Romansh is the least spoken of the four official Swiss languages, but the most enjoyable to listen to. At first it sounds Italian, but listen harder and you can hear it’s a form of German.

From the Summit the track plunges steeply down and my courage isn’t equal to the task, but after a few hundred metres I remount and plunge downhill on fantastic gravel trails. Several kilometers and over 800m of descending later I’m in the town of Santa Maria and I head up to the wonderful campsite there for the night.

Day Four Santa Maria to Bormio. 56.1km 1082m Height Gain

Another wet night see’s me packing everything away wet in the morning, then we set of steeply uphill again. The start of the day is problematic as I try to gain the trail to Val Mora. Lots of small paths and bushwacking finally sees me through to the main trail, then it’s off uphill again. There’s no getting away with it ,the ascent is brutal, 821m of a HC category climb on steep unrelenting gravel under an intense burning sun.

A few leg burning hours later I finally crest the summit of the pass at 2235m and into the amazing valley that is Val Mora. I’ve been here before but the sheer grandeur of the place is worth the pain.

I wait for the few cyclists around to depart then settle down in the grass to watch the Marmots playing, their calls are the only noise to punctuate the silence of the valley. Reluctantly I rouse myself and get back on the bike. It’s a lovely piece of single track now through the valley itself and I make good time. After a few kilometers the valley starts to narrow and the trail become more technical until it turns into a roller coaster through steep screes, hanging precariously over the river below. Each winter the snow and natural movement of the screes mean that the path needs repairing before it opens for a few short months every summer. I can see the changes myself from the last time I passed this way two years ago.

As the trail passes the invisible line marking the border of Italy the trail widens back out and I break for lunch.My single track fun may be over, but I’m still deep in the mountains and the scenery is breathtaking. The trail is heading passed two enormous reservoirs, first San Giacomo then over the dam to CanCano.

After reaching the road I'm plunging down a series of exhilarating switchbacks and looking forward to a gentle 20km roll along the valley floor to the campsite. However, after 7km my plans are rudely interrupted by a sign proclaiming a landslide has completely closed the valley. Knowing I can’t go back up over the mountains, I decide to retrace my steps up the valley and then onwards to Bormio. Now stupid ignorant me, didn’t know about Bormio, it turns out to be a bit of a pilgrimage for road cyclists and famous for the passes surrounding it, the Stelvio, The Umbrail and the Gavia. All places steeped in bike racing lore from the Giro’d Italia and other races. There was even a tourist information office just for cyclists, who not only found me a hotel room for the night, but told me the only way I could regain my route was by riding over the Gavia Pass. Oh Well at least I could look forward to a lovely night in the town before then.

 

[chriswoody]

Day Five - The Gavia Pass.

The advantage of being in a Hotel for a change is the lovely breakfast spread before me which I take full advantage off. Finally though it’s time to leave and we set off through the streets of Bormio and out onto the roads beyond. I’m finding it nice to be riding smooth tarmac for a change, though the traffic is terrible and the amount of closs passess is ridicullous. I stop for a break at the village of Santa Caterina, which marks the actual start of the ascent to the Gavia.

Steep switchbacks through the forest await before a leg burning stretch of open road as the landscape turns more lunar like, until the gradient finally eases as the summit draws near.

Because of it’s cult status as a climb there are hundreds of road cyclists out on lightweight racing machines and I’m struck by how many take the time to shout hello or have a chat as we ride up together. At one point I hear the heavy breathing of an overtaking rider and as he draws alongside, in between deep breaths I hear one word, respect! It made me smile and I shout thanks to his retreating back. I also spend a while chatting to two Dutch guys about Alpencross and other cycling trips, the whole ascent is just marked with so many lovely encounters.

The weather has been slowly been getting more threatening the higher I’ve climbed as as I emerge from the summit refugio after my celebratory coffee, the heavens open up. It’s only nine degrees as I set off downhill, fully layered up in the pouring rain.

The descent is as mind blowing as the ascent, with no guard rails, I’m getting vertigo as I plunge on down trying to modulate my speed in the appalling conditions. Finally after an hour of steep descent we reach the town of Ponte di Legno and it’s not much further on to a lovely campsite where I can finally dry of in the late afternoon sunshine.

Day Six - Passo Tonale.

I manage to pack away in glorious dry sunshine, but not long after stopping at a supermarket for supplies the heavens opened again and the deluge continues for several hours.

What follows is probably the low point of the ride so far as I head up to Passo Tonale. Grinding up a soulless road, switchback after switchback all the while being close passed by almost every car.
After several kilometres it’s with great relief that I can turn off onto a cycle path for the rest off the steep ascent to the summit. The summit itself though is a descent back into hell.

There is an Alpine ski resort here and a bar is pumping loud music out, along with the incessant roar of constant traffic the noise is headache inducing. 2 days ago I was sat in a peaceful Alpine valley at over 2000m, completely alone aside from the Marmots, the contrast is jarring and I’m keen to move on. I cram some food in and turn away from the town, my route actually winds further up the hillside behind the town before catching a mountain bike trail that will lead me down.

I’m now back in peaceful solitude completely away from humans and the views are stunning. The trail is everything you could hope for, from fast flowing gravel ,to steep, precipitous single track clinging precariously to the hillside.

A few hours later I’m in a small campsite in a tiny Italian town and rounding the day off with a Pizza and cold Weißen beer.

 

[chriswoody]

Day Seven - Ossana to Dare 55 km 1263m Height Gain.

The day starts pleasantly enough on a good cycle path and I roll into the next town where I stop at the supermarket for some supplies. I turn South and head out of town and I’m soon off the road and heading steeply uphill on a gravel trail deep in the forest.

I’m over halfway through the 800m ascent when an ominous rumble of thunder breaks over head, soon a thunderstorm is in full swing directly above me, flashes of lightning lighting up the dark forest. I’m not sure wether I should be more frightened of the storm or the persistent signs warning of bears in the woods around. For over three hours the rain is lashing down and I’m feeling miserable by the time I crest the climb in the ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio.

I decide to not stop for a coffee and a wander but just keep pressing on. Typically this is when things begin to go awry and the trail I need is nowhere to be found and the touchscreen on my Garmin has given up the ghost in the torrential rain. Eventually I find my route again and agonise over a sign that seems to suggest it’s shut, I decide it’s referring to another adjacent road and set forth on the gravel descent. I lose hundreds of metres of height on lovely gravel and singletrack through the forest which I have all to myself.

It comes to an end at a bridge which has a concrete barrier across the middle, looks like my trail was shut after all! Luckily I’m able to lift my bike over and set of down to the next town to find my cycle path shut. A few scary road kilometres later and I’m back to the safety and solitude of a bike path, the sun has appeared and I’m gently steaming as I dry out. It’s only a short distance now to a nice little campsite and a welcome shower.

Day Eight - Dare to Riva Del Garda. 49km 812m of Height Gain.

Another easy start awaits as we roll down lovely paved cycle paths. A quick detour to pick up supplies at a supermarket and we’re heading down to the head of the valley. The valley ends at a deep gorge, my road heads steeply up the hill side with lovely views down to an emerald green river and lake.

Cresting the col we’re soon heading downhill again on fast trails, the sun is out and it’s really warm. The views have drastically changed, no more the high craggy Alps, but more rolling hills.

I’m soon heading back uphill on the last major ascent of the route on a mix of quiet roads and gravel trails. I celebrate as I reach the summit of Passo Del Bellino only to realise my route carries on upwards for a short while on a gravel road. Were soon plunging downhill again though through the forest and just for a change a thunderstorm is passing by.

Soon the emerald green lake of Lago di Tenno is on my right and then not long after through a gap in the hills I can see Lake Garda in the distance, the very end of my TransAlp adventure.

Just when it was all going so well, it suddenly goes so wrong, my route plunges down into a deep gorge and at first all was fine, but soon I’m pushing, then carrying my bike. Somehow through this labyrinth of paths and trails through these deep valleys I’ve managed to route myself through completely the wrong way. Nothing for it but to put the bike on my back and carry it up a steep footpath and breath a sigh of relief as I find a small road. Just then a massive peal of thunder breaks overhead and the heavens open. I scramble to don my waterproofs, but the deluge is so sever that they only offer a passing resistance to the water. The thunderstorm is directly overhead and I wait it out on the side of the road. Eventually it stops and in a bedraggled mess I relocate myself and set off for the last kilometres to Lake Garda. It takes a little while after reaching Riva del Garda to find the edge of the lake where I can finally sit down and toast my success before locating my campsite for the night.

Overall we have covered 430 km through the Alps with a total height gain of 9259m. It's taken 8 days of riding with the highest point being the Gavia Pass at 2652m and the lowest being Lake Garda at 225m. Overall a fantastic route with a nice mix of surfaces to ride on, though maybe the last days weren't quite as spectacular as the beginning. There are other TransAlps out there and I'm quite tempted to maybe try a diffrent route next year.

The bike performed faultlessly the whole way, no punctures or mechanicals. I did change both front and rear brake pads half way round, but I had started the ride with old and very worn pads so knew that at some point I would have to change them, I was just trying to maximise their use! The bike is a steel framed Kona Sutra LTD with a 1x12 drivetrain, a 34t chainring and 10 - 50 cassette. A perfect wide range for this type of ride and I never felt I was missing any gears. Brakes are Hope 4 piston calipers with 180mm front and 160mm rear, again perfect for this type of riding.

 

[chriswoody]

The return journey.

There are a number of options to return from a TransAlp, bike shuttle buses being one of them, but I decided to keep to public transport. So from Garda, I rode east to Rovereto. A total of 21km, including a really steep 100m climb out of Torbole. I had a pretty relaxed approach to leaving in the morning having done barely any research and sauntered along on some lovely bike tracks enjoying the sun. I reached the station 5 minutes before the train was due to leave and managed to make it with seconds to spare. Note to self, research things better next time!

The train had spaces for bikes, though not much and cost me the princely sum of €25. With one painless change I arrived at the Italian/Austrian border at Brenner/Brennero. I could then change to an Innsbruck bound train but I had time to kill so I hopped of of the train and rode down the valley towards Innsbruck. Again a lovely little ride, mostly on gravel roads and mostly downhill, 32 km covered, to a tiny little campsite with a surly owner.

The next morning in the pouring rain I rode the last 14 km into Innsbruck where I caught the train to Munich. It's 2 hours to Munich and limited bike spaces, but I'd made a reservation a few days before so all was well. €37 including a bike ticket. From Munich it was then an overnight high speed ICE train back north. The fare for the two ICE journeys was €75 there and back including bike reservation. So overall I spent €137 on train fares and had no problems with the bike and each connection was on time.

Below is an overview map of the actual ride I completed.

 

[chriswoody]

A few more photos from the trip.

 

[bluenotebob]

Great write-up @chriswoody and some truly fabulous photos.

I imagine you've already started planning next year's trip - will you re-visit Slovenia via Klagenfurt and the Karavanke?

 

[chriswoody]

Great write-up @chriswoody and some truly fabulous photos.

I imagine you've already started planning next year's trip - will you re-visit Slovenia via Klagenfurt and the Karavanke?

Thanks, it was certainly a memorable trip.

As always I've a few thoughts swirling around my head. I would love to re-visit Slovenia at some point and have a much better trip than last time. Slovenia was my first ever bikepacking trip and I've learnt a lot since then from my experiences, I've a couple of ideas for a route. I've also modified the bike a lot since then and it's current iteration is pretty much perfect for a successful return to Slovenia.

 

[IaninSheffield]

Fantastic account of an amazing ride Chris. Your photos provide a great sense of the stupendous scenery you were able to enjoy .... when it wasn't tipping down!
Respect

 

[wakemalcolm]

Thanks for that; took me back to a time before kids when me and Mrs Wakemalcolm used to ride around the Alps.
Scuol became a favourite due to the Spa hotel there and we also enjoyed the bike hotel scene in Bormio. Ours took our dirty clothes and had them washed and dried for the following morning.
The pass via S-Charl to S. Maria Val Mustair was awesome but we just couldn't get on with the people there...and we stayed in 2 different places.