Dolomites and back.....

[RobinS]

After three months around France and Northern Spain last year, MrsS and I planning this year's trip. After looking at Spain/Morocco, and Turkey as destinations we have more or less resolved to cycle to Lake Garda and the Dolomites and return.
Outline plan is:
Ferry Dover - Calais
Down the coast, then follow the Somme, up to Reims.
Chalons sur Marne, Dijon, Macon.
SE to Grenoble, across the Lautaret pass, Briancon, and over to Italy.
Turin, east across the flat bit of Italy.
Up to Lake Garda for a rest.
A trip around the Dolomites - Canazei, Selva etc.
Up the Brenner, down to Innsbruck, then follow the Inn upstream and across the Arlberg pass, eventually to Lake Constance.
Follow the Rhine and home via Hook of Holland ferry.

Anyone done much of this? Any constructive suggestions? We will be camping all the way, and current decision needed is when to start - soon as possible, but need to wait until campsites are open, and weather acceptable.

 

[Rooster1]

WOW!

 

[psmiffy]

Need to time it right - Ive been in the Dolomites after Easter - it was a late easter - and the snow was over a metre deep - ditto I suspect Lautret - a lot of the campsites will be open to cater for the skiers

 

[Brains]

I've done sections of your route.
The main bit to get the timing right is the Alpine crossings
You don't want to arrive in Grenoble much before May, you then have until end September to get home

The rule of thumb on the opening dates of many of the slightly less travelled areas especially in the Alps is "Open Ascension to Assumption".
This is often expressed as "Ovret A à A" or "Offenen Aufstieg zur Annahme" (AzA)
As Easter is late this year Ascension day is 25th May and Assumption is always on the 15th of August.

We have arrived at closed campsites, closed lifts, closed mountain huts etc both in early May and late August
By the 18th of August the kids are back at school and everthing starts to wind down,

 

[RobinS]

Thinking of starting round about 20th April so would get to the alps at the beginning of May. Timings could become more critical though, as we are thinking of extending the route by cycling down to Brindisi and taking a ferry across to Albania, then returning via Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and into Austria!

 

[briantrumpet]

Here's some interesting reading from 'the other place' on opening of cols:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40003&t=13064552&p=19874051&hilit=cols#p19874051

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40003&t=12968027&hilit=cols

 

[MarkF]

Sounds a fantastic tour, good luck and please do a post when it's done.

 

[zealand]

Nice one , I cycled past Briancon last year and its a very nice town with a good camp site .
I Stared from Geneva and came from the Italian side ,into Briancon and finished at Marseille .

 

[steveindenmark]

Need to time it right - Ive been in the Dolomites after Easter - it was a late easter - and the snow was over a metre deep - ditto I suspect Lautret - a lot of the campsites will be open to cater for the skiers

Ive been at the beginning of September and again it was a metre of snow.