......and sadly the number of fatalities
The longest you've ever ridden underground
- Thread starter robjh
- Start date
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......and sadly the number of fatalities
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
I have ridden tunnels all over europe and hate them all. I hate the noise and fumes, the lack of escape routes. How they end up being tunnels when you are expecting open roads and you have not brought your rear light. I hate it when they put 360 degree turns in the tunnels, thats confusing. You feel like a metal ball in an old arcade machine, when it spits you out into the blinfing light. They are cold and damp and loud. But you do find some nice gallery tunnels in the alps.
Here is a blog post with 20 "fun" tunnels in the Alps. Many long, dark and terrifying. Note, #21 on the list is not in the Alps, but in Bourgogne/Burgundy - Tunnel du Bois Clair. It bills itself as the longest bike-only tunnel in Europe at 1.6 kms. It is an old railway tunnel near Cluny. Closed in winter to allow its bats to hibernate.
Probably the scariest tunnel I have cycled is Tunnel des Ecouges in the Vercors near Grenoble. Cyclists required to have a light. A kind motor-cyclist once waited for me and escorted me through. Hit my max heart rate for the year trying to keep up
Probably the scariest tunnel I have cycled is Tunnel des Ecouges in the Vercors near Grenoble. Cyclists required to have a light. A kind motor-cyclist once waited for me and escorted me through. Hit my max heart rate for the year trying to keep up
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Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
Yes i read about it.
Life was very hard then.
"As canal boats were horse-drawn, the boats had to be legged through the tunnel – a process where one or more boatmen lay on the cargo and pushed against the roof or walls of the tunnel with their legs. Professional leggers were paid one Shilling and six Pence for working a boat through the tunnel which took one hour and twenty minutes for an empty boat and three hours with a full load."
Their legs must've been like tree trunks. Imagine the dark, damp and lack of fresh air.
Did they have "tunnel strava"?
