The enthusiast driver guide to the French Alps – Part I

4 FABULOUS ROUTES TO DIE FOR (FIGURATIVELY, OF COURSE)

This is me, riding up an Alpine road on a Chinese bike whose name I’ve never heard before. If you look closer, you might see the wide smile on my face. This is partly because I get to ride the French Alps for work, and partly because the rest of the world doesn’t. You would be excused for hating me now. Man, I hate myself. But to try to make amends, I’ve written down all the routes I took during the early days of September so you can enjoy them too. Now, let’s begin our story one late night at a remote and tiny French village…

Tuesday, Sept. 1^st, 23:00, about 2km after the Frech/Italian boarder

As soon as I clear the last roundabout, an angry flashlight breaks the otherwise dark and deserted landscape. I pull over. It’s the French police. The officer shines a light on me and my passenger – an oversized piece of luggage I failed to squeeze through the Car’s narrow trunk. With the disgust of someone who was obviously looking for something else, he blurts out in surprisingly good English to move on, SLOWLY, or face dire consequences. I nod politely and drive on slowly until I see them no more.

I’m a bit puzzled by the whole affair as the road up to this point was deserted. I would have added tumbleweeds rolling through the empty main street to the scene just to make a point. On the other hand, best of luck finding dead’n’dry brush in the middle of a European mountain pass. So, there goes my old western cliché. Could they have been waiting the whole night just for a lowly driver in a Mazda Miata to clear the village circle somewhat enthusiastically? And between us, it was not that I drifted, tire squealing, through the roundabout. With a 1.5L engine and no limited-slip differential (a.k.a. LSD), I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

I landed at Malpensa Airport, northeast of Milan, Italy, a few hours before the incident. I was heading to the French Alps for work, of all things, and the local Sixt branch was the only one renting sports cars that didn’t have a Porsche price tag attached to them. “Drive a slow car fast,” said my inner monologue as I used the passenger seatbelt to secure my luggage, flipped the manual ragtop down, and drove onto the Autostrada heading west.

Sept. 1^st, 23:10

Now that “les gendarmes” are behind me, I return the pressure on the gas pedal and zoom onwards. There are an additional 25 minutes of mountainous driving ahead, and time is getting late. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes before I find myself behind a slow van lumbering its way down towards the valley. The French authorities do not believe in drawing straight lines on their roads, even when going into blind corners. “I guess that’s a good thing,” I say as I speed past the Van and take right just in time to hit another sharp bend. “At least I won’t be breaking no laws.” The angry van driver flashes his high beam as I disappear behind the turn. He reappears a few seconds later, this time flashing Blue and Red!

I can’t believe this is happening again. It’s been 15 minutes since I crossed a desolate border into a desolate part of France, in the middle of the night, and I’m being pulled over for the second time. Mon Dieu! I stop on the right shoulder to receive a similar lecture and a threat from another French “flic.” I’m further surprised to find out he also speaks very good English. Things must have changed in the land of wine and camembert.

He let me go, and this time, shocked by the fact I was let off the hook for the second time in a row, I drive slowly, very s l o w l y, to my nightly stop at Briançon. I get there just before midnight, and go to bed dreaming of French prisons, complete with Moulin Rouge wardens dancing the Can-Can, and fresh Baguettes topped with foie gras served in the mess hall.

How did I get here?

The Alpes Adventure Motofestival is one of Europe’s largest motorcycle events. Held each year during the first week of September in the picturesque little Alpine town of Barcelonnette. The festival draws tens of thousands of adventure and touring riders from across the continent, and includes riding workshops, training sessions, test rides of the latest bikes, roadshows, and local discovery tours. Think of it as a European version of Sturgis, but with fewer Harleys and beer bellies.

For those who are new to this blog, I’ve been the CMO of Cardo Systems for the last 9-plus years. Cardo is the world’s leading supplier of motorcycle and winter-sports intercom devices. The company chose the festival to launch its newest (and revolutionary) smart helmet – Beyond – to the French market. My job would be to ride with a team of French moto journalists that, like me, arrived to cover the event. I know there are worse jobs in the universe than this.

Wednesday Sept. 2^nd 7:30am, Briançon

Fresh after a good night of sleep and a nice shower, I quickly dispatch breakfast and drag my suitcase down the street to the place I parked my car. I was relieved to discover it was still there. Must have dreamt of it being stolen. Today I’ll be driving to Barcelonnette to meet with the team and prepare the press ride planned for the following day. Driving there, I could either take the fast road and arrive around an hour and a half later, or climb the narrow mountain pass and add an additional hour to my scheduled arrival time.

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My rental is a grey-colored 4th-generation Mazda MX-5. This one is the 1.5-liter engine that produces a somewhat unimpressive 130hp at 7,000rpm. But in this particular case, power is just half of the picture. This car weighs less than 930kg. In power-to-weight ratio, this would be comparable to a modern compact car with around 200 horses. Close to a Golf GTI. Not a muscle car, but not a pooch either.

It also has a left pedal and a manual transmission. They hardly make these kinds of cars anymore. The only two drawbacks are the lack of an LSD (both the differential and the drug) in this entry model, and that tiny boot that could not hold my suitcase with my riding gear inside. “Oh, well,” said my inner voice, “small price to pay for a cheap rental with a real zest.” I use the seatbelt to secure my luggage to the passenger seat, press the Start button, fold the roof, and leave Briançon behind me.

Briançon to Barcelonnette via Col D’izoard – 101 km.
Top elevation 2,360m

This route will take me along road D902 all the way to the Barcelonnette valley, where it will merge with road D900 for the rest of the journey. From Briançon, drive to Cervières. Continue past the village where the road starts to climb to Col D’Izoard. From the pass, continue driving south to Guillestre; keep on D902 towards Vars. Pass Vars and climb towards a second mountain pass, Col de Vars, 2,108m high. Continue south and turn right at Saint-Paul-sur-Ubaye towards Barcelonnette. C’est tout.

It is late summer. The leaves haven’t turned red yet, but the morning is already cool, in a very pleasant way. The roof down, the low seating arrangement, and the peppy engine all work to convey a feeling of speed that is more vivid than what my Bimmer could deliver at almost double the speed. I take it easy on the way to Cervières, both to adjust to the car and the road and to account for the surprising number of bicyclists who have chosen the same route to Col d’Izoard.

The things people do to themselves

I know I will certainly offend some of my cyclist friends, but truth has to be said: If you’re looking to kill yourselves, less exhausting and painful ways are available. I mean, if you’re bent on dying, why take all the hassle of peddling your way to oblivion? May I suggest stepping out of a Middle Eastern bomb shelter during an Iranian ballistic missile attack. Cleaner, quicker, less sweaty.

Back to the road. D902 is quite narrow but overall very well paved. Light traffic, combined with numerous overtaking opportunities, helps me keep a fast pace. This is not a small matter, as the atmospheric engine of my tiny roadster needs some time to accelerate up the steep incline. “Drive a slow car fast,” the saying goes. My grey Miata fit that bill very nicely. No wonder Col d’Izoard comes quicker than expected.

I have climbed almost a vertical 1.2km with hardly feeling it. Only the bare rock and lack of trees are a testament to the 2,360m elevation. I stop to snap a few photos and head down the mountain pass toward Guillestre. Driving down the mountain is a bit trickier. Petrolheads like me usually prefer working the engine against gravity to frying the brakes trying to prevent the car from going with it. This is where the roadsters’ tiny 928kg mass comes into effect, enabling the standard brakes to shave off speed without fading

Down, and up, and down again

The road down is equally great – as I would find out going the opposite direction the following day. Right now, I’m dealing with the consecutive bends, trying to keep a good balance between pace and safety. A few bulldozers are busy clearing a landslide a few kilometers south of the pass. I will learn later that the D902 had just been opened the day I drove it after being closed for a week of clearing. Lucky me.

Navigating the route is easy as you only need to follow the D902 until it merges with the D900 towards the end of the ride. I pass through Guillestre and start the second climb to Vars. There are now more motorcycles on the road. Clearly many have decided to beat the traffic and come earlier. The festival is only due to start two days from now. Some of them are of the “low’n’slow” kind. I overtake them as soon as one of the many hairpins opens. The look on their faces (they are all wearing half-shells) says it all. I stop the car at Jausiers, 8km short of Barcelonnette to hook up with my old buddy Antoine Valla.

Car Verdict: Great road with everything you need for a proper run through the Alps. But do come early to beat the traffic and cyclists.

Bike verdict: Great at any time. Sport and sport-oriented bikes would be ideal.

Honda Challenge

Antoine is the owner and CEO of the Ride&Drive agency, and a very cool cat. We have been working with Antoine and his team for many years now, and he never failed to deliver. His team is busy setting up the Honda Challenge Center – a mega project of several thousand square meters in preparation for the Alpes Festival. We give each other a “buddy hug” and go to a nearby Café for some superb croissants and an OK-ish cappuccino. Antoine is “The Man” when it comes to bike touring. His team will be organizing our press ride tomorrow, complete with bikes, a route, a PR lead, a photographer, and a videographer.

He was surprised but happy to hear that the road connecting Col d’Izoard to Barcelonnette is open. I tell him about the brush with the local police the other night. “They were looking for illegal immigrants trying to sneak into France via a deserted and little-traveled road.” Reckless drivers were apparently no more than unwanted bycatch. No wonder they all spoke English and were visibly uninterested in arresting me.

We both let bygones be bygones and continued to discuss the plan for the next 36 hours. I need to be at the hotel at 16:00 when our 23 Beyond GTS helmet prototypes are due to arrive. It’s 10:30am. “Plenty of time for you to try out the local roads,” says Antoine, and hands me the keys to his personal Honda Africa Twin adventure motorcycle. His colleague has already charted a route through the southern section of the French Alps, culminating in the highest mountain pass in Europe – the 2,802m-high Cime de la Bonette. “Quelle Surprise!” I say with a big smile.

Jausiers loop via Cime de la Bonette & Col de la Cayolle – 196 km. Top elevation – 2,802m

From Jausiers, ride south on the narrow C4 road to Cime de la Bonette. Allow for the view to take your breath away. Regain your breath (it will take some time given the thin air around you) and continue on the road – now marked as M2205- until you reach the village of Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée. Turn hard right onto D30 towards Guillaumes. Continue on D30 for 30km, and turn onto D29 in the center of the ski resort Valberg (the entrance to which looks like an alley and is easy to miss).

Ride to Péone, some 8km away. Admire the tiny village center carved into the rock and continue riding the D29 to Guillaumes. Congratulations! You’ve covered 125km. Just 71 km more to go. Turn right onto route D2202 towards the 2,276m high Col de la Cayolle. Continue to ride north from the mountain pass on D902 down to the Barcelonnette valley below. From there it’s a short skip and a hop to the starting point at Jausiers.

I take things easy on the way out of Jausiers, partly to get accustomed to the large adventure bike handling and feel, and partly because this is Antoine’s private bike, not a rental. Although Antoine assured me that it would be no big deal if I return it with a few extra scratches, as he has already dropped it before, I’m determined to return it exactly as I received it.

On top of Europe… Almost

The road to Cime de la Bonette is very narrow and rough at times, which makes the Africa Twin an ideal partner for the ride. The long suspension travel and expensive shocks dispatch the tarmac imperfections and occasional potholes with ease. This is not an ideal road for a car, even as narrow and agile as the MX-5, unless traveled at early dawn when no traffic is around. With a 1.1L inline-twin engine producing 100 hp at 7,500 rpm, the Honda has no issues overtaking slower traffic both on four wheels and on two.

I’m surprised at the large number of cyclists traversing the same road. Again, I will never figure out people’s inclination for this kind of pastime. I downshift a gear or two, and squeeze the throttle, leaving them struggling behind. Cime de la Bonnette prizes itself as the tallest paved road in Europe. It isn’t. At 3,396m, Pico del Valeta, Spain is. Bonnette is the tallest through road, and commemorates this with a stone obelisk and a large, paved viewpoint at 2,802 meters above sea level. I park the tall bike between many other adventure bikes bearing license plates from all over Europe. Although the ’26 hot summer has left the tall peaks free of any snow leftovers, the view to the south is, nevertheless, spectacular. I take some pictures, oblige upon request to snap a few for my fellow riders, and move on.

Deadwood, France

From the peak, the road – much improved compared to the one I took upwards – hugs the steep side of the mountain range as it slowly descends to Camp des Fourches, an abandoned and eerie 19th-century army camp, at 2,250m elevation. The camp is worthy of a quick stop, but what comes after the camp is the real showstopper. A series of twelve consecutive serpentines, all made in heaven. At the bottom, the D64 road continues to snake its way through a narrow gorge, going further down from Pra at 1,700m elevation all the way to Saint-Sauveur-sur-Tinée at 500m. You don’t need an altimeter. The rise in temperature, exceeding 30 degrees centigrade at St. Sauveur, and the sweat going down your neck will make it clear you’ve descended considerably.

Continuing the ride on the D64 will eventually bring you to Nice on the French Riviera. But we’re not here for sunshine and Lambos. Instead, based on the route planned by Ride&Drive, I take a tight, sharp right turn onto M30 and ride towards the Valberg ski resort. I struggle to align the tall, heavy bike with the difficult hairpin, and find the road upwards to Valberg no less of a challenge. Slow, bumpy, broken at times, and exceedingly narrow, this is no place for a car. It is beautiful at times, but without any space to stop and admire the view, it’s all but a passing show. I get to Valberg tired (but at 1,700m elevation, at least not sweaty), and miss the turn to Péone. Another drive-through reveals the hidden entrance to road D29, and off I go.

The road to Péone

The road to Péone comes as a pleasant surprise. Well paved, reasonably wide, and very empty. For a good reason. D29 is a detour to Guillaumes, and Péone is just a tiny hamlet, partly built into the rock. Not many people come in or out. The website says the place is famous for its 11th-century, historically listed Church of Saint-Arige. I didn’t stay long enough to look it up further. Instead, I dismount to take a few photos and move on. Time is getting short, the road is great, and there’s still one more mountain pass to cross.

Getting down to Guillaumes completes an almost full 1km vertical descent in less than 15km of road. I’ll put it here for you to think about this fact for a minute or two…  Guillaumes itself is nothing to write home about. Just turn right at the “T” intersection and board the D2202 going north. It will take you 32km to hike up the 2.3 km high pass via a road that is partly well-paved, partly in desperate need of maintenance, and always narrow. Being on a powerful motorcycle with a soft suspension setup definitely helps in navigating the many obstacles B2202 throws at you.

Col de la Cayolle 

As a bonus, parts of it are really beautiful; a few are beautiful in a strange, ghostly way. It’s the only place I can recall seeing a perfectly black sediment rock. It’s almost as if someone struck a coal or an oil reserve and then decided to just let it be. It could be that this alone is worth the whole ride. Just don’t get there with an MX-5.

It’s easy to pass by Col de la Cayolle without noticing. A small stone mark and a car park on the right side of the narrow road are the only marks of this otherwise unimpressive landmark. From the mountain pass downwards, the road changes its designation to D902, but unfortunately does not change its nature. It’s still the same broken, narrow path, only now slightly worse. I slowly and gently complete the remaining 38km ride to Jausiers. You just never know when a Caravan will pop out of a blind corner, and caravans crash better than an adventure bike.

I park the bike next to the Honda Challenge Center about 4 hours after I left, happy to note the bike is in one piece with no added marks. I hand over the keys to Antoine, thank him for the trust, and head straight to the Mazda. There are 23 prototype helmets at my hotel waiting to be updated, and time is running short. By the way, the hotel lies at the very end of a 500m climb with numerous hairpins. Lucky me.

Car verdict: Avoid, unless you come very early to beat the traffic. The road to and from Col de la Cayolle is both dangerous and unsatisfying to drive. Avoid at any time.

Bike Verdict: Come with a comfortable, large-displacement adventure bike. You can skip Col de Cayolle entirely.

Climb to Pra-Loup: 7.8 km. top elevation 1,630m

From Barcelonnette, take Ave. Emile Aubert west. Turn right at the Pra-Loup sign. Wag your tail all the way through to your final destination.

Pra-Loup is a mid-sized ski resort. One of many in the area. My destination – Marmotel, lies at the base of the main ski lift. Great in winter. Less important on Sept 2nd. In any case, it’s not the hotel, nice as it may be, that is the main attraction here. It’s the serpentine road that climbs the 500m from the Barcelonnette valley in a series of hairpins (six) and bends (way too many to count) that makes the whole thing worth the petrol. Speaking of which, the Miata is strangely unthirsty. I mean, I’ve tested its 7,500rpm redline on numerous occasions and have been driving it flat out for a considerable portion of the road to Barcelonnette. Still, the tiny vehicle with its inline 1.5L four-cylinder engine is doing around 15 km/l. My bimmer back home does barely 10 under the lightest cruising. Amazing.

Right now, with the roof down, the temperatures going back to “nice and cool” territory, and the great road ahead, I feel lucky to call it a working day. Later will come the long and arduous update process, the dinner with the press, and the other chores of a CMO that would last deep into the night. I’ll leave these to a different post and jump straight to the morning of Sept. 3rd.

Car verdict: Drive up, drive down. Repeat!

Bike Verdict: Ditto.

Thursday, Sept. 3^rd. 10:00am, Barcelonnette.

It has been half an hour since we wrapped up the morning press briefing and presentation at Pra-Loup, and we’re down at the CF Moto center smack in the middle of the fairground in the center of old Barcelonnette. I received the keys to a Chinese bike whose name I’ve never heard before. My Zontes 703T is a mid-range touring bike with a three-cylinder inline 700cc engine (7-0-3, get it?), producing 100hp at 10,000 revs with the limiter set high at 12,500. It weighs about 200kg and has an adjustable Marzocchi inverted fork at the Front and a Marzocchi monoshock at the rear. Most importantly, the seat height is 80.5 cm, which, for a person of short stature like me, means I would not be wiggling it at low speeds.

“Zontas, hmmm, what strange name,” I think to myself as I press the start button (keyless tech), kick down the quick shifter to first gear, and ride away with the whole team.

Barcelonnet to Brincon via Col D’Izoard, return via N94, and D952 – 200km. Top elevation 2,360m

The Chinese no-name motorcycle surprises me from the get-go. The inline three-cylinder engine shines from 6,000rpm all the way past 10,000rpm, yet remains quite meaty and responsive from as low as 3,000rpm. The shocks and chassis feel properly firm and communicative yet can iron out minor road imperfections with ease. It’s only the 8” TFT display that reminds me this Chinese brand needs a bit more refinement to really cut it with the greats. The screen is cluttered with information. Not all of it necessary. The graphics feel overdesigned, likely to wow you in the showroom. Here on the road, however, they are an eyesore. Still, for €7,600 you can go a lot worse than the Z 703T.

I run these thoughts through my head as I ride at the back of the convoy doing the exact route of yesterday morning, only in the opposite direction. The weather is perfect, and the Active Noise Cancellation inside my Beyond GTS helmet is doing a great job of cutting down on the annoying wind noise while keeping the rev-happy engine sound crisp and clear. Covering the distance to Col D’izoard from the opposite direction feels like doing an entirely different road altogether. It also reminds me that, unlike today’s car world, the moto world still believes in an “add lightness” that rewards the driver, not the safety-conscious bureaucrats. Although we stop on the way for professional picture taking and videography, the get to the mountain pass faster than I enticipated. I guess time does really fly when you’re having fun!

French Lunch

We stop for a long lunch (this is France, after all) at the Refuge Napoléon du Col D’Izoard, a rugged restaurant located just north of the pass. The weather is perfect, the numerous cyclists going up the pass are sweaty, the many supercars going down the opposite direction are flashy, and the conversations with the press are intense and fruitful. The food? Depends on your expectations. The refuge, as the name suggests, is a rugged stop in the middle of nowhere. I was happy to discover the “plat du jour” edible.

The way down the Col is very steep and requires practice and nerves to tackle correctly. On the way down, I discovered the Zontes somewhat lacking in stopping power. The issue is not the brakes themselves, but rather the way the setup – chassis, suspension, and ABS mapping – work together at the limits. The bike doesn’t communicate well enough when the rider gets close to it and doesn’t feel 100% controllable when braking hard into a corner. I had at least two points where my heart missed a bit going into a steeply declining hairpin.

I mark this as one thing Zontes guys must improve on their bike to turn it from a pleasant surprise to a category standard. A Ducati Monster costs €4,000 more, and one can already guess where some of that extra cash went. Still, the Zontes delivers 80-90% of the performance for two-thirds of the price. I guess the traditional bike brands have a lot of sleep to lose.

Back through the highway

We bypass Briançon and board the N94 southbound back to Barcelonnette. This wider highway is full of traffic. Although our bikes overtake slower traffic with ease, the N94 is not what I would consider a driver’s road, far from it. We let Beyond’s 53mm speakers and Active Noise Cancellation take command as we cover the 56km to Savines le Lac.

From there, the N94 crosses the grand Lac de Serre-Ponçon and continues on the other side (the ride on the long bridge is spectacular). We instead continue on the narrower D954. This road maintains an overall similar elevation as it snakes along the east side of the lake in a never-ending series of twists and bends – a far cry from the boring N94. As a bonus, the views on the lakeside are getting better by the minute. We come to the end of this remarkable 23 km stretch, not sure whether to keep our eyes on the lake or on the road.

Valentino Clouseau

The road merges into the wider (and slower) D500 at the very end of grand Lac de Serre-Ponçon. From there, it’s a bit like the N94 – busy, single-lane highway. As we near Barcelonnette, a team of four Porsches zoom by in the opposite direction. Two minutes later, two policemen test the leaning limits of their massive Yamaha FJR sport touring bikes, exiting a tight corner – full throttle, siren blazing – their knees almost touching the tarmac as they clear the bend. They look and sound very intimidating, though I can’t help wondering whether they are really angry at the speeding Porsches, or secretly blessing the opportunity to ride, carte blanche, like Valentino Rossi on a public road.

Car verdict: The road via Col D’Izoard is as great going north as it is going south. Avoid N94 and D500; instead, focus on the beautiful D954. Try to beat the crowds by heading there early.

Bike Verdict: Going up from Barcelonnette is heaven on earth, but be careful of the steep declines. Make sure you and your bike both know the job and remember: Bikes don’t break as well as cars! After that, keep going back and forth on D954 until you run out of gas.

Coming soon

What happens after the moto festival ends, and I’m left with 12 hours until departure.

Stay tuned for part II