Last stop before Col. Gran Ferret
Day Three
Day started, this time, splendid. Biking across the river in a well paved path towards Argentiere and Le Tour. That was the point that we were lazy enough and took the lift in order to avoid around 800 meters of ascent. Soon enough we paid our crime. A wrong turn led us to an awful part of a- merely not- trail. We did deviate a bit but we climbed once again to Col. du Forclaz.
Crossing this borders was celebrated with what else but chocolates. Our final destination for the day was some way just after Champex. Well, take a guess, trail was not for biking. Pushing all the way up and for most of it, down. Night had fallen and hardly managed to make a stop and have dinner. Restaurants have a strict policy about operating hours. We finally reached our hosting house using flashlights around 23:00.
Day Four
Leaving the chalet was hard, really hard. Excellent choice as a last minute deal few days before our trip. Well, we biked all the way the Val Ferret and it was quite easy to La Fouly. Then we had to climb, last on the tour but not least, to Col. du Gran Ferret.
Val Veny
It was painful but bikeable on the most part. Passing once again to Italy and Val Veny to Courmayeur. Getting of course from there back to Milan to catch on your early flight is another story.
Col. du Gran Ferret
All in All
It’s been an unforgettable experience in the midst of breathtaking scenery. That mix of the green valleys, lively forests and impressive glaciers set a unique and rewarding theme. Lucky enough to have only one blown tire, some issues with the chain and some blisters. In terms for what we did was nothing. My advice. Go for it! Worth every single step!
Tips
No water supplies needed. You can refill your bottle every now and then. Water is abundant/ ample.
Hiking TMB counterclockwise (CCW) but biking it clockwise (CW) according to the mountain guides (still not sure about it!).
Plan to rent a bike at Chamonix or La Thuille. Sure not in Courmayeur; its an endangered species there!
Showers are quite often so be always prepared.
E-bike
Not so easy as it sounds! My one, and only, option to rent a bike in Courmayeur was an E-bike. I was not intended so and trust me there were only a few moments all these days I didn’t curse about.
To be more specific: Weight and Range.
I had to carry almost 10kg in total more (7-8kg plus to the bike itself and around another one for the charger, not to mention the volume taken on my backpack!). My body weight is only 65kg and my equipment (sack, food, water etc) gave me a plus 50% up. Pushing uphill in a hiking trail could be considered as a torture.
Four modes of electric assist is available. The first scale (mode) just compensates extra weight and chain setup and offers around 30km of range. All other modes reduce dramatically this range (around 10km). Without them on any positive slope is impossible to cycle. Planning to have 40-50km per day you simply cannot take the risk to run out of battery!
On the bottom line, I would strongly recommend only to anyone who plans to have a 10-15km well paved ascent, to save energy for the exciting part of downhill.