Great riding roads

[husoi]

Found an article talking about the most dangerous roads on the planet.

Although, dangerous could mean amazing for touring  

 

Like the "El caracol, Chile (the snail)

The famous  Romanian highway transfagarasan

Sani Pass, South Africa

Bealach-na-ba, Scotland. Although there are many more in Scotland

 

Yes I know about that there are many passes in the Alpes, lots of other roads in the Pyrenees.

Don't expect me to post every single great road...

[husoi]

DAMN!!!

 

Camino caracoles Cordillera de los Andes - DRON 4K - Bing video

[Steve_M]

I have referred to the Dangerous Roads website as part of my research ahead of our tours. Not all roads on there are suitable for the touring we do - many of off-road, for example - but it’s a great starting point when heading somewhere new.

Edited December 4, 2023 by Steve_M

[Gerontious]

Most of them become tedious very quickly. but I know a dangerous road when I see it. usually the number of little shrines is a giveaway.

The danger doesn't always come from the road, but the plonkers riding or driving on it. too busy oohing and aahing at the scenery to pay attention to what's coming up ahead. One memorable time I watched a bike too long to easily get round the hairpin go over and then slide back down the road and wedge itself in the barrier. 3 of us failed to shift it.

Of course there was the time when "sideways" lived up to his screen name and went sideways and ended up in a ravine. his shiny spotless VFR wasn't so pretty after being dragged out.. and I never got to the bottom of what exactly happened. Wasn't even a particularly dangerous road. been past the spot a lot of times since as its so close to Neuerburg on the L10

Personally I'm not too fond of rockfalls. And roads with no barrier and a >45 degree slope that goes a long way down. Sheer drops less so, there's usually (but not always) some kind of a barrier. interesting when it's a low wall. a foot high. And oddly it's easier to ignore nothing than a slope that's visible and horribly steep.

 

This is why I always go away out of season and NEVER ride on at the middle Sunday. mostly due to the hordes of cyclists who also love these sorts of roads. Cyclists. Tourists.  inexperienced or over-confident bikers. (especially Italians)

 

French mountain passes that have been repaired.. with mile after mile of gravel. it's not a road, it's a river of gravel.  Never has a pass been so aptly named. Col de la Morte. (Death Pass) You enjoyed that didn't you @bonio

 

I did enjoy this one.. but have only done it alone. There might be complaints!!  I did have to have a little rest at the chapel that can be glimpsed at the top of the photo.

 

 

[S-Westerly]

That last one looks fairly terrifying!

[Fiddlesticks]

Where is that? Looks amazing.

 

I'd probably give it a whirl on the Tiger Explorer - I practice my U-Turns on that bike a couple of times a week at the end of my shift before going home. Quite often do a few two-up while we're out together as well.

 

Not a chance on the big cruiser though. It goes well in a straight line but needs a better rider than me to take it up a switchback like that.

[Steve_M]

1 hour ago, Gerontious said:

Most of them become tedious very quickly. but I know a dangerous road when I see it. usually the number of little shrines is a giveaway.

The danger doesn't always come from the road, but the plonkers riding or driving on it. too busy oohing and aahing at the scenery to pay attention to what's coming up ahead. One memorable time I watched a bike too long to easily get round the hairpin go over and then slide back down the road and wedge itself in the barrier. 3 of us failed to shift it.

Of course there was the time when "sideways" lived up to his screen name and went sideways and ended up in a ravine. his shiny spotless VFR wasn't so pretty after being dragged out.. and I never got to the bottom of what exactly happened. Wasn't even a particularly dangerous road. been past the spot a lot of times since as its so close to Neuerburg on the L10

Personally I'm not too fond of rockfalls. And roads with no barrier and a >45 degree slope that goes a long way down. Sheer drops less so, there's usually (but not always) some kind of a barrier. interesting when it's a low wall. a foot high. And oddly it's easier to ignore nothing than a slope that's visible and horribly steep.

 

This is why I always go away out of season and NEVER ride on at the middle Sunday. mostly due to the hordes of cyclists who also love these sorts of roads. Cyclists. Tourists.  inexperienced or over-confident bikers. (especially Italians)

 

French mountain passes that have been repaired.. with mile after mile of gravel. it's not a road, it's a river of gravel.  Never has a pass been so aptly named. Col de la Morte. (Death Pass) You enjoyed that didn't you @bonio

 

I did enjoy this one.. but have only done it alone. There might be complaints!!  I did have to have a little rest at the chapel that can be glimpsed at the top of the photo.

 

 

We did Col de la Morte last year. It was fine.

 

 

As you pointed out, many of the dangerous roads are only dangerous because of the way they’re ridden. We were fascinated, and a little unnerved, this year by other’s  riding decisions on a few of the passes. Particularly the Stelvio where riders were diving down the outside of a line of traffic, late braking for a hairpin with full expectation that others will make room for them. Then there were those who were riding into a blind bend on the wrong side of the road (that, or they had X-ray vision).

Photo taken by my pillion as we ascended the Nufenen pass. 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by Steve_M

[husoi]

1 hour ago, Steve_M said:

We did Col de la Morte last year. It was fine.

 

 

As you pointed out, many of the dangerous roads are only dangerous because of the way they’re ridden. We were fascinated, and a little unnerved, this year by other’s  riding decisions on a few of the passes. Particularly the Stelvio where riders were diving down the outside of a line of traffic, late braking for a hairpin with full expectation that others will make room for them. Then there were those who were riding into a blind bend on the wrong side of the road (that, or they had X-ray vision).

Photo taken by my pillion as we ascended the Nufenen pass. 

 

 

 

I hate you... 

[Steve_M]

15 minutes ago, husoi said:

I hate you... 

A phrase often used by my kids as teenagers.

[Pie man]

Not a road to get target fixation

 

Personally, I don't like roads such as the Col de la Morte and the Stelvio, too many tornante, makes for a tiring and tedious ride. 

[Steve_M]

2 hours ago, Pie man said:

Not a road to get target fixation

 

Personally, I don't like roads such as the Col de la Morte and the Stelvio, too many tornante, makes for a tiring and tedious ride. 

I’m glad we did the Stelvio as it’s the last of the three highest paved through roads in Europe for us*. I will never return to it. Too busy, particularly at the top which was horrendously busy. However, looking at the photos tonight - we’re creating a photo album as we do for each tour - it’s reminded me that the scenery is generally rather good. 

 

 

 

 

*There’s a bit of hypocrisy for you, by the way - we walk in the Lake District and use Wainwright’s books as guides but are deliberately not “doing all the Wainwright’s “ on the basis that we don’t set leisure targets or have tick lists of “must do” things.

[Gerontious]

10 hours ago, Fiddlesticks said:

Where is that? Looks amazing.

south of France. East of Grenoble. It’s at the side of an amazing valley that’s not hugely popular, probably because it has a motorway running down the middle of it it’s very popular with cyclists as it was part of the Tour one year.

 

Lacets de Montvernier

 

it’s quite tricky. 17 hairpins over a mile and a half. Quite narrow with very nasty cambers on the turns. 8% - 12%. I was lucky and had it to myself. The really scary bit (that I don’t like to think about - much) came when I stopped by the chapel. There is a bench quite close to a precipitous drop with a little lay-by next to it. The lay-by is quite narrow, slopes away from the road and then drops away to nothing and is just loose stones and gravel. I pulled into it and immediately regretted it. I got the side stand down and it was so dicey getting off the bike I had to fall off!!  Then getting back on was even worse. But hey ho. Nobody died.

 

A road I’ve always wanted to try is Gavia. South of the Stelvio.

 

sounds great.

 

 

[Steve_M]

14 hours ago, Gerontious said:

south of France. East of Grenoble. It’s at the side of an amazing valley that’s not hugely popular, probably because it has a motorway running down the middle of it it’s very popular with cyclists as it was part of the Tour one year.

 

Lacets de Montvernier

 

it’s quite tricky. 17 hairpins over a mile and a half. Quite narrow with very nasty cambers on the turns. 8% - 12%. I was lucky and had it to myself. The really scary bit (that I don’t like to think about - much) came when I stopped by the chapel. There is a bench quite close to a precipitous drop with a little lay-by next to it. The lay-by is quite narrow, slopes away from the road and then drops away to nothing and is just loose stones and gravel. I pulled into it and immediately regretted it. I got the side stand down and it was so dicey getting off the bike I had to fall off!!  Then getting back on was even worse. But hey ho. Nobody died.

 

A road I’ve always wanted to try is Gavia. South of the Stelvio.

 

sounds great.

 

 

Thanks for the info’ . We weren’t too far from the Lacets de Montvernier in 2022 … we passed by St-Jean-de-Maurienne at one point, so less than five miles away. It looks like we need to return at some point… 

[Essem]

I’m not a fan of passes which are endless hairpins, nor of roads which get a must-do reputation. Give me the more open twisties with little traffic.

[Steve_M]

On 05/12/2023 at 17:01, Essem said:

I’m not a fan of passes which are endless hairpins, nor of roads which get a must-do reputation. Give me the more open twisties with little traffic.

They can be worth the effort if you find the top gives you a view like this…