Anyone know what this Italian sign means

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nirakaro
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by nirakaro »

Looks like a nice route - is that the col du Mont Cenis?
If it was me, I might take a more westerly (maybe flatter?) line, through Lyon and Grenoble, steady climb to sleep at Le Bourg d’Oisans at 700m, then over the col du Lautaret (~2000m), and down into Briancon (~1300m). Next day the col de l’Echelle is only a 500m climb, nice quiet road, and then it's downhill practically to Turin.
Or you could go into Switzerland, long gentle climb up the Rhone to Brig (700m), then it’s a 1300m climb over the Simplon. And there’s a train through the tunnel if you chicken out :-)
First time I did it, I was 58, reasonably fit but no athlete, and actually hadn’t sat on a bike for four years. As long as you take your time (and you’ve got low enough gears), by the time you’ve ridden across France, the Alps are just not a problem. Really.
ukdodger
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by ukdodger »

nirakaro wrote:Looks like a nice route - is that the col du Mont Cenis?
If it was me, I might take a more westerly (maybe flatter?) line, through Lyon and Grenoble, steady climb to sleep at Le Bourg d’Oisans at 700m, then over the col du Lautaret (~2000m), and down into Briancon (~1300m). Next day the col de l’Echelle is only a 500m climb, nice quiet road, and then it's downhill practically to Turin.
Or you could go into Switzerland, long gentle climb up the Rhone to Brig (700m), then it’s a 1300m climb over the Simplon. And there’s a train through the tunnel if you chicken out :-)
First time I did it, I was 58, reasonably fit but no athlete, and actually hadn’t sat on a bike for four years. As long as you take your time (and you’ve got low enough gears), by the time you’ve ridden across France, the Alps are just not a problem. Really.


Thanks a bunch. I'll check out your route.
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DaveP
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by DaveP »

I seem to be having a stupid morning - I see a tunnel entrance, but no sign... ?
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andymiller
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by andymiller »

My twopennyworth:

- the Col de l'Échelle to Bardonecchia looks like a very good bet. You could go over the Col de Montgenèvre to Cesana Torinese but I don't know that there's any advantage to that;

- you could take the road that goes via Sestrière and Fenestrelle to Pinerolo. This takes you south of Torino but there's a climb to Sestrière. I don't think this option offers any particular advantages;

- from Susa (more or less) you can follow the Ciclostrada della Val di Susa to Rivoli. I've described the route here;

- I really liked Torino and it's actually quite bike-friendly. But the best route is probably to turn south at either Avigliana or Rivoli (Rivoli would be my choice) and then pick up the cycleway south from Airone and then go cross country from Saluzzo;

- my suggestion for crossing the Apennines would be to pick up the Moncenisio variant of the Ciclovia Francigena (that page is in Italian but there's a map and a gpx download — and you can use Google Translate). I've ridden it from Gavi via Voltaggio and then on down towards the Liguria coast. In theory you can pick it up in Torino on the banks of the Po, however my impression is that this bit was more sketchy than the sections further south;

- you can follow the coast south to Ostiglia on the outskirts of Rome. Personally I would go inland through Toscana and Lazio but that option is definitely more challenging.

Oh and getting back to the original subject, you may well see signs that refer to 'velocipedi' (eg a no entry sign with the words 'eccetto velocipedi') this is this is the term used for cyclists in documents like the Italian equivalent of the Highway Code.
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foxyrider
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by foxyrider »

DaveP wrote:I seem to be having a stupid morning - I see a tunnel entrance, but no sign... ?

+1 thought it was just me
Convention? what's that then?
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honesty
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by honesty »

Image is too large for some screen resolutions so is being clipped. If you right click and say open image it will show you the full picture.

By car (I've done most of the northern Italy alps passes by car) the col du mont cenis is my favourite. Ive not cycled them though...
Des49
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by Des49 »

DaveP wrote:I seem to be having a stupid morning - I see a tunnel entrance, but no sign... ?


Just use whatever keys you use to make the text smaller and the image will get smaller. I am on a Mac and 2 or 3 presses of cmd minus makes the image smaller and a sign appears. Then I reverse the process to make the text large enough for me to read.
ukdodger
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by ukdodger »

Thanks for the replies chaps. I think I'm back to trying it. I'll look at those routes in detail and will probably come back for more info. Cheers. :D

One other thing. What about the weather. I'm considering starting mid Jun. Any comments?
nirakaro
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Joined: 22 Dec 2007, 2:01am

Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by nirakaro »

Mid-June is as good a time as any, but mountain weather is reliably unpredictable. I knew someone who overnighted at the top of the Great St Bernard, said there was six inches of fresh snow in the morning. In August. You’ll want gloves, and several layers to pile on if needed, but generally it’ll be quite alright. It was snowing a wee bit at 1300m when I set off up the col de l’Echelle in mid-May - ‘incroyable’, muttered the man at the campsite. Road was fine though.
Once you’re down in Italy, you’d expect temperatures in the low thirties, and not much shade when you fancy a rest. I’ve often found I have to keep riding just for the wee bit of breeze.
ukdodger
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by ukdodger »

andymiller wrote:My twopennyworth:

- the Col de l'Échelle to Bardonecchia looks like a very good bet. You could go over the Col de Montgenèvre to Cesana Torinese but I don't know that there's any advantage to that;

- you could take the road that goes via Sestrière and Fenestrelle to Pinerolo. This takes you south of Torino but there's a climb to Sestrière. I don't think this option offers any particular advantages;

- from Susa (more or less) you can follow the Ciclostrada della Val di Susa to Rivoli. I've described the route here;

- I really liked Torino and it's actually quite bike-friendly. But the best route is probably to turn south at either Avigliana or Rivoli (Rivoli would be my choice) and then pick up the cycleway south from Airone and then go cross country from Saluzzo;

- my suggestion for crossing the Apennines would be to pick up the Moncenisio variant of the Ciclovia Francigena (that page is in Italian but there's a map and a gpx download — and you can use Google Translate). I've ridden it from Gavi via Voltaggio and then on down towards the Liguria coast. In theory you can pick it up in Torino on the banks of the Po, however my impression is that this bit was more sketchy than the sections further south;

- you can follow the coast south to Ostiglia on the outskirts of Rome. Personally I would go inland through Toscana and Lazio but that option is definitely more challenging.

Oh and getting back to the original subject, you may well see signs that refer to 'velocipedi' (eg a no entry sign with the words 'eccetto velocipedi') this is this is the term used for cyclists in documents like the Italian equivalent of the Highway Code.


Andy I cant find the download link on that second link. Do you have to join or something?
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honesty
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by honesty »

I laboured on a farm in Italy for June, July, August one year and basically we would work from 5:30 till 12ish then 4 til 8 ish. The middle of the day was just too hot for working in.
ukdodger
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by ukdodger »

honesty wrote:I laboured on a farm in Italy for June, July, August one year and basically we would work from 5:30 till 12ish then 4 til 8 ish. The middle of the day was just too hot for working in.


Thanks honesty. But that honestly not want I want to hear. :(
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honesty
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by honesty »

I was building a barn, so standing in one place lifting heavy stuff. The breeze generated through cycling could be enough to keep you cooler.
ukdodger
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by ukdodger »

honesty wrote:I was building a barn, so standing in one place lifting heavy stuff. The breeze generated through cycling could be enough to keep you cooler.


I've heard the heat is a problem but also from the replies so is cold!!
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honesty
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Re: Anyone know what this Italian sign means

Post by honesty »

I've camped in the shadow of Monte Bianco in August, and there was frost on the tent when we woke up each morning. It gets cold in the mountains. Drop down into Italy and you are looking at temperatures in the mid 30s in July and August. One year we had it over 40 degrees. Outside of the Alps, the heat is going to be your main problem. If you are riding in August as well then depending on where you are you can get some pretty spectacular thunder storms. Think instant soaked to the skin level ones. They dont last very long though...
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