When
Sunday 4th September to Saturday 17th September. (Confirmed )
Some Highlights of the route- Cime de la Bonette (2802m)
- Passo dello Stelvio (2758m)
- Otztaler Gletscherstrasse (2822m)
- Gorges du Verdon - The French Grand Canyon
- Monte Carlo and the Meditteranean Coast
- Lots and lots and lots of mountain passes
Where
There is now an Autoroute file of the full route attached to this message. Please remember that it is subject to change. Here is a summary of each day:
Day 1: (Sun 04/09) The
old Grand Prix circuit at Gueux, near Reims. 211 miles from Boulogne-sur-mer. This is the official starting point.
Day 2: (Mon 05/09)
La Mure in the Isere region of the Rhone-Alpes. 400 miles from Reims
Day 3: (Tue 06/09)La Mure to Le Muy via the
Gorges du Verdon (French Grand Canyon) and three baby passes - Col Bayard, Col de l'Olivier and Col d'Ayen. 185 miles.
Day 4: (Wed 07/09)Le Muy to
Auron via Saint-Raphael, the Meditteranean Coast, Monte Carlo, Col de Turini, Col St. Martin and Gorges des Valabres. 170 miles plus as many laps of Monte Carlo as you can manage.
Day 5: (Thu 08/09)
Auron to Aussois via Col des Fourches (2261m), Col de Raspaillon (2250m), Cime de la Bonette (2802m), Col de Restefond (2794m), Col de Vars (2109m), Col d'Izoard (2361m), Col du Lautaret (2058m), Col du Galibier (2646m). 150 miles.
Day 6: (Fri 09/09) Aussois to Ulrichen via Col du Mont Cenis (2100m), Col de l'Iseran (2764m), Val d'Isere, Chamonix and Martigny. 255 miles.
Day 7: (Sat 10/09) Rest Day to explore Nufenenpass, St Gottard Pass, Furkapass, Grimselpass, Sustenpass, the Rhone Glacier or whatever else tickles your fancy.
Day 8: (Sun 11/09) Ulrichen to St. Moritz via Nufenenpass, St. Gotthard Pass, Oberalpass, Julierpass. 140 miles.
Day 9: (Mon 12/09) St. Moritz to Riffian via Passo del Bernina, Forcola di Livigno, Passo di Foscagno and the Passo dello Stelvio. 85 miles
Day 10: (Tue 13/09) Riffian to Galtur via Passo di Rombo, Otzaler Gletscherstrasse, Hahntennjoch, Flexenpass and Arlbergpass. 212 miles
Day 11: (Wed 14/09) Galtur to Strasbourg via Bielerhohe, Zurich, Basel. 271 miles
Day 12: (Thu 15/09) Strasbourg to Luxembourg. 136 miles
Day 13: (Fri 16/09) Luxembourg to Bruges via Spa Francorchamps. 245 miles.
Day 14: (Sat 17/09) Bruges to Boulogne-sur-mer . 90 miles. Ferry home at 17:30
Approximate total distance?
2500 miles. There is one rest day in Ulrichen. You may notice that most of the days are shorter than in 2004 so we should all spend less time in the cars and more time out exploring, photographing and generally appreciating the areas we pass through.
All runners recieve an exclusive Route Book. The book has background information on each place we visit, hotel details, maps, directions, alternative routes, recommended lunch stops and much, much more. And then of course there is the Stelvio merchandise machine. Hats, T-shirts, underwear, stickers, calling cards, door signs, rally plates. Everything you could ever want.
Hotels- 4th Sep: Hôtel Restaurant le Cheval Blanc, Montmort, France
- 5th Sep: Murtel, La Mure, France
- 6th Sep: Hotel l'Orée du Bois, Le Muy, France
- 7th Sep: Hotel l'Ecureuil, Auron, France
- 8th Sep: Les Mottets, Aussois, France
- 9th Sep: Hotel-Restaurant Walser, Ulrichen, Switzerland
- 11th Sep: Landhotel Meierei, St. Moritz, Switzerland
- 12th Sep: Hotel Kreuz, Riffian, Italy
- 13th Sep: Alpenhotel Tirol, Galtur, Austria
- 14th Sep: YG Hotel, Strasbourg, France
- 15th Sep: Hotel Heintz, Vianden, Luxembourg
- 16th Sep: Auberge de Forgeron, Seclin, France
Further details of the hotels can be found on
www.miniturismo.co.uk Travel Arrangements
All of the hotels will be located by me and booked by you. It is important to understand that you are solely responsible for looking after your own bookings. If you need help just ask. If there are any French/Italian/Swiss/German speakers who want to help with the general communication barriers please let me know.
Ferries
We will be crossing from Dover to Boulogne-sur-mer with SpeedFerries (
www.speedferries.com). If you book before 31st December its only
£50 return per car . Bargain.
You will need book the
11:15 on the 4th September and the 17:30 return on the 17th September. Please let me know when you have booked.
Obviously you can cross the channel anyway you want to. Just meet us at the official starting point.
How much will it all cost?
The maximum room rate will be 100E per room per night based on two sharing with b+b. A lot of the hotels will be cheaper than this though. We are looking at 13 or 14 nights, plus the crossing, fuel, food and beer.
Single drivers should probably budget at least £1000 and drivers with partners should probably budget at least £1500. This is a rough estimate based on the 2004 costs and is likely to be inaccurate blah blah blah.
Why should I come?- Have a look at some of the photos from the 2004 trip.
- You will drive some of the most beautiful and demanding roads in Europe.
- You will be in excellent company
- You will eat lots of fine food and drink lots of fine beer/wine/grappa
- You will stay in high quality, low cost, family run hotels
- Think of the kudos.....
Why shouldn't I come?- There is a lot of a driving - some days you may well spend 8+ hours on the road.
- Mountain passes can be dangerous - some are narrow, some are bumpy, some alternate between dark tunnels and bright sunshine. A lot are all of the above.
- You will be sharing some of the roads with other groups of cars, motorbikes and cyclists who want to have just as much fun as you.
- There were no problems in 2004 but you should be prepared for mechanical problems, punctures, stone chips and a filthy car.
- Mountain passes are hard on the brakes, hard on the tyres and hard on your passenger.
- We mostly stay at 2 star family-run independant hotels. Don't expect room service, gyms, or stylish decor.
Who is coming?
(Definates in bold, Maybes in normal, Reservations in italics,
Ferry Booked)
- Wigley (21) F
- THE MIGHTY IMP F
- Matt18 (18) F
- paa100 (7) F
- Beastmaster (2) F (first 4 days only)
- Spaci (66) - Special Guest from Switzerland
- matrog F
- RVW (57) F
- Dalboyne - Special Guest from Luxembourg
- swiss cooper-s - Special Guest from Switzerland
- Kwottro - Special Guest from Switzerland
- JNS513 - Spa Francorchamps - Special Guest from Belgium
Bonette or Bust 2005 - Sep 4th to Sep 17th 
