I’m not sure whose idea it was but we agreed with Matty, whilst on a Pause Cafe social ride (and probably lacking in oxygen) that it would be cool to ride up the Col de Petit St Bernard and over to La Thuile in Italy for lunch and then ride back. Eight of us set off, five of us in the tortoise group with a 40 minute headstart, and three hares chasing us to the top.
The hares caught us with just 1km to the top meaning a nice group photo could be taken as we crossed into Italy with Mont Blanc in the background.
The road down into La Thuile was lovely and smooth – great fun!
Lots of pizza and pasta was consumed at a restaurant recommended by our neighbour, called Lo Tata. It was delish and stocked up energy levels for our return journey.
The return was hot and some people started to look a bit rosy with sunburn. It was really hot on the exposed hairpin turns but the views were stunning and made it easier.
At the top we rewarded ourselves with lucky dip flavoured lolly ices before crossing back into France and freewheeling most of the way back to Bourg Saint Maurice. It was so hot we didn’t even need extra layers for the descent.
59 miles, 7,500ft of climbing, lots of yummy food and a beer at the end. What a great day!
