Three (younger!) friends were planning to cycle from Geneva to Nice and they asked me if I wanted to come along (probably because we have a camper van and my wife agreed drive this as the support vehicule !) . I agreed to go but said that I would probably not bike all the way and I would use my e-bike. As a group, we had all cycled 180km round Lake Geneva and so we were used to cycling long dstances but due to weather conditions and work/family commitments, we had only managed one local col ( mountain pass).
In a nutshell, the trip was fantastic and I certainly couldn't have done it on a normal road bike. The BH Emotion Sport was fantastic and was v. impressed with the range. They were long enjoyable days and I insisted that we stopped for a longish lunch so I could charge my battery in the restaurant. The Alpe d'Huez climb was special and we all suffered on the Wednesday ride which included two cols - the weather was cold and wet at 2715m and I had to cycle the last 6km without my battery up a steep hill ! Two of my friends on carbon road bikes had to take a few lifts with my wife in the camper van but I and another friend managed to ride all the way. A few verbals from the French (not cyclists ) about cheating with an e-bike but when I told them my surname was Armstrong, we laughed it off.
The trip was so memorable in many ways that we are now planning the Med to the Atlantic over the Pyrenees.
We should have written a book about the trip but I hope you like the picture blog that Jamie has done.
Gex To Nice « Switzerland · France | TripColor
Route
Geneva to Montmelian - 143 km
Montmelian to Bourg d'Oisans - 100 km
Bourg d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez - 20 km
Alpe d'Huez to Guillestre - 110km
Guillestre to Auron - 90km
Auron to Castagniers. - 90km
Castagniers to Promenade des Anglais, Nice -20km
Cols:
Col du Glandon 1924m
Alpe d'Huez
Col de Vars 2108m
Col de Lauteret 2058m
Col de la Bonnette 2715m
My profile:
Lived in France for 35 years
Age 61
Weight 78kg
Bmi just under 25 !
In reasonable physical shape
I bought my first ebike in Sep 2009 - a BH Emotion Sport Max 26v/10A and was very happy with it, except for the noisy forks. As well as the weekend rides with my friends, I put some paniers on, used it for shopping and on country paths. In April, I was in Annecy and bought another BH Emotion Sport 36v/12A - this is a road bike with 700x25c wheels and has a speed sensor on the rear wheel - if the magnet on the wheel is moved away from this sensor, assistance is available up to 32km/h instead of the legal 25km/h limit. This is helpful when riding with the "carbon racers" on the flat.
In a nutshell, the trip was fantastic and I certainly couldn't have done it on a normal road bike. The BH Emotion Sport was fantastic and was v. impressed with the range. They were long enjoyable days and I insisted that we stopped for a longish lunch so I could charge my battery in the restaurant. The Alpe d'Huez climb was special and we all suffered on the Wednesday ride which included two cols - the weather was cold and wet at 2715m and I had to cycle the last 6km without my battery up a steep hill ! Two of my friends on carbon road bikes had to take a few lifts with my wife in the camper van but I and another friend managed to ride all the way. A few verbals from the French (not cyclists ) about cheating with an e-bike but when I told them my surname was Armstrong, we laughed it off.
The trip was so memorable in many ways that we are now planning the Med to the Atlantic over the Pyrenees.
We should have written a book about the trip but I hope you like the picture blog that Jamie has done.
Gex To Nice « Switzerland · France | TripColor
Route
Geneva to Montmelian - 143 km
Montmelian to Bourg d'Oisans - 100 km
Bourg d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez - 20 km
Alpe d'Huez to Guillestre - 110km
Guillestre to Auron - 90km
Auron to Castagniers. - 90km
Castagniers to Promenade des Anglais, Nice -20km
Cols:
Col du Glandon 1924m
Alpe d'Huez
Col de Vars 2108m
Col de Lauteret 2058m
Col de la Bonnette 2715m
My profile:
Lived in France for 35 years
Age 61
Weight 78kg
Bmi just under 25 !
In reasonable physical shape
I bought my first ebike in Sep 2009 - a BH Emotion Sport Max 26v/10A and was very happy with it, except for the noisy forks. As well as the weekend rides with my friends, I put some paniers on, used it for shopping and on country paths. In April, I was in Annecy and bought another BH Emotion Sport 36v/12A - this is a road bike with 700x25c wheels and has a speed sensor on the rear wheel - if the magnet on the wheel is moved away from this sensor, assistance is available up to 32km/h instead of the legal 25km/h limit. This is helpful when riding with the "carbon racers" on the flat.
