Some adventures are about exploring new countries. Some are about widening your horizon and finding yourself. Others are about enjoying nature or diving into unknown cultures. This bike adventure was all about physical challenges and pushing ourselves to the limit.

With approximately 32,000 meters of elevation gain in 2,400 kilometers, this monster trip from The Netherlands to the Mediterranean is by far my steepest biking adventure ever.

Together with biking buddy Maarten, I started in my hometown of Apeldoorn. The big mountain passes of the French Alps would be the main focus of this tour, following in the footsteps of the great Tour the France athletes. The extra 1,200 kilometers through The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and France to Lake Geneva in Switzerland were considered part of our preparation, in addition to the 3,800 km we had been biking around Apeldoorn during the spring season. Before we reached Switzerland, the hills of the Ardennes, Vosges, and Jura gave us a little taste of what lay ahead.

The Route des Grandes Alpes links Lake Geneva to Monaco. Cycling through Switzerland, Italy, and France, we identified ourselves with the great cyclists in the Tour the France. With one difference: we had to carry our own luggage, and camp along the way. Mightly mountains, gracious glaciers, wild rivers, and countless hairpin turns glided past as we struggled our way up the Great Saint Bernard Pass (2469m), Little Saint Bernard Pass (2188m), Col de L’Iseran (2770m), Col du Télégraphe (1566m), Col du Lautaret (2058m), Col du Galibier (2646m), l’Alp d’Huez (1790m), Col d’Izoard (2361m), Col de Vars (2108m), Col de la Bonette (2802m), Col de St. Martin (1500m), Col de Turini (1604m), and a range of other lower passes.

Bike-wise, I have never been in better shape than I was in the summer of 2007. In retrospect, we were quite crazy!

Map

Photos

Click to enlarge

Back to

Other Biking Posts

Arctic Islands

Biking along the archipelagos of Senja, Vesterålen and Lofoten in Arctic Norway. Together with our 2 kids, we biked 588 km under the midnight sun.

Kanalruta | Lysefjorden

Biking along Telemarkskanalen, over Suleskard and finishing at the Lysefjord. Biking 350 km in 10 days with 2 small kids was a totally new kind of adventure.

Nærøyfjorden

3 days of biking along several highlights in Norway: Rallarvegen, Flåm, Nærøyfjorden, Aurlandsfjellet and Stalheimsvegen. Biking fjords & mountains with our...

Ryfylke Bike & Boat

Our first biking holiday with our son. On this 3-day tour, we tested our new kid trailer, and cycling with electrical bikes, while island hopping through Ryfylke.

Loen

Loen in autumn is just WOW, and without the crowds. We hiked and biked to Lodalen/Lovatnet, Olden, Briksdalsbreen, and tried the Loen via ferrata, of course!

Biking Norway’s Belly

2,667 km crisscrossing southern Norway, visiting 11 hospitable Norwegian friends along the way. Lush valleys, deep fjords, high mountain passes, and coastlines.

Around the North Sea

My toughest bike adventure. 4300 km | 34,000 meters of elevation gain, through 7 countries. We biked an alternative, inland route to the North Sea Cycle Route.

Genève – Firenze

1,552 km through 4 countries. Following the Rhône and Rhine valleys, over high Alp passes, through wet Tyrol, crossing the hot Po Valley and the Apennines.

Fjords & Mountains

Celebrating high school graduation with a first bike adventure in southern Norway. Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger, with lots of mountains and fjords in between.