Phew! Our Italian Lakes and Alps tour turned out to be quite a warm one!

Being the eternal optimist when it comes to the weather (not), I vaguely listened to the weather forecast before leaving home to catch the Hull ferry – the words heatwave registered, and on checking the forecast for Europe hastily removed the heavy coat for a summer one, took out the liners for shorts and flip-flops and almost (not that much of an optimist) left the waterproofs at home.

All was looking good as we crossed to Zeebrugge, Zeebrugge and sunshine now that is a novelty. Our journey to the Champagne region of France was uneventful and we met up with the other riders that had come via the Eurotunnel tented village. We even had Rita and John, now natives of France, joining us for the first time.

Using some of our favourite roads we had a great run across France, occasionally popping onto the motorway to refuel, this being a Sunday and France being closed. Our route took us through Geneva, which was pretty busy but never the less looked beautiful with its ‘Jet d’Eau (water fountain to you and me) and backdrop of snow covered alps, well worth the effort. My only regret was that it was too busy to stop and photograph.

Our day came to an end at one of our favourite hotels under the shadow of Mount Blanc, and we enjoyed an excellent evening meal with what can only be described as a stunning backdrop.

Choice of routes the next day and quite unusually, but sensibly everyone broke into groups and rode individually. Obviously this not using deodorant was finally working ….. Anyway as I said, some went through the Mount Blanc tunnel and over the Grand St Bernard pass – whilst others took the more leisurely ‘Blanc route’ over the Col de la Forclaz. All paths led to Stresa on Lake Maggiore which was our home for the next two days.

Gilli our lady that does for us in Italy, had found a lovely 4 star hotel overlooking the lake, and so apart from a few diehard riders, everyone had a day off riding and the majority like myself took a boat ride to explore the Borromean island which consist of three islands and two islets. This was a really good day, especially with the weather which continued to give us blue skies and sunshine. Highlight of the islands is Isola Bella on which Carlo III built a beautiful palazzo dedicated to his wife Isabella – it is a beautiful house so she must have been some ‘broad’.

The reason for building on an island, apart from stunning views soon became apparent as cooling breeze’s came in from the open windows and  kept the house at a lovely temperature whilst all around was so hot.  I also did not notice any mosquitos which due to the heat were at their most rampant, biting several people quite badly.

On departure, I cheated by taking the ferry across the lake whilst the others rode along the lakeside through Locarno onto Lugano and finally to the top of Lake Como. Here some took the direct route to the hotel (Garmanitist?) whilst everyone else enjoyed the circular route via St. Moritz. By this time, it was guess which county you are in as we constantly crossed from Italy to Switzerland and back again.

We had a couple of nights in the Italian Alps, where again everyone went their different ways, with the Stelvio been high on everyone’s wish list. I chose the Gavia pass, which was stunning, however the road is in a poor state of repair and is unfenced, so is not suitable for those of a nervous disposition. The fact that we rode it in thick fog some years ago still brings me out in a cold sweat, but then I guess what you can’t see, can’t hurt..

Our journey continued into Austria to ride the Silvretta Pass, whilst passing through Landeck the wind suddenly rose and a large threatening storm appeared to the west behind us. I stopped at the start of the pass to ask if everyone (well five of us) wanted to go up the pass, during which time others in the group rode past us. Having decided that we would chance it, we came round the corner to find everyone turning around – as across the road was a fallen tree. Had we not stopped I am not sure if we would have got through or had it on our heads that’s how close it was. Although the tree was quickly removed, the police closed the pass due to more trees having fallen further along.

So we had to take the alternative Alborg tunnel – which was shut for repairs - so over the pass it was – normally a pleasure, the man upstairs thought it would great fun to drop a huge thundershower on us – first rain of the trip!

The rain was short lived and we arrived at our next overnight stop south of the Bodensee.

The next day turned out to be hard work, apart from the usual summer roadworks the temperature was rising and finally peaked at 38C, the hottest I have ever rode in.

It was a weary group that arrived at the hotel, fortunately quenched by German beer. One of our party Rita, had been suffering from the heat for a few days and finally succumbed, meaning that her and John  had to stop short as the heat became too much. I am pleased to say I have been in contact with them and they now back to normal and back in their French home. John and Rita wanted to pass on their best regards and thanks to those that looked after them.

So it was just a final ride back to Zeebrugge/Eurotunnel  – 26C when we left, spelled another hot day, but fortunately it plummeted to 16C near Brussels, unfortunately followed by a rain storm which ensured we were wet for our return to the UK.

All in all a great trip – I did enjoy the sunshine and great roads, but must admit 38C is a little too hot. The only thing I am disappointed with is that some dirt has got into my camera and several really good pictures have a black smudge on t