France & Italy: Reflections

I think it is a good moment having reached Slovenia to write about my overall thoughts having crossed France and Italy.  Talking to Roman last night, I can see that the trail really changes from here, and should be faster and more flowing.  So this feels like a significant way-point and boundary.  I've submitted my GPXs and waypoints to Alessandro along with some detailed feedback.

Roman, Tina and Luka very kindly put me up here for the night.

Here are some thoughts.

France:

• Overall, I was really impressed by just how much off-roading there was.  I had low expectations, coming from the UK, and expected the north especially to be much like home.  In fact, there were trails everywhere!
• That novelty more than made up for the fact that some got a little bit repetitive in the beginning (no more field corners!), but it only last two days, and it made for great progress.  I wouldn't change any of it fundamentally.
• I also got a great sense of transition and the different geographical areas of France.  It felt really significant to pass through famous cities (Chartres, Orleans, Avignon, Orange etc) and cross big rivers (Seine, Loire, Rhone).  You saw a clear progress of landscape, from the plains of the north, to the downs-like region near Montlucon, to the moors of Auvergne, then the rocky scrub of the Mediterranean, before the hills after Orange and then climbing into the Mediterranean Alps.
• The trail riding after Montlucon is brilliant.  Great technical "single track".  The bit most familiar to what I'm used to from the UK.
• The views from the summits in Auvergne, Cevennes, Luberon, Alps are truly remarkable.
• There is a bit after Orleans in the forests that needs tightening up.  Either take a more direct road route and skip some countryside, or find some better trails.  Too many minor roads and diversions.  But it was right to make this a low priority because it isn't any time going to be a highlight area of the country.
• Just doing TET France is a brilliant trip all on its own, with that sense of progression, contrast and achievement.  To think, someone commented in the Facebook group as I was setting off that I should skip France and get the moto-train straight to Vienna.  What a mistake!
• There were very few errors or changes in the route, and Ben responded immediately to the feedback I was giving along the way.  Top class!

Italy:

• TET Italy is long, because it is squiggly, and suggested to take 10 days.  I wanted to get across quicker, so took some deliberate shortcuts.  I therefore haven't ridden all of it and may have missed some brilliant bits.  All of this feedback should be read keeping in mind that it is partial.
• The scenery in Italy is also breath-taking, from the Alps and the different perspective of the Ligurian historic roads, through the Lakes, then into the Dolomites.  I had never visited these areas before and feel really privileged to have done so on this trip.  I'll certainly be back to individual regions for trips and holidays in the future, with or without the bike.
• My expectations had been raised by France, so this is perhaps unfair, especially given the amount of trail, but there were more mistakes in the route.  Trails that simply didn't exist on the ground, lots and lots of no access signs, and some trails that were just too technical for me and (in my opinion) the majority of TET riders.  Unfortunately, it got to a stage where I started not to trust the trail, and if it was 50:50 whether to take a road-route or shortcut or try another bit of trail, I tended to go for the road because I couldn't risk the trail not being there/passable/legal.
• The proportion of trail to road was lower than France, even accounting for and ignoring the deliberate short-cuts I introduced.  This is obviously even more the case when you consider trails that let you make progress - France was more permissive and had fewer bits that felt like diversions for the sake of off-road.  TET Italy runs down some dual-carriageway highways, which doesn't happen in France.  Some of the long tunnels are really cool though!
• However, my absolute favourite day of the trip so far was in Italy, from Turin to Lake Maggiore.  Even though it was raining!  It combined great flat-lands trails, muddy technical bits, and ended with some spectacular views.  Overall, it had a perfect sense of balance.  It was a tough choice, but it knocked the day from Montluçon into second place!
• All of that length can make it a bit of a slog.  Probably, I just took the wrong approach, but I wrote a little bit more about this in an earlier blog post and I think it bears repeating.

I had the impression that these were great routes if you were a local, or only looking to tour this area, but they didn't quite fit the bill for the Trans Euro Trail.

There is nothing you can do about the law and where it is legal to ride, or geography.  So if the trails just don't exist, there's little one can do to help.  There is also an inherent contradiction in my trip - I want to ride off-road as much as possible, but I'd also like to reach Odessa (or at least Bucharest!).  If I really wanted to get a move on, I could just drive down the motorway. 

But that same contradiction is at the heart of TET itself - it is after-all the Trans-European Trail - and there is an implication of progress as well as off-roading.  The impression has been building in my mind that the Italian route doesn't quite have the balance right, and is often too fiddly and slow-going.  It makes me wonder if a fundamentally different route might work better, taking in more of the low-lands?

• Absolutely none of this is meant as criticism of Alessandro.  He has done a phenomenal job.  I couldn't have done anything like the trip I have without his hard work.  It may well be that this is simply how it has to be in Italy.  But in that case, I'd simply recommend that potential riders bear my experience in mind and, if necessary, adjust their expectations to suit.
• I'm pretty sure this isn't the right translation of the meaning of "bonne route", but "strada giusta"!

I'm taking it easy for the morning while some washing dries and I patch up the bike.  Turns out it needed a whole small bottle of oil to top up.  Cinched up a couple of loose bits and pieces with cable-ties too.  I'm also updating the blog, and sending all that feedback.

New country = new stickers!  Roman had some TET ones too.

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