{"id":8858,"date":"2025-11-07T09:54:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T14:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/?p=8858"},"modified":"2025-11-12T08:43:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T13:43:34","slug":"conquering-fear-on-tour-de-france-routes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/conquering-fear-on-tour-de-france-routes\/","title":{"rendered":"Conquering fear on Tour de France routes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Conquering Fear on Tour de France Routes<br>By Robert Navin, #212529<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Riding a motorcycle through the French Alps to tackle the legendary twisties of Tour de France routes is a thrill tempered by a dose of fear. There\u2019s the good kind of fear, the kind that keeps you sharp and safe, and the bad kind that can freeze you up and make things dicey. Finding the sweet spot where healthy caution meets relaxed fun is the trick. For two Americans pushing their limits on unfamiliar alpine roads, this was a two-week crash course in balancing both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This adventure was my friend Bruce\u2019s brainchild. At a BMW club meeting, he lit up talking about carving through the Tour de France\u2019s alpine routes. Bruce logs 15,000 miles a year and teaches motorcycle classes, and he was hooked on the idea and excited to practice his rusty high school French in Paris. I ride maybe 3,000 miles a year when the weather\u2019s nice, so I was curious\u2013not sold. My near-fluent French caught his interest, though, and he waved off my skill concerns. \u201cI\u2019ll handle the planning,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just show up. I\u2019ll navigate, and if I zip ahead, I\u2019ll loop back for you.\u201d Sold! We booked bikes, helmets, flights and hotels for August 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-1-1024x675.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8854 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"675\" src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-1-1024x675.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8854 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-1-1024x675.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-1-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-1-768x506.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-1.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In late June, Bruce\u2019s wife dropped a bomb: \u201cHoney, you\u2019re not going. I bought a house and you need to sell ours.\u201d Bruce was out, and I wondered if I could handle those mountain twisties solo. After a sleepless night, I decided to go for it. My wife, ever supportive, secretly recruited my old Peace Corps buddy Mike to join me. Mike rides less than I do and called the trip \u201cinsane\u201d months earlier. After a cash bribe from my wife and some nudging from his adventure-loving girlfriend, he was in. I echoed Bruce\u2019s pitch: \u201cI\u2019ll take care of everything. Just ride. We\u2019re a team.\u201d Mike\u2019s dry humor was a bonus I didn\u2019t expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bruce took the time to walk me through loading GPX files into the BMW Connected app. I practiced tight turns on the Blue Ridge Parkway and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m95eKGL4kYc\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m95eKGL4kYc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">joined Cone Camp for slow-speed drills<\/a>. The Harley guys showed me I still had work to do. Mike prepped too, taking two motorcycle classes and conquering Mount Lemmon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We chose Moto-Plaisir near Geneva for our rentals. It was near the Alps, stocked with BMW motorcycles and close to an airport with direct flights from Dulles. They had 69 bikes ready when we arrived; Mike picked a Triumph Tiger GT Pro (he rides a Bonneville T100 at home) and I got a BMW F 900 XR (I\u2019m used to an F 800 ST). The higher seats gave us both some jitters. GoPros weren\u2019t available, but honestly, our rides couldn\u2019t top the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UFnQ4T4Ohp8\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UFnQ4T4Ohp8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">epic Alps videos already out there<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-2-879x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8855 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"879\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-2-879x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8855 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-2-879x1024.jpg 879w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-2-258x300.jpg 258w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-2-768x895.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-2-1318x1536.jpg 1318w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-2.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 879px) 100vw, 879px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Our first headache turned out to be Bluetooth issues. Mike\u2019s rental wouldn\u2019t sync with my Schuberth R2 helmet, and while I could get TomTom directions, I couldn\u2019t get both TomTom and Mike\u2019s voice at once. We muddled through, with me toggling between the TomTom and the road to relay cues to Mike. Later, we ditched voice comms so I could focus on directions, which only led us astray three times. As far as problems go, it was annoying but not disastrous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bruce mapped out a 12-day counterclockwise route, but I flipped it to clockwise for better weather to see Mont Blanc (15,774 ft). Reversing the GPX files wasn\u2019t easy, and I didn\u2019t set the TomTom to a parking garage, so we scrambled to park (illegally) in Chamonix, barely making our cable car to take us up 12,605 feet. Altitude sickness hit me hard\u2014I nearly fainted\u2014but the clear, wind-free view of the retreating glacier was worth it. Visit soon; it\u2019s shrinking 98 feet a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From Chamonix, we rode west to Annecy, south to Chambery Gap, and passes\u2013which they call cols\u2013like d\u2019Allos (7,382 ft, 33-time Tour de France route), de la Bonnette (9,193 ft, 6.8% average gradient), de Vars (6,916 ft) and d\u2019Izoard (7,743 ft). We looped around la Meije\u2019s 13,000-foot glacier, crossed Lac du Chambon\u2019s dam, hit Pont de Claix, Thonon-les-Bains and the Route des Grandes Alpes to Morzine, then went back to Annemasse. The <a href=\"https:\/\/tourdetravoy.wordpress.com\/2020\/07\/30\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/tourdetravoy.wordpress.com\/2020\/07\/30\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">northern Route Napol\u00e9on from Chambery to Gap<\/a> was a historic highlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-3-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8856 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-3-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8856 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-3-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-3-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-3-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-3.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The passes were intensely narrow roads, some barely 1.5 lanes wide, with flimsy barriers of gravel ridges, wooden rails or just police tape where rockslides had wiped them out. At Col de la Bonnette, I dodged altitude sickness worries and a kid bombing down on a skateboard. The 70-mile view of Italian peaks was unreal, shared with motorcyclists, cyclists and even an old VW bus that passed us. A cyclist in her 50s, unfazed by the climb, snapped our photo and shrugged, \u201cThis is what we do.\u201d It was humbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Col d\u2019Izoard\u2019s 7% gradient and 34 Tour de France appearances tested us. Mike, battling anxiety, admitted to a foot-down moment in a twisty. \u201cTwo seconds of lost focus after eight hours in the saddle ain\u2019t bad,\u201d I told him. His mantra: \u201cFocus.\u201d A pro photographer caught us in action, and we bought the shots online for posterity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not every highlight was a twisty. On a straight valley stretch, a Ducati rider on a bright red bike signaled, \u201cWanna race?\u201d I declined, grinning as he vanished over the horizon. In Thonon-les-Bains, we shared a hotel with 70 junior Tour de France riders, all of them lean, agile and backed by seven vans and other vehicles filled with serious support crews and their tools. Bicycling is serious business in Europe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-4-1024x818.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8857 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"818\" src=\"http:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-4-1024x818.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8857 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-4-1024x818.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-4-300x240.jpg 300w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-4-768x613.jpg 768w, https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/navin_france-4.jpg 1400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Navigating traffic circles was tricky. France\u2019s \u201cronds-points\u201d vary; some give right-of-way to vehicles in the circle, others to those entering. Mike struggled to keep up in multi-lane circles, risking rear-enders. Toll booths were another hassle, beyond what they usually are for motorcycles; I skipped a few $2.50 tolls, earning a $115 fine from France\u2019s Directorate of Highways after trying to sneak through with cars. Mike\u2019s hand cramped from gripping too tight, and he dropped his bike a few times at low speeds. Moto-Plaisir charged fairly for minor damage. Fatigue and anxiety were real, but Mike\u2019s openness let me adjust routes and offer support. Over dinner, we laughed off the stress, sticking to one riding tip a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My wife texted mid-trip, \u201cIs this a motorcycle adventure or a food tour?\u201d It was a fair point. Family-run inns served local gems like tartiflette (cheese, bacon, potato casserole), fresh caprese, sauerkraut with sausage, and baked perch with Raclette. Desserts like cr\u00e8me br\u00fbl\u00e9e with vanilla ice cream or Calvados flaming apple tarts were unreal. One night, we ended up at a French steakhouse chain, staring at cow and sheep portraits while their kin sizzled on the grill. Lodging was tight, as Europeans flocked to the Alps to escape hot weather that summer instead of to the Mediterranean to enjoy it, making scarce the usual surplus ski lodge rooms, but Booking.com saved us nightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking back and reflecting honestly, we used four methods to manage our fear and anxiety about the trip. Mike and I were honest with each other, sharing our concerns up front and agreeing on routing and route changes along the way. We checked in with each other daily\u2013sometimes hourly\u2013to make sure we stayed on the same page. We learned a lesson about our gear, resolving to test everything before riding to avoid having to work around issues like subpar comms. Finally, we supported each other with reassurances and kept coaching to a minimum to keep our stress levels low. We also made sure we had fun during our time off the bikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the fun we had, it wasn\u2019t a perfect trip. A slower pace or an extra week would\u2019ve boosted the fun. As Neil Peart, BMW rider and Rush drummer, put it in his book Roadshow, \u201cAdventures suck when you\u2019re having them.\u201d Funny later, nerve-racking when they\u2019re happening, but worth every twisty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conquering Fear on Tour de France RoutesBy Robert Navin, #212529 Riding a motorcycle through the French Alps to tackle the legendary twisties of Tour de France routes is a thrill tempered by a dose of fear. There\u2019s the good kind of fear, the kind that keeps you sharp and safe, and the bad kind that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-findyourcrossroads"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bmwmoa.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}