Arrivederci Bella Italia!

It was now time to leave Italy. The border point was Col de Seigne, just like on my last tour. So I knew what to expect - a great viewpoint, a fun and easy descent to Les Chapieux, and there, the first crunchy French baguette. Nothing could go wrong. But this time, I would turn right and go up to Cormet de Roselend, a famous pass of the Tour de France.

Unfortunately, both the ascent and descent were on asphalt road until reaching a reservoir, where I planned to set up my camp for the night. The area was as remote as expected, but it was still all alpine scenery with scattered small farms. It wasn't a good idea to pitch my tent right in the middle of it. So I headed to the next hill to check out the next valley. But the situation was similar there. I could already imagine myself climbing up the next pass. Until I noticed some campers by the riverbank. And indeed, the French were also camping there freely, and no one seemed to mind. So I joined them.

The next morning, I faced the next ascent that would finally take me to a proper trail. And here, I encountered the aspirants of the UTMB for the first time. It is an ultramarathon that goes around Mont Blanc. Some of the runners even overtook me while pushing their bikes, and at the top of the pass, I was relieved that their route didn't go down the same trail as mine, but turned in the other direction. So goodbye, UTMB runners.

I had a lot of fun on the trail. Not so much with the herd of cows that I startled, and not with the group of hikers who almost got trampled by the herd. These cows were strange, as most cows usually don't care much if I ride past them. But these ones seemed to be bothered by it.

Afterward, I reached Col du Joly, a fantastic viewpoint. This was the first time I saw Mont Blanc in all its glory, and with a completely different face compared to the Italian side. Admired not only by me but also by hordes of tourists. I was back in civilization. I quickly descended on another beautiful trail to Les Contamines, where a really nice campsite was waiting for me. Now, it was just one more day's ride to Chamonix.