Very hard today, ok once I got onto the Coiromonte hairpins although 5 min of my PB - 19m49s instead of 14m33 - 25% ! Although I blame 28mm rather than 25mm tires.

Return to Emeindras with skate skis as the trails had been pisted. However I broke a basket on one of my poles which meant for a bit of lopsided skiing.

A quick tour on nordic touring skis towards Emeindras above le Sappey.

Same as last year but in the reverse direction. I was looking for another pass but it doesn't seem that the road is surfaced. The weather has been unsettled and it didn't look good reaching Omegna.

RouteNice little ride along the foothills of lake Orta to a monastry on top of a hill with lake views. The route passes through a few traditional Italian villages. There is a bar in Miasino.

Afternoon trip to recover my sunglasses left in a cafe in Orta. This gave me the opportunity to cycle around the headland of Orta then ride up to Armeno in the route I normally ride down.

Tot and I decided to head up to Chamrousse for the closing weekend.

I wanted to tackle the Madeleine via Montgellafrey as I hadn't done this climb before. It is a little back road but not that quiet. On paper the climb is just 7.7% over 13km.

This climb is a nice little switchback road which means the descent, on foot, is fairly short.  The descent is down a steep track from the chapel and fairly quick.

Passo della Colma is 8.9 kilometers long for an elevation gain of 490 meters giving an average gradient of 5.1%. The climb starts near the historic town of Varallo, which is worth a detour.