Winter riding in the Alps - Les Marmottes

Hi guys,

This week end I've been with a friend in the Alps, French moutains at the Italian border, for a winter motorist meeting called "Les Marmottes", "The Groundhog" in english.

We started from our town, Toulouse and ride 700km to get to Saint Veran, the town where the meeting took place. It's the hightest town of Europe, 2040m high!

We drove by night on the highway to go fast, just making some break for fuel and eat

At 1 o'clock in the morning we stop into a small hotel called "Formule 1". There is hundred of "Formule 1" hotels in France as it's really cheap.

Unpacking our luggage to bring them in our room

Then we slept up to 8am and took a coffee in our room before we left

On the morning the road was a bit icy...

After a 100km ride we got to Saint-Veran to the meeting. That's a really small town, about 100 or 150 people live there I guess...

But it's really a nice place and the weather was really good!

At this meeting half of the bikes are old side-car with their old drivers As you see with the plate some of them come from England...

Nice view for... :eek1

I was the first to fall on the snow... but I'm quite use to fall when doing off-road :norton

A little sign was telling "House of the lovers" at the entry of a snowed path...

The path looked to be unsecure...

Be we try to ride on... having some problem with road tires on snow and ice... My friend tried some patented technic without any success :lol3

Guys with 2 wheel drive side-car were more confortable on snow...

Some other found the ultimate stuff to ride on snow :huh

When you get to this meeting you get a sticker and feel quite proud

Before the night we get to the entry of the town to install our tents

My friend tried to impress me saying "I don't feel cold!"

This was going to be my house for the night

After a good lunch with typical food in a restaurant, a lot of beer and some unknow alcohol from our tent neighbors the wake up was quite hard at 8am...

But the view was so cool with the moon

New bikes arrived during the night...

And ADV pic... :lol3

At 9am we decided to get back home but before that we wanted to went in Italy to have lunch, the road to Italy accross the Alps was great to ride

We tried to race against a helicopter!

We made a break by doing some off-road close to a river

Then we left Italy to get to the Mediterranean sea to ride on the beach of Monte Carlo where there is a famous Formula 1 GP

1500km in the week end, snow, ice, sea, friends, beer, bikes... that's a fuc**** good week end! :clap

Hope you will enjoy this report,
aurel

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