TOUR DE COMBINS BY MOUNTAIN BIKE!

Me, Eilidh and Sav decided last year that we were going to head off on a bikepack trip! Sav found the TDC on Bikepacking.com after we had decided on Italy after finding good flights. We planned everything before we set off, got our bikes serviced and worked out how much food and supplied to take!

 A half day to set us off on the TDC!

On the Sunday arriving in Aosta after lots of buses, we set up our bikes and got packed up on the Monday. We ended up delaying the lift up toward Entroubles by a few hours, where we planned to start our ride as we had a few mechanicals to sort out, which involved borrowing the van next doors hammer...

It was a bit of a hectic and tiring start! We set off up the road in the heat of the day and did a massive climb up to 2000m. We found a beautiful campspot which had a great dipping venue for an evening wash to get an early nights sleep before the next big day!

The wildflowers and views were just what we had wanted to see on this route, insane!

TDC Day 2, AM: TDC Gap.

The morning of the second day of the Tour de Combins started with fun and flowly single track through the forest, which continued onto a lovely traverse following the wildflowers until we got to the unexpected TDC gap which we managed to squeeze our bikes through and were treated to our first marmots and then a fox! The gravel track then wound its way up high to where we stopped for lunch, and we went onto our first hike a bike of the trip, which deserves the next post. Every corner on this morning of riding rewarded us with incredible views, different wild flower species, and some of the easiest riding of the trip, which at that point we hadn't appreciated.

TDC Day 2, PM, Part 1: The worst hikeabike I have ever done.

After a lovely morning of traversing and a gravel track climb, we stopped at an abandoned hut with a roaming marmot before the hikeabike to shove some food in. I had smash to get some potato fuel (#staceysimms).

We knew before the trip that the snow line was low, but we thought we'd give it a go. We worked well together, picking our route to push up. The path was covered in snow, we couldn't push along where the walkers had gone because of the heavy bikes and risk of slipping and falling back the way we had come, instead we went straight up over the area where the snow had melted which left slippy clay and rough boulders. At one point, we had to take some bags off the bikes and use our bike handles as ice axes so that we could push up some steep bits. This took a long time. We were also acclimatising to the altitude as I know from past bikes that my breathing gets affected from 2000m. What a fun adventure and challenge we were on. I just kept thinking that I was super happy that no other bikers were in sight...

We eventually made it to the top of Fenêtre de Durandand pass at 2797m and looked down to see even more snow in the valley than the one we had just been up...!

TDC Day 2, PM Part 2: Amazing singletrack, marmots, snow, and landslides.

We descended the snow (so much snow algae), mostly sitting on our bikes, pointing them downhill and picking the highest line away from the river melt. We then finally crossed a few snow patches, and the trail opened out onto an incredible single track that took us to a gravel road to get onto the side of the reservoir. The single track was rough, steep in places with the odd awkward rock, but it felt like you were descending off down an epic ridge with high dormant mountains surrounding us, the classic Switzerland view as we had now crossed the border from Itlay, no passport control? We were bang on my prediction and were hammering it down the gravel track to where we had planned to go to a campsite when we came across a massive landslide that stopped us. Not so dormant mountains, after all. We had thought that the road was closed for cars and that we could get through with bikes. We couldn't. The river was raging, the surrounding rocks were loose, and the workers' bridges were tilting sideways, only had 1 side, and were very narrow. Not made for heavy bikes. We decided to turn around, set up camp, get some food, and plan our alternative route on the walkers' path of the Combins instead, which would add 1 day to our planned trip. It's worth noting that we had been watching the weather the few weeks leading up to this trip, we had checked for closures as Italy and Switzerland had been in the news for landslides and high rivers, but before our trip this closure was not documented, even by the locals we asked! This trip has really highlighted to me how quickly the Alps are changing, we also heard lots of rock fall as we were descending over the pass - climate change is reshaping the Alps right in front of us.

TDC Day 3, midmorning: Via Ferrata by bikes.

After a morning of cycling up a track to get high on the East of Lac Du Mauvoisin we made it to a Hut for a second breakfast, we had now joined the walkers path of the TDC for our detour. We had seen on the map that one section to get to the descent would be steep. When we got to this section, we had some food, got our breath back, and worked together to navigate the narrow path. We were pushing our laden bikes along the side of a consequential drop. The photos do not do this justice, and if biking it, we recommend waiting until the West side is back open again. We met a guide with his clients at one of the narrowest and steepest parts who put us and his clients in danger, even after I had asked him to stop and please wait. I am getting over this intense anger that built up out, through my bodged Ode to the Mountain Guide.

O Mountain Guide, with brain so bold,
You navigate this steep and rugged land.
Yet, heed my plea, in earnest tone,
For safety's call cannot be lone.

In recent days, a path we met,
Where dangers lurked and fears were fed.
Amidst the thrill, a shadow cast,
On bikers' skills, a daunting task.

O guide, with wisdom, take this note,
To gauge the situation of those afloat.
Assess the novice and the sage,
Before they mount and risks engage.

Your passion for the wild we share,
Your fervent call to dare and care.
Yet safety's helm must steer the course,
To harmonize with nature's force, not alone.

Note: It is not actually a Via Ferrata. It just felt like it.

Sidenote to the TDC: Looking after your body, bike, and mind when in Exped mode.

The main thing when on an exped like this I think is to tackle a problem, whatever it is right there and then, don't wait. Even on a day trip, I try and do this. We were fully self-sufficient, one of my favourite things is knowing that if we had an issue, be it technical, medical, etc. we had the knowledge and skill to sort it out.

Bike: We can all diagnose and fix most problems on the bike. Over the years, I have had most things go wrong on a bike, and Al has taught me how to fix, bodge, and get my bike going again. I am now more on it with prevention. We did checks in the am/pm on our bikes and before a descent. The only things we had go wrong were important rounded bolts and electric shifters before the start, and my break pads wore down on route. Sometimes, our bags needed adjusting, but that's MTBing with bags. They're going to move when riding rough stuff.

Body: Keeping on top of hydration, overheating, altitude effects, food, and chafe is hard, but trying to plan in stops when someone needs it the most is the easiest. Being able to drink whilst on the bike is key for this type of trip and having a snack bag that you can eat from whilst biking helps. Eating is such a personal thing, when and how much however I think the thing to remember is that you are eating for tomorrow and for that hikeabike. You can only learn it when you give it a go. Eating little every now and again keeps you topped up and then stopping for 3 main meals a day keeps you fuelled. We were bad for this on our last day of riding, and it was noticeable that we felt the descent harder when it was undulating.

Mind: I think this is the hardest one, but personally, I think communication is key. Passing on when you are having a bad day, feeling rough, need a break, food, ring home, stop for the night, etc. so that as a team, we can support each other. This one is a hard one to do, but knowing your traits, how to manage those traits, and how to work with your team mates is a good place to start.

A biking trip like this is so much more than the biking, and sometimes that isn't even the toughest bit!!

TDC Day 3, PM: The best single track to a bed for the night.

This was the most incredible single track and descending for me on the trip. We recommend hiking up from the Dam and doing an out and return if you fancy doing it to avoid the steep traverse.

We had to have a big shake out, sit down and have some chocolate when we got to the top of the climb, I had to shout into the wind to get rid of my anger that build up inside me from fear and the guides actions. It took a while to get into the riding, I fell off a few times, slipping on some mud and then rocks, wishing I had my knee pads. I reset, and then it started to flow and was such fun downhill. Sav had a big crash and somehow didn't break her arm... the bruises are impressive. I took her seat bag and put it in my bag so that she could put the dropper seat down and enjoy the descent more. The descent had some fun drops, nice mud track, and again, some awkward rocks. Eilidh and Sav remembered we had entered another country and were saying Bonjour to all the walkers, I was so excited that I was shouting Ciao and Bonjour 😅

Note on bike bags: Bikebag systems are so personnel, and I have been through most of them. In the past I have had the Tailfin snap on me, I gave it back but the system does allow you to use your suspension and dropper and is probably better without the panniers I had on it as well as the top bag. A seat bag never worked for me on an MTB, but it works on my gravel bike as it doesn't buzz the wheel... I really recommend the Old Man Mountain rack, which is solid, fits on both bikes, and can take panniers, or you can strap things to it, even a dog. For bikepacking, you have to give these things a go with your setup and style of riding, I reckon as it's hard to balance out the use vs. cost vs. fit!

We descended to the dam and cycled through the tunnels, down the road into town for a well-deserved beer, so happy to finally be on the other side of the dam. We had been looking at this dam for 2 days! We then continued onto the Fionnay and found a room with breakfast and dinner included to have a shower, reset, and a good night's sleep! All very happy.

TDC Day 4, am: Overheating to get to civilisation & Col De Mille Hut.

We buzzed out of our accommodation, warming our legs up on a gradual climb on the road that eventually took us onto a forestry track. This track turned into an MTB descent that we had to push up. As we got nearer the main track, we started to see more people, we were now in a much more popular area, no longer remote. As we came out of the trees, my struggle with the heat began. I strapped my bag onto my bike, put my lightweight top on, and changed my helmet for a hat whilst we climbed the forestry track to the col. I ended up in my bra with a podcast on not being able to pedal or push any faster, even though my body and mind we able, my breathing from overheating and altitude couldn't keep up, even with a nasal dilator. I have plans to incorporate some sessions of running sprints to help this as written in the uphill athlete book... maybe whilst in a sauna? Ha. We pushed over the easiest climb of the trip, it was a bit hilarious that I was struggling so much, at the hut the girls kindly got me a drink but the food was not what I has been expecting/had researched so we ended up with a snack and no lunch. We probably should have boiled some water up and had a dried food packet but the limited shade options didn't make it appealing and the descent looked fun so we got impatient to get going!

TDC Day 4 PM: A break burning descents past insane views to a campsite.

The first part of the descent was fun, steep and rough, a tiny roped fence giving us a bit of fake confidence for the steep grassy slope that was on our right. We hit a forestry track, which took us to an undulating descent that lacked the flow we craved however it was steep, committing and rough with some super fun parts but the big grassy drop to our right again kept us alert, not wanting to catch a pedal and concentrating on good technique or walking when it was too rocky/awkward. We then descended down a forestry track after going through an awkward gate, needing to stop every now and again to give our breaks a rest and cool down. We headed straight to a campsite in Bourg-Sanit-Pierre, showered, and went for a beer and burger, the dried food not feeling appealing.

Two days of decompressing with aperol, gelato, uplift & a spa!

Due to thunder and lightening on our 5th day of the TDC, we headed back to Aosta on the only bus available for the next few days, a stressful morning helped by having an early call with Torin! We knew we had made the right decision when we met a couple at the bus stop who had got a lift down as they couldn't cross a river. Bernard's Pass is at 2469m, so we didn't want to be up there with so much lightening about. We had also done all the days on our plan that we wanted to spend on the TDC due to the detour. 

For the next two days, we decompressed. We booked another night in the apartment so we could relax with no logistics. A massive thanks to Scott and Mark, who told us he was on his way to Aosta. He kindly agreed to help move our bike bags from the campsite where we stored them to our apartment. 

We then spent a lovely day with the guys eating lovely Italian food, including ice cream and aperol.

We spent our last day before heading home at the @pilabikepark Pila uplift, which is a designated bikepark in the summer. It was so fun to have some easy riding. The blue flow trail was amazing - recommend. This was one of the main reasons for starting here, I was glad we actually made it back (I had thought part way round that we might end up on a train to Cham or something haha). My breaks finally gave up from all the stress just as our ticket ran out. After an aperol, we headed back to the apartment to do the most efficient bike dismantle and headed to the @qcterme spa further up the valley for some hot and cold treatment, including champagne and nibbles.

Can safely say the last day before travelling was a holiday 😂