Ride Director Comments

Ride Description

OVERVIEW: This tour in the Val d’Aosta region of northwest Italy, features Swiss-style villages, snow-capped mountain views, French influenced castles and Italian food and wine. We start cycling from the northern city of Courmayeur and travel south through the valley to end in Pont-Saint-Martin. This tour has multi-night stays at every stop and is the fifth time it is offered by Julie Leever.

A chartered bus takes the group from the Turin airport to Courmayeur, which borders France.  It is a skier’s paradise with views of Mont Blanc and Petit Saint Bernard. We arrive in Courmayeur mid-afternoon with ample time to set up your bike and go for a test spin. A lay-over day in Courmayeur has a loop ride or optional sight-seeing activities such as riding the gondola up the mountain pass. En route to Arvier we cycle a spectacular mountain pass to Cogne or the more ambitious Petit-Saint-Bernard pass. Our lay-over day in Arvier features the 'epic' Val-de-Rhemes. The scenery changes with almost every hair-pin turn. From Arvier we travel on village roads to Aosta, known as the 'Rome of the North'. Here we spend three nights with optional rides or a rest day. It’s an easy walk to see all of the ancient Roman relics in the centro storico. Loop rides for Aosta include visiting Switzerland at the Saint Bernard pass, Glacier and/or Place Moulin. All have views of the snow-capped Swiss Alps. On our ride to Saint-Vincent there is a spectacular loop up the Saint-Barthelemy pass that winds through tiny villages. There is an optional ride up the Matterhorn pass. If you’re in need of some R& R, our hotel provides passes to the famous town spa with an unsurpassed view from the rooftop hot tub or enjoy treatments (as the sign advertises) for your liver, stomach and intestines. On our ride to Pont-Saint-Martin we have a mountain loop to Brusson and an optional stop en route to visit the extensive Forte du Bard Museum just a few kilometers before Pont-Saint-Martin. We have group dinners here where we will taste the chef's risotto with apples and Fontina cheese as well as the tagliatelle with venison. There is an optional loop ride for one last view of the snow-capped peaks laced with a necklace of clouds before we pack the bikes and bid arrivederci alle Valle d'Aosta.

RIDE RATING: The trip is rated a 4B with an average of 36 miles/day and 3,800 feet of climbing. Lay-over day rides are out and back so short or long options are personal choice. The two toughest rides are both 38 miles, with 4,400 ft climbing, going to St Bernard pass and the foot of the Matterhorn. There is an optional extension with more climbing on the ride up the St. Bernard Pass. There are unavoidable tunnels on many routes. Most are 100-300 meters long and well lit. Those longer than 400 meters have by-pass lanes. Plan to have head lights and tail lights when riding through tunnels. A RWGPS link to the tour routes will be posted on Ride Leader Docs with instructions on how to access and download the routes. Routes are avaiable to download to your navigation device or smart phone. You should plan to print the maps and cue sheets.

LOGISTICS: Fly in and out of Torinese-Caselle International airport (TRN).  Arrival day is Tuesday, June 3, 2025 at Turin airport. We meet at the airport at 12:30 PM to take a chartered bus from the airport to Courmayeur.  On June 3 we have an informal meeting at 6:00 PM in the hotel lobby.  June 4 is our first formal meeting and group dinner. At the end of the tour on Saturday, June 14, 2025, we depart from Pont-St-Martin at 8:30 AM for a 10:00 AM drop-off at the Torinese-Caselle International airport. Bike boxes will be transferred from first hotel to last hotel by the tour leaders.  

HEALTH & SAFETY: We will invite participants to a Zoom meeting about 6 weeks prior to the tour start date to discuss health and safety rules. Vaccinations for COVID are required and boosters are recommended. Participants are expected to come to the tour in good health and ready to ride. In short, if you are ill on the tour, be it a cold or test positive for COVID but you can ride your bike, then you can stay on the tour with precautions in place. In this case, protocols for isolation, masking, and social distancing are required. If you test positive and cannot ride your bike, then you must isolate in place. That may mean departing the tour or arranging your own transport to subsequent hotels on the tour. Protocols for isolation will be required. We will all need to be flexible as safety comes first.(NOTE-this text may change if the CDC changes their COVID recommendations. But so far it hasn't happened yet so I'm leaving this as is.)

TANDEMS/E-BIKES/RENTALS: Tandems and e-bikes will be accepted on a case-by-case basis.  Talk with the leaders about this. Rental bikes will be available through CycleEurope (cycleeurope.com). Details in the Welcome letter. Delivery fees will depend on the number of people renting. With 10 or more delivery fees are usually waived but understand that this location is far from the rental office. Each rider will pay CycleEurope directly with a credit card. The last time we offered this tour we had insufficient interest in renting.  There were no local bike rental shops in the area.  So in 2022 bike rental was not an option. 

COST & ADMINISTRATION: Included in price are 11 nights lodging in 3-4 star hotels, all breakfasts, 5 group dinners, luggage van & driver, and bus transport to and from the Turin airport. Estimated cost is $1,640 based on an exchange rate of $1.12 = € 1.00 plus the $ 100 non-refundable BAC fee. The final payment of $ 1,000 and Solo Supplement of $ 313 is due on January 15, 2025. We may adjust the final payment in early January if there is substantial change to the exchange rate either up or down. Note: ONLY solo supplement payments may be paid via Zelle. All other payments must be paid by credit card through the BAC website.

SINGLES: It is recommended that singles wanting to share a room try to find their own room mate. The Ride Leader will assist singles to find a room mate. When a single rider applies for the ride, you will be placed on the wait list and a room will be reserved for a limited time. Once a room mate is found, both riders are added to the tour. If a single rider cannot find a room mate, they may be added to the ride on a “space available” basis.

SOLOS: Space for 2 solo rooms with an estimated solo supplement of $ 313.  Solo supplement payments, due January 15, 2025, should be made by Zelle or check. Checks should be made out to “BAC” with a notation of the tour name included on the check and mailed to:  Bicycle Adventure Club, PO Box 23998, San Diego, CA 92193.

WEATHER: Weather is usually cool to cold AM & PM turning warm mid-day: average highs will be 67 F, average lows will be 47 F. June has an average of 5 days with rain but when it rains it will feel cold so plan to bring full rain gear.

HOTELS: This tour has a mix or 2-4 star hotels. Two stops feature smaller hotels that are family-run.

CANCELLATION POLICY: The BAC ride registration fee and payment processing fee is not refundable unless the entire tour is canceled due to participation below stated minimum requirements. Refunds of tour payments will depend upon whether a replacement rider signs up, and on costs that can be recouped. The amount refunded will be based on the principle that the tour’s remaining participants will not incur any additional cost as a result of cancellations. If the canceling participant is replaced, a refund will be made at that time. If the canceling participant can't be replaced, any refund will be determined after the ride and final expense report are completed. If a single participant cancels and another roommate cannot be found, in addition to other costs that cannot be recouped the canceling roommate may also be liable for the solo supplement fee of the roommate remaining on the tour. BAC encourages members to purchase trip cancellation insurance.

RIDE PARTICIPANT RESPONSIBILITY: Please remember that BAC Ride Leaders are volunteers, and that successful tours depend on participants providing much of their own support. Participants are expected to come to the ride well trained, in good health and ready to accomplish the required daily riding using well-maintained bicycles. All participants should accept responsibility for a safe and enjoyable tour. We encourage you to read the ride description carefully and respond to requests from Ride Leader. While on the ride, support your Ride Leader with offers to help with various tasks such as happy hour preparation and clean-up. Please do not interfere with the ride by inviting non-participants onto any portion of the ride or tour. Please keep the Ride Leader informed of any special request you may have and respect the Ride Leader’s decisions.

INSURANCE: Before participating in any BAC tour, you should assess whether your medical and travel insurance coverage is sufficient. BAC maintains insurance that covers expenses related to accidents, medical emergencies such as sudden and unexpected sickness, and repatriation. This coverage applies when touring outside the US and your home country, regardless of your nationality. It will cover you door-to-door for a maximum of 90 days but will expire if you make a side trip not related to the BAC tour for more than 7 days before or after. There is limited coverage for a family member to join a covered person in an emergency. The policy covers the cost of treatment for Covid and other unexpected illnesses, but not quarantine. You should ensure that your vaccinations are up to date.(e.g., annual influenza, tetanus, etc.). Coverage is subject to a $1000 deductible. If traveling outside your home country you may wish to consult with a travel physician or nurse to ensure that the appropriate vaccinations are up to date.

SIGN-UP: To submit a request to join this ride use the "links" displayed above this Ride Description. When you are accepted, the Ride Leader will move you from the Wait list to the Pending List. At this time you will receive an email notification to login to the BAC website to sign the release of liability form and pay the non-refundable BAC ride registration fee and the initial tour deposit $ 640 by credit card. As soon as your deposit has been processed, your name(s) will be added to the Participant List. To contact the Ride Leader, "click" the name at the top of this Ride Description.