Torino - Nice Rally

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  • (Copied from the TNR site re. 2023 event plans)

    The 7th TNR - what's going on? In short, not a lot, but in a good
    outcome way I hope. Back to our roots when it comes to the TNR as a
    route. Insurance for this event is viable but the terms aren't 100%
    clear yet and personal circumstances mean I'm not able to commit to
    some of the things I will have to do to meet insurance needs. Like,
    being in Turin to do some things before the event, and the time to do
    the comms and logistics that 150+ people rely on to an extent to have
    a good trip. If I can't commit to doing it as well as I can (and even
    that was a bit patchy in the past!) I shouldn't commit. So, there's
    not going to be a formal 7th TNR event this year. BUT that doesn't
    mean no TNR experience -

    I hope to be in Turin on the first Monday in September as many of us
    have been in past years but if I am it won't be as part of a formal
    event. I'll just be there as a bikepacker/tourer. And it's always good
    to meet others to ride with. The 1st TNR was like this, it was just a
    gathering of riders interested in a non-competitive, mixed terrain
    bike route. We had dinner the night before and rode out the next
    morning, good times were had so we did it again the next year. The
    TNR has become a supporter of Smart Shelter Foundation in a way I'm
    hugely grateful for and proud of and the awareness of both TNR and SSF
    has helped with sponsorship funds for SSF. But I was never really
    planning on becoming an event organiser or making the TNR the next big
    thing in bike events. SSF support is the main thing and that comes
    from the stewardship of the route itself as much as anything else. The
    1st TNR was good as it was and in some ways not having a formal 7th
    TNR this year is a step back to that: no entry process (no postcards
    is a bit of a downer tho, I enjoyed all that), open to all, it's a
    mostly free world and certainly a free and open route. Let's ride,
    anytime!
    The first Monday in September was also an odd time for an
    event like this to many riders, it worked for some of us who were at
    the Eurobike show anyway, so we could ride to Turin after the show and
    not add another flight to our tally for the year but still get a
    European tour in. It's a lovely time of year in the mountains. For
    others June or August works better - perhaps a few of you will get
    other riders together to set off at other times of the year. Maybe
    that trad date in September will stick as a gathering date, like the
    Tour Divide, a self-perpetuating thing. Maybe others will be popular.
    It's your call.

    The route files have had a revisit for 2023 and I'll get the new
    komoot collection updated asap. More accuracy, some useful POIs in the
    GPX files, and a more user-friendly info pack overall. They're also
    back to the 1st TNR roots with the classic Col Tende descent being
    open again. An original route junction idea from the recce tour
    planning. The files are available as soon as I finish the cue notes
    rework. I know almost no-one uses cue notes... but I think they're
    part of good route info, for a few of us. Email via the site here to
    get the new files.

    Postcards - if you're hoping to meet others to ride with on any given
    date you can get in touch, send me a postcard (real or email digital)
    with when/how/etc and I'll share it on the TNR social media (mainly
    IG). That could be fun. Could be good for anyone wanting to ride with
    others like themselves or in a particular way. Taking a tip from
    @bikepackingbuds IG account there I think, I really like what they do.

    Rally patches and route cards are available to go with this new route
    info pack, as always. More info here. Maybe not much will actually
    change this year. Hope not. See you in Turin, maybe? Any Qs just email,
    happy to explain more as needed. Cheers, James

    https://torino-nice.weebly.com/updates-and-news.html

    I reckon it'll all work out ok.

  • Tyre recommendation for riding TNR on a hardtail? A friend coming along this year will do it on his MTB

  • Terreno XC 2.0 or 2.25? Go them on my 29er at the mo for mixed lanes and tracks touring in Wales, rated.

  • Went back for a second time 6y after the first TNR and it is still a banger!

    This time I've taken all the hike a bike sections from the TNR files, but also merged recent route files with other bits from previous versions, added elements from RSF Alps book and more from speaking with the locals.

    Some pictures here: https://www.instagram.com/gioelenunziatini/
    Route files on Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/6088420

  • How's the way up the Colombardo this year, was horrible last time. Looking forward to going back to finish it next year after crashing my way back to the airport last year.

    Great photos!

  • Still horrible, but in a weird way needed to set the tone for the ride

  • Incredible! How was the heat? We had to completely change our plans after ride over petit st bernard to aosta

  • Other than binning it twice on the Assietta just before Sestriere, it did make the Finestre seem like a bit long but mostly okay so I get the concept :)

  • The heat was our main struggle the first few days, especially in the valleys and in the afternoon between 2-5pm. Drank lots of Fanta/Orangina and often stopped to wet our heads/jerseys in the many water fountains along the way

  • Nice surprise to FaceTime a happy birthday from the Locanda di Elva.

  • Looking to have a go at the route this year. Is everyone else quite strict on only doing this as the official event or has it progressed to a canonised route by now and doing it whenever is totally fine?

    Going to be on off road drop bar bikes. Will look to sort out some 650b's based on the advice in this thread.

    Alternatively: Turin looks and sounds like a cool place to spend some downtime after the ride. Is there potential for a 500km ish loop, so doing the first 250km of the route and then turning back through the mountains in almost reverse? or is that going to be rubbish, missing the best bits, etc...

  • I think doing it anytime is fine, there isn't an official event as such any more, but first Sunday in September there'll always be a bunch of people doing it un-offically. Which is also a good time of year to do it in terms of weather, accomodation, etc.
    You'd miss a load of the best bits (Salt road, probably Little Peru, etc) by only doing the first bit. However Nice is horrible and Turin's great, so might be worth just jumping on a train back to Turin after finishing?

  • I finished after the Agnel and rode back to Turin as I'd crashed a few times and was not feeling the offroad stuff any more. As a loop it was good though.

  • Done it twice, both times in July, loved the stable (albeit hot) weather and it was never too busy once you are up high, except maybe at weekends.

    Nice is horrible and a completely anticlimatic end to such ride. Last year we rode to Ventimiglia instead, not particularly noteworthy, but easy enough train connection back to Turin. This also helped us keeping our luggage/bike boxes in Turin without sorting them for an A-B type of ride.

    DO NOT crop the route, the best bits come later and the route is really nice up until you descend to the coast. A last stop in Sainte-Agnès is nice to gather your thoughts before the busy coastal roads.

    The second time around I was able to add some bits to the OG route, both incredible, so here they are as a raccomendation:

    • Variation via mt Jafferau: We descended from Assietta back towards the Val di Susa, then climbed to the top of Jafferau from Salbertrand. 5h long climb, all rideable, with a possible detour halfway to check an old fort. 1km long tunnel dug in the rock with some water in it, will need lights. The descent from the top of the mountain to Bardonecchia is sketchy and technical, essentially coming down a black run ski slope. There is probably a less dangerous way, but might involve some backtracking. I manged on a drop bar Surly on 45mm tyres, but needed some stops to let brakes cool down. https://www.strava.com/activities/9469786424

    • Variation at the end of Via del Sale to La Brigue: Instead of descending to La Brigue, we added the ridgeline by Mt Saccarello, quite technical single track, but insane views. Some descents on it were a bit loose and required short hike a bike down, but otherwise all rideable. The ridge then rejoins the TNR #1 route at Colle del Garezzo with another long stretch of offroad before descending to La Brigue. This section has all been shortened in the more recent route. https://www.strava.com/activities/9495703557

    See my Strava for other days/pictures

  • Sublime. We'll do the whole thing. Sandwiches look immense too.

    Think i'm pretty sold on getting the train back to Turin via Ventimiglia, i'm guessing most rules around local trains and bikes are still valid. Did you stay much longer in Turin when you got back? @giofox @ad441

    Will be camping most nights I reckon. my partner and I in an Alpkit Tarpstar with some decent 0° rated bags should be plenty by the sounds of it? Did the Wolf's Lair in Abruzzo last year and got around just fine. I'd like to go even lighter for this but not sure there's any extra weight left to cut. I'm a one pair of bibs kind of tourer.

    Doing it in 8 Days is still about 7 hours (moving time) of cycling each day by the looks of it? I would like to be up high for the sunsets a couple of times based on your photo's.

    Is camping pretty straightforward with that kind of day structure? You'll end up down in a valley each night? suppose that means some longer days to get over another col or some shorter so you don't end up super high too late. Need to study the route of course now we're getting more committed.

  • Excellent. I didn't stay in Turin after - had booked a flight straight out of Nice. But even the few hours there were more than enough. But I stayed in an air bnb in Turin for a couple of nights before I started and it was a really nice city to hang out in.

    Hard to predict how long each day will take - 8 days sounds enough for it to be enjoyable, but the terrain/steepness varies so much that all of my scheduling went out the window early on. It's not always that easy to find places to wild camp - certainly not lower down anyway where it tends to be more built up/busier. There are some proper campsites on the route which might be worth investigating. Also the rifugios are really nice and in great locations, so I ended up not camping as much as I thought I might.
    Weather/camping temperature also hard to predict. When I did it in early September, people ahead of me got caught in snow on the Assietta, whereas I stayed in a nice rifugio and did it the next day in warm sunshine ... but I'd have thought a 0° bag would be fine.
    As I've probably mentioned in previous posts, food is pretty much the best thing about the ride, so scheduling around Italian mealtimes is worth doing as they often won't serve anything out of those times.

  • Paging @jameso

  • @amey we need to do this properly next year, no bullshit no crybabies

  • rules around local trains and bikes

    Yes, stick to Regionale trains, remember to buy the bike ticket (3.5E I think) and generally keep your bikes in sight while on the train

    0° rated bags

    Depends on expectations on where to sleep. In July valleys are hot, 25C overnight easily. At around 1000m you are looking at 15C overnight, 5C around 1500~2000m sometimes less. I had a bivvy with a 10C rated bag last year, and a 10C thermal liner. Only needed both bag and liner, and still felt slightly cold, when we slept on Col de Turini at 1700m. A couple of nights at 500m I was too warm in the bag. Weather and exposure could affect the numbers above significantly. Above ~1000m you don't get mosquitoes at night, which is a bonus.

    Doing it in 8 Days

    I did it in 7.5 days both times, the latter being fitter and with better gear felt much easier and could have pushed harder. It's a long game of climb, descend, repeat. Take your time on the climbs and know what's ahead.

    I would like to be up high for the sunsets a couple of times based on your photo's.

    This was by far the highlight of last year trip. Knowing the route and being fitter allowed us to push close to the limit of what we had accepted as doable for the trip. So definitely study the route and learn how your body copes with it in the first 2-3 days, that will allow you to know how/when to push that limit and chase that sunset. Staying in refugio helps, as you can get there relatively late, without having to descend to a valley in the dark. Riding Via del Sale at dusk will be forever impressed in my memory

    Is camping pretty straightforward with that kind of day structure? You'll end up down in a valley each night?

    You can end in a valley each night if you want, I did that the first time. But I recommend staying in a refugio at least once/twice, same comment as above. There are campsite in/up the valleys, but you can also wildcamp, just be sensible about it.

  • Is everyone else quite strict on only doing this as the official event or has it progressed to a canonised route by now and doing it whenever is totally fine?

    Hello.. there's no official event now, insurance and outside-the-EU faff really. More about that on the TNR site if interested. The event always used to start the first Monday in Sept with dinner the night before, seems a bunch of riders start then or the Sunday each year now. If it's become a self-organised thing that's cool to see. Up to date route info available via the TNR site if needed. Cheers, James

  • Love that VdS photo

  • The ridge then rejoins the TNR #1 route at Colle del Garezzo with another long stretch of offroad before descending to La Brigue. This section has all been shortened in the more recent route.

    FWIW There's been more landslides on the way down past Colle Garezzo, passable from what I've heard recently but I'm not sure how safe it all is or when repairs are happening.

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Torino - Nice Rally

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