Kleine Tour in 3 Tagen

Würenlos - Thundrestorms - Geneva - Bonneville - La Clusaz - Col des Arravis - Flumet - Col des Saises - Beaufort - Cormet de Roselends - Bourg de Saint Maurice - Val d'Isère - Thunderstorms - Col de l'Iseran - Lanslebourg - Col de Mont Cenis - Susa - Col de Monginevre - Briançon - Col de Vars - Col de l'Iozard - chrr chrr chrr - Col de la Restefond - Col de la Bonnete - Nice - James Bond Goldeneye route - Col de la Garde - Castellane - swim - Col d'Allos - drink - chr chr - col de l'Iozard - Col de Vars - Col de Galibier - Col de Telegraphe - Col de Madleine - Alberville - low batt - Geneve - Lausanne - carbreak - Highway - home

2100km - 3 days... and a black face, a dirty 7 and a big smile...

At Saturday July 18th in the morning we met at the Shell gasoline station in Würenlos, fueled up our cars and drove on. In a RS2 blue Se7en 485R Enrique, our Spanish friend. In the toothpaste blue Elise Club Racer Pascal Bertschi with Kylie and in the black Se7en CSR 260 Christoph and myself. We took the highway in the morning sun passing Baden and Aarau until we arrived near Egerkingen, where Christoph identified a huge thunderstorm ahead. We took the exit and mounted the roof and doors. Soon our weather experts watching the radar on their phones identified the cloud to have penis form, which then lead to several debates about the kind of rain we were dealing with until the region of Solothurn which showed us the hospitality of the rain showers. As we were mounting it, the rain already hit us but almost dry we made it back into the cars. Back on the highway we did not come far and sight went down to less than 5m, so we stopped at the standing lane on the right side of the highway to wait ten minutes for the thunderstorms to pass. After a while we went on in heavy rain with more than 3cm water on the highway in a slow speed. The weather improved over time and with roof and doors on we arrived after about one hour of driving in Estavayer-le-lac. After some lovely junk food from the golden M we left doors and roof on, as the rain was still falling and passed soon later Lausanne and arrived in Coppet, where we stopped for the last Swiss gasoline station, bought some drinks and took off the roof and doors again. It felt like freedom, but the sunshine turned hot and even the wind could not cool us down anymore. After another hour we arrived at noon in Bonneville and hit the side roads...

The steep canyon ascended along a nice river under trees and along the rocky walls closing up overhead so almost no sky is visible anymore. The road is taking one corner after the other which makes driving the Se7en an absolute joy. It did not take long to lose toothpaste driver, as the Elise was lacking some horsepower to overtake nicely, whilst the 485 is made for the track it needs very smooth tarmac. The ride was not about showing dominance, but feeling the joy of the road and after all, everyone had a smile on his face following the road and hearing the roaring exhaust being reflected back from the rocky walls and having an echo in the forest. The sun was up, the temperature was perfect so the joy was indescribable after the torture on the highway with the permanent sonorous "booooooohhhhrrrr" in the ears from the exhaust, now the sound was played in all variances and mixing between the cars.

Not soon after leaving Bonneville we lost Mr. Toothpaste and RS2 blue somewhere on the way. As it seems they were not too familiar with the roadbook and did not know how to follow a street sign with La Clusaz on it. On the other hand it can be claimed, the leading car just took off without any consideration of the following cars. After a stop before La Clusaz, taking a leak and washing the face the two blue(s) brothers joined the group and we could heat up the tarmac on the famous Col des Arravis. Through the village of La Clusaz and later alongside up the valley we soon arrived after some overtaking at the top where tourists can buy sheep feathers and cow carpets. At first I felt tempted to fit my Se7en drivers chair with such a souvenir, but then got to reason considering the weight power ratio would be damaged. Downhill we cut around the corners and passed Guillestere and soon later arrived in Flumet, where the roadbook implicitly described how to drive around the city. As a precaution the black Se7en waited until the 10 cars behind passed and toothpaste appeared in the mirror. Around the roundabout and up the hill we drove again in a tight convoy in considerable (but legal of course) speed to pass the green hills and the forests to arrive shortly before les Saises. As it was 13.00 and we started to feel hungry we stopped at a nice restaurant and ate a typical French Entrecote, whilst Christoph went for a Burger and Mr. Toothpaste decided to eat some green cow food.

After the restaurant declined for unknown reasons my card, Enrique invited us for lunch and we drove on through les Saises and downhill direction Beaufort. We waited for the group before the sharp corner to Beaufort and then moved with the whole convoy through beautiful and magical Beaufort. The little village was full of tourists and full of flowers. It was nice to see and it looked very inviting, but the Cormet de Roselends was ahead of us, so there was no time to waste. With a big smile and the roaring sound of our exhausts we climbed the bumpy road up the Cormet de Roselends, passing some rolling roadblocks with Hymer or Dethleffs written on it and crazy cyclists driving in the middle of the streets behind every corner. The advantage of driving a Lotus is always the ability to change direction almost immediately with no tremendous damage to car or sidewalls of the roads, whilst a heavier car probably would have hit the wall or dropped off the street.

The lake of Roselends was as pretty as always and in a blue tone, which can only be made by Photoshop or the French alps. Passing the lake we drove under the big scary rock and escaped some lurking stones on the streets trying to make us hit them. On top we discovered several crazy cyclists coming against us in high speed. At our home they probably would have been fined and the bicycles confiscated for endangering my life on the street, that fast they come down the hill. We didn't stop on top and passed downhill in good progress, until we entered the serpentines in the forest part which were as usual boring and did not allow overtaking.

Down in Bourg de Saint Maurice we parked the car and drink some hot drinks like hot Coca Cola, hot Apple Juice or hot water as all the drinks were heated up by the sun and our driving. When our travel companions arrived, we discussed the route, the level of gasoline and the way up the hill. The weather did not look so good as there were dark clouds at the sky, but real man don't put a roof. So we drove onwards uphill to Val d'Isère without a roof and started feeling some raindrops, but no serious threat. The street was pretty wet and of course the water was spilled up by the tires, hit the back fender and got flushing into my left side. After a hot afternoon the cool splash was nice, but when it goes on continuously and is mixed with some mud and little stones it can get annoying. The streets dried coming closer and passing the terrible buildings in Val d'Isère we stopped at the gasoline station where my credit card seemed to work perfectly and the fuel was flowing into the car. We met 3 Spanish guys doing a trip around Europe on the way down to Briançon coming from Austria. As Enrique could use his Spanish he talked to them whilst Mr Toothpaste put his roof on and we decided not to be pussies and keep the doors and roof off. With good progress we climbed the mountain. We decided to escape the thunderstorms going up the hill and the rain stopped. Unfortunately the French built the street going back into the valley which meant for us getting back into the storm. As drops started to get bigger and we tended to get slightly wet, we stopped and mounted the roof. Unfortunately I stated about 10 minutes earlier, the roof is for pussies and now we looked like wet pussies getting all the stuff out of the car, getting the doors out and mounting the semi roof whilst being wet over all clothes.

The flash hit just 300m from us, as I counted the seconds between flash and thunder. Worried we finished our work and drove on uphill passing a rental car from Switzerland and moving in moderate speed towards the peak. The storm got more intense and lots of gravel and stones lied on the streets. The backside of the passage did not look better and we moved downhill until we found the Elise waiting for us in Bonneval. Mr. RS2 blue was still behind us and so we waited whilst we were laughed at by the two limousine drivers from the cosy Elise.

After a while our Spanish guy was there and with roof and door on we hit the road towards Lanslebourg. Usually this is my favourite road as it is widely drawn and takes us through a beautiful landscape. The rain was slightly continuing so the roof stayed on. As well when we turned left in Lanslebourg and passed Mont Cenis the weather did not improve. The usually very green blue lake was not so impressive, but the streets were empty and so we hit the gas and enjoyed the sound.

Downhill the serpentines we arrived in Susa being a little hungry already and worried about where to sleep. Via application on my phone we found a suitable hotel and its phone number. We called, reserved dinner for 21.00 and agreed on the prices for the rooms. The navigation system stated 21.30 as arrival time, but we knew, a Lotus is faster in the mountains and passed Susa without a "café" from Italy to follow the wide streets to Oulx. The speed limits were insane and so we "escargoed" with 50km/h back into France at Monginevre. Luckily downhill to Briançon there was still reason and we could drive the hairpins with up to 60km/h and the allowed 90km/h in the straights. Arriving there, we took the entrance to Col de l'Iozard and followed the most beautiful passage of Europe until the top to descent through a marvellous stone column landscape. Enrique used the time to drive every corner sideways. Probably his front window was broken, so he had to use the sides to see the street.

Not far down the hill in Chalp we found our hotel and entered in dirty clothes to order our dinner. I had the opportunity of taking a 2min shower and feel better at the table, whilst the others shifted their showers for later. The starter was a carrot soup and the main course a plate with salad and local specialities, such as dried tomatoes from Italy, Croquettes from the freezer and tomatoes from Spain. The wine was delicious and affordable, whilst the dessert was a cheese plate which did not fit with what we eat at home, but probably we are a little to spoiled with our own selection we get.
After dessert we switched to Panaché and beers until we were too tired to stay awake.

The next morning the weather was awesome. We cleaned the windows of our cars and loaded all the luggage. Enrique announced, he has to be back home in time that day, whilst Pascal needs to be home Monday at noon and we had no limit.

We finished the rest of the Col de l'Iozard and turned right to get through the valley to Guillestre to pass left uphill to Vars. The morning was sunny, warm and we were in the right mood to drive. The corners were falling in front of us like well-oiled olives and so driving was a real joy. Overtaking was no issue at this traffic and we arrived soon in Vars, where we fuelled our cars and connected with some locals which wanted to know about our cars and the trip. Ahead of us was a couple on a Ducati which we admired for the nice rack and the backside which has fallen into a perfect line. They drove on, whilst we were still filling up the cars and later took the passage. There were many tourists on the road walking and cycling.

We passed the top with no stop and drove back towards Jausiers. The region just got a lot of rain and arriving at the bottom a sign "Boule" announced something to take care. We were breaking down to 60 km/h to pass the bridge which seemed a little wet, but it was dark brown mud. As breaking in mud is not a good idea we glided through, but all the mud was splattered over the whole car including our clothing, faces and luggage.

We thought of warning our friends, but after considering longer and discussing the pro and cons of such an action, they already hit the same fortune. Further onwards the street was blocked by even more mud which was taken off the streets by heavy diggers. We waited for over 10min whilst watching the Ducati drivers "socius" from all sides.

After another mud pass the street lead us along the river Ubaye to Jausiers where we started driving up the Col de la Restefond - which is on top the Col de la Bonnete. It is the highest passage of Europe with 2802m over sea level and offers a fantastic road. One hairpin followed by the next let Enrique drive sideways in almost every corner.

After more than 40min of pure fun and adrenalin we arrived at the top to take pictures and do a walk to the peak. The view was awesome and the temperature very warm. We were considering, when it is already too hot on almost 3000m, how hot can it be in Nice? Kylie was already complaining about walking up to the top at half way, but finally she enjoyed the selfies on top the most.

After taking pictures and selfies we descent back to the cars and drove towards Isola. There Enrique decided to leave us and hit the road back home via highway, which I could not understand, as the way back over La Bonnete would take him may be one hour more but be much more fun.

Without Enrique and his beautiful RS2 blue 485R we drove on towards the sea, until we turned sharp right to take the "road through the red rocks". It was a very narrow but breath taking connection of hairpins and serpentines finally leading to a green landscape. After 20km we turned left back down towards Nice. After passing the Vallon des Pierlas we turned left and found a carwash. What looked like the solution for our mud problem turned into the nightmare. Whilst flushing off the mud, it reflected off the car and spilled into the interior of the Se7en and made all instruments including the gear shifter turning brown. The sun was burning down and only a limited pieces of paper towels were left to make inevitable reversible. The mess was in the car and it would not go off but rather be burnt in until we reach a place to clean it. As we could not change a thing we took the hot road towards Nice, which took us over an hour under the sun with rather boring roads. Arriving in the capital of tourism we parked the cars in the Grimaldi parking downstairs and walked to the pedestrian zone and visited the sea side. Every inch was covered with a bathing towel and a tourist sitting on it and defending his space. As umbrellas cost 21 EUR and the beach was more stone made than sand, we went for a crêpe and some panini, which tasted delicious. As the heat dehydrated us we helped with some soft drinks until we escaped the heat taking the car back to the mountains.

At a gasoline station we bought some drinks, 1l of oil as the CSR seemed thirsty and filled up the tank to take the famous Goldeneye James Bond route, which was chosen for the scene where a Ferrari with Xenia Onatop hunts Mr. Bond in a Aston Martin DB5. On the way uphill a lot of historic cars came in the opposite direction. As we found out they belong to the historic Monte Carlo rally from Hero Events.

After we passed the famous stone tunnel we drove over great planes with high speed straights and hilly regions through forests and alongside some cattle's. We arrived at around 18.00 in Castellane and passed without a stop to the lakes further north called Lac de Castillon. The water was clean and about 25 degrees. After changing clothes we jumped into the lake and spent time playing with the GoPro camera in the water, swimming and cooling down.

As it tended to get late and Mr. Toothpaste wanted to be home at noon the next day, we jumped back into the cars and enjoyed the route up along the Verdon and later towards Colmars. As there were no hotels available we took the road further up to Allos. We stopped at a hotel where the lady just locked her counter and wanted to leave. She told me after asking how many rooms and for how many nights we need it, she is booked out. On her reaction I can clearly see she was just too lazy to work which made me not so happy. We checked via Internet and booking pages hotels in Briançon and Barcelonette and finally found the Grand Hotel, which was friendly, even speaking English after hearing my French and offering a garage and 2 rooms plus accepting us arriving at midnight.

We found a nice restaurant with a great evening dish in Allos and enjoyed some wine and the food. As a digestif if even stated we will make the Col d'Allos we got some local delicacy offered, which honestly was necessary to digest the food we ate.

Back in the car Mr. Toothpaste cowardly mounted his roof and we drove up the hill in pitch black dark night. All along the road were caravans parked ready for the tour the France passing along the passage 2 days later. The passage is tricky and I knew how steep it goes down if I would do a mistake on the wheel. We listened to Scooter with Hyper Hyper and other very 90ties music to stay focused and safely but slowly arrived in Barcelonette.

The Grand Hotel was in the middle of the square downtown the village. It was a very old but lovely hotel with a garage and a hotel manager which liked riding in the Se7en to the garage and parking with me. Pascal parked the plastic Lotus outside, as in 5 hours he was anyway planning to leave. Whilst Navigator Christoph and myself had a few beers at the square, which was still full of people having drinks, singing or playing guitar. Pascal and Kylie went to sleep as 5 hours later they would leave and take the boring highway back home.

At 09.00 we met for a delicious breakfast and enjoyed the balcony view over the square. It was an awesome morning with a nice sunshine and great weather. We packed up and stuffed all in the Se7en. The route took us via Col de Vars over the "Boule" again up the hill and down to Guillestre, passing over col de l'Iozard, still one of the best passages getting to Briançon for gasoline and drinks.

The road took us up the hill to col de Galibier doing the peak as well and then down to the bottom passing col de télégraphe. It was getting more and more hot and the heat was damaging our good mood. We therefore decided to put the sun roof up and take the pussy - wings of the Se7en to get at least some warm wind in the face instead of less wind.

Via highway we arrived the entry of the col de Madeleine which we climbed up in a good speed enjoying every corner. Some very crazy bicycle drivers cut is and almost hit us in the middle of the road with high speed, whilst the other pilots were rather careful. On top we enjoyed the hospitality of the peak restaurant having some pasta and tried to start driving afterwards again. Unfortunately the Se7en did not start, as the battery seemed to get weak. As the red flash in the main indicator started to flicker, it was obvious there is something with the generator not all right. We could roll the car on and the engine started, but the flickering stayed on. We drove without lights and sound off down the col de la Madeleine to hit the highway towards Alberville. We decided to take the pussy route home, as we suspected the Se7en would not keep running for long and the highway would probably be the saver choice.

After we passed the border in Geneva and drove towards Coppet we stopped for a coffeine boost, as the highway tended to get us tired and highways in a Se7en at 40 degrees without sound is even a greater torture. The car did not start in Coppet and so we were not sure anymore we would make it home. The inevitable happened shortly after Lausanne. The Se7en's indicator froze, then the tank seemed empty, the RPM seemed zero and our speed was frozen at 100 km/h. Not far later the engine stopped and we got stocked at the highway.

We pushed the luckily light car to the next save stop at the highway and called at the orange booth for help, which was announced to come within 15-30min. Luckily we could climb over the fence and sit in the shade for 45min until the yellow angel arrived. He had a profound look at the battery and charged it with 40V - but still it had no effect and we could not start without his help. He did not give us the chance to drive until Winterthur. As I told him about the flickering light and he might want to check the cables, instead of the generator, he found a loose plug at the bottom. He told me that this is technology from the 1960s, whilst the rest of the car is great.

He exchanged the plugs with modern German technology and the car was like new, but still dirty like hell. With one stop in Gunzgen we finally arrived in Winterthur with the sunset and I made it home dirty, exhausted, with a big smile on the face.

The Se7en is the best car to do this trip from Bonneville until Isola and from Castellane until Albertville. For all the rest of the road an Exige with roof and Aircon, an Evora or even an Esprit might be a better choice. I enjoyed this 3 days a lot and when I write this story down, I feel like I was on holidays for a full week, just that the holidays were not for recovery, but for real adrenaline and action.