A while back I wrote that I was working on this. It's no longer a quiet side project, it's a real part of the site now: routes I've actually ridden, or very deliberately still want to ride, each with a map, elevation profile, photos, and the kind of context I always missed myself when searching for mountain passes online.
Why I wanted to build this
The more rides I plan myself, the more I notice how scattered everything is online. A GPX file with no explanation here, a years-old forum post there, a vague screenshot buried in a Facebook group somewhere. Rarely everything together, in a way that makes you think: okay, this is clear, I can just go.
On top of that, it keeps getting harder to find this kind of information for free, and what you do find doesn't always make the difference between a nice ride and a ride that stays with you.
That's why I wanted to build a place with routes I actually know: ridden, or very deliberately still on my list.
What you'll find there right now
For now there are fourteen mountain passes on the map, spread across five countries. A few routes, like the Stelvio Pass, the Grimsel Pass, and the Umbrail Pass, are already fully written up: with photos from the ride itself, the elevation profile, and what I learned along the way. I'll keep expanding the rest with the same level of detail.
- distance, elevation, and difficulty rating,
- a free GPX download, ready for TomTom, Calimoto, or Garmin,
- a season indicator, because a mountain pass that's still open in November doesn't really exist,
- and a clear label: ridden by me, coming soon (already ridden, write-up in progress), or bucket list.
How this keeps growing
So this routes section isn't a finished project, and it doesn't need to be. It grows along with my own rides: new passes get added after every trip, or I add more photos and tips to an existing route as I collect them along the way.
See a "Coming soon" label on a route? That means I've already ridden it, but the full write-up still needs to follow. See "Bucket list" instead? Then I still need to ride the pass myself. So feel free to check back now and then, because this keeps moving.
How to use the routes section
One more practical note before you go: I pick these routes myself, so you won't find any random passes here, just roads I know or genuinely want to ride. On the routes I've already fully written up, like the Stelvio Pass, you'll also see real photos from the ride itself. And always check the current status before you leave: a mountain pass can open or close at a different time each year depending on snowfall.
So: welcome to the routes section of BikingWithC. Have a browse, download a GPX track, and if you've ridden a pass yourself that really needs to be on here, feel free to let me know.
