A Shopping Trip and a Mountain Pass

29/08/2026

After two bike parks we had a decision to make. Should we invest in some downhill mountain biking gear? Most of the people we’d seen on downhill trails had a lot more protective gear than us, leaving us feeling a little exposed and out of place.

Shopping in Bourg Saint Maurice

We decided that yes, we should add to our collection of helmets (current list is bike, ski and climbing), and while we were at it we should probably buy some protective gear too.

So our next stop was Bourg Saint Maurice (BSM) where we went straight to Decathlon and Intersport to see what they had.
The answer was ‘not a lot’. Intersport had some full face helmets but they didn’t have MIPs (or equivalent rotational protection) – if I’m going to pay for a new helmet I want it to be as safe as possible. Decathlon had nothing for mountain bikers at all.

The Decathlon and Intersport were in a retail park along with a couple of large supermarkets with associated fuel stations and laundry facilities. While we were here we wanted to tackle our laundry pile, but all the machines where we were parked were in use. So we moved our van to the Intermarche where another self service laundrette was completely unused. We discovered this was because it only took coins, very old fashioned these days. A quick shop in the supermarket created some change and we put our washing on.

A Social Media Encounter

We joked that this part of the car park was the GB enclave. Several GB vans and cars were parked around us. While we were waiting for our laundry to finish another British van pulled up next to us. The lady who got out said hello and I had a one of those double take moments. I was sure I recognised her but couldn’t put my finger on it. While I popped over to the Super U to see if there were any rotisserie chickens (there weren’t), I continued to mull on it. Paul always takes the mickey because I’m not very good at recognising people. I blame it on my aphantasia.

When I returned and saw the other occupant of the van I realised I did know them. They were the Cookes, of Bimbles with the Cookes on YouTube. In fact I’d only commented on one of their posts a few days previously. I though they had given up their YouTube career but cunningly they had changed their channel name and as a result I had only just realised that one of my favourite channels was back making videos.

This is the first time we’ve ever bumped into someone we know from social media (we’ve done it the other way round where we’ve bumped into someone and then started to follow them on the socials). It’s a odd situation, these are people who are both very familiar to us (well me, Paul doesn’t do social media) but also complete strangers. Anyway, it was lovely to have a bit of a chat with them and know that they are just the same as they appear on camera. Time for me to catch up with their backlog of videos.

Spending Money

After our laundry was finished we scouted around on Google Maps for some other bike shops and identified two in the near vicinity. We didn’t go far. The first shop had an end of season sale on. Of course most helmets in the sale were either in Small or Large, finding me a medium size was a bit difficult (Paul’s big head gave him a much wider choice). After looking at all possible options there were a couple of models that fitted me just fine and I quickly made a decision. I really don’t like shopping, why would I want to extend the pain. I think the sales assistant was a bit gobsmacked that she managed to make a sale so quickly. Lots of money was spent but the sale meant it was less than expected.

The Petit Saint Bernard Pass

After a successful shopping trip we were off to Italy. The route we’d chosen would take us over the Petit Saint Bernard pass. It’s somewhere we’ve been a few times. Once we drove over just after the pass opened, but we have also skied over the pass several times, an experience we always remember due to the long drag lifts (Paul’s nemesis). This time we were intending to stay at the top of the pass, we were looking forward to cool temperatures and more mountain views.

The connection between the Petit Saint Bernard Pass and the dog breed is fairly tenuous. It seems the dogs are more connected with the Grand Saint Bernard Pass. That doesn’t stop the dog being seen everywhere.

The drive up to the pass was relatively uneventful and as we approached the highest point we eyed up the various parking opportunities. After trying a couple of options we decided to park behind the chairlift with a number of other vans. Parking up, we had one of those odd experiences that only happen in popular ‘wild’ parking spots. In the middle of a large grassy area a Dutch van had parked up parallel with the edge of the available parking area but a long distance from it on the highest ground. They had been alone, I assume, when they chose the spot. But by parking in the middle of the area they had guaranteed that anyone turning up after them would obstruct their views. As we tried to manoeuvre into a spot that would not seem to cheeky, the occupant of the van came out and berated us for stealing ‘his’ view.  We agreed we would move but he would have to wait for a while as we had a few things to sort out first (a slightly passive aggressive tactic maybe, but his attitude had not evoked any sympathy). While we packed away our various purchases from Bourg Saint Maurice more people started to turn up (including the Cookes) and the reality of the situation must have become clear. The Dutch van moved closer to the edge of the space and parked perpendicular to the edge in the way that most other vans had arranged themselves.

To add a little irony, as soon as the Dutch van dweller had berated us, the clouds came in and obscured the view. We had a couple of hours watching atmospheric cloudy skies until I got stir crazy and dragged Paul out for a short wander.

Mountain peaks making an appearance between the thick cloud

We knew there was a lake below our parking area, we had caught fleeting glimpses below the cloud. And I knew there was a path around the edge of the lake by looking at the maps on Wikiloc.  We made our way out along the peaty path, dropping steeply to the edge of the lake. The clouds lifted and we had a lovely meander, including a close Marmot encounter which made our day.

That night at the pass was cool, quiet and extremely dark. Just the way that we like our mountains. We woke to clear blue skies and views of Mont Blanc above the lake. It was a struggle to tear ourselves away from this lovely spot.

Morning views from the van. Including distant views of Mont Blanc.