Tours
Now, everyone should make the effort to tour on their bikes at least once a year. Go as far as you can for as long as you can.
Why, ‘cos its there and its great and there’s lots of it! My own personal thing is mountains.
There’s loads of them and some just unbelievable roads. Many in the Alps were built by warring armies to get supplies to the front lines as they captured another piece of useless rock.
Marvel at the terrain that they were built on and what a great favour they did us all that ride motorcycles.
I’ve been doing it every year since ’72 and there’s still more to see and ride and old favourites to ride again.
You just plan a vague route. Say, Heidelberg then Lake Constance then Milan then Nice and back to your start point.
How and when you arrive at these points is irrelevant.
Another advantage of going on your with just 1 or 2 other bikes, is that you will meet more people and they will be more hospitable. A bigger group tends to socialise together.
Stop for the night about 4 or 5 pm. By the time you find a hotel or camp site and get showered, have a beer, you will be just in time for the evening meal. In the Alps there are loads of small hotels that fly a flag with a bike on it – good prices and good food usually. Also, do a deal on the bed, breakfast and evening meal. If they ‘aint full by 5pm, they ‘aint gonna be and they will usually give you a good price with a bottle of house wine included.
All this excludes Switzerland! In my experience, you pay a lot for everything and indifferent service. Best plan to nip across the border to France, Italy, Germany… anywhere!
Try the links below for some ideas.
Ultrablade
Austria
Some Nice Roads
The Stelvio Pass
Camping Moto
Le Camping Moto site
Camping Moto Dordogne
Biker Hotel
BikerCamp – Camping Budapest
Catalunya
Another great source of information and routes to take is
a look at the book by John Herman, entitled Motorcycle Journeys Through the Alps and Beyond”.
Now in its 4th edition. ISBN 978-1-884313-70-7
Below is a trip I took with a friend a few years ago. Just 4 days but that was mostly due to the time of year, beginning of September, and the weather can turn nasty very quickly. You don’t want to get caught on the passes in a snow storm…
24 Passes.
24 in 4
The plan with this trip was to follow a route over 24 passes starting
at the Pass Thurn in Austria and working our way westwards
through Austria, Italy and Switzerland. These passes vary from
motorway like, to one-way streets (with traffic lights),and everything
in between. Some
that are 2-way but when you meet a car coming the other way, one of
you needs to stop.
The basic route was published in the German “Touren Fahrer” magazine in
1987
Total mileage for the passes, end to end is about 650 miles and we
had four days to do it. Thats get there, do the passes and back,
Just a long weekend break…
I started my trip From Kaiserslautern in Germany where I met up with
a friend, Stan, who lived there, heading out at about 6am.
Its a long way on the Autobahns so it’s just a case of fill up with
fuel and coffee and keep going.
Left the A8 Autobahn at Achensee, just before the Austrian border,
(don’t want to pay tolls), and headed for
Pass Thurn (1273m) and on to the Grossglockner Pass (2505m).
At the Grossglockner
there is a small road of very dubious quality, cobbles no less!, that leads
up to the Edelweissspitze (2571m),
the highest point.
The Grossglockner pass is a toll road so be prepared to shell out
some money.
Down the other side and the road takes you to the Iselsberg Pass (1204m)
Turn northeast on the 108 at Lienz, the west to Doellach and Hopgarten.
The Staller Sattel (2052m).
is is on the Italian border. Down the other side to the 49 and west to
Bressanone (Brixen) and on to Bolzano (Bolzen). Find the 508 going north to
Sarentino and on to the
Penser Joch (2211m) or Passo Di Pennes and onwards to
Vipiteno (Sterzing).
Pick up the 44 and go up to the
Jaufen Pass (2094m) or Passo Di Mt. Giovo and then on to the
186 (north), to Timmels Joch (2500m) or Passo Di Rombo, back into Austria.
The next pass was some way down the road and you need to go towards Imst
and then Landeck and pick up the 187 going south to Nauders, to Reschen (Resia) and the
Reschen Pass (1504m) and the Italian border again.
The road then becomes the 40. Stay on the 40. At Sponding, take the 38 to the
Passi Di Stelvio (2757m) or Stilfser Joch.
One of the big ones and going up from this direction, its not a surface to be raced on!
Stop in the village before the climb if its late. Plenty of bike
friendly hotels for good prices.
It’s best to start this climb early in the morning. There are 48
hairpins and plenty of tourist traffic in the form of cars, buses and
nutters on push-bikes heading for the top. Stop at the hotel on the
right just over the summit (like 50 meters) for some of the best
cappuchino you can get. (If you get the right place the chocolate
sprinkle is in the shape of “OK”)
Down the other side to Bormio and take the route 300 to the Passo Di Gavia (2503m). Then join the 42 going west
to Edolo.
Here we diviated from the published route. On the 42, you will find a
small road to Monno. If you feel like a little chalenge, this is the
road for you. You take this road all the way to the top of the
hill(?) At the top there is a “T” junction. 100 yards before this,
there is a wooden sign, for those going
the other way, that says Passo Di Mortirolo
(1896m) . At the “T”, turn right. Prepare to work a little.
It’s a tight, twisty, loose surfaced and dark road in places as the
trees cover it. It’s a little sod. Mostly 1st & 2nd gear work. Watch
out for the local lads racing their Fiat wrecks on a weekend.
At the bottom, join the main road and stop in Tirano for a well-earned cappuchino and ice-cream.
I have only seen this pass marked on one map and the the drawing does not reflect the
nature of the road.
Take the 38a out of here to the border.
Forcola di Livigno (2315m) on the Swiss
border and in a very short distance (5 kms) you will be at the Bernina Pass (2330m)You are now on the 29.
Now heading north again for the Albula Pass
(2315m) on the 29. Carry on until you join the route 3 going south to
the Julier Pass (2284m). Keep going southwest
on the 3 with the lakes on your left to the
Maloja Pass (1815m).
On to the Italian border (again), where the road becomes the 37
To Chiavenna. Go north from here to the
Splugen Pass (2113m). Carefull… there is a hairpin bend in
one of the tunnel sections going up!
Then its back into Switzerland to the
Grand St. Bernadino Pass (2469m). Its difficult to find the small
road to the pass. It’s Route number 13.
We chanced our arm on the short section of Autobahn to get to the turn off (no Carnet!).
Nice road. Much improved since my first visit in the 70’s.
This takes you to the Lulmanier Pass (1914m).
This road joins the 19 running east/west. Turn west and the next pass is
the Oberalp Pass (2044m). Continue on,
then south on the 2 to the St. Gottard Pass
(2108m). Almost a motorway going up but be sure to turn off to
see the lake and then head through the houses to the old road going
down. Its Cobbled! The new road is a bit bland.
Next, go west, (don’t know the road number),
to the Nufenen Pass (2478m).
Down the other side until you meet up with the 19 again. Head north,
on to a place called Gletsch in the Goms valley
From here, take a ride up the Furka Pass (2436m), look at the glacier on the way
to the top. Then turn around and go back down into Gletsch as the
other side of the Furka is nothing special. Now take the route 6 road up the
Grimsel Pass (2165m) (2165m). On the other side,
pick up the 11 to the Susten Pass (2224m) and on the
other side, pick up the 2 again.
Go north to Altdorf and turn onto the 17 to the
Klausen Pass (1948m).
Thats it! Decide how you get back home from there.
If you do them all its 27 passes not 24.
We didn’t do the Grimsel and Susten passes on this trip because the
Grimsel was closed – snow.
This is only a suggested route and there are many other passes close by the roads we traveled. Its just that this was a good one with plenty of visits to Italy for warmer weather and great cappucino’s.