Triumphrat

Charpar

I have recently been hooked by this strange bug that has taken over my entire being and left me with a serious passion for bikes. Having not been a rider for very long the more time I spend with the bike the more time I yearn for new roads to discover and adventures to organise.
Anyway I digress, having watched the Long Way Down recently it got me to thinking about rides around the world I could go on. Then I watched a re-run of Top Gear where they drove down the Stelvio Pass which I would love to do.
I am not one for sitting around doing nothing with my time off so I thought I would start organising some trips for myself next year. Does anyone have a favoured bit of tarmac or specialist ride they could share with me. A place that possibly amazed and turned you into a little kid would be perfect! Doesn't matter where it is. I am not really interested in package tours I just want to have my own adventure with some mates. Any help would be appreciated.

Charpar

TorqueyT

Funnily enough, Stelvio has been high on my list for years, just came back from there two months back. Piece of advice though - Top Gear must have got local authorities to close the pass for them - I've not seen it empty like that, it's normally packed with bikers..... Going up it is a lot more fun than going down by the way...
Everyone here will have their own favourites, some of my other one's are..
- Dolomites in Italy: fantastic roads, more technically difficult than the other mountain ranges in Europe and really lets you practice the cornering skills...
- Rest of the Swiss Alps - Furka pass, Grimsel pass, etc. etc. etc.....
- Central Massif area of eastern France - especially the fantastic Gorges du Tarn.
- Pyrenees...

Bit of a mountain theme going on, I know..... For the future the Atlas mountains would be fantastic, however in my humble opinion it needs to be done on a more off-road oriented bike, i.e. 950 Adv, 660XT or (and I hope I won't ever find myself on one) a tonkatoy GS.
(Please though - this is not an invite for another "can the Tiger go off-road" discussion, we've discussed that one to death...)

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TorqueyT

graeme

Got to agree with Torquey T, the Swiss passes are beyond your wildest dreams. The scale and beauty cannot be put into words or pictures, you have to go there yourself and see.

Now look what you've gone and done - I've got itchy feet again, happens every time !!

(I'll have to make do with some photos for now, but I will return)

Swiss passes to visit - Furka, Grimsel, Susten, etc.

Go for it, about mid summer time.

Ride safely,
Graeme.


p.s. - a search on You-Tube will come back with some Biking in the "Passes".

clive955

Have to agree with the boys about the Furka, Grimsol and Saint Bernedino pass. Been there for the last two years and last year took the whole kit off the bike left it in the tent and spent the whole day playing with sports bikes going up and down like a little kid. The old tiger pissed a number of rice rockets off and the few i could't beat i made sure it was bloody hard for them to pass, it's amazing how wide a tiger can be!!.

What surprised a lot of people is the sound of hero blobs scraping the ground on the hairpins on something as big as a tiger with semi knobbles on.

Great fun and everyone should get there at sometime in the rideing life.!!!!

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Green is Mean

TigerLilly

Spent 19 days going to the Nordkapp last summer. Cross from Newcastle-upon-tyne to Bergen across the Joutheim (glacial/mountain area) to the E6 then head north and keep going. It is a phenomenal bike road. Twists, turns, gradients, scenery, empty. Like you the question now is where next year? Perhaps Corsica, perhaps the alps.

Also I have toured at 24 hours notice and had a great time and I have spent all year planning and also had a great time. On the whole I think I enjoyed the planning, savouring something and loads of maps to look at in the grey winter days

Lil

Torino

@Charpar:

Hmm... quiet a bit of a tough one...

Serious, for a real trip to the Swiss mountain passes (and some Italian/Austrian ones as well) you should at least calculate 4 days.

I live in the Zurich area and would be happy to help you out with any accomodations in the southern/mountainous part in Switzerland. I can also provide you with some useful info regarding weather and and/or street information (keep in mind that under worst circumstances passes in the Alps still can be closed in May even in June because of snow).

generally speeking, hotels in Switzerland are rather on the steep side. calculate at least between 60 and 100 swiss francs per night/person. that would be between 50 and 85 US dollars and 25 and 42 british pounds for a rather simple hotel. this can increase up to 30% more for a stay in a "better" (read more than 2 stars hotel), depending on location this can even get higher.

also, whenever possible try to come during the week. on weekends traffic can be a problem on some passes (most the well known and bigger ones). be also aware that local police in some cases is not very bike friendly. speeding will be prosecuted; keep in mind that your bike must be legal to be on the roads. there are police checkpoints on the well known bigger passes (mostly when the wheather promises a perfect bike day) on weekends, so be warned.

a suggestion from my side would be to base camp somewhere in the Engadin valley (not in St. Moritz for obvious reasons), stay there for one or two nights and then head on further south. from there the stelvio pass, bernina pass, oven pass, albula pass, maloya pass, reschen pass are all reachable in less than 2 hours.

Happy crashes,
Torino

Charpar

Thank you so much guys. I am now salivating at the thought. Bring on the summer and the mountains! I appreciate all your advice. I will be sure to post some pics when I return. Thanks again.

jimbo2807

I've also been thinking of a trek across/around/up/down europe on Tigger what I eventually get enough spare time do do it properly. I found this web site which you might find useful

http://www.alpineroads.com

Enjoy, wherever you end up !

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- The more I ride 'er, the more I luv 'er -

fenderbender

I was interested in what TigerLilly said about his trip to Bergen. I'm planning to 'do' Norway with a couple of mates next July. I'd be interested in knowing a bit more about recommendations for where to head for, what's the best plan for accommodation etc. Sadly, we'll only have about seven or eight days to play with once we actually get to Norway.
It's our fourth road trip: Ireland, Scotland, Germany/Austria and now Norway. We're a mixed bunch too..one 1999 Tiger (me), a Honda VFR and a rusty D-reg BMW.

DiggerTunstill

I work part-time for a bike training school that also organise bike trips and tours.
They are planning a trip to the Stelvio Pass at the end of July 08, this would be with a back up van plus some provision for accomodation etc.
It is still in the planning stages but if anyone is interested, I will get more details.
email me with any contact details
nick@longridge.net

Cheers

DiggerT