2007 - Eastern Alps
There & back again, Thursday, 14 June & Tuesday 19 June 2007
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There...
This year, Chris was on his Triumph Sprint ST for the second year running, while Nick decided to break from Triumph tradition and tour on his Yamaha Fazer 1000, an undoubtedly much faster bike than his Tiger 955i, albeit as we shall see, one with questionable braking ability when the going gets really tough.
And so to the start of our second European adventure with much to look forward to following the success of our first foray to Europe in 2006. As previously, we rendezvoused at Maidstone services on the M20 at 20:00, only this year we were going for a mid week departure, Thursday 14 June. For the second year running Chris went to the cafe section and Nick to the petrol station - you would have thought we would have learnt to agree exactly where to meet!
At the Eurotunnel terminal we started as we meant to go on tucking into a healthy Burger King supper! On the train we met a pleasant couple from Austria on their BMW R1200GS. Sadly, less pleasant was an idiot in our carriage in a car which they started while the train doors were still closed and proceeded to attempt to poison us all; there really are some incredibly stupid people out there...
On arrival in France, a familiar route taking the A26 south from Calais towards Reims and ultimately to Metz. We had bad luck with our petrol stops. The first one the card payment machine self service didn’t work, the second the shop was closed and the third did not accept credit cards! A warning as if one was required to ensure a supply of euros as well as cards.
We arrived in the Metz area just as night was turing to daytime with strains of sunshine starting to appear. Sun itself would be very welcome as we had ridden through some very wet weather to get to Metz and on the exit ramp from the motorway, the significant quantity of over-banding made for some exciting and heart stopping moments. Once off the motorway, we tried to follow Tom’s (Tom Tom) directions to the F1 in Metz in the pouring rain, as ever not as easy as it might seem. This year, both Chris and Nick are equipped with Tom Tom's dedicated motorcycle sat nav, the Rider. Although the interface and software is almost identical to last year's Tom Tom One car unit, the real upside of the Rider is a proper mounting bracket for the bike so it can be seen and charged all at the same time! A dedicated bike unit didn't make finding the hotel any easier however and and we eventually hit the sack as the sun was well into its rise at 05:00! (European time).
Back again...
A quick, less than 10 minute ride to the euro tunnel, and an uneventful ride home. Great fun once again in the Alps...
This year, Chris was on his Triumph Sprint ST for the second year running, while Nick decided to break from Triumph tradition and tour on his Yamaha Fazer 1000, an undoubtedly much faster bike than his Tiger 955i, albeit as we shall see, one with questionable braking ability when the going gets really tough.
And so to the start of our second European adventure with much to look forward to following the success of our first foray to Europe in 2006. As previously, we rendezvoused at Maidstone services on the M20 at 20:00, only this year we were going for a mid week departure, Thursday 14 June. For the second year running Chris went to the cafe section and Nick to the petrol station - you would have thought we would have learnt to agree exactly where to meet!
At the Eurotunnel terminal we started as we meant to go on tucking into a healthy Burger King supper! On the train we met a pleasant couple from Austria on their BMW R1200GS. Sadly, less pleasant was an idiot in our carriage in a car which they started while the train doors were still closed and proceeded to attempt to poison us all; there really are some incredibly stupid people out there...
On arrival in France, a familiar route taking the A26 south from Calais towards Reims and ultimately to Metz. We had bad luck with our petrol stops. The first one the card payment machine self service didn’t work, the second the shop was closed and the third did not accept credit cards! A warning as if one was required to ensure a supply of euros as well as cards.
We arrived in the Metz area just as night was turing to daytime with strains of sunshine starting to appear. Sun itself would be very welcome as we had ridden through some very wet weather to get to Metz and on the exit ramp from the motorway, the significant quantity of over-banding made for some exciting and heart stopping moments. Once off the motorway, we tried to follow Tom’s (Tom Tom) directions to the F1 in Metz in the pouring rain, as ever not as easy as it might seem. This year, both Chris and Nick are equipped with Tom Tom's dedicated motorcycle sat nav, the Rider. Although the interface and software is almost identical to last year's Tom Tom One car unit, the real upside of the Rider is a proper mounting bracket for the bike so it can be seen and charged all at the same time! A dedicated bike unit didn't make finding the hotel any easier however and and we eventually hit the sack as the sun was well into its rise at 05:00! (European time).
Back again...
A quick, less than 10 minute ride to the euro tunnel, and an uneventful ride home. Great fun once again in the Alps...
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Statistics
None recorded |
Countries
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Passes
None |
Day one, Friday 15 June 2007
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Inevitably after such a late arrival, a short "night's" sleep and we were on our way again. Our luck, or rather lack of it, with the service stations continued. The first stop for breakfast found us in a station being totally re-built! Also several coach loads of tourists arrived just after us and crammed into the temporary dining room. However, it did the job and we felt much better for our cheese and ham baguettes.
From here to Basel it was pure motorways. Little fun but an efficient way to cover distance quickly. Luckily we were both in our waterproofs as the next section was extremely wet and we got caught in the most torrential rain. We had a few problems with over-banding and visibility but otherwise arrived at the next service station (also being re-built) in good shape albeit wet. Luckily, for us, the security guard took pity on us letting us park on the pavement right next to the entrance. As we sat dripping and drying inside we watched with amusement as he sent other bikers back to the main car park!
We learnt two things on this stop. First waterproofs over leathers are more waterproof than a textile Gore Tex garment, or at least are quicker to dry. Second, the disabled loo hand dryer technique - fantastic. Our boots and gloves were dry in minutes!
Once reasonably dry, we continued on the wet run into Switzerland. As per last year, we were fleeced at the Swiss border for the road tax vignette - at least we have the stickers as visible reminders of our adventure.
There were massive traffic jams in and leaving Basle. Tom predicted a 72 minute delay and so we took an alternate route to Thus. We stopped at Thus excited by the fantastic views and the prospect of better weather. Here we decided we wouldn't make it to Andermat, our planned over night destination, and decided to to stay the night in Interlaken as last year. Despite having got further on the first night than last year (Metz instead of Reims) the constant wet weather had really slowed us down.
We rode around the Thunersee to get to Interlaken and enjoyed fabulous views. Nick had a very scary moment as he rounded a corner outside Interlaken and hit a fallen rock in the road. Miraculously he managed to keep the bike upright and the front tyre remained inflated and we arrived at last year's overnight venue, the Happy Lodge. Sadly it was full but trusty Tom guided us to the Hotel Splendid. Accommodation was scarce due to a rock festival and a car rally all happening in Interlaken at the the same weekend! There's definitely a lesson there for future trips to ensure there will be some hotels available...
We had a great meal in a traditional Swiss restaurant - a meat fondue.
From here to Basel it was pure motorways. Little fun but an efficient way to cover distance quickly. Luckily we were both in our waterproofs as the next section was extremely wet and we got caught in the most torrential rain. We had a few problems with over-banding and visibility but otherwise arrived at the next service station (also being re-built) in good shape albeit wet. Luckily, for us, the security guard took pity on us letting us park on the pavement right next to the entrance. As we sat dripping and drying inside we watched with amusement as he sent other bikers back to the main car park!
We learnt two things on this stop. First waterproofs over leathers are more waterproof than a textile Gore Tex garment, or at least are quicker to dry. Second, the disabled loo hand dryer technique - fantastic. Our boots and gloves were dry in minutes!
Once reasonably dry, we continued on the wet run into Switzerland. As per last year, we were fleeced at the Swiss border for the road tax vignette - at least we have the stickers as visible reminders of our adventure.
There were massive traffic jams in and leaving Basle. Tom predicted a 72 minute delay and so we took an alternate route to Thus. We stopped at Thus excited by the fantastic views and the prospect of better weather. Here we decided we wouldn't make it to Andermat, our planned over night destination, and decided to to stay the night in Interlaken as last year. Despite having got further on the first night than last year (Metz instead of Reims) the constant wet weather had really slowed us down.
We rode around the Thunersee to get to Interlaken and enjoyed fabulous views. Nick had a very scary moment as he rounded a corner outside Interlaken and hit a fallen rock in the road. Miraculously he managed to keep the bike upright and the front tyre remained inflated and we arrived at last year's overnight venue, the Happy Lodge. Sadly it was full but trusty Tom guided us to the Hotel Splendid. Accommodation was scarce due to a rock festival and a car rally all happening in Interlaken at the the same weekend! There's definitely a lesson there for future trips to ensure there will be some hotels available...
We had a great meal in a traditional Swiss restaurant - a meat fondue.
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Statistics
None recorded |
Countries
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Passes
None |
Day two, Saturday 16 June 2007
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Chris woke early, excited by the prospect of the roads ahead, and went for a walk around Interlaken. It is very beautiful and much quieter early in the morning - see photos below. We then had a fat boy breakfast to set us up for a hard days riding and hit the road at 08:45. Interlaken was already getting busy as there was both a Rock festival and a Classic car rally that weekend; that'll be why there was a lack of hotels! Next year we are going to try and avoid riding over a weekend - too busy.
We enjoyed great roads, views and passes on the way to Andermatt and luckily the weather held and we encountered no rain. At Andermatt we stopped for coffee at the cafe / bar opposite one of the main ski lifts and met two other bikers. One a Swiss local on a Centenary edition Honda VFR 800 and the second a German with a BMW K1200S.
As we left Tom started to play up - he thought that the railway line - the Matterhorn express - was a road and suggested we turn onto it! After working out which way to go and learning to ignore Tom we had great fun racing the Express along the mountain passes. We travelled onto Dismantle and went right to Ilanz along the cliff road. This had fabulous views into the valley, very rocky and right over a river. However, the road surfaces deteriorated significantly and also it started to rain making the riding conditions treacherous.
As the rain got heavier we abandoned the mountain passes and took the main road up to the Julierpass. The sun returned and we stopped for a coffee. When we set off again Nick was on fire and blasted off up towards St. Moritz.
The cafe we had stopped at (on the Julierpass) was not as good as it looked. There was one very stressed waitress and lots of customers. She didn’t speak English so Chris had to use his extensive Italian to order and converse. After our coffee and donuts (no lunch left) we tried to use the petrol pumps at the automated station just up the road - however, the pump refused to work - arrgh, it clearly wasn't our day.
We stopped briefly to take a photograph of the lake at Silverplana - it is stunning with kite surfers, wind surfers, etc. After St. Moritz we passed into Italy - well in and out about 3 times, it was often impossible to tell which country we were in.
Nick immediately noticed the tighter turns and poor surfaces of the Italian roads! Chris was much more tolerant! We stopped at a cafe half way up the Stelvio pass, just after some very scary road tunnels, they were dark, damp, frozen and on tight bends and there was always someone coming the other way and often on the wrong side of the road! Whilst enjoying a nice cappuccino, some ‘real’ riders screaming round the hairpin bends at break neck speed, all very well, not so good if you get it wrong! Getting to the top of Stelvio was great fun and required extensive use of 1st gear. We thought about staying the night at one of the hotels on the top of the pass, but thought better of it.
Just as we were setting off from the top, we noticed a troop of about 20 Japanese bikers preparing to head off down the pass on their BMWs. We shot off in front of them and led a blistering run down to a great photo stop. We even managed to park, take a shot and then get back on the pass before the BMW riding Japanese caught us up!
However, the next leg was rather more scary. A few miles on Chris was hard on Nick’s heals and watched anxiously as he drifted right out across the white lines onto the wrong side of the road at one of the hairpins. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic. Nick’s brakes had faded completely! Not nice and made the rest of the day, for Nick at least, very difficult. We limped on a mile or so and found a well placed biking hotel in Trafoi where we crashed for the night. We had a great pizza and looked back over an adventure filled day. We also re-planned day 3. It was clear whilst we might get to Cortina we would not complete the 17 pass trip we had planned. Instead we thought we might head up to Austria and Kitzbuhel.
We enjoyed great roads, views and passes on the way to Andermatt and luckily the weather held and we encountered no rain. At Andermatt we stopped for coffee at the cafe / bar opposite one of the main ski lifts and met two other bikers. One a Swiss local on a Centenary edition Honda VFR 800 and the second a German with a BMW K1200S.
As we left Tom started to play up - he thought that the railway line - the Matterhorn express - was a road and suggested we turn onto it! After working out which way to go and learning to ignore Tom we had great fun racing the Express along the mountain passes. We travelled onto Dismantle and went right to Ilanz along the cliff road. This had fabulous views into the valley, very rocky and right over a river. However, the road surfaces deteriorated significantly and also it started to rain making the riding conditions treacherous.
As the rain got heavier we abandoned the mountain passes and took the main road up to the Julierpass. The sun returned and we stopped for a coffee. When we set off again Nick was on fire and blasted off up towards St. Moritz.
The cafe we had stopped at (on the Julierpass) was not as good as it looked. There was one very stressed waitress and lots of customers. She didn’t speak English so Chris had to use his extensive Italian to order and converse. After our coffee and donuts (no lunch left) we tried to use the petrol pumps at the automated station just up the road - however, the pump refused to work - arrgh, it clearly wasn't our day.
We stopped briefly to take a photograph of the lake at Silverplana - it is stunning with kite surfers, wind surfers, etc. After St. Moritz we passed into Italy - well in and out about 3 times, it was often impossible to tell which country we were in.
Nick immediately noticed the tighter turns and poor surfaces of the Italian roads! Chris was much more tolerant! We stopped at a cafe half way up the Stelvio pass, just after some very scary road tunnels, they were dark, damp, frozen and on tight bends and there was always someone coming the other way and often on the wrong side of the road! Whilst enjoying a nice cappuccino, some ‘real’ riders screaming round the hairpin bends at break neck speed, all very well, not so good if you get it wrong! Getting to the top of Stelvio was great fun and required extensive use of 1st gear. We thought about staying the night at one of the hotels on the top of the pass, but thought better of it.
Just as we were setting off from the top, we noticed a troop of about 20 Japanese bikers preparing to head off down the pass on their BMWs. We shot off in front of them and led a blistering run down to a great photo stop. We even managed to park, take a shot and then get back on the pass before the BMW riding Japanese caught us up!
However, the next leg was rather more scary. A few miles on Chris was hard on Nick’s heals and watched anxiously as he drifted right out across the white lines onto the wrong side of the road at one of the hairpins. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic. Nick’s brakes had faded completely! Not nice and made the rest of the day, for Nick at least, very difficult. We limped on a mile or so and found a well placed biking hotel in Trafoi where we crashed for the night. We had a great pizza and looked back over an adventure filled day. We also re-planned day 3. It was clear whilst we might get to Cortina we would not complete the 17 pass trip we had planned. Instead we thought we might head up to Austria and Kitzbuhel.
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Statistics
None recorded |
Countries
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Passes
Grimselpass 2,165m Furkapass 2,431m Oberalp pass 2,044m Julierpass 2,284m Bernina pass 2,328m Forcola di Livignio 2,315m Passo dello Stelvio 2,758m |
Day three, Sunday 17 June 2007
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Our stay in Trafoi wasn’t luxurious but ended up being free! Despite asking at least three different members of staff at the hotel we could not find anyone who was able to take payment for our stay so in the end we just departed.
The ride down the rest of the Stelvio pass was more gentle and the roads were better, albeit congested. We got onto a fast dual carriageway to Bolzano and at last started to make rapid progress towards Cortina. In typical Italian style the massive autostrada just petered out as we drove into Bolzano and Tom was struggling to guide us through the city.
Indeed he failed us at least once trying to force us down one way streets and no vehicle zones! From Bolzano we got back onto great mountain passes, through tight rocky valleys and up towards the craggy rocky Dolomites. At one point, amidst roadworks, an Italian on a Honda Fireblade wearing jeans and with his girlfriend on the pillion, went passed us like we were going backwards!OK, he probably knew the road... but still that was completely reckless riding.
We had a sunny coffee stop and Chris was thoroughly enjoying the ride and scenery. Nick, sadly, was still remembering his brake failure and therefore not able to relax and enjoy the ride. Chris shot off down one pass and got far enough ahead to park up and get a video of Nick coming down. Getting back on Chris shot up the next pass and tried to repeat the process. However, Nick was right behind, clearly back in the groove; back in touch with his dark side!
After Arabba we found a great cliff hanging road and brilliant pass up and over to Cortina.
We had a great stop in Cortina which is a fantastic City. Very beautiful and very prosperous. leaving Cortina was great fun with some spectacularly fast straights followed by first gear hairpins - awesome!
On entering Austria the roads became better almost immediately. We also dropped down to much lower roads sweeping through deep and wide valleys.
We arrived in Kitzbuhel at 18:00 and bagged a posh hotel room for only £35 each - The Jagerwirt. We wandered into town and ate in one of the town squares enjoying the Sunday night BBQ special at the Ronda. Kitzbuhel is a beautiful town, like many in the Austrian Tirol, beautifully presented and extremely well looked after.
The ride down the rest of the Stelvio pass was more gentle and the roads were better, albeit congested. We got onto a fast dual carriageway to Bolzano and at last started to make rapid progress towards Cortina. In typical Italian style the massive autostrada just petered out as we drove into Bolzano and Tom was struggling to guide us through the city.
Indeed he failed us at least once trying to force us down one way streets and no vehicle zones! From Bolzano we got back onto great mountain passes, through tight rocky valleys and up towards the craggy rocky Dolomites. At one point, amidst roadworks, an Italian on a Honda Fireblade wearing jeans and with his girlfriend on the pillion, went passed us like we were going backwards!OK, he probably knew the road... but still that was completely reckless riding.
We had a sunny coffee stop and Chris was thoroughly enjoying the ride and scenery. Nick, sadly, was still remembering his brake failure and therefore not able to relax and enjoy the ride. Chris shot off down one pass and got far enough ahead to park up and get a video of Nick coming down. Getting back on Chris shot up the next pass and tried to repeat the process. However, Nick was right behind, clearly back in the groove; back in touch with his dark side!
After Arabba we found a great cliff hanging road and brilliant pass up and over to Cortina.
We had a great stop in Cortina which is a fantastic City. Very beautiful and very prosperous. leaving Cortina was great fun with some spectacularly fast straights followed by first gear hairpins - awesome!
On entering Austria the roads became better almost immediately. We also dropped down to much lower roads sweeping through deep and wide valleys.
We arrived in Kitzbuhel at 18:00 and bagged a posh hotel room for only £35 each - The Jagerwirt. We wandered into town and ate in one of the town squares enjoying the Sunday night BBQ special at the Ronda. Kitzbuhel is a beautiful town, like many in the Austrian Tirol, beautifully presented and extremely well looked after.
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Statistics
None recorded |
Countries
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Passes
Passo Pordoi 2,239m Passo di Falzarego 2,105m Pass Thurn 1,273m |
Day four, Monday 18 June 2007
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After a good breakfast we set off in the rain. Breakfast was amusing as all the guests were British but other than us everyone else was 70 or over!
The rain meant there was no point trying any passes around Kitzbuhel so instead we headed down the motorways to Innsbruck, the Austrian Tirol and the border with Germany. On the way to the motorway Chris had an alarming slide towards the back of a car which had stopped suddenly (in other words, Chris was too close!). Chris' back brake locked and the wheel skidded but he kept control by pumping his front brake. This along with our other hairy wet weather experiences, not to mention the Stelvio brake fade moment has led us both agree our next bikes will have ABS.
The motorway route was pretty with great views of the Tirol to the right and the higher Swiss Alps to the left. Innsbruck was bigger and uglier than we had expected. Heading into the Tirol was great. The roads were fabulous. Dual carriageway hairpin bends on the way up the mountains. Frustratingly there was quite a bit of traffic and so we couldn’t go as fast as would have liked. However, at least the rain had stopped and before heading for the long hard slog home up the motorway we stopped at a great cafe by a lake in the Tirol.
The host was an extremely camp German who was flirting with everyone! Despite this we managed to have a long relaxing stop in the sun and Nick made various urgent related work calls. The rest of the day involved fast motorway driving. We tried to ride for a full tank at a time covering about 150 miles every two hours. After one stop and as Chris pulled out into the fast lane and accelerated to 100mph, Tom ‘bailed out’! He had been playing up for some time and pretty unhappy all trip - but now he was smashed to the four winds as he flew over his shoulder and smashed into the road and then under massive wheels of a following BMW X5! Chris was looking for a replacement sat nav, he certainly had the excuse now! Nick was also enjoying the autobahns, at one point accelerating to and indicated 150mph (probably a more realistic 140); covering ground at that speed is fabulous, albeit concentration levels need to be pin sharp!
Traveling through Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and France we recorded our record distance in a single day - just over 700 miles! Eventually we arrived exhausted in Calais and crashed out in an F1 having spent 11 hours in the saddle.
The rain meant there was no point trying any passes around Kitzbuhel so instead we headed down the motorways to Innsbruck, the Austrian Tirol and the border with Germany. On the way to the motorway Chris had an alarming slide towards the back of a car which had stopped suddenly (in other words, Chris was too close!). Chris' back brake locked and the wheel skidded but he kept control by pumping his front brake. This along with our other hairy wet weather experiences, not to mention the Stelvio brake fade moment has led us both agree our next bikes will have ABS.
The motorway route was pretty with great views of the Tirol to the right and the higher Swiss Alps to the left. Innsbruck was bigger and uglier than we had expected. Heading into the Tirol was great. The roads were fabulous. Dual carriageway hairpin bends on the way up the mountains. Frustratingly there was quite a bit of traffic and so we couldn’t go as fast as would have liked. However, at least the rain had stopped and before heading for the long hard slog home up the motorway we stopped at a great cafe by a lake in the Tirol.
The host was an extremely camp German who was flirting with everyone! Despite this we managed to have a long relaxing stop in the sun and Nick made various urgent related work calls. The rest of the day involved fast motorway driving. We tried to ride for a full tank at a time covering about 150 miles every two hours. After one stop and as Chris pulled out into the fast lane and accelerated to 100mph, Tom ‘bailed out’! He had been playing up for some time and pretty unhappy all trip - but now he was smashed to the four winds as he flew over his shoulder and smashed into the road and then under massive wheels of a following BMW X5! Chris was looking for a replacement sat nav, he certainly had the excuse now! Nick was also enjoying the autobahns, at one point accelerating to and indicated 150mph (probably a more realistic 140); covering ground at that speed is fabulous, albeit concentration levels need to be pin sharp!
Traveling through Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and France we recorded our record distance in a single day - just over 700 miles! Eventually we arrived exhausted in Calais and crashed out in an F1 having spent 11 hours in the saddle.
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Statistics
None recorded |
Countries
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Passes
None |
