First trip
- Thread starter Lee0113
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Bungy
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Between 11am and 4pm are the best times for good weather.
patzx12
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Totally unpredictable, pack a good rain over suit and a spare pair of gloves.
When it rains it really rains.
I made a mistake on my Garmisch trip and left my Buffalo 2 piece suit behind.
Even my textile gear got soggy.
Oh and enjoy
When it rains it really rains.
I made a mistake on my Garmisch trip and left my Buffalo 2 piece suit behind.
Even my textile gear got soggy.
Oh and enjoy
Bear in mind that most of the passes will not all be open before the first week of June so take that as a start point, problem is that the weather especially in the Alps can be extremely unpredictable.
2015 I was in Austria in mid June , weather in the Alps was superb 30 degrees each day, same when I went back in July. This summer we were in Northern Germany in June and the weather was cracking but at the same time the Alps and Southern Germany had heavy rain and flooding. we went down through Germany into Austria in July had 3 days of beautiful weather followed by a week of heavy rain then 3 days of beautiful weather on the way home.
Similarly we were at the Northern Italian Lakes in July 2014 and it was 40 degrees , mate went to Garda the following week and it was 20 degrees and rained for 7 days
If you are planning to do the higher passes have alternatives planned just in case ( 2 days ago the Grossglockner was heaving with bikes, today it was closed to 2 wheelers due to snow) .
Just make sure you carry the right gear incase the weather turns and don't waste your time camping when you can get excellent value Pensions, B & B's and Hotels , which are a godsend if the weather has been poor or alternatively it has been very hot and al you want is a cold beer and a shower rather than faffing around putting up a tent.
If bad weather hits the Alps and it looks like it is going to be in for the long tern don't get youself so restricted with bookings that you can't move on ie further north or whatever to get better weather, the mountains are a bloody miserable place for biking when it is pissing down and you can't see 30 yards in front of you never mind the normally beautiful mountains
2015 I was in Austria in mid June , weather in the Alps was superb 30 degrees each day, same when I went back in July. This summer we were in Northern Germany in June and the weather was cracking but at the same time the Alps and Southern Germany had heavy rain and flooding. we went down through Germany into Austria in July had 3 days of beautiful weather followed by a week of heavy rain then 3 days of beautiful weather on the way home.
Similarly we were at the Northern Italian Lakes in July 2014 and it was 40 degrees , mate went to Garda the following week and it was 20 degrees and rained for 7 days
If you are planning to do the higher passes have alternatives planned just in case ( 2 days ago the Grossglockner was heaving with bikes, today it was closed to 2 wheelers due to snow) .
Just make sure you carry the right gear incase the weather turns and don't waste your time camping when you can get excellent value Pensions, B & B's and Hotels , which are a godsend if the weather has been poor or alternatively it has been very hot and al you want is a cold beer and a shower rather than faffing around putting up a tent.
If bad weather hits the Alps and it looks like it is going to be in for the long tern don't get youself so restricted with bookings that you can't move on ie further north or whatever to get better weather, the mountains are a bloody miserable place for biking when it is pissing down and you can't see 30 yards in front of you never mind the normally beautiful mountains
It's important to be flexible. You will get stuff wrong. Accept it and move on. We spent one trip zigzagging through France avoiding thunderstorms. We had no set route so planned each day depending on the weather forecast and ended up seeing bits of France that were new to us. Result!
Remember riding in high temperature can cause dehydration, so regular stops for water.
Spare gloves are essential. Putting on wet gloves is horrible. TCX boots have been 100% waterproof and all day comfortable for me, but it's a personal thing.
There is loads of info on here, some of it is even useful! Enjoy your trip and then submit a ride report.
Remember riding in high temperature can cause dehydration, so regular stops for water.
Spare gloves are essential. Putting on wet gloves is horrible. TCX boots have been 100% waterproof and all day comfortable for me, but it's a personal thing.
There is loads of info on here, some of it is even useful! Enjoy your trip and then submit a ride report.
+1 Plan for the worst and hope for the best
I have been to Europe every year since 2008, sometimes more than one trip, mainly the Alps (6 visits) but also to Black Forest and Pyrenees, only the trip to the Pyrenees was a bit of a washout, but I do not think any trip of more than about 4 days was entirely dry and most trips would involve at least one miserable slog through several hours of rain.
Overall I would say most of my trips have been 70%-90% dry, the statistics for most places will be along the lines of 1 day in 3 having rain, although this could be a 5 minute shower or an 8 hour deluge so the Stats are nothing more than a guide as to which months are historically better than others....
...also that 1:3 average does not mean you won't have 10 days of solid rain, but in reality 10 days of solid Sunshine are statistically more likely, basically it is a lottery - but one where the odds are stacked in your favour.
Mid June - Mid July or early September would be my advice for the Alps, it can be very hot in July and August, plus traffic will be heavier during School Holidays - but still much lighter than UK traffic so don't worry if you do have to go in August, I have done so a few times and still had a great time.
DC
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re your gloves ..i take summer ones and a goretex pair too…it will defo rain at least one of the days you go and it will defo be sunny on at least one of the days..IE it is very mixed weather ,but just go prepared properly ,and you will have a superb time ..if you go in dry gear alone and it pisses down ( the rain is wetter out there) you will not enjoy it .
Have a great time keep safe
Have a great time keep safe
Early/Mid July is your best bet - passes should all be open but not as busy as August when lots of our Europeans friends take leave.
Do you have a plan? Stella Alpina rally is normally 2nd weekend in July IIRC or alternatively BMW Motorrad Days is also 2nd weekend in July - both would be a great starting point for a trip.
Good luck
Do you have a plan? Stella Alpina rally is normally 2nd weekend in July IIRC or alternatively BMW Motorrad Days is also 2nd weekend in July - both would be a great starting point for a trip.
Good luck
waynecoluk
Registered user
I've just come back from the Alps and Northern Italy and the weather on the hole was very good. However, we camped fo 2 days in Andermatt and Switzerland and it pissed down during the night and was lightly raining when we put our tents away the next morning. We didn't camp again after that as the hotels/pensions/b&b's are so cheap, financially it didn't make sense. I thought they would have been expensive in August but I was wrong. We used booking.com and booked our hotels a couple of hours before we got there so we wernt restricted at the start of the day where to get to.
If you're going to Northern Italy its the heat that will probably be your biggest problem. We got it quite easy this time as it was only around 30 degrees but as someone has mentioned it can get a lot hotter than that. However earier in the morning we were coming over the Gotthard pass and it was low cloud and 6 degrees. You really need to pack for different seasons.
I did a similar trip 3 years ago in the second week in June and all but 3 passes were closed and the weather in Switzerland was horrendous so we moved on to Italy. A mate went a year before at the same time and had a week of gloriuos sunshine. It's pure luck in the mountains.
On a last note Switzerland is very expensive place to be. The petrol is reasonably priced but eating out etc is expensive so be sure to take lots of Swiss Francs (though most places also take euros)
If you're going to Northern Italy its the heat that will probably be your biggest problem. We got it quite easy this time as it was only around 30 degrees but as someone has mentioned it can get a lot hotter than that. However earier in the morning we were coming over the Gotthard pass and it was low cloud and 6 degrees. You really need to pack for different seasons.
I did a similar trip 3 years ago in the second week in June and all but 3 passes were closed and the weather in Switzerland was horrendous so we moved on to Italy. A mate went a year before at the same time and had a week of gloriuos sunshine. It's pure luck in the mountains.
On a last note Switzerland is very expensive place to be. The petrol is reasonably priced but eating out etc is expensive so be sure to take lots of Swiss Francs (though most places also take euros)
But they will rip you off on the Exchange rate if you pay in Euro's.
I take a small amount of Swiss Francs and try to use my credit card as much as possible, got one with zero transaction charges so it is cheaper than changing money.
I'm just back from a three week tour of Europe (including a couple of motogp events). I tried the booking.com idea a couple of times but never had any available internet signal - how did you manage it as I always seem to be in the middle of nowhere looking for a room for the night?
Pay a couple of quid to extend your UK data package to embrace Europe.
Stop in any McDonalds, who always have pretty reliable wifi
Most hotels / cafes will let you tap into their wifi, if you ask. Buy a coffe, as it helps oil the wheels
Avoid being in the middle of nowhere before starting to look for a bed; anticipation is better than frustration.
Stop in any McDonalds, who always have pretty reliable wifi
Most hotels / cafes will let you tap into their wifi, if you ask. Buy a coffe, as it helps oil the wheels
Avoid being in the middle of nowhere before starting to look for a bed; anticipation is better than frustration.
Thank you for the reply, Wapping. I had BT data coverage (I believe, but will now double check) but it never seemed to be available when I wanted it!
I ended up using my Nav 5 to search for local lodgings and it worked fine. Found a nice wee pension in northern Czech republic that didn't speak English (and I don't speak Czech but we both knew enough German to make it work!)
On that point, and being a Nav 5 guru (I used mine for the first time this trip and found it very useful for many unexpected reasons [I'm a map person]) you may be able to answer another question for me. While following my map, icons appear for eateries, money dispensers and petrol stations. I don't recall setting them them up, or not, but they are there. What would be useful would be for lodgings to also appear as an icon. I played with the settings menus but couldn't find it but maybe it needs to be done through Basecamp (which still doesn't want to run for me after a Windows 10 update.)
TIA, Iain
We tend to plan a day at a time. We'll spend the evening eating, drinking and planning where to head for the following day. We'll use our current hotel's wifi to check the weather and route, then, like Wapping, use Booking.com to sort the hotel. You can adjust mileage each day depending on how tired you are from the day's ride you've just finished.
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