Well, I’m just back from my annual bike trip so thought I’d do a ride report. Make yourself a cuppa, sit back and enjoy. The words might be shit but there are some nice pictures!
Friday morning we all met up at Baldock services on the A1 and headed down to Folkstone. I’d like to say it was an exciting start to the tour but let’s be honest, the A1/M25/M20 just isn’t...so it wasn’t. It was however great to see Steve and Andrew again who had come down from Yorkshire, and of course everyone else. Over the past few years, I’ve got together a group of about ten or twelve guys who do or don’t come, depending on commitments, some I’ve known a long time, some more recently, and some I’ve met on this forum. This year there were eight of us.
The gang. Left to right: me, Sid, Rich, Paul, Steve, Andrew & Anton. Martin had ridden miles ahead at this point so wasn’t available for a photo.
With the stretch to Folkstone dispatched with, it wasn’t long before we were zipping along the A26 autoroute to our first night’s stop at the Auberge des Moissons, just outside Chalons-en-Champagne. This was a great place to stay, if a little pricey, but the rooms were great as was the food.
Day 2.
Leaving C-en-C behind, we headed cross country to Bar-le-Duc and then Nancy. We had a long, 440 mile day ahead, mostly on motorways as we headed for Austria’s Eastern Tirol. The run through to Bar-le Duc on the D994 is always nice and even on damp roads proved much more fun than the autoroute.
Mile after mile of motorway through Germany didn’t raise the levels of excitement, the boredom only relieved by maxing out on the Autobahn’s free limit sections. 127 fully loaded, according to my GPS. Not bad when you take into account that at 6’8” I’m about as aerodynamic as a barn door! And no, I didn’t know the panniers on a GS are only guaranteed to 110!
It was a wet day all in all and not very pleasurable but as we approached the Austrian border, the sun shone over the final few miles as we breached the Fernpass and up the Otztal to Oetz.
We stayed in the Alpenhotel in Oetz, a great hotel with friendly, welcoming staff and a covered parking area for the bikes. Oh, and a very useful drying room which we certainly made good use of!
The view from our room.
Otez
Day 3.
The weather wasn’t looking great for our day in the Tirol. Heavy rain was forecast all day but not to be deterred, we adorned water-proofs and headed out over Pillerhoe. I had seven passes lined up for us, the main event being Silvrettastrasse but the persistent rain was already dampening spirits. The Silvrettastrasse was certainly a good ride, would have been terrific in the dry but that just wasn’t to be.
Early doors was called so we turned onto the motorway back to Oetz. Shit! Now, as most of you probably know, you need a motorway pass to use the motorways in Austria, and Switzerland for that matter. Andrew had organised these prior to leaving Blighty and having been handed mine at breakfast the day before, I of course left it on the breakfast table back in C-en_C!!! Double.. We arrived back in Oetz an hour or so later in time for a late lunch under rain sheltering parasols.
Day 4.
We left Oetz behind as we headed off towards Italy and the Dolomite mountains of northern Italy. Out of Oetz, we took to Kuhtaisattel which was a delight...
The highlight of the tour was supposed to be the Grosglocknerpass. It’s almost legendary as a bikers road and I was really looking forward to riding it’s curves.
At the foot of the pass though, signs of what was to come were not so good...
The warning of slippery roads from the toll booth attendant didn’t bode too well either and as we climbed higher up the north ramp, cloud began to engulf us. By the time we reached the peak of the cobblestones Eidelweisspitz, it was snowing too.
Tree amigos.
But the weather never worries me too much. I reckon that weather like this often makes trips far more memorable than lots of boring old sun.
The restaurant at the top provided some respite and a good lunch.
As we crossed the border into Italy, the weather brightened up and the ride up Sellersattel was lovely. There are traffic lights at the top which only permit traffic to flow one way at a time. East to west, it’s the first fifteen minutes of each hour. Miss it and you wait 45 mins. Still, the views are good and there’s a little cafe there too so we were quite happy to wait.
One more pass, Passo Compolongo saw us into Arraba in the Dolomite Mountains where we were booked into the Albergo Pordoi Guesthouse.
It was really nice place and great value at £40 per night half board. The food was great too. Half board included three courses from the menu and a salad bar. A litre of house red was only £8 too. They also had a bike garage under the hotel...with a small workshop....and a jet washer. Did I mention a litre of house red was only £8?
Day 5 was looking good. It was a bit grey out but we had a good day planned. Seven passes including the Campolongo, Gardena, Nigra, Costalunga, San Pelligrino, Giau, Falzarego plus the Tre Cime de Lavaredo.
It was a pretty cloudy day, always threatening further downpours but thankfully it stayed dry and provided some great riding.
...and this...
By lunchtime we reached the Lagi di Fedaia and stopped at a little coffee shop by the lake.
We were getting some great views of the famous craggy mountains which were awesome.
And although supposed best view point in the Dolomites, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, looked like this...
...two minutes after arriving the cloud engulfed us and we could barely see each other, or the road to get down again!
What mountains?
Wouldn’t have been so bad if we hadn’t paid €10 for the privilege!
We were back in Arraba by six sipping a few beers, the usual après-ride, before dining on another more-than-you-could-eat meal.
Day 6 was soon upon us and again, the clouds loomed. We had another day’s ride in the Dolomites ahead and were soon climing out of Arrab on the Passo di Pordoi. This was a belter of a pass, would have been even better in the dry. This was also the first of ten passes on our route.
Back over the Passo di Fedaia, another good pass…
and down to Caprile for a morning coffee. One of the best rides of the day was the narrow Passo di Manghen.
It’s single lane for most of the way up, winding through mile after mile of tall Alpine forest as it climbs to its 2047m crest. At the top there’s a restaurant which we arrive at bang on lunchtime. It’s almost as if I planned it!
Day 7 we woke to a belter of a day. The sun was up already warming the blacktop through. Having settled up a pitiful sum with Franco and tipped the waitresses, we took to the Passo di Pordoi again. With the sun shining, this really was as good as I’d imagined the day before, the road snaking it’s way up the through the mountains, the switch-backs, not too tight, proving immense fun to ride.
We had 175 miles to ride back into Austria and the days ride only got better. After riding through the beautiful Val di Gardena…
… it was a short motorway run to Bolzano before climbing through the vineyards into the Sarentina & Pennes valleys.
For mile after mile we rode through this beautiful landscape, eventually climbing the excellent Passo di Pennes. At the top we had a ‘Ray Mears moment’ and lay about in the grass, high above the valley floor, just immersing ourselves in our surroundings. It was a stunning place to be.
Dropping down towards Vipiteno, the road quickly rose again as we started climbing the Jaufenpass. This was certainly becoming the best day’s ride of the trip and the Jaufenpass was another belter.
At the top was a nice little cafe affording great view across the mountain and a great place for a massive slice of cake!
A few miles on an we reached the foot of Timmelsjoch. This was the second main feature of the tour for me, another notary road that I was really looking forward to riding, and this time the sun was shining.
Timmelsjoch was amazing to ride too. After the initial climb, the roads meandered through the mountains for miles. Like the Grossglockner, it was another toll road but it was worth every cent.
From Timmelsjoch, it was a leisurely run down the valley to Oetz where we turned off onto Pillerhoe again. Our accommodation was a nice little please, Gasthof Hirschen, a few miles outside Wenns. Nice clean rooms and a decent meal at a reasonable price.
It was Friday and time to head for the biking mecca of Andermatt in the heart of Switzerland. Last minute, I decided to add the Stelvio Pass into our route. We’d nearly all done it at some point over the past few years, other than Martin who was one his first European bike tour. I thought it was one that he just shouldn’t miss. Some of the guys however didn’t fancy it, so headed off on a different route. Anton accompanied Martin, whilst I took to the Umbrailpass. The top of the Stelvio was heaving, far busier than my last visit in 2007. I won’t go again.
After lunch in Livigno, we headed for Andermatt where, for our penultimate night, we stayed in the hotel where Sean Connery stayed whilst filming the Alpine scenes in Goldfinger.
Saturday was to be a long slog back to Chalon-en-Champagne and back to the Auberge des Moissons. The supposed grand finale trip end over the Furkapass and Grimselpass was abit of a wash out, again, the upper ramps engulfed in dense cloud.
Then came running the gauntlet on the Swiss motorway without my vignette. Thankfully, I got through to Basel without even sighting a single police car and Whaooooo’d as I crossed the border.
The final mountain roads through the Vosges were given a wide birth and after a long day in the saddle, we finally got to our accommodation.
My first taste of the Tirol was a bit of a disappointment but I found the people to be very nice. The Dolomites were spectacular and the riding superb. Both are places to return to. As usual the company was great and this is what really makes a good trip great. Roll on next year.
Friday morning we all met up at Baldock services on the A1 and headed down to Folkstone. I’d like to say it was an exciting start to the tour but let’s be honest, the A1/M25/M20 just isn’t...so it wasn’t. It was however great to see Steve and Andrew again who had come down from Yorkshire, and of course everyone else. Over the past few years, I’ve got together a group of about ten or twelve guys who do or don’t come, depending on commitments, some I’ve known a long time, some more recently, and some I’ve met on this forum. This year there were eight of us.
The gang. Left to right: me, Sid, Rich, Paul, Steve, Andrew & Anton. Martin had ridden miles ahead at this point so wasn’t available for a photo.
With the stretch to Folkstone dispatched with, it wasn’t long before we were zipping along the A26 autoroute to our first night’s stop at the Auberge des Moissons, just outside Chalons-en-Champagne. This was a great place to stay, if a little pricey, but the rooms were great as was the food.
Day 2.
Leaving C-en-C behind, we headed cross country to Bar-le-Duc and then Nancy. We had a long, 440 mile day ahead, mostly on motorways as we headed for Austria’s Eastern Tirol. The run through to Bar-le Duc on the D994 is always nice and even on damp roads proved much more fun than the autoroute.
Mile after mile of motorway through Germany didn’t raise the levels of excitement, the boredom only relieved by maxing out on the Autobahn’s free limit sections. 127 fully loaded, according to my GPS. Not bad when you take into account that at 6’8” I’m about as aerodynamic as a barn door! And no, I didn’t know the panniers on a GS are only guaranteed to 110!
It was a wet day all in all and not very pleasurable but as we approached the Austrian border, the sun shone over the final few miles as we breached the Fernpass and up the Otztal to Oetz.
We stayed in the Alpenhotel in Oetz, a great hotel with friendly, welcoming staff and a covered parking area for the bikes. Oh, and a very useful drying room which we certainly made good use of!
The view from our room.
Otez
Day 3.
The weather wasn’t looking great for our day in the Tirol. Heavy rain was forecast all day but not to be deterred, we adorned water-proofs and headed out over Pillerhoe. I had seven passes lined up for us, the main event being Silvrettastrasse but the persistent rain was already dampening spirits. The Silvrettastrasse was certainly a good ride, would have been terrific in the dry but that just wasn’t to be.
Early doors was called so we turned onto the motorway back to Oetz. Shit! Now, as most of you probably know, you need a motorway pass to use the motorways in Austria, and Switzerland for that matter. Andrew had organised these prior to leaving Blighty and having been handed mine at breakfast the day before, I of course left it on the breakfast table back in C-en_C!!! Double.. We arrived back in Oetz an hour or so later in time for a late lunch under rain sheltering parasols.
Day 4.
We left Oetz behind as we headed off towards Italy and the Dolomite mountains of northern Italy. Out of Oetz, we took to Kuhtaisattel which was a delight...
The highlight of the tour was supposed to be the Grosglocknerpass. It’s almost legendary as a bikers road and I was really looking forward to riding it’s curves.
At the foot of the pass though, signs of what was to come were not so good...
The warning of slippery roads from the toll booth attendant didn’t bode too well either and as we climbed higher up the north ramp, cloud began to engulf us. By the time we reached the peak of the cobblestones Eidelweisspitz, it was snowing too.
Tree amigos.
But the weather never worries me too much. I reckon that weather like this often makes trips far more memorable than lots of boring old sun.
The restaurant at the top provided some respite and a good lunch.
As we crossed the border into Italy, the weather brightened up and the ride up Sellersattel was lovely. There are traffic lights at the top which only permit traffic to flow one way at a time. East to west, it’s the first fifteen minutes of each hour. Miss it and you wait 45 mins. Still, the views are good and there’s a little cafe there too so we were quite happy to wait.
One more pass, Passo Compolongo saw us into Arraba in the Dolomite Mountains where we were booked into the Albergo Pordoi Guesthouse.
It was really nice place and great value at £40 per night half board. The food was great too. Half board included three courses from the menu and a salad bar. A litre of house red was only £8 too. They also had a bike garage under the hotel...with a small workshop....and a jet washer. Did I mention a litre of house red was only £8?
Day 5 was looking good. It was a bit grey out but we had a good day planned. Seven passes including the Campolongo, Gardena, Nigra, Costalunga, San Pelligrino, Giau, Falzarego plus the Tre Cime de Lavaredo.
It was a pretty cloudy day, always threatening further downpours but thankfully it stayed dry and provided some great riding.
...and this...
By lunchtime we reached the Lagi di Fedaia and stopped at a little coffee shop by the lake.
We were getting some great views of the famous craggy mountains which were awesome.
And although supposed best view point in the Dolomites, the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, looked like this...
...two minutes after arriving the cloud engulfed us and we could barely see each other, or the road to get down again!
What mountains?
Wouldn’t have been so bad if we hadn’t paid €10 for the privilege!
We were back in Arraba by six sipping a few beers, the usual après-ride, before dining on another more-than-you-could-eat meal.
Day 6 was soon upon us and again, the clouds loomed. We had another day’s ride in the Dolomites ahead and were soon climing out of Arrab on the Passo di Pordoi. This was a belter of a pass, would have been even better in the dry. This was also the first of ten passes on our route.
Back over the Passo di Fedaia, another good pass…
and down to Caprile for a morning coffee. One of the best rides of the day was the narrow Passo di Manghen.
It’s single lane for most of the way up, winding through mile after mile of tall Alpine forest as it climbs to its 2047m crest. At the top there’s a restaurant which we arrive at bang on lunchtime. It’s almost as if I planned it!
Day 7 we woke to a belter of a day. The sun was up already warming the blacktop through. Having settled up a pitiful sum with Franco and tipped the waitresses, we took to the Passo di Pordoi again. With the sun shining, this really was as good as I’d imagined the day before, the road snaking it’s way up the through the mountains, the switch-backs, not too tight, proving immense fun to ride.
We had 175 miles to ride back into Austria and the days ride only got better. After riding through the beautiful Val di Gardena…
… it was a short motorway run to Bolzano before climbing through the vineyards into the Sarentina & Pennes valleys.
For mile after mile we rode through this beautiful landscape, eventually climbing the excellent Passo di Pennes. At the top we had a ‘Ray Mears moment’ and lay about in the grass, high above the valley floor, just immersing ourselves in our surroundings. It was a stunning place to be.
Dropping down towards Vipiteno, the road quickly rose again as we started climbing the Jaufenpass. This was certainly becoming the best day’s ride of the trip and the Jaufenpass was another belter.
At the top was a nice little cafe affording great view across the mountain and a great place for a massive slice of cake!
A few miles on an we reached the foot of Timmelsjoch. This was the second main feature of the tour for me, another notary road that I was really looking forward to riding, and this time the sun was shining.
Timmelsjoch was amazing to ride too. After the initial climb, the roads meandered through the mountains for miles. Like the Grossglockner, it was another toll road but it was worth every cent.
From Timmelsjoch, it was a leisurely run down the valley to Oetz where we turned off onto Pillerhoe again. Our accommodation was a nice little please, Gasthof Hirschen, a few miles outside Wenns. Nice clean rooms and a decent meal at a reasonable price.
It was Friday and time to head for the biking mecca of Andermatt in the heart of Switzerland. Last minute, I decided to add the Stelvio Pass into our route. We’d nearly all done it at some point over the past few years, other than Martin who was one his first European bike tour. I thought it was one that he just shouldn’t miss. Some of the guys however didn’t fancy it, so headed off on a different route. Anton accompanied Martin, whilst I took to the Umbrailpass. The top of the Stelvio was heaving, far busier than my last visit in 2007. I won’t go again.
After lunch in Livigno, we headed for Andermatt where, for our penultimate night, we stayed in the hotel where Sean Connery stayed whilst filming the Alpine scenes in Goldfinger.
Saturday was to be a long slog back to Chalon-en-Champagne and back to the Auberge des Moissons. The supposed grand finale trip end over the Furkapass and Grimselpass was abit of a wash out, again, the upper ramps engulfed in dense cloud.
Then came running the gauntlet on the Swiss motorway without my vignette. Thankfully, I got through to Basel without even sighting a single police car and Whaooooo’d as I crossed the border.
The final mountain roads through the Vosges were given a wide birth and after a long day in the saddle, we finally got to our accommodation.
My first taste of the Tirol was a bit of a disappointment but I found the people to be very nice. The Dolomites were spectacular and the riding superb. Both are places to return to. As usual the company was great and this is what really makes a good trip great. Roll on next year.
Brought back some memories from my trip in May.
