How far can I go in the Alps from Geneva in six days?

redsmartie

redsmartie

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Planning on a Swiss trip starting and ending at Geneva over 6 days. Does anyone have experience of how much we will be able to cover in that time. They have talked about the Stelvio Pass but I don't want to stretch us to a mad dash across Switzerland when there is so much to see in central Switzerland with the passes.
 
How far can I go from Geneva?

Ripped out of another thread, where it didn't make much sense.

Richard
 
does the starting and ending in Geneva over six days include the ride to and from your home start point or not.
 
How far can you go? Beyond stating the blindingly obvious.... Just as far as you'll allow your awsome steed to carry you.

Variables include:

Weather

Whether you think 150 / 250 / 500 (insert mileage of your choice) miles in a day is a long way

What time you want to get up, get going and stop again.... Repeat until close of play.

How much flower pressing you want to get involved in on any one day away?

Whether you (as your post suggests you do) want to spend all your time in Switzerland?

According to Google maps, Geneva to the Stelvio direct is about 550 kms, call that 350 miles. Can you do that in a day? Do you want to come back in the same day?

If it's any use to you, I think a decent day's riding in the properly twisty bit of the Alps is anywhere between 180 and 250 miles, depending on whether it is peeing down, blazing hot, how many bods I might have with me and whether Jupiter is in alignment with Aeries. Of course I've been further, too and sometimes less.....
 
Down the Route des Grande Alpes and up the Route Napoleon, across the Col de Croix de Fer up through Annecy and back to Geneva.
(doing most of the above this year in 5 days)
 
Col de Madeleine, Col de mont Cenis drop down to Susa in to Italy back in to France. Lac de Castillon is a cracking road enroute to the Gorge. (racetrack!)
 
Geneva to Stelvio is a long drag - trust me....:rolleyes:

Just go to Andermatt and ride the three passes all day...drink beer at night. Go the other way the next day. Repeat.. :beerjug:

It is a 120 km loop, of which 100 km is twisties....from really tight hairpins to open fast corners.

Hard to beat...AND there are another 3 or more passes within easy reach...
 
Are you definitely set on spending your (assumed) full six days based in Geneva? There are arguably better hubs in Switzerland - where you apparently want to spend all your time - to chose from.

Many of the suggestions so far revolve around getting AWAY from Geneva, some riding south down through France to the Mediterranean and then back up again; I guess two days down, two days up again with a couple of days chillin' (to use the bikermate expression of choice) or riding (hooning / bimbling) the gorges or whatever. Others, to move somewhere else entirely. Good suggestions, but all useless if you really do need to stay overnight in Geneva each day or really only want to ride around in Switzerland, other than flogging all the way to the Stelvio... Cue the old joke: "Ways to the Stelvio, sir? Well I wouldn't be starting from here"

More info required.
 
Troppo said:
Geneva to Stelvio is a long drag - trust me....:rolleyes:

Just go to Andermatt and ride the three passes all day...drink beer at night. Go the other way the next day. Repeat.. :beerjug:

It is a 120 km loop, of which 100 km is twisties....from really tight hairpins to open fast corners.

Hard to beat...AND there are another 3 or more passes within easy reach...
Click to expand...

Also very good. did this last year, stayed in Gluringen on the Furkastrasse(19) at http://www.wallisersonne.com/ - recommended.
 
My original comment in the other thread made perfect sense to me but then i'm known for 'forum tourettes' :)

There are some good suggestions but let me give you as much detail as possible.

The bikes will be going ahead via truck overland and we will be flying out to Geneva with the bikes waiting for us after an overnight stay in the hotel.
The rest is a blank canvas. We have 6 days before returning to the same hotel in Geneva to hand the bikes back and fly home.

The only destination tabled was the Stelvio but this isn't essential if I'm told that there are better waypoints and destinations. Staying in Switzerland isn't essential either but it would be a shame to tear down to Italy or France at the expense of some stunning mountain passes.

I'm completely up to suggestions and experiences in setting our itinerary.

As for milage and riding time we regularly go out for 6 to 8 hours and do 250 - 300 miles in a day (including eating food, drinking tea and smoking cigarettes) from a Manchester base, so that's North Wales, Peak District, Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria.

Bike wise the group with be my GS, one or two S1000XRs and a K1300S. Very comfortable in the twisties (I've just come from a S1000RR), no problem with fast riding when the fancy takes us, and are quite happy to cruise and take in the scenery.
 
Aha, all becomes much clearer, thank you.

Six full'ish days away, starting and returning to Geneva.

My suggestions are:

1. Sit down with your (super fast) mates and see what you all want to do.

2. There are lots of very good pre-made maps of routes, ADAC for instance, which are free to download. Look at them and chose a hub that suits you, not leat if you no longer need to stay in Geneva. Also have a look at the sticky about Germany; the links in it will take you to German websites but they love ALL the Apls and will have more suggestions than you can manage before lunchtime. Other websites like Best Biking Roads are sometimes quite useful.

3. Geneva, if you do decide on staying there is good for Annecy and most of the French Alps, broadly west'ish, south and south east. Good suggestion: Buy some Michelin maps, you'll see what I mean. Or, download the free viaMicheil app and you'll get all the maps of everywhere for nothing; they work well on an iPad or a phone at a push.

Come on, YOU and YOUR chums can do it. Give it a go. It's fun and it's free and you all know each other far better than we do.


PS Put Annecy into the search box of UKGSer. Lots of suggestions will pop-up. You could also have a look at RiDE magazine's website for suggestions and downloads, all made by bikers for bikers.
 
Get out of Switzerland and start off from Chamonix.

Sent using hocus pocus........... boo!
 
mcinlb, has it in one. RDGA down to somewhere like La Bollene then head west across to Castellane and do the circular route of the gorge du verdon and then maybe start to come back via the route napoleon. just an idea.
 
I note that a lot of suggestions are on the French side. Is that the favourite option or just based on my Geneva starting point.

Would anyone say that there is one particular landmark, route or other wise where you would say "What, you went to Switzerland on a motorcycle and didn't do (X)!"

Maps ordered BTW
 
redsmartie said:
I note that a lot of suggestions are on the French side. Is that the favourite option or just based on my Geneva starting point.

Would anyone say that there is one particular landmark, route or other wise where you would say "What, you went to Switzerland on a motorcycle and didn't do (X)!"

Maps ordered BTW
Click to expand...

If it's your first time in the Alps, I would suggest, as others have, Route des Grandes Alpes down to Nice and back up Route Napoleon. Take in the Grand Canyon du Verdon

Alternatively this:
Geneva / Col de Aravis / Col de Saises / Col de Restefond / Col de la Madeleine / Col de l'Iseran / Col de Petit St Bernard / Col San Carlo / Aosta (but don't stop) /Col de Gran St Bernard / Up the Anterier Rhone Valley to the Furkapass / Stay in Andermatt. Andermatt is a great base for lots of the best (IMHO) passes in the Alps inc: Grimselpass / Furkapass / Sustenpass / Nufenenpass / the old cobblestone La Trimola / etc... Just around the corner is Lauterbrunnen which is a beautiful valley. Just outside Andermatt nr Wassen is the Swiss Devil's Bridge. Their are glaciers to see too if that's your thing. Back the same way or head a tad further north and take in the Juanpass and Col du Mont Cenis which drops you at the east end of Lake Geneva.

For a first taster of the Alps, this would be my recommendation. You could do the Stelvio but it is very busy now and extremely touristy at the top. It's a tick box pass but not that great to ride, well, the east side isn't anyway.

Riding in the Alps is different to riding at home. I work to six hours riding time a day. Heading out at 9am'ish, with a decent lunch stop, a cuppa somewhere and allowing for photo stops, and there are many, we'd usually get back to a hotel for 6pm'ish. And we ride briskly. Your average speed will come down in the mountains more than you think.

I've got some GPS files for a lot of this so PM me if I can help.

Hope this helps :thumb2

Donnie
 
What Donnie said!
Andermatt is a great place for a base.
You could go from there over the Oberalp pass (I especially like it) to Chur and on to Livigno and Bormio then do the west side only to the top of the Stelvio then return over the Umbrail pass back to Chur and on to Andermatt the opposite direction (it'd be like two different roads).
Get out some maps and enjoy yourself.
 
I did a similar sort of thing last year starting from Geneva. Fist 3 days spent heading south on the RDGA, then a day's blast across northern Italy and then north into Switzerland to stay in Andermatt. Done a few of the passes local to Andermatt and then across to Livignio (northern Italy) to do the Stelvios. For us 150 - 180 miles per day in the Alps was enough. We had pre booked accommodation and generally planned the route for the day but were happy to veer of the planned route.

The good and the bad:
- the ride across Italy to Andermatt was crap for 2 reasons, temp was touching 40C and too many toll booths
- IMHO there a better passes than the Stelvio but it's the one everyone heads to, so it'll be busy and the spin up / down the 39 (or whatever) hairpins is tedious due to so many bikes, motorhomes etc.
- The RDGA was good but can get busy on some of the Cols.
- best roads and least amount of traffic was in Switzerland however it is expensive compared to France and Italy

One last thing, if time allows get out of Geneva into France the day you arrive as there are some great French towns / villages within easy reach e.g. Annecy

I'm doing a similar thing this year as last year i.e. Starting in Geneva but this year the (loose) plan is to head in a south west direction towards the Pyrenees.

Enjoy your trip
 
mgpaulie said:
I did a similar sort of thing last year starting from Geneva. Fist 3 days spent heading south on the RDGA, then a day's blast across northern Italy and then north into Switzerland to stay in Andermatt. Done a few of the passes local to Andermatt and then across to Livignio (northern Italy) to do the Stelvios. For us 150 - 180 miles per day in the Alps was enough. We had pre booked accommodation and generally planned the route for the day but were happy to veer of the planned route.

The good and the bad:
- the ride across Italy to Andermatt was crap for 2 reasons, temp was touching 40C and too many toll booths
- IMHO there a better passes than the Stelvio but it's the one everyone heads to, so it'll be busy and the spin up / down the 39 (or whatever) hairpins is tedious due to so many bikes, motorhomes etc.
- The RDGA was good but can get busy on some of the Cols.
- best roads and least amount of traffic was in Switzerland however it is expensive compared to France and Italy

One last thing, if time allows get out of Geneva into France the day you arrive as there are some great French towns / villages within easy reach e.g. Annecy

I'm doing a similar thing this year as last year i.e. Starting in Geneva but this year the (loose) plan is to head in a south west direction towards the Pyrenees.

Enjoy your trip
Click to expand...

48 on the east side! Not my favourite.
 
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