Just about to start planning this year's European biking trip.....with a couple of friends ......Not going to ask the usual....friend is keen to got to Switzerland (he's heard Andermatt is a good central location)......Is this doable in 7 nights (sat to sat) without days of motorways there and back.......Would prefer a nice ride to our destination...... I do have my European map but......there is a difference between map route and reality..... one of our group won't do boats so it's the euro tunnel.....
There are apparently, three of you......You have asked all the usual questions and want the usual stuff..... Calais to Andermatt and back 7 nights..... avoiding motorways.... can YOU do it? Well, let’s see.... There is no difference between the reality of miles on a map and miles on the road, they are the same distance; the only difference is how long it will take YOU to ride a mile or more on them and / or how long YOU want to spend riding them, as opposed to standing still, doing whatever it is YOU want to do. So let’s start with the distance A to B....
Calais to Andermatt, avoiding motorways (but also avoiding minor roads and unmade roads) is 600 miles. Kurviger is really useful for things like this and it’s free.
https://kurv.gr/opMJb
We assume that YOU and your two friends do not roll off the train at say 14:00 or later on Saturday? If so, can YOU ride 600 miles in two days (all of Saturday and all of Sunday) avoiding the motorways and goat tracks to arrive in Andermatt at say 18:00? Split into two equal parts, that is 300 miles a day, down the N and D roads of Western Europe..... can it be done? Yes. Can YOU do it? Only YOU and your two friends know.
Let’s say YOU can, so here goes....
Saturday night to Sunday night, getting to Andermatt from Calais, avoiding motorways and goat tracks. 300 miles both days, after rolling off the Chunnel (fully fuelled up, ready to go) at a reasonably decent time on Saturday morning. Why do you roll off the Chunnel, fully fuelled and ready to go? Because if you don’t you’ll be stopping at the fuel station about a mile from the terminal, joining a queue at the pumps, maybe having a pee or a coffee and then another pee and (for sure) enjoying general backslapping with your two friends who you haven’t seen since rolling off the train two minute earlier, where you’d spent at least 40 minutes with them. Maybe 30 minutes will go by and you’ll be no closer to Andermatt than when you started..... and you still have 300 non-motorway miles to go.
Sunday night in Andermatt (2 nights gone out of 7)
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday nights in Andermatt (5 nights gone)
Thursday morning leave Andermatt to commence non-motorway (no goat tracks) 600 mile ride back to Calais and home
Thursday night, logically somewhere roughly half way between Andermatt and Calais. (6 nights gone)
Friday night, arrive back home (7 nights gone)
If you plan on arriving back on the Saturday night (ie 7 full nights away) then you have an extra full day somewhere inside that lot.
Now, can YOU do it?
Is Andermatt a great, biker friendly, great roads, awesome riding, awesome views destination? Arguably yes. Though UKGSer is suddenly full of tales of dreadful fines and the apparently startling revelation Switzerland is not cheap. Make your own minds up. Is it worth three full days? Ask your mate, he’s chosen / suggested it.
Thoughts of the three of you, please......
PS When are you going?
PPS You could do worse than stripping down this organised tour a bit:
https://alps-tours.com/essential-alps-must-ride-tour/ How do you do that, mate? Put each of the destinations into Kurviger and look at the result. Then work out how you are going to do it starting and finishing from home, via Calais. He tells you near enough what passes he’ll be riding, which you can mark in. A bit of effort between the three of you and it’s done.
PPPS Go to the RiDE magazine website. It has loads of ready made ideas on week long 7 day type adventures, answering exactly your questions.
https://www.ride.co.uk/routes
And from there to:
https://www.ride.co.uk/routes-1/ride-guide-to-the-alps
PPPPS Search for Rasher’s posts. He probably goes to the Alps more than most and has some great, really helpful, suggestions. His first would probably be to hit some motorway between Calais and at least a decent way down to Andermatt. Is he right? That’s up to you (and your friends) to agree or disagree with him.
PPPPPS Some kind soul put this together:
https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showt...ce-Michelin-Louis-KurvenKoenig-etc-GPX-routes In fact, look at all the stickies.... get your mates to do the same.