That'll be edd1e
Ah, thanks a lot. I thought I was going mad!
2017 Alps tour
- Thread starter The_Abyss
- Start date
Ah, thanks a lot. I thought I was going mad!
Tough day today - 630 miles - but we got where we needed to be. Combe Laval and Lacet de Montvernier to start tomorrow.
Associate
Silly question but doing that many miles in one day do you actually get to see anything or interact with the country you are in.
Only asking as back in May the wife and I were stood looking out over Utah Beach in France and a guy pulled in on a really beat up KTM all the fairing was held on by cable ties
As he rode past into the car park I noticed that his number plate was from Alaska
So I got talking to him and in the previous 4 weeks he had ridden from the top of Alaska down through Canada and across the US and then had the bike flown from there to London then he rode all the way down into Africa including across the Sahara and then up into France etc.
The group I was with all got talking about it and we all had the same thought that its a lot of ground to cover in such a short time so how much do you actually get to see/interact with.
I understand that everyone is different and accept that I am limited to bit of a lower daily mileage than most due to my spinal injury but still it is nice to get off the bike and have a look around
Soldato
I think you'll find the first day for Abyss was primarily getting across the boring bits of France, there's not much in the way of decent riding roads in the flat middle bit of France.
Associate
Fair enough
Yeah, that was exactly the purpose - to put us close to the Alps by the end of day 1 - just crunching through the miles really.
Had a good ride yesterday through France, over Val d'Isere and into Italy where we camped. Up early this morning and back into Switzerland and to our accommodation by 1 pm. Dropped all the luggage off the bikes and spent the afternoon and early evening up Grimsel and Furka, spending as much time off the bikes messing around filming and relaxing as we did on them. Tomorrow is Nufenen, Old Gotthard, Susten, Grimsel and then the first part of Furka again. Great weather today but tomorrow might be an exercise in dodging a few thunderstorms.
A quick view from Grimsel, looking over Furka.
Had a good ride yesterday through France, over Val d'Isere and into Italy where we camped. Up early this morning and back into Switzerland and to our accommodation by 1 pm. Dropped all the luggage off the bikes and spent the afternoon and early evening up Grimsel and Furka, spending as much time off the bikes messing around filming and relaxing as we did on them. Tomorrow is Nufenen, Old Gotthard, Susten, Grimsel and then the first part of Furka again. Great weather today but tomorrow might be an exercise in dodging a few thunderstorms.
A quick view from Grimsel, looking over Furka.
Great day today, solely in Switzerland. A day of experiences, rather than just riding. I will write up more detail on the return, but for now let's just say that we experienced the two sides of the Alps in the space of two hours between Susten and Furka, via Grimsel. I've never been so close to a lightning strike in my life!
Soldato
I'm saving the good photos for the proper write up 
Another good day today, moving into Italy by going through the Neufenen pass again, over San Bernadino (sp?), up and down Splugen, through Albumina (sp?) and then across Livigno pass into Italy. Nicely located to tackle Stelvio a couple of times early tomorrow morning before heading off into Austria. We dodged the rain all day until the final 10 minutes where we again caught a big thunderstorm before reaching our destination. Managed to stop for a quick swim in a lake off Albumina (sp) en route.
Too late to post up any photos today, but there are a couple from the roadside photographers. Look at http://www.foxphotos.fr/folio/978/tessin-side/page-2.html and go down to near the bottom, looking for the white XR and the blue Explorer
Weather looks pretty crap tomorrow, so we're keeping our route fairly flexible. Casualties of yesterday's storm are my mate's iPhone and Tomtom Rider - the latter note quite as waterproof as advertised. Currently sitting in a bowl of rice...
Another good day today, moving into Italy by going through the Neufenen pass again, over San Bernadino (sp?), up and down Splugen, through Albumina (sp?) and then across Livigno pass into Italy. Nicely located to tackle Stelvio a couple of times early tomorrow morning before heading off into Austria. We dodged the rain all day until the final 10 minutes where we again caught a big thunderstorm before reaching our destination. Managed to stop for a quick swim in a lake off Albumina (sp) en route.
Too late to post up any photos today, but there are a couple from the roadside photographers. Look at http://www.foxphotos.fr/folio/978/tessin-side/page-2.html and go down to near the bottom, looking for the white XR and the blue Explorer
Weather looks pretty crap tomorrow, so we're keeping our route fairly flexible. Casualties of yesterday's storm are my mate's iPhone and Tomtom Rider - the latter note quite as waterproof as advertised. Currently sitting in a bowl of rice...
Just think, I can do all of those passes in a day trip from my house and be back in time for dinner whenever I want
I prefer to choose the days when there are no storms as they can be and often are lethal!
One of the lads staying the same place as us had an off yesterday, thinking he could still ride through the storm. The hailstones were sitting a couple of inches deep down the Furka.
You're lucky to live there. With the exchange rate now Switzerland is even more expensive than last year. We're making the most of it that we can, as we won't be coming back while it stays this way. Nearly twice the price of France, and nearly three times the price of Italy for basic accommodation, meals and beers. When one of your party is on a tight budget it makes things very difficult.
That's why I am running a tour every year for ocuk where you guys stay at my house free for a week.
Home made pizzas from the pizza oven and fondue are very cheap.
Just think, I can do all of those passes in a day trip from my house and be back in time for dinner whenever I want
Not jealous honest
Back on a decent wifi connection now and heading for home tomorrow, overnighting in Epinal. The ride yesterday from Austria into Germany was good but great. Today was fantastic, around the south of the Black Forest into the Vosges mountains. Better than the Alpine roads, only lacking the view. I did a couple of passes in the Vosges last year but it was late evening / dark and today was so much better.
Stelvio was ok, but no better. On the Swiss side it photographs much better than it rides - the Italian side is good though.
Long slog tomorrow to get home, and back to work on Monday
. Anyway, a few photos:
Stelvio was ok, but no better. On the Swiss side it photographs much better than it rides - the Italian side is good though.
Long slog tomorrow to get home, and back to work on Monday
. Anyway, a few photos:
Everyone said the same, but I think that you have to tick it off if you're there, and we're glad we did.
Largely trouble free ride back home yesterday, 535 miles back from France and 2,400 miles total for the trip. Fairly tired by the end but really enjoyed it - much better and more variety and enjoyable time than last year's trip, which was not as well balanced. Both bikes didn't prove any trouble, and that's nearly 10,000 miles on the XR for me - I'm using it far more than previous bikes that I've owned.
We had a lot of time to reflect and chat on the ride back. We loved the Vosges and Black Forest - the roads are generally more enjoyable than the Alps (in general) and it is far cheaper, but you don't get the same stunning views. In the end, if you're going to those places then you're that close to the Alps that you may as well make the extra effort and go there too, if you have the time.
I'll try and do the full write up and share some of the better photos later this week. Video will take a little longer.
Largely trouble free ride back home yesterday, 535 miles back from France and 2,400 miles total for the trip. Fairly tired by the end but really enjoyed it - much better and more variety and enjoyable time than last year's trip, which was not as well balanced. Both bikes didn't prove any trouble, and that's nearly 10,000 miles on the XR for me - I'm using it far more than previous bikes that I've owned.
We had a lot of time to reflect and chat on the ride back. We loved the Vosges and Black Forest - the roads are generally more enjoyable than the Alps (in general) and it is far cheaper, but you don't get the same stunning views. In the end, if you're going to those places then you're that close to the Alps that you may as well make the extra effort and go there too, if you have the time.
I'll try and do the full write up and share some of the better photos later this week. Video will take a little longer.
Soldato
How many wet days food you have in the Alps? Just looking at the weather and it's looking like plenty of thunderstorms at the moment, we've ordered 25 degrees and sun though so should be OK
How many wet days food you have in the Alps? Just looking at the weather and it's looking like plenty of thunderstorms at the moment, we've ordered 25 degrees and sun though so should be OK
I planned your trip to avoid the thunderstorm season. Currently we get almost one per day like the one from the whatsapp video
How many wet days food you have in the Alps? Just looking at the weather and it's looking like plenty of thunderstorms at the moment, we've ordered 25 degrees and sun though so should be OK
It was pretty good, actually. We dodged most of the thunderstorms, which seemed to be mostly in the afternoon after the hear built up. We got caught in a monster one going across Grimsel from the north, and it came back around while up the Furka pass - we finally took shelter during that one. Then some afternoon rain in Austria a couple of days later, but nothing really to write home about. Other than that the only rain that came was either once we'd pitched up for the night or while we were commuting. We hit some heavy weather yesterday south of Calais and then again on the M25 but it didn't really slow us down.
The thunderstorm on the Furka was pretty cool, and we got some good video clips as well as soon moody pictures of the Triumph.