Who would enjoy the Alps trip?

In many respects, virtually anyone with a sense of adventure would enjoy this trip. However, more experienced riders who enjoy challenging riding conditions tend to gain more from this event than pure novices. From where I live in the Midlands, it’s an 850 mile ride down to this part of the Alps. Even split over 2 days, some people find this distance quite tiring. We had incredibly hot weather, nearly 40 degrees Celsius, all the way down in 2002, and even the most experienced riders were starting to wilt a bit by the end of the day. In complete contrast, we had torrential rain on the return journey. I’m not trying to put anyone off of course, but just stating the fact that it quite a long ride to get there! One could split the journey over 3 days each way, but, by the time you arrive, you’d hardly have time to enjoy the view, before having to turn around and set off back again. So, it’s two days “touring” to get there, a clear week in the middle to ride, relax and explore, then 2 days’ ride home again. (Just for the record, James & Marco, on the July 2003 trip, chose to ride non-stop from Bourg, in the Alps, right to Dundee in Northern Scotland. Madness! But, it does prove it can be done on one go.) Once in The Alps, most of the riding is done on spectacular, high altitude, mountain passes. Maybe this would not appeal if you don’t enjoy the twisties. It’s all down to the kind of riding you prefer to do. The sports-bike riders simply adore those mountain passes, whilst the Tourers cope well enough, and do the trip in considerably more comfort.

Went Live : Fri 25th July 2003