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Complete Alpine Highlights

14 - 29 July 2012
 

A must in every rider's life. The scenery and the roads are amazing. The passes are high and you are on the mountains rather than looking at them from a distance. It is a challenging ride both for the length 14 full days, but also for the terrain covered. All tarmac roads and all in usually very good conditions. However, you must be able to master switchbacks and tight bends with a passanger on the back (if you carry one). You also must not have a real severe fear of heights. Some views can induce this. 

Starting and ending just outside of Milan, we picked what we believe are the roads that, if you were to come just once in your life time to the Alps, you really would not want to miss! You'll visit 5 countries in the process, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. Enjoy the best passes, food, beer and wine! 

As we usually do we organise multiple night stop overs in most towns we stay in. We have two nights in Barcelonnette (France), two nights in Andermatt (Switzerland), two nights in Livigno (Italy), two nights in Innsbruck (Austria) and 3 nights in the Dolomites. These multiple nights will allow you to take days off riding, if you need. In all of these places you'll be able to do plenty of other things apart from rest. 

Join us and you'll fall in love with the Alps! We have, and we offer this as our ultimate Alpine tour even if it is not quite Central Italy :)!

Touring programme day by day:

Day 1: after a quick highway transfer to Cuneo we tackle the first section of the Alps, the Maritime Alps over the Col de la Lombarde (Col = Pass in French) and the magnificent Col de la Bonnette to reach Barcelonnette. The Col de la Bonnette contends to the Italian Stelvio pass the highest road in Europe. The cunning French added a scenic loop road from the pass. These two passes offer great riding and stunning scenery as they are part of the French National Park of Mercantour.

Day 2: we leave our luggage at the hotel and ride a loop south of Barcelonnette to the Gorges of the Verdon river, it's a really impressive canyon for size and depth. On the way there we ride the Col d'Allos and coming back, after the Gorges de Dalluis, an amazing valley cut by the river Var, we tackle the Col de la Cayolle back into Barcelonnette.

 Day 3: we leave Barcelonnette and ride to Guillestre along the west bank of Lac (Lake) Serre Ponçon. Just passed Guillestre, we head for an amazing pass: the Col de l'Izoard. It offers an incredible natural spectacle. At the end of this pass the town of meridian clocks, Briançon, offers an interesting break from riding and you'll be able to enjoy a stroll though its historical centre. Our ride reaches the Col de Lautaret and then keeps climbing over the infamous (Tour de France toughest stage) Col de Gallibier to reach the small village of Valloire. 

Day 4: we cross 3 borders. After we have crossed the Col de l'Iseran, the highest paved mountain pass in the Alps (13 meters more than Stelvio), and ridden through Val d'Isere, we cross the Petit St Bernard into Italy and then hop into Switzerland briefly over the Grand St Bernard. At the Grand St Bernard we visit the hostel at pass height, famous for the big rescue dogs. These generous dogs originate from here and were used in snow storms to find lost travellers. We are in sight of Mont Blanc. Once we cross the Col de la Forclaz we will see the highest mountain in Europe and spend the night at its feet in Chamonix, the extreme sports capital of the World!

Day 5: in the morning you have the opportunity to catch the gondola to the top of Mont Blanc. It's a totally breathtaking experience, quite litterally as you nearly reach the very top. We then cross into Switzerland view the Matterhorn from Zermatt and reach Andermatt over the Furka Pass, the first of the "big 6" Swiss Alpine passes, for our second double night stop over.

Day 6: the Swiss call it the "Paessekarusel" because you draw a big circle on the map by hopping from one pass to another . We start with the Gotthard pass, riding parts of the old "tremola" down hill. It is called "tremola" because on parts of it there are still the original cobble stones (tremare = trembling). We then go for the Neufenenpass, the Grimmsellpass and finally the Sustenpass back into Andermatt. Great views and great riding!

Day 7: We head out of Andermatt heading east over the Oberalp pass and then take the south route over the Lukmanier pass. We then hop over the San Bernardino and the Julier pass to reach St Moritz. We then have one last pass before reacing our next base Livigno back in Italy. Livigno is a great place to be. Food is excellent, fuel is cheap (no vat!) and shopping too. It will also allow us to leave expensive Switzerland behind. 

Day 8: One last ride in Switzerland over the Grison mountains. We visit St Moritz and enjoy a real treat for chocolate lovers by visiting one of the best chocolateries there are. We then ride to Davos enjoying the Fluela and Albula passes. We return to Livigno via the Ofenpass.  

Day 9: we leave Livigno and head for Austria making our next base in Innsbruck. To reach Austria we ride the majestic Stelvio with its switchbaks. This is day 9, so you will have had 8 days practice and will be fully competent in tackling the 84 hairpins that make this one of the most challenging passes in the alps and the highest pass in Italy at 2760 meters above sea level. Once we have finished the Stelvio we head north over the Reschenpass and reach our destination.

Day 10: the loop ride out of Innsbruck leads into Germany (Bavaria) to the 3 Castles of Ludwig II of Bavaria, Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Linderhof. We also make a stop in Garmisch, home of the yearly world famous BMW rally. Thankfully we are not there when this is on. 

  Day 11: we finally reach the highlight of the tour, the Dolomites. Over a few more passes, the Timmelsjoch, Jaufenpass the Penserjoch before entering the Dolomites through the Gardena Valley. We set base here for 3 nights in the village of Colfosco in the heart of the Sella Group. 

Day 12: Our first loop ride takes us to Cortina d'Ampezzo on the Veneto side of the Dolomites. After a short visit to this exclusive resort, we head for the Tre Cime di Lavaredo along the private toll road for the best views. Fascinating are the WW1 fortifications built into the side of the mountains. 

Day 13: the loop takes us south to the Pale di San Martino and more exceptional pass riding in this stunning area of the Alps. 

Day 14: the tour is over and we need to make our way back to Milan. We do this using the Siusi Alps into Bolzano, the Passo del Tonale and reach the A4 in Bergamo along the Val Camonica. Reaching Milan on a summer Saturday late afternoon means we avoid the congested business traffic.