6 Days in the Alps

[baldone04086]

Went to Europe for a bike tour with Edelweiss Motorcycle Tours on the 6 riding day Alps High Adventure Tour. Put over 2000 km on the Bike(BMW R1200RT) and enjoyed every second of it. One day did over 400 km and 10 passes. The Hotels were the best, the food was great , and the roads were as advertised. Motorcyclists Paradise... If you ever get the chance to go do it. Great Fun.

 

[rwl1955]

That`s my dream.
Actually I`d like to move to Germany when I retire for 6 or 8 month`s, rent a bike and just tour Europe.

 

[baldone04086]

Alps Riding pictures

Some of the pictures. The riding was fantastic. The last picture was taken by another member of the tour, and was better than a lot of mine so it is included.

 

[Doobage]

Photo 047.jpg is Awesome! those switch backs go on so far below it's insane.

I appreciate you sharing. Can't wait to do this myself.

Has anybody on this board ever shipped their bike overseas? Neil Peart mentions doing this in his book "Ghost Rider", but I think he has a bit more expendable income than I. Nevertheless, it seems to be a romantic notion to clock the miles on my own bike. A collection of memories in a machine so to speak.

 

[CruisingDog]

Thank you so much for the photos ... I think those roads follow the original Roman Roads from 2,000 years ago .... :biker: ... I've been to Grindelwald and Salzburg in a previous life ... the original European backpacking trip !

Weren't Roman roads meant to be straight ? ;-)

 

[Keith_UK]

Doobage - In future days, when you get to ride around the Alps, you won't be disappointed. Next weekend I start my sixth tour of the Alpine regions of France and Switzerland; I'm simply addicted to the territory, which is a biker's heaven.

BUT - shipping your bike across the Pond will present one BIG problem, IMHO. Insofar as sourcing a temporary insurance deal will cause you some heartache. I understand that placing the risk for a US rider-and-bike combo, with a EU insurer, is very difficult indeed.

[Unless someone reading this post knows something different?]

Does the same issue apply in the opposite direction? Which is to say: can European riders get US-based insurance cover if they ship their machines Stateside? I say this because I am contemplating a coast-to-coast tour of North America myself ... one day!?

KEITH

 

[Andy Kirby]

Hi Keith

I used my UK Bikes and Cars when I was based in Switzerland with UK insurance and just had to pay a supplement to extend the touring clause to a year. You can ride here in the US for a max. of one year without the need to register you're bike with the authorities, and no I never rode the passes, you never get around to these things when they are on you;re door step it seems

I would check with the AA as they ceded all their insurance to Lloyd's and they are very creative in the risks that they will take, unlike a lot of the Automotive Companies. If you are not touring here for an extended time I would consider renting, if you are here for a while, you might like to think about buying a bike and selling it on or shipping it home, they are wonderfully cheap in this part of the world, at least that is what Mrs. Andy believes...

Insurance is a funny thing in this part of the world, I live in Massachusetts where I have to carry insurance and the rates (high) are set by the State. However, if I moved 6 miles north to New Hampshire I would not be required to carry ANY insurance as long as I own the vehicle outright In short there are no Federal requirements for insurance that I know of, maybe someone here knows better?

Regards

Andy

 

[Northern Rob]

This ride looks like a "must do"!
Time to talk to my banker again.

Great pics, thanks for the inspiration.

 

[hughess004]

Hey Tom,
Who do you rent your bikes from in Europe. My wife is in the hotel business so I don't need to take an organised tour to have those arranged and would much prefer to head off on our own.
Thanks
Steve

 

[RTETR]

Excellent pics.. I'm having flash backs!

If your good at planning, confident in your riding ability, independant and somewhat easy going, I also suggest planning a trip yourself. It's more flexible, cost effective and certainly allows you to be where you want to be for as long as you want rather than a route or schedual preset by others. Think about it... are your trips in north america with a tour company or a result of good planning?

Last September my wife and I and 5 others rented bikes from Frankfurt through Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and back to Frankfurt. ST & RT rentals were about 700euro with unlimited mileage and our hotels and B&B's months ahead from home. Route planning was with the assistance of "Motorcycle journeys through the ALPS" by John Hermann, ISBN 0-9621834-6-6

All total the 2 weeks, 2 up including a return charter flight for us was just under $7000CDN and I plan to do another again sometime. Just remember to get an international driver's licence from AAA and a passort. See photos posted as EuroAlpinetour2005.

3 of us even took a day to go up and take a lap around the Nurburgring! Not the smartest thing I've ever done but perhaps the most thrilling and now everything seems rather well, "vanilla". Afterward I learned had I crashed the rental ST it would have been mine to keep. Although it's a 15Euro "toll road" insurance doesn't cover The Ring because well... it is after all a 21km race track. The German's just make it so damn easy to go fast!