About time I did a little report on this . . . . .
13 days (early Sept), 2900 miles (approx.), 1x S1000XR, 1x MT07.
Just 11 months after passing her bike test, my friend and I set off for a 2 week euro road trip. Me on my XR and Tara on her little MT07. It was always going to be a steady one escorting the little MT and it's anxious pilot across several countries but that was always the plan so I didn't expect too much.
The XR has been in my possession for over 3 years but still surprised me just how good it was for this trip. Only real mods (apart from crash bars and black paint job) are HP high seat, Puig sport screen and black GS Adv bars (raked back slightly more than std ones)
No routes or digs planned or booked, just have a rough idea Alps, Italy, and make it up as we go.
First day was 190 mile Dual / m way blast down to the Chunnel. Quick crossing then few hours into France staying away from main roads. Long day but bikes and friend handled it well. I reckoned about 320 miles total. Way more than she's ever done in a day.
Days 2/3 winding down through France, staying off Major routes, motorways, toll roads etc. Finding hotels late in the afternoon to head for and try our luck. The third night staying in Aix-les-Bains not too far from the Swiss border.
Day 4, headed through Chamnix, over the border to Martigny then up and over The Great St Bernard Pass and into Italy where we managed to find a cracking friendly hotel along a nice quiet twisty mountain road in a little place called Brusson.
Days 5/6 Slow slog through Italy up the side of Lake Maggiore back into Switzerland and back down into Italy again, then making our way across to Lake Garda for 2 nights and a day off from the bikes.
Day 8, Heading north and over the Timmelsjoch (Passo Rombo) to Austria. The worst weather of the trip. The climb started ok but quickly (as it does) turned bad with rain climbing into the thick cloud with a visibility of -15m and still raining hard. Hazard lights on and very steady keeping an eye in the mirror for my very nervous friend. After the Toll booth, we even had 2 trikes that were just in front, wait until we passed and pulled straight out behind to follow us down as a guide until we finally emerged from the cloud lower down. Cheeky c***s
Got to digs we had booked a couple hours earlier and no one there. A quick phone call to find out they couldn't get there to honour the booking. But I had seen a Big bike friendly Hotel (according to the sign on the side of the barn) a couple hundred yards away so off I went with my best haggling head on and got the price down from 160 Euro, to 120 inc. breakfast
Bloody good dinner there too and very friendly. Bikes tucked away in the big barn. Highly recommend this place . . . . . . . Gasthof Zwieselstein , Austrian side of Passo Rombo.
Day 9, up through western Austria taking in the Silvertta Strasse, again with some heavy rain but thankfully the worst was gone by the time we hit the Silveretta, then a quick run through Liechtenstein and back into Switzerland again finding a nice lake to stay beside for the night.
Day 10 was a short ride (few hours) taking in the Susten pass. A bite to eat and onto the Hotel just the other side at Schattenhalb. Probably the only Hotel (Hotel Tourist) we would NOT recommend. Unfriendly owner, tiniest of bathrooms you couldn't swing a cat in . . . . . but they did let us check in early. Which left us the afternoon free and time for us to do a lap of the Grimsel, Furka, Susten passes, 2 up on the XR while Tara left her bike at the hotel. The only time on the trip I put my Cam on the bike.
Here's the Susten part, XR, 2up with loaded top box still on. Steady run as carrying pillion but nice to stretch the XR's legs a bit. (Susten starts 12mins in) Raw footage -
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Day 11, North again to Germany and the Black forest, taking in an hour of the famous B500 before turning off and finding some cracking twisties though the forests off the main routes and staying just a few miles from the French border.
Day 12 was heading home time, making our way across top of France, bit of Belgium, back into France and digs for the short run on the last day back to Calais and the boring run home back in the UK
Few pics from the trip - (not many as won't load to crap Gallery thing here)
