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I got back about a week ago from this summer's Ironstone tour and it was incredible. It's something I've wanted to do for years and finally saved up and signed up for this trip. It was a great group of people, riding on unbelievable roads with jaw dropping scenery, excellent food and beer, great stories, lots of laughs, excellent beer, and much more. There were 8 of us on six bikes (2 couples rode 2-up). We picked up the bikes outside of Zurich and spent the next 10 days riding a bunch of passes in the Alps and Dolomites, visiting Switzerland, Italy, Austria, and Germany.
Most of the bikes were BMWs, with one Yamaha Super Tenere. The guys riding BMWs solo all had the 800cc vertical twins, and the couples rode big boxers, a GS and an RT. The smaller twins were perfect for the solo riders, with more than enough power and nimble handling through the switchbacks. I had the GS and fell in love with it. I've never been a fan of the big boxer, but now I understand why it's so popular. I thought it would be a total pig riding 2-up with saddlebags and top case full. I was surprised at how well it handled all the weight even in the mountains and through the switchbacks. There was more than enough motor available whenever I needed to get by someone, and the very wide bars turn the bike quicker than I expected. It took a while to get used to them, but it was a fun bike.
The weather was better than expected. The forecast didn't look very good before leaving. We had a bit of fog on one of the peaks the first day and just enough rain to prove our gear would keep us dry as long as we didn't ride into a lake. Most of the time we had clear blue skies. The temps were perfect - 50s at the peaks and 70s or low 80s in the lowlands.
Joe Proia is a great tour guide. He arranged the bikes with Moto Mader in Aarau Switzerland, then led us through the passes, back roads, and autobahns to small inexpensive Gausthauses where the proprietors knew him and treated us like royalty. One of the best things about the trip was that we just followed Joe around not knowing or caring when or where the day's riding would end. The unbelievable part is that he does this for no profit. Everything is pay-as-you-go, which makes the trip as inexpensive as a Euro bike tour can be. I can't thank Joe enough for letting us join this year's group.
A couple of interesting differences between here and there. Passing other vehicles is much more aggressive, especially in the mountains. It's expected by the other traffic so once you get used to it, it's no big deal. My wife did scream "No!!!!!!!!" once or twice the first few days, but none of the passing resulted in any drama. And there are about 100 million billion traffic cameras over there. In a month or two you may read about an unexpected influx of U.S. cash solving the European financial crisis. That will be due to the rental company forwarding the tickets and Autobahn tolls to our little group.
If you've never ridden Alpine passes, I recommend adding a trip like this to your bucket list. But it's like track days, an addiction. I'm already thinking about how to justify going back. After all, the map clearly shows many mountain passes left to explore...
Here's a few pics:
I brought my QStarz lap timer and used travel mode to record where we went. Turn it on in the morning and upload our travels at night. It's a very cool little toy on and off the track.
This is Umbrail Pass in Switzerland, near the Italian Border. Not the best quality pictures but I only brought a point 'n shoot camera with me.
Stelvio Pass, in Italy. The passes are miles and miles of switchbacks, this is just one little piece of it. The scenery was breath-taking all day long.
On the map, it looks like this:
We spent one day touring a couple of castles, and another day in Munich visiting the usual tourist haunts - Marienplatz, the English Garden, etc. This is Neuschwanstein Castle, built by "Mad King Ludwig". It was never finished.
After the bike tour, my wife and I drove to Geneva. Randomly walking around, I stumbled on the Mechanical Art Devices Gallery. I'd seen these bikes in bike magazines but never thought I'd see them in real life. They are stunningly beautiful. And they even let me sit on them! Here's a link for better pics. They have 'mechanical art' other than bikes, and all of it was creative and beautiful stuff.
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Originally Posted by SprintPoser
Starting in Spain and riding northeast would be a great trip - Barcelona, Marseilles, Monaco, Martigny, Como, Bormio, etc.
