The Gavia makes it 10 out of 10

2009 Part 8: With the exception of Mark who’d been on the road for 8-10 hours every day for the last 10 days, everyone was enthusiastic for a group ride today. As usual Phil had planned the ride and the route he’d chosen set him and Kyle up nicely to knock off the final pass […]

The legendary Passo dello Stelvio

2009 Part 7: Last night the Stelvio had been debated extensively and it went without saying that Phil, Kyle and Mark would ride it today. Yesterday Gaz, Taj, Cat, Pete and Bobby had ridden it going up the eastern ramp with its 48 almost zero radius hairpins, and down the gentler western side. However, from […]

Moving on to bigger things

2009 Part 6: Today was a transition day that saw us shifting bases from Arabba to the ski resort of Livigno near the Swiss border. The most direct toll free route between Arabba and Livigno is just shy of 150 miles and goes via Bolzano, Merano and the Stelvio Pass. Phil and Kyle had other […]

Around the Sella Massif

2009 Part 5: Before we booked our motorcycle trip to Italy we spent a lot of time online scrolling through dozens of websites doing our research. We wanted to find somewhere to stay in the Dolomites which would give us easy access to as many passes as possible, while keeping costs as low as possible. […]

18 passes in a day

2009 Part 4: Since we first started touring in Europe Phil has used John Hermann’s excellent book, Motorcycle Journeys Through The Alps & Beyond, as a valuable resource in planning trips. Kyle has since joined the Hermann fan club and Trip 52 (in the fourth edition) is entitled I Dare You; 17 Passes in One […]

The Grossglockner High Alpine Road

2009 Part 3: As soon as we woke up this morning it looked like we’d struck gold with the weather. By all accounts the previous weeks weather in the Dolomites had been dreadful, bitter cold and lashing it down with rain. Today though it was blue skies and sunny, and the forecast was for more […]

A trio becomes an octet in Arabba

2009 Part 2: Today was the day we’d all arranged to meet up in Arabba and as Gaz, Pete and Mark readied themselves for the final leg of their 1,000+ mile journey to the Dolomites it was hard to believe they’d woken up in the same place they’d spent the day yesterday. Low cloud and […]

Belfort and loving it up the Ballon

2008 Part 3: After the catastrophic failure of Cat’s Tuono on the Galibier yesterday, this morning saw him waiting for a man with a van to take him and his bike to Grenoble. It wasn’t exactly clear what was going to happen after that but if the problem was terminal – which was looking likely […]

Two days in the high Alps

2008 Part 2: Suffering the effects of sleep deprivation compounded by too much wine Gaz, Taj and Pete decided not to ride today. Instead they spent their day exploring Briancon’s rich history – that’s what they told the rest of us anyway. On 8th July 2008 – next week – several buildings including the city […]