This started out as a chat with Mel about riding
around Wales for the weekend. As I knew most of the roads
we started looking further afield then I came across a picture
of a road on a mountain and I knew I had to ride it. Neither
of us had ridden bikes abroad before so we thought we'd do
a little research. I can't recommend Alpine
Roads enough. It told us everything we needed. Ferries
were booked using the MCN
deal so it cost about £100 from Dover to Calais.
We set off at 2.00 am to get down to Dover for the early ferry.
Hint: make sure your riding partner fills up before setting
off, especially when you meet at a petrol station. Not long
after getting on the motorway he went onto reserve and so
we crawled at 50mph on an empty road to get to a service station.
We'd booked our first night at a Formule
1 hotel in Epinal in France. These are a chain of really
cheap hotels in France. You get a double and single bed to
a room and breakfast for about £15 or so for two people.
Excellent value when your budget is geared towards petrol
and beer. We walked into the town where the bar wouldn't sell
us beer to take out but the Pizza place did so we were happy.
Day 2 saw us taking a leisurely ride through French towns
and villages and through a beautiful forested national park.
We got lost in a town called Belfort following a massive gypsy
convoy but eventually escaped. We arrived at the Swiss border
where a guard with a personality deficiency greeted us but
no real hassle. You can buy a motorway vignette here if you're
going to be using them. Views of mountains greeted us and
we set off straight away. Early evening found us at our stop
for the night, the youth hostel at Grindelwald, a beautiful
town under the shadow of the Eiger. Again this was another
cheap stop. The reception sold cold beer out of the fridge
and we were again happy. We knew where we were staying the
next night so we pored over the map to plan our route. |
The evening had been misty
but the morning was warm and sunny. We set out towards Interlaken,
rode along the north shore of the Brienzer Sea and headed for
our first pass, the Susten. We were not disappointed. Loads
of bikes, sports cars and scarily the big 52 seater coaches
that take up the road when they go round the hairpins. We were
like kids let loose, nailing it in the lower gears going up
and concentrating so hard we couldn't take any scenery in. I'd
never seen so many hairpins in my life. Some had views around
the bend while others were hidden. Riding styles had to change
to take into account coaches plummeting downhill on our side
of the road through the bends. We were torn between riding non
stop and stopping to admire the views and take pictures.
We then headed for the Furka pass. More madness and the view
of the Grimsel Pass, before heading for our next stop, Zermatt.
Zermatt is the town right underneath the
Matterhorn. Because of local environmental laws, no cars, bikes
or buses are allowed into the town. We parked up at the village
of Tasch, which is just huge car park and train station for
visitors to Zermatt really. The bikes were locked together and
we hauled our panniers to the train station for the short trip
up the hillside to the town. After a walk up to our Youth Hostel,
we quickly dumped the bags, showered and escaped back into the
town. After the splendor of the Grindelwald hostel we were disappointed
at the hostel here. It reminded me of an eastern european affair.
It fit the bill being cheap but it was the smell which drove
us out. We found out it was the evening meal which caused the
smell. We spent the night and half the morning in a bar in the
town before staggering to bed. Unhappy grumpy Japanese men scowled
at us the next morning in our room. I presume we made a wee
noise going to bed. The views of the Matterhorn from our room
were stunning. I left Mel in his bed while I sat in the grounds,
smoking endless tabs staring at the mountain. The days riding
would be taking us back over to the eastern side of Switzerland
to stay at St. Moritz by the Italian border.
We took in the Nufenenpass, St.Gotthardpass, Oberalppass and
the Julierpass.
The evening was spent in a grim hotel bar enlivened
only by the owners ability to provide beer in exchange for
cash. The next day we rode all the way back across Switzerland
to France. We couldn't find the hotel we were looking for
so stayed at Epinal again. We were really tired at this point
but came across a beautiful stretch of twisty road. Obviously
we went for it but I realised I was making too many mistakes
and backed it off again, there's always the next day. After
more beers and a good nights sleep we headed up to Calais
for the ferry. We could only get a room at Dunquerque and
as the time was getting on we bought our evenings beer at
a petrol station. After settling in for an evenings drinking
outside the hotel we realised we'd bought non-alcoholic beer.
We frantically ran to the restaurant but they'd shut so we
did the manly thing and cried. We still drank the cans though
and pretended.
Next morning the short trip to Calais and home.
Throughout the trip we had beautiful
weather, although it can get a bit chilly on the mountain
passes. Apparently it can get quite wet in the mountains but
we had clear blue skies throughout. No problems at all with
the bikes or us. We would ride all day, stopping only for
petrol or a good view and by the end of the day we tired but
happy.
Apologies for the quality of the photos.
They were taken with a good 35mm camera but to get them on
the site they were put through a cheap scanner.
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