Motorcycling the Alps, riding at its peak !

The motorcycle tour turned out to be a scenic adventure, besides a motorcycling one.
    I have toured the Rockies a few times by motorcycle, alone and with a motorcycle group touring company. I prefer alone for some reasons: you do not hold back anyone as you stop for photographing or scenery admiration. As a friend with whom I rode in the Calgary area told me often, "Richard, slow down and admire the scenery." She was right but she likely has not ridden with the biker types that I am with. They are technology obsessed: digital cameras, video cameras, cameras attached to the bike, to helmets, gps systems, location identifying devices, blackberries and ITouch phones. That was a partial list. But perhaps because riding in Europe is so absolutely amazing, technologically recording the adventure is a must.

    The Dolomiti, the mountains in northern Italy, make the Rockies look like upstarts. Or perhaps it would be better to describe the Rockies as being majestic while the Dolomiti are magnificent. There is a major difference. Plus, the valleys which verigate the Dolomiti, are dotted with towns, villages, farms, and winter or summer homes. Maybe the same is true in the Rockies, but it is not as picturesque. The Dolomite scenery is like viewing a diorama of picture postcards. Every direction you turn, you see another pastoral view which knocks your socks off.
    Before I left for this motorcycle tour, I described the mountain roads in the Alps to my friends as being roads which had been chiseled from the cliffsides as opposed to the Rockies where the roads have been blasted right through the mountains. My #1 navigator said after we had driven through the Rockies, "Is that all there is ?" We turned around and did it again. She still was not as impressed as I was here in the Alps, every scene is impressive, is awesome, is breathtaking.
    As for the riding, well, there is no comparison in my limited experience. I have ridden the Cabot Trail, very nice, very scenic with expansive views of the ocean. I have ridden the Rockies and much of southern British Columbia, again, very scenic, very panoramic. Of those two rides, BC offers much more in terms of ride entertainment and skill testing. But if you are looking for those two characteristics for your riding, save yourself some time, some searching, and some energy and simply book a tour or plan a tour in the Alps. There is no place better. There is no place which will test your riding skills as much, challenge you as a rider as much, or give you the same opportunity of having biking fun. No place that I know of.

     Deals Gap supposedly is our ideal ride in North America. 318 curves in 11 miles. Try Passo Stelvio in northern Italy, very near the the Austrian border, more than 68 switchbacks in less than 30 kilometres. You simply climb a mountain, reversing direction 180 degrees every 150 metres. So it is ride for about 10 seconds, gear down, make a ridiculously sharp turn to the right and repeat the process to the left, repeat to the right, and on and on it goes until you begin to think it will never end. It nearly doesn't. But eventually you come to the top, and there are probably 200 bikes parked in front of all the souvenir shops located at the crest of the hill.
     Talk about ambiance, culture, flair, pizzazz. The Europeans do it with fun. The souvenir shops hawk their wares, pins, stick on crests, sew on badges, knives, key holders, sweatshirts, tshirts and an endless gamut of trinkets. Then there are the food vendors, never mind the restaurants for the moment. Wursts, pizza, French fries, fast food with a flair…they do it differently in the Alps, with gusto, with flavor, with colour.

I will miss riding the Alps and I now can confirm my bike touring has peaked !

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