Page 18 - Riding On No.157 Summer 2022

My travels

with Edelweiss

Whoever said life wasn’t meant to be easy had
not been on an organised motorcycle tour!
All right, Australia, wake up! It’s time to go
travelling again – and I do mean big trips like
time in Europe. I have just come back from
a 10-day ride through the Alps, and I feel as
if someone has wound my age back a good
20 years. Don’t get me wrong, I love riding in Our ever happy Edelweiss guide Michaela
Australia but after nearly three years of that,
the sight of an alpine pass was like a cool
refreshment on a very hot day.
because they have seen an advertisement or read magazine or
Australia is not the worst place in the world for a motorcyclist to online editorial. So the initial decision needs a bit of a boost from
be stuck when international borders close, but it’s not the best, a personal recommendation, but after that potential riders do
either. There are a lot of places to ride here, which do suffer from their own research as well as listening to previous users.
two noticeable deficits: one is in variety of scenery, the other is in It obviously matters where a particular operator runs tours. This
vertical variety. So, it was not surprising that my thought turned might seem to favour major companies like Edelweiss, who have
to the Alps when we came out of our covid restrictions. You can’t a very wide portfolio of tours, ranging from Iceland to Namibia,
put a front wheel out of a garage door without finding yourself on and Cuba to New Zealand, but that is not necessarily a universal
amazing roads in spectacular scenery.
decision. Some people prefer small operators who either cover
I do mean “amazing”, by the way. Alpine roads range from six- mainly one region of the world, or run idiosyncratic tours, which
lane toll ways through both good and bad two-lane blacktop and are not duplicated by anyone else. A good example of the former
old concrete military roads to ancient single track passes. might be IMTBike, which specializes in Spain and surrounding
countries (although it also runs tours elsewhere) while the latter
The obvious operator was just as easily chosen as the destination. might be Beach’s Motorcycle Adventures, guided personally by
Not only do I have a lot of experience with Edelweiss – this was Rob and Gretchen Beach.
my eighth trip with them – but the Alps are their home, and they
offer a remarkable variety of tours there of different lengths and Locally based operator World on Wheels, which covers both of
with different on- and off-bike attractions.As a bonus they are just the above types of tours, is often the first that comes to mind
the people to improve your time and style through hairpins. I’ll because of both personal experience and magazine coverage.
guarantee that after this tour, you’ll be easily twice as fast, and Mike Ferris escorts tours personally and started with Himalayan
you’ll look really slick. tours, but now operates worldwide.
The ride I chose was the Ultimate Alps Tour, which picks out In overall numbers, though, Edelweiss is the main player. I
many of the best passes and other Alpine roads. That was exactly suggest that is partly because it has such a large reservoir of
what I wanted. The first day we tackled the Reschenpass, 1504 existing clients and because it covers such a wide range of
metres; the Stelvio, at 2758 metres the highest pass in the destinations. They offer a great deal of convenience and time
eastern Alps; the Passod’Eira, 2209 metres; the Forcola di Livigno, saving and remain my first choice for most tours.
2315 metres and, finally, the Bernina Pass at 2328 metres. Each On an organised tour, you know what bike you’re getting, don’t
of the passes is different, with roads that range from a continuous have to worry about breakdowns, have a good idea of the hotels
succession of hairpins to long, gentle curves following the shape you’re staying in, won’t miss the attractions along the way, and
of the mountains.
are generally relieved of responsibility for anything other than
Next day, our guide told us that we would be riding through your own enjoyment. Unless you are particularly good at putting
the Swiss Motorcycle National Park. That’s an unofficial title, together holidays, you are also likely to save money. And I have
he admitted, but the ride made good anyway. The distance by always met interesting people from all over the world.
air between Pontresina, where we had spent the night, to our Ask me about the Mexican businessman with whom I diced over
next overnight stop at Brunnen on Lake Lucerne was only about several days on all sorts of different roads! No, I’m not going to
100km, but the road distance was more than 330km. Pretty tell you where, or with which tour operator, we were.
much all of the day’s ride was taken up by a string of passes
including the Splügen Pass and the San Bernardino, which is not Keep one other thing in mind: if you do your own flight bookings
especially high at 2067 metres, but which is also one of the most you are at the mercy of the airlines, who are not only cancelling
outstanding passes to ride. flights in record numbers but are also difficult to contact when
you have a problem. My solution to this is simple: use a travel
After a ferry ride in the morning, we had a gentle introduction agent. They don’t cost any more (in fact I have found that they
to the western Swiss Alps before tackling the Susten and Furka know of good deals), they understand potential difficulties and
passes. And so it went, day by day. The best of the passes they will be the ones to spend hours on the phone to the airline,
waited for the last day, with Timmelsjoch at 2509 metres. And instead of you.
not only that, there is a brilliant motorcycle museum at the top!
Admittedly you have to pay to ride the pass, but it’s easily worth Get out there, and good luck with your next trip! I’m happy to
the 15 Euros. The museum costs the same, and it was impressive answer questions if you have any.
enough that I’ll write another story about it.
J Peter “The Bear” Thoeming #675
I have noticed that people often decide to go on an organised
tour because someone else recommends it. They also book

RIDING ON 18