European Alps Tour

I recently did a 7 day tour of the Italian, Swiss and French Alps with 7 friends and tour guide Joe Charity of Redbike Tours. We travelled from Australia and did the tour on hire bikes; 7 Ducatis and one MV. I had booked a Hyperstrada, but unfortunately it was involved in an incident the week before, so I found myself saddled on a 1200 Monster, could have been worse.
In addition to the ridding, we squeezed in a visit to the Ducati factory and Museum and three of us made the pilgrimage to World Ducati Week the week before our ride.
Some of the key locations traversed included:
Croce Domini Pass
Tonale Pass
Gavia Pass
Stelvio Pass
Albula Pass
Furka Pass
Great St Bernard Pass
Col de la Cayolle
Gorges de Daluis
Oberalpsstrasse
Munt le Schera Tunnel
Mont Blanc Tunnel

Overnight Locations were:
Luca
Borgo Panigale (Bologna)
Iseo
Bormio
Oberwald
Chambray
Monte Carlo

Of the 7 days, 5 were dry, 1 was wet half the day and 1 was wet, wet, wet (made the Great St Bernard Pass just a little tricker than usual). We had planned to do the Petite St Bernard Pass, but the cloud was so low and the rain so heavy that we opted for the Mont Blanc Tunnel instead, heading to the evening accommodation for warmth, food and fortification.

The scenery was spectacular and the roads amazing; lots of technical sections, some fantastic sweepers, some high speed motorways and a few goat tracks for good measure.

I will provide a few photos and video clips in the future, for the time being you can view my first video which is of my friend Katie riding the Gorges de Daluis (the 17 tunnel road) at the following location

https://vimeo.com/104456914

This is a remarkable road with the 17 tunnels and the gorge on the left.

Hope in enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed riding it.

Gat,
The road etiquette is particularly noticeable in Italy, I think it has to do with the fact that you get a scooter license at the the age of 16 (I think) and hence most teens have a scooter and most adults have either ridden bikes or have a relative who is currently riding. Also lane splitting/filtering is standard practice.The respect and understanding shown is remarkable.
Also the motorway etiquette is outstanding, if you are not the fastest vehicle you will not be in the fast lanes unless passing slower traffic. In Australia, many drivers think they can use the fast lane simply because it is there.

Fellow riders,

I have uploaded another clip from the "Dangerous Roads Tour" of the Alps. This one is ascending the Stelvio Pass. Every time I view these clips I wish I had been riding my Hyperstrada and not the 1200 Monster with rubbish tires; oh well, better to have ridden the Monster than not to have ridden at all.

Enjoy the ride, I certainly did.

And here is the link:
https://vimeo.com/106762365

Last month I posted a link to the video of riding the Gorges de Daluis or the 17 tunnel road as we called it. I found this photo on the interweb and it puts the road into a different perspective.

Zippy,

You be pleased to know the Italian ***** are as cute as ever. Lots of them riding their own scooters these days.

As well as the bike tour of the Alps, I spent a few weeks week in Berlin, two of my kids live their so it was a bit of quality family time. Haven't seen of lot of Germany, been there a few times, but Berlin is a great city.