MOTO-CHARLIE.COM

<body><h2>MOTO-CHARLIE.COM</h2> <P><b><center>September 10 – September 20, 2005</center></b> This trip is for people who enjoy the sport of riding narrow twisty roads combined with great scenery. The Italians tend to build their roads as the land lies, with enough twists, dips, and turns to satisfy the roller coaster enthusiast in all of us. Many of the passes are well above the tree line, which gives you a wide open, panoramic view of the mountains and valleys. However, there are still great views to be had from high on top of a wooded pass looking down into valleys or lakes. I've never specifically checked it out but it appears that the tree line stops around 1,600 to 1,700 meters. Either way the view is beautiful. Much of the Italian alpine region belonged to Austria prior to World War I. The combination of Germanic and Italian influence makes for a unique travel experience. The Dolomite formations are clearly different from the rest of the Alps. The mountains are more close-up and personal. The driving style of the Italians, while polite and accomplished, is more “liberated” than most of the alpine region. There is a reason why great handling bikes like Ducati, Aprilia, Bimota and Moto Guzzi come from Italy. Italy has great roads, friendly people, and unbeatable food. Please check out the <a href=http://www.moto-charlie.com/WSFF/applications/PhotoAlbum/PhotoAlbum.asp?vCompID=9183&vSeqID=1><font color=blue>Photo Album</font></a> for a glimpse of what the view will be like. Note that tabs 1 and 2 show pictures from both tours while tabs 3 and 4 show scenes from the Swiss and Italian tours respectively. <b><u>WHERE WE GO</u></b> <b>For comments about the route, the roads and a map click</b> <a href="http://www.moto-charlie.com/WSFF/applications/Services/Services.asp?vCompID=9183&vServiceID=42974"><font color=blue>here</font></a> The 10-day total tour includes 8 nights away from our base in Steffisburg. Of those 8 nights 6 are in Italy (I) and 2 are in Switzerland (S). The schedule of overnight stays is as follows: <ul><li> Saturday – Steffisburg (S) <li> Sunday – Klontaler See (S) <li> Monday – Mals (I) <li> Tuesday – Mals (I) <li> Wednesday – Arraba (I) <li> Thursday – Arraba (I) <li> Friday – Arraba (I) <li> Saturday – Riva del Garda (I) <li> Sunday – Flims (I) <li> Monday – Steffisburg (I) <li> Tuesday – Fly Home</ul> <b>A basic list of the passes</b> that we might go over each day would be: <ul><li> Saturday – Free Day - The bike is yours all day. There’s lots of great riding nearby. <li> Sunday – Schallenberg, Glaubenberg, Klausen <li> Monday – Pragel, Ibergeregg, Satellegg, Wolfgang, Fluelapass <li> Tuesday – Umbrail, di Eira, di Foscagno, Forcola di Livigno, Mortirolo, Gavia, Stelvio <li> Wednesday – Reschen, Pillerhoe, Timmelsjoch, Jaufen, di Campolongo <li> Thursday – di Falzarego, di Giau, di Fedaia, di Pordoi, di Sella, di Gardena <li> Friday – Penserjoch, Wurtzjoch, (Lots of high, beautiful, one lane roads) <li> Saturday – Pordoi, di Costalunga, di Lavaze, Manghen <li> Sunday – Croce Domini, dell Aprica, Bernina, Maloja, Splugen <li> Monday – Oberalp, Furka, Grimsel</ul> <i><b>MOTO-CHARLIE reserves the right to alter the exact route at his discretion.</b></i> <b><u>BRIEF TOUR DESCRIPTION</u></b> This tour focuses on two main areas with a little bit of Switzerland thrown in. The first area is the Tyrolean region of Northwest Italy south of Innsbruck. We then head east for three days in the Dolomites (my favorite area) before touching the Italian lakes region on our way back to Steffisburg. <ul><li><b>Saturday</b> – Pick up the motorcycle. There are many wonderful sites to see in the immediate area, either by motorcycle or public transportation. Go visit the neat town of Interlaken located between the Thun See (“see” is the german word for lake) and the Brienzer See or take in Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald and gaze upon the Eiger. Or just hang out in Thun or Steffisburg. You’re welcome to just relax in the morning, post jet lag, and partake in a short group ride in the afternoon to get used to the bike and the roads. In the evening please feel to join the other tour members for a group dinner or head off on your own for a quiet, private meal. It’s all your choice. <li><b>Sunday</b> - Today is full of smaller one-lane passes, forested and less traveled in a quiet part of Switzerland. In the early afternoon we have lunch lakeside at Beckenried before taking the ferry across the lake. From there we take the road south to Altdorf, made famous by the legend of William Tell before we head east over the highest pass of the day, the Klausen pass. We spend the night at a cozy Swiss hotel on the edge of the Klontaler See. <li><b>Monday</b> - We spend the morning enjoying three more smaller, narrow road passes that are a treat to ride before stopping for lunch at a restaurant high up on the rock face with an excellent view of the Walen See immediately spread out below. From here we head off towards the high pass region near St. Moritz passing through Klosters (where the royal family skis) with our final pass being the Fluela Pass. This pass is well above the tree line with spectacular views. We end up at a great hotel in Mals. We’ll stay here for two nights. <li><b>Tuesday</b> – Today we can ride up to seven passes including the highest passes on the tour. Four of the seven are real high and one is tight, narrow and a taste of what’s to come in the Dolomites. We start at the Umbrail Pass, which brings us just below Stelvio. Remember this spot because we’re going to do a five pass loop that will bring us back to this spot before we go up and over Stelvio. We do four more passes before heading up Passo di Gavia. At over 2,600 meters this pass is the 7th highest Alpine pass. This is a prelude to the next pass, Passo di Stelvio, considered by many riders to be the “must ride” pass of the Alps. At 2,758 meters it’s the third highest pass in the Alps. With close to 40 switchbacks on both sides, year round skiing at the top, and the carnival like atmosphere at the pass itself there is nothing else like it in the Alps. <li><b>Wednesday</b> – We head north over two smaller passes for a brief run into Austria which will give us access from the west to the Timmelsjoch, the 9th highest pass in the Alps and the highest pass of the day. After a pleasant valley run and easy climb on the Austrian side we cross the top at 2,509 meters into the Italy side for a wild, rollicking ride down to St. Leonard where we head northeast over the Jaufen pass (part of the Jaufen is pictured at the top of this page). We then enjoy valley and mountain roads over one more pass into Arraba in the heart of the Dolomites. We will spend 3 nights here. <li><b>Thursday</b> – There are more passes in this area than we will be able to ride. So, we mix it up. Today we ride the classic dolomite passes which look like a figure 8 on the map. We’ll also do Passo di Giau, one of my all time favorites and we’ll trip through the gorge at Sottoguda (see the picture at “The Not So Fine Print” section). We can also take several side trips to either Cortina, Drei Zinnen, or other surprises. <li><b>Friday</b> – Yesterday we rode the classic Dolomite passes. Today we ride some of the lesser known narrow, one lane passes and high valley roads that make this region of the Alps so special. We’ll start by going over two of the classic passes in the opposite direction before we head west towards the area north of Bolzano. These roads are high up on the side of the valley with fantastic views to the river, autostrada, and towns below. Many of these roads feel like we’ve stumbled onto a windy narrow one lane private driveway with unbelievable scenery. We then head back east over the Wurzjoch, a similar style road but a definite pass with some unforgettable Dolomite massif views. If time allows we’ll end the day at Drei Zinnen, a dead end road high in the Dolomites with one of the most awesome views of the Dolomite range that you can get to by motorized vehicle. It’s a great way to end our 2-day Dolomite visit. <li><b>Saturday</b> – We head south over four more passes including a narrow un-crowded gem Passo Manghen. We then ride some more twisty Alpine roads before arriving at our lakeside hotel in Riva on the shores of Lago di Garda. Riva is a great example of an Italian lakes region town. There’s a lot to do including shops, cafes, people watching, water sports and more. You can kick back for the balance of the day and enjoy the town or join me for a ride along the shore and up into the adjacent hillside where we’ll stop at a hotel/café with a panoramic view of the lake and Riva below. Don’t worry; we’ll be back in time for dinner. <li><b>Sunday</b> – Today we work our way west as we start to head back towards our Swiss base. We cross several delightful narrow, memorable passes located above the lakes and below the higher Tyrolean passes to the north, all with an Italian flavor. We might even stop at the spa of San Pellegrino where the famous bottled water comes from. We then cross one of my favorites, the Splugen Pass. This pass has it all, tight narrow twisty roads, two-lane panoramic views, Italian espresso and Swiss hospitality on the other side. Our hotel for the night is a short ride into Switzerland. <li><b>Monday</b> – It’s our final run back to Steffisburg. I deliberately tease you by running the route through Andermatt, one of the focus areas of the Swiss tour. We come into Andermatt on the Oberalp pass, considered by many motorcyclists to have the finest set of sweepers that there are to ride. Andermatt is a fantastic, quintessential Swiss town and we stop here for a break and some refreshment. Depending on the weather and our pace we’ll either do one or two high passes in the area and perhaps a neat dead-end road with spectacular views and a nice café. We then head back to Steffisburg surrounded by great Swiss mountain scenery. We should get back in time to return the motorcycles to the rental shop. Here again as on the first night please feel to join the other tour members for a group dinner or head off on your own for a quiet, private meal. It’s all your choice.</ul> <b><u>KEY DATES</u></b> <ul><li><b>The tour dates</b> are shown at the top of this page. Naturally, you are welcome to come sooner. I generally arrive on Friday. If you would like to come sooner, or stay longer, hotel and motorcycle arrangements can readily made to suit your schedule. <li><b>When to book your reservation</b> obviously depends on your schedule. As a rule I suggest at least 3 months in advance of the tour date in order to ensure that you get the motorcycle that you want and to secure a place on the tour. There is a limit of 10 people per tour. There are approximately 12 different BMW models, 20 Honda models, and 5 Aprilia models to choose from. In the case of certain BMW’s there are several bikes of the same models available. In the case of the Honda’s and Aprilia’s, one of each. If having a specific bike is a high priority for you then please book early. <li><b>The final cut-off date</b> is technically 30 days before the tour starts. At this point there is enough lead-time for any adjustments or cancellations as they relate to our motorcycle supplier and related hotels. If someone contacts me to sign up with less than 30 days to go every effort will be made to accommodate you. The issue will usually be the motorcycle availability.</ul> <b><u>TOUR COST</u></b> The cost for this tour at the current exchange rates will be: <ul><li>Single rider in a single room - $3,095 <li>Single rider sharing a double room - $3,015 <li>Passenger sharing a double room - $1,650 <li>Couple riding together sharing a double room - $4,665</ul> These cost numbers should cover your motorcycle rental, all hotels and meals, gas and my fee. For a more complete discussion of the cost of this tour please click <a href=http://www.wsff.com/WSFF/applications/Services/subLayout03.asp?vCompID=9183&vSeqID=1&ServiceID=1347><font color=blue>here</font></A>. <b><u>HOW TO BOOK THIS TOUR</u></b> Please refer to the “Contact Me” section for my telephone or e-mail address. There is also an e-mail link to me at the bottom of this page. I am not a paperwork intensive person. So, the process of making a reservation and getting what I need for my records is pretty simple once you contact me. Feel free to contact me to ask any questions about my tours in particular, or the Alps in general. If I can be of help in any way I’ll be glad to do so. <i><b>Italy has dozens and dozens of great little, and not so little, passes that make it a motorcyclist's dream. You can gorge yourself on a frenzy of pass blasting, conspicuous gelato consumption and espresso overload, or just relax and enjoy the countryside. You get to sample Switzerland and Austria and really appreciate Italy. You might even wind up determined to go home and buy your own Ducati or Moto Guzzi.</b></i>     <script language="javascript" src="http://www.addfreestats.com/cgi-bin/easycode.cgi?usr=00036016P003"> </script>  </P></BODY></HTML> <P><A href="Links.htm">Links</a></BODY></HTML>