MOTO-CHARLIE.COM

<body><h2>MOTO-CHARLIE.COM</h2> <P> <a> <b> <font color=blue size=2>BLUE LINE DENOTES SWISS ROUTE </b> <a> <b> <font color=red size=2>RED LINE DENOTES ITALIAN ROUTE </b> <b><font color=black>A larger version of the map is shown below.</b> <b>ABOUT THE ROUTES</b> Most experienced Alpine motorcyclists, including John Hermann, seem to feel that while the entire Alps are great to ride there are really two <b>“must see”</b> areas. One is the area around <b>Andermatt</b> Switzerland and the other is the Dolomite region near <b>Cortina </b> Italy. I would agree with that assessment. I would also throw in, especially for first time Alpine riders, the <b>“must ride”</b> mother lode of all passes, <b>Passo di Stelvio</b>. I use those two “must see” areas and that one “must ride” pass to formulate my basic routes. I like to use the round-clock face analogy to explain the geography of the Alps. Set Munich to the 12 o’clock position. Andermatt would be to the west between 7:00 and 8:00 o’clock and Cortina would be to the east at about 3:00 o’clock. Passo di Stelvio splits the difference slightly to the left of the middle of the round-faced clock. My <b>Swiss route</b> focuses on the area to the left of the North-South Munich to Stelvio split, anchored by the Andermatt region and including Stelvio. The <b>Italian route</b> highlights the area to the right of the split, anchored by the Dolomites near Cortina and also includes Stelvio. Stelvio is never boring. On a 10-day tour you can do both the Andermatt and Cortina regions but you miss a lot of great riding in between. By focusing on one side of the split per tour we still have access to more passes than can be ridden in 10 days but we don’t need to move around as much to enjoy them and we get to better appreciate the specific beauty of each region. <b>ABOUT THE ROADS</b> To me the Alps have two distinctly different types of mountain roads. One kind is open and can be above or below the tree line. It can be one to two lanes wide. It’s usually windy as opposed to twisty. Your near view around a corner is frequently blocked by the cut-out rock face as it comes right to the edge of the road. But, on the whole the road is reasonably wide and you can see quite a distance up the road, or below you, as it twists and turns. (See the “Photo Album” Tab 2 at the top – Passo di Stelvio or Tab 3, the bottom right hand photo – Grimsel Pass, as examples). The other kind of road is tight and twisty, usually one lane wide if that. This kind of road has very little traffic. It feels as though you’ve stumbled onto a golf-cart path such that you’re not really sure if you’re on a road or someone’s long, private driveway. It snakes up and down the mountain through the forest. Every now and then you break out into the open where you get a glorious view that tells you that you’re much higher than you thought which is confirmed when you clear the trees at the top and look down on the scenery below. We don’t have any roads like this here in New Hampshire. (See the “Photo Album” Tab 1, middle left picture – Pragel Pass or the bottom right hand photo – Passo di Mortirolo as examples). The wide-open roads give you a sense of wonder and grandeur; the tight little roads give you a sense of exploration and unique vistas rarely seen. <b>My point in describing the road types is that each kind gives you a different experience and I make sure that my tours have plenty of both.</b> <a> <font color=black><b>Please Note:</b> The blue and red lines show the general route likely to be taken. The blue and red dots along each route line indicate the hotel locations. Each location is chosen because of the wide variety of passes in the immediate area. <b>There are usually 5 – 20 major and minor passes that can be ridden from each location.</b> This way we get to stay put for 1 – 3 days at each location while having access to a wide variety of riding and non-riding activities. <b><i>To keep the map legible I do <u><b>NOT</b></u> show the various route loops that would emanate from each hotel location. To do so would double the amount of blue and red lines running over the map and make it very difficult to read (I know because I tried to do it).</i></b> If you have questions about the route please feel free to contact me.</a> <IMG SRC="http://www.wsff.com/9183/images/2003_route_map_500.jpg">     <script language="javascript" src="http://www.addfreestats.com/cgi-bin/easycode.cgi?usr=00036016P004"> </script>  </P></BODY></HTML> <P><A href="Links.htm">Links</a></BODY></HTML>