The destination for the 2023 trip had been set in 2021. I had missed riding the "holy trinity" of the Furka, the Grimsel and the Susten passes on the "Marks Farewell" trip while the rear tyre on Mark’s bike was replaced. This year I was going to ride those passes, so the entire trip was built around that. My experiences of Switzerland have not been that good so I started looking for places to stay in Italy with access to the three passes. I was surprised at how expensive hotels had become but, after much searching, managed to find the Hotel Rosa in Baveno, on the shores of Lake Maggiore

Wanting to stick with the two-location trip format I decided that the second three days would be in the West Dolomites, allowing us to take in a number of the big name passes. Again, hotel prices were significantly more than I remembered but I eventually found the Lady Maria in Fondo and that was booked.

As winter moved to spring, the trip numbers were confirmed as 20 and the intermediate stop-over hotels were booked, along with the channel crossings. The suggested routes were added to MyRouteApp, the In Case of Emergency details were shared and we were all set for the trip until …

Roger, Gary, Glenn and Andy

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/7124194

Breakfast at the hotel was consumed then the bikes were packed, and we were off for the run down to the Alps. The weather was good so we planned on the less direct route option but that still included almost 350 miles of French Autoroute. No one could ever consider such a run as fun but, with the low volume of traffic, the good quality surface and the decent 130kmh speed limit it was pretty easy to cover the miles quickly and efficiently.

After the Autoroutes the last 140 miles of French N and D roads, incorporating the Col du Sentier and the Col de la Forclaz as a gentle introduction of things to come, was a great relief. That said, with only Roger and I connected via the Cardo PackTalk intercom, it was a return to the "dark ages" in trying to keep a group of 5 together while enjoying the roads. Still, we didn’t lose anyone.

Arrival at the end of the route, as identified by the sat navs, had us looking very confused, and riding around the local fire station. It turned out that, in planning the route, I had missed the hotel by about half a mile, but it wasn’t long before we established the error and found the hotel.

Roger, Gary, Glenn and Andy

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/6859122

I was using a new tank-bag this year which fitted better than the previous bag, though was a little smaller. However, I’d managed successfully to get the first two nights packed into the tank-bag. This, combined with my approach of taking old "end of life" clothes that I wore once more then binned, meant that packing was easy. Simply clip the bag onto the tank, and I was ready.

It wasn’t going to be a long day so we had a relaxed breakfast before setting off in the same group of 5 as the previous day, only to find the Col du Méraillet closed. Apparently, it opened within about 20 minutes after us following the diversion, as Matt, Richard and Martin rode across it. Still, the diversion was on nice roads and with the nice weather, we all enjoyed it.

The ride over Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard was, as ever, superb. There was a bit of traffic but that was dispatched with ease. Once into Italy we took the non-motorway route to Aosta for a coffee and cake stop.

Roger said he was suffering a bit, possibly from the pizza the night before, (obviously not the beer!!!) so when we started moving again he left the group and took the direct motorway route to Baveno. The rest of us did a 40-mile run on the motorway before heading cross country, along some very interesting but narrow and tight roads. Glenn was certainly finding the experience a challenge on his new Indian, with a long wheelbase and a lot of weight. (The bike – not Glenn!)

After a great ride we arrived in Baveno and found the hotel. Alain and David Y directed us to the hotel car park, behind the hotel, where Roger let us in and we parked the bikes. There was an issue that the hotel had allocated a total of 5 car parking spaces for 20 (well, 19 without Simon) large motorcycles. This prompted a discussion with the hotel reception and I got 3 more spaces allocated plus permission to use some of the "corners" where there was no official space. That meant everyone could get their bike in and access their luggage without risk of bumping into someone else’s bike.

Roger (having lost Andy and Gary)

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/6859115

The luggage was off the bikes and this was it! The day the whole trip had been planned around. I was going to ride the "holy trinity" of the Furka, Grimsel and Susten passes that Roger, James and Steve had reminded me, on a significant number of occasions, were so good and it was a real shame Mark and I had missed them.

Over breakfast we’d agreed to head over the Simplon Pass so Roger, Gary, Andy and I headed out of Baveno and onto the motorway north for about 25 miles towards Switzerland. The traffic was light on the motorway but arrival at the pass had us working past queues of traffic held up by articulated trucks struggling up the gradient and around the tight corners. However, passing opportunities were taken and it wasn’t too long before we were enjoying the road and making good progress. We passed the border into Switzerland but there was no sign of any "officialdom" in action. I remembered that we’d ridden the Simplon in 2013 on our visit to Chamonix, and it was as good as my memory said it was.

By the time we’d gone over the pass and got to the bottom, Roger and I had become separated from Gary, Andy and Glenn. Still, I thought, they all know where we’re going and so I headed of … in totally the wrong direction, with Roger dutifully following! Unfortunately, we were now onto a Swiss motorway, heading West rather than East, and had to wait a few miles for the next junction to be able to turn around and head back in the right direction. In this time, the other three had gone the right way and were trying to "catch-up" with us. This was the point we discovered that they had phone issues and contacting them was pretty much impossible, so Roger and I were on our own.

If you’ve never ridden the Furka, Grimsel and Susten passes then you definitely need to add them to your "must ride" route list. Each pass on its own is excellent but the fact you can ride all three, back-to-back in around 2 hours means it’s likely to be the best 2 hours road riding you’ll ever have. (Note to Mark R – you need to return from Australia JUST to ride these 3 passes!)

The original intention had been to return via the St. Gotthard Pass but after a brief discussion, both Roger and I agreed the Simplon was the better option as the route to the hotel after the pass was significantly better, so we retraced our route from the morning. Again, the Simplon had some traffic on it but nothing that we couldn’t get past.

Back at the hotel, we showered, changed and headed back to the lakeside restaurants to meet up with others, swap stories of the day and to enjoy a nice meal.

Roger, Gary and Andy

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/7469653

Over breakfast, we discussed the options for the day. It came down to a ride around the lakes or a ride up a couple of nice-looking mountain roads that we knew were dead ends. The slow traffic we’d seen on the little bit of lake road we’d ridden decided us on the dead-end mountain roads.

Again, it was a nice warm and sunny day and we set off. First was a short ride along the motorway then a nice run up into the mountains for a coffee and a cake. We retraced our steps back down the mountain before another run up a different winding road, as far as we could go.

Roger, Gary, Glenn and Andy

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/6859112

An early start for breakfast was followed with refitting the luggage onto the bikes. Again, it was a warm sunny day as we set off from Baveno for the run to Fondo. To start with, the roads were through urban and industrial areas and definitely not fun to ride. But it wasn’t too long before we came off the motorway and onto the rural roads leading to the San Marco pass.

The pass was great fun but it was followed by what is probably the worst road of the entire trip. The SS38 runs from Maregno, where we picked it up, to Bormio. It runs along a near flat, wide valley that is pretty straight and lacking in any form of features. There is a near constant stream of slow moving traffic in both directions making overtaking difficult and near pointless as after 15 minutes you will only have managed to pass about 10 or 15 vehicles. We had 35 miles of this! The down side of mountainous regions like this is that this was the only road so there was no option to get off and choose another route. We just had to join the queue and wait.

Eventually we made it to the turn off for the Mortirolo Pass and the fun could start again. Almost as soon as we’d completed the Mortirolo Pass we were onto Passo del Tonale and even more fun was had. Finally, we arrived in Fondo and, after a little bit of searching, found the hotel.

Roger, Gary, Glenn and Andy

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/7728188

Over breakfast (sat at the same seats as the night before – of course) we discussed the days options with someone suggesting they’d like to do Stelvio. Roger and I had done it before and were slightly disappointed by the amount of traffic on it so we chose a route that did half of Stelvio but used the Umbrial Pass, that none of us had done, to get to the top.

Again, the weather was warm and sunny, and, at the Passo del Tonale we enjoyed a spirited ride in the company of a couple of other bikes that, I think, were possibly locals. From Tonale we turned onto Gavia pass, then headed up the SS301, which had been recommended to me when planning for Marks Farewell Trip, in 2021, but that we were unable to ride.

The SS301 led us into Switzerland and through the Munt la Schera Tunnel before we started the climb up Umbrial Pass. The traffic was light, with only a few other vehicles, the surface was excellent, the views were stunning and, because of all of that, I think this is probably my favourite way to the top of Stelvio. (Note to self, a future trip needs to include the opportunity to ride the Umbrial Pass in the other direction.)

From the summit, we headed down the north side of Stelvio, slowed by lots of traffic, including campervans that needed the whole of the road to get around the corners. That said, a surreal moment not involving a campervan, happened on one of the left-hand switch backs. As I approached I could see a group of about 10 Hardly-Make-It-Sons approaching the bend on the up-hill side. As I came around the bend I was required to come to a complete and abrupt stop as one of the Hardly-Make-It-Sons had taken such a wide approach he’d used the entire road. We were now directly facing each other, front tyres almost touching, and he was looking directly at me like this situation was my problem to solve. There was no way I was going to be able to back paddle up the reasonable steep incline so, after a number of seconds of nothing happening he eventually allowed his bike to roll back before pulling back to the right side of the road and allowing me, and the others now stopped behind me, to proceed. His mates thought it was all very amusing and a number were apologising on his behalf. I just shook my head in disbelief.

The ride back to the hotel included a run over Gampenpass. This was another sunning road for us all to have great fun on.

Roger

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/6859120

This was going to be the last day before the start of the return home. Over breakfast we discussed options and while some were keen to have a gentle day before the run home, Roger and I agreed that we wanted to ride a few more passes. The decision was made to head east, out of Fondo over the Mendel Pass then on towards the Lavazč Pass. The weather was warm and sunny in the low areas but, as we climbed the passes, the temperature dropped significantly, to the point where both Roger and I switched on our heated grips. We could see there were heavy clouds around and, at one point, we were riding along roads that had been subject to a recent fresh snow fall. Luckily, we didn’t get rained, or snowed, on though we later discovered some of the other Old Gits had been caught in some pretty spectacular showers.

We did the Pordoi Pass and the Campolongo Pass before heading back through Bolzano and over the Mendel Pass into Fondo.

Roger, Gary, Glenn, Andy and Willie

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/6860016

Willie was joining us for our ride up to Germany so we packed the bikes, had breakfast and said farewell to the rest of the Old Gits before heading out over Gampen Pass and up to Timmelsjoch. Keeping 6 together, with only Roger and I connected via an intercom, was a bit of a challenge but, we didn’t lose anyone on the ride. The top of Timmelsjoch was cold, and I mean really cold. The thermometer on my bike was showing 4 degrees and I had no reason to doubt it. While we lined up at the top to pay the toll, a number of the group were reaching for linings for jackets and for extra layers.

We were now into Austria and, again, the traffic changed. Lines of vehicles not wanting to overtake, or make space to be overtaken, made for slow progress. Eventually, we made it to the start of Hahntennjoch. Roger and I were slightly ahead of the others, which was probably just as well because, no sooner had we cleared the town than we got pulled over by a couple of police for a noise check. They checked our documents and went over the bikes very carefully, checking for modifications, before telling us that the bikes were OK to proceed and that they didn’t need to use the noise meter they had with them. While all of this was happening, the two Indians passed us. I don’t know if they’d have passed a noise test but, while neither is really loud, they both seem louder than the Kawasakis and Roger and I were, apparently, one 1 decibel under the limit.

We came out of Austria and into Germany, where the profile of the traffic changed again. We did about 50 miles on autobahn where average speeds were up near 100mph, although there were a number of vehicles travelling significantly faster than that. Even on the normal roads, the traffic speeds were significantly quicker though everyone was slowing to the speed limit whenever they entered a town of village.

Roger, Gary, Glenn and Andy

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/6860016

We’d planned to get breakfast when the hotel restaurant opened at 06:30 then head off immediately so we packed the bikes before discovering that, on Sundays, the restaurant didn’t open for breakfast until 08:00. A quick vote and we decided to skip breakfast and get on the road as soon as possible. The hotel reception hadn’t opened at that point but we didn’t think that was an issue as we’d pre-paid the rooms. We had, however, forgotten about the beers from the night before which left Martin to pick up the entire bill when he checked out later – Thanks Martin.

The ride across Germany was great, with lots of fast, sweeping roads and very little traffic. However, all good things must come to an end and we eventually crossed the border into France and onto the Autoroute. It was now just a case of counting down the miles to the Tunnel.

We arrived ahead of schedule but were unable to move from our scheduled train onto an earlier one. There were a very large number of bikes at the tunnel as it was the weekend of the Dutch round of the MotoGP. Still, we sat like many, in the cool of the terminal building waiting for our train to be called. Eventually, our train was on the screens and we could proceed to boarding. I didn’t want to get caught in the rush so suggested we all hang back and, after about 10 minutes we got on the bikes and queued for French passport control, for UK passport control and for some extra check before we were added to the end of a very long queue of bikes waiting to board.

When the queue finally moved forward to load our train we were stopped when we reached the end of the lane. The young lady doing the directions told us that there were only allowed to be 2 carriages of motorbikes per train and the train that we were booked on was now full, we’d need to wait. Well, that’ll teach me for being slow off the mark!

Back in the UK, we said our goodbyes and headed off in our different directions. The UK roads again, with roadworks, potholes, too much traffic and poor road discipline reminding us just how good riding on the continent is.

Back home, another superb trip was over. We’d had great weather – again, the waterproofs had not seen the light of day, great hotels, superb company and wonderful roads. It was great to meet many of the new Old Gits and to catch up with others from previous trips. Some of the long-standing regulars who hadn’t made the trip were missed and I hope they are able to join us on next years trip.