Old Gits European Motorcycle Tours

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2021 Marks Farewell Write-Up

Trip Notes by David Mc  ---

Miles travelled: 2814

Before the trip

I met Mark in late 2009 when his wife started working at our local hospital with my wife and they both mentioned that their husbands were into motorcycles. Mark and his wife were over in the UK for “a year or two” before they returned to their home country of Australia.

Marks first Old Gits trip was in 2010 when we went to Andorra on the Aprilia Futura he had borrowed from me. http://www.old-gits.org/2010.htm Since then, Mark has been a regular on the Old Gits trips. He eventually stopped borrowing my bikes and purchased a K1300S MotorSport of his own.

After slightly more than “a year or two” Mark and his wife will be returning to Australia at the end of this year and he has mentioned how much he will miss the Old Gits trips and the locations we visit. Myself and a few of the Old Gits thought it would be really nice to do a farewell trip for Mark, and to make it one he’d remember. Thus a plan was hatched to ride as many of the big name Alps passes as we could, and to ride both the Route des Grande Alpes and the Route Napoleon in full.

The “ideal” route was decided on in February and the hotels were booked on a free cancellation basis as COVID was at its height and no one was sure what would be happening with regards to international travel.

As the months rolled by so the restrictions and requirements changed, and changed again, and changed again… Planning was extremely challenging as we not only had to allow for the UK requirements but also those of France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Even right up to 3 weeks before we didn’t think we’d be able to get into either Austria or Italy, and alternative routes were agreed and alternative hotels booked.

Finally, with a little over 2 weeks to go, all of the pieces appeared to fall into place and the original trip route was on. Alternative hotels were cancelled and the multiple and complex form filling was started, and eventually completed. (Why, with all the EU countries do they need to have totally different forms that ask for pretty much the same information? Is that not the point of the EU? Could there not be a single “standard” form”?) We all sat and printed at least 2 copies of every form so we’d have a spare of each, and downloaded the French COVID app as rumour had it that it was the best of the Euro apps and was accepted in countries other than France.

So, Roger C, Steve Me, James W, me and, of course Mark R were all set up ready for the trip of a lifetime.

Friday 10th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/5105437

Home to Bethune, France

Hotel Eden: https://www.hotel-eden-bethune.com/

I was working from home on the Friday and had a number of meetings booked so the bike was hauled out of the shed early on and sat on the drive so I could pack it between the meetings. At just gone 15:30, I closed my laptop, put my gear on and headed for Folkestone.

While filtering through the traffic on the M25 I caught up with Mark and followed him across the bridge and down the M20 to the Tesco filling station near the Tunnel where the others were waiting. We all filled up then checked into the Tunnel.

Passport control and customs was slower than usual but we eventually got through and were on the train heading for France.

Finally, we were in France and heading for Bethune and our overnight hotel.

Arrival at the hotel and we checked in. The hotel owners opened up their main hallway so that we could park the bikes inside, then said they’d reserved us a table at a restaurant on the main square. There was a car rally going so the square was packed but we got a table with a great view of the square, ordered beers and burgers (with chips, of course) and had a great evening catching up and soaking up the atmosphere.

Saturday 11th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/5142830

Bethune, France to Bad Salgau, Germany

Hotel Ochsen: https://ochsen-bad-saulgau.de/

Breakfast was eaten, the hotel bills were paid, the bikes were packed and we were back onto the Autoroute riding across France. The weather was sunny and reasonably warm so it was just a matter of covering the miles. No one could call such a run fun, but with the chatter on the intercom, the nice weather and the relatively low traffic volumes, this was as pleasant as such a run could be. We worked out we were going to need three stops and not too long after the second stop we crossed the border into Germany and onto the Autobahn.

Unfortunately, the traffic in Germany was much heavier and seriously restricted our ability to fully enjoy the benefits of the unrestricted sections of the autobahn. No sooner would we get up to 150mph than we’d catch up with some traffic and have to sit at around 90mph to 100mph for a number of miles. I did, for a brief moment, see 170mph on the speedo (161mph on the sat nav) with the bike still pulling hard, but again, traffic ahead required me to low down. Again it amazed me that we were travelling safely and easily at speeds that would risk getting locked up in the UK. As a country, we really have a very distorted and inaccurate view of the relationship between road speeds and road safety.

A road closed due to roadworks, with a slow diversion and a requirement to fill with petrol had us off the autobahns and onto “normal” roads, and what wonderful roads they were. Once we’d cleared the traffic the roads were open, sweeping, well surfaced and fast. All the traffic was travelling at around 70mph, slowing for villages and junctions, but make good, safe progress.

We finally arrived at Bad Salgau and found our hotel (after a couple of wrong turns). We parked the bikes, checked in and ordered a steak dinner while sat at one of the outside tables for the restaurant. A couple of beers washed everything down before we went for a stroll around the town and a couple more beers in a pub. I won’t go into detail of the Grappa rounds ordered (I’m a light weight and stuck with the beer!) but I got the distinct impression the idea was much better than the reality!

Sunday 12th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/5105434

Bad Salgau, Germany to Madonna di Campiglio, Italy

Grifone Hotel: https://www.stylehotelgrifone.it/it/

A nice breakfast at the hotel, followed by re-packing the bikes and we were on the road again. This was the first “real” day of the trip where there were no motorways and no roads being ridden just to cover miles. Every road today was being ridden for fun!

The ride down through Germany was on more of the open, fast sweeping roads we’d finished the previous day on. Being early Sunday morning, the roads were quiet but we were all surprised that the traffic we did encounter was also making good progress, running at around 75mph on the open roads but dropping to 30mph for the towns.

While the transfer into Austria was marked only with a small, well-aged, sign at the side of the road, thus easily missed, the change in the traffic was very noticeable. The overall traffic density increased dramatically and the speed of that traffic slowed significantly. It appeared that, like the UK, overtaking was viewed as a socially unacceptable thing, with long queues formed behind a slow moving vehicle.

Turning off the main route we headed for Hochannberpas with lighter traffic, a good road and some nice scenery. Steve was worrying over the fact that he’d seen the 44Teeth episode where one of them had got a £5000 speeding fine. He was convinced it was in Austria despite my best efforts to inform him it was in Switzerland. Still, decent progress was made.

Hahntennjoch was next, again a nice road with a good surface and not too much traffic. This then lead us to a lunch stop at a café slightly set back from the side of a reasonably main road and allowed us to watch the variety of traffic passing while we were waiting for our food.

After lunch it was over Timmelsjoch, with some pictures at the top. We had to pay the toll at the top before heading down the Italian side. While riding down, caught in a traffic queue behind a camper van an MAG S65 decided he was bored of waiting and went for a “death or glory” overtake of the entire queue. He managed to get past a reasonable number of cars before oncoming traffic forced him in, attempting to take the space that Steve was occupying. Luckily, no contact was made but it was a pretty close thing. At that point we decided the best approach was to use the advantages of the bikes and filtered past the rest of the traffic queue as quickly as possible leaving the cars, including the AMG, behind. Luckily, we didn’t see it again.

Finally, a run over Gampen Pass, another wonderful road, had us heading for the hotel for the evening.

Parking was a challenge, with the only free space being in a sort of drive way to the hotel, so all the bikes were squeezed onto that. We could already tell that getting the bikes out of that was going to be fun!

The Hotel receptionist booked us into a local restaurant and after a quick wash and change of clothes we all headed across town to the restaurant where the others enjoyed pizza and I had a salad. The food was excellent, and the banter even better.

Monday 13th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5105433

Madonna di Campiglio, Italy to Laax, Switzerland

Hotel-Gasthof Seehof: https://www.seehof-laax.ch/home-en.html

Monday was again warm, dry and bright. We all enjoyed breakfast and the game of “mask on – mask off” that was required when you realised you’d forgotten something from the buffet table.

The other fun of the morning was the manoeuvring the bikes from where they were parked to where they could be packed and were on the road ready to roll. We were each reminded that these were big, heavy bikes and we were older.

As the lead, riding out of the town, I chose to provide the others with a tour of part of the town they may only have seen once before. The others in the group may suggest that I couldn’t read the sat nav clearly, that I took the wrong turn and had to re-trace my steps. But, what do they know???

After the “unplanned” tour we headed for Tonale Pass, stopping to take some pictures on the way. The road was well surfaced, wide and with little traffic. Great fun for all.

Gavia Pass followed and was very different. A narrow road with passing places and a worn surface. However, the views were stunning and we stopped a couple of times just to admire the view and to take some pictures.

After Gavia Pass we arrived at Stelvio Pass. The traffic had increased considerably but the road was wide and the surface was excellent. This was probably the pass that we were all looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint. There were photographers positioned on the side of the road, taking pictures of everything going past. We stopped at the top for some pictures of our own then enjoyed the run down the other side.

A transfer into Switzerland, which was the on border being policed, even though we were simply waved through, was followed by a road closure that then had us re-planning on the hoof and missing a couple of passes. However, the roads were still stunning and fun was being had.

Finally we arrived at the hotel, where the bikes were parked in the secure underground car park. While parking, it was noted that Marks rear tyre was well past its best and approaching the legal minimum! A conversation with Mark confirmed he hadn’t checked his tyres before he left home and … oh yes… his tyre was probably due for replacement about now!

We checked into the hotel, showered and changed, then headed down to the garden for some food. The hotel was definitely tired and had seen better days, but the food was reasonable and we all enjoyed a couple of beers while discussing Marks options for his tyre.

Tuesday 14th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5105431

Laax, Switzerland to Aosta, Italy

H B Aosta Hotel: https://www.hbaostahotel.com/

I had not had a good nights sleep. The bed was definitely not comfortable and the faint wiff of stale cigarette smoke that came from the pillow whenever I moved my head was distinctly unpleasant. As discussion with the others over breakfast showed that I wasn’t the only one who had found the hotel uncomfortable!

However, the breakfast was nice and we managed to find a bike dealer who could fit a new tyre to Mark’s bike.

The bikes were packed and we headed off towards Oberalp Pass with the sun shining. The highlight of morning, and possibly of the whole trip, followed a discussion on the intercom about requirements to use the Swiss Motorway. We knew we needed to buy a pass and Mark agreed to go in to the petrol station and buy one each. Over the intercom we hard Mark ask the lady behind the counter “Did she sell a Vinaigrette for the motorway?” Mark didn’t hear the reply from the lady as his ears were filled with the guffaws of laughter from the rest of us! Never again will a Swiss vignette not be referred to as a “Vinigarette”!

After Oberalp Pass Mark and I separated from the others to get Mark’s tyre replaced. We headed down the new road for the St. Gotthard Pass then across Switzerland towards Sion where Mark’s tyre was replaced.

After Mark had paid for his replacement tyre, and for the bike wash he hadn’t asked for and didn’t get because we didn’t want to wait that long, we headed of towards the Great St. Bernard Pass. After the short stint on the Swiss motorway it was good to get back onto the types of road we’d come on the trip for.

Some roadworks on the Swiss side of the pass were a little frustrating but Mark and I stopped for a coffee at the top before heading down the roadworks free Italian side.

I was glad that James had already warned me that the hotel was only accessible by riding down what appeared to be a pedestrianised street, as that’s what Mark and I did, despite it feeling like the wrong thing to be doing.

After unpacking the bikes, showering and changing, and the other three turning up, we all parked our bikes in the hotel underground car park. A couple of beers then followed before we walked to a restaurant for a nice meal and a few more beers.

Wednesday 15th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5105432

Aosta, Italy to Les Vergers, France

Hotel-Restaurant Spa Les Peupliers: https://www.hotel-les-peupliers.com/en/

After a really good night’s sleep (so much better than the night before) I awoke to the sound of rain! And it wasn’t just a light drizzle! We all met up at breakfast and the lack of enthusiasm to get going was obvious. We all knew that we were likely to get rained on at some point but that didn’t stop it being a disappointment.

We all dragged our heels in getting ready which meant that by the time we had the bikes packed, the waterproofs on and were ready to leave the dry garage at the hotel, the rain had reduced to a light drizzle, so off into the grey we went. We avoided the motorway as we headed for the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard and France.

The gods of motorcycling were playing games with us as the rain stopped although the roads were still very wet, and the Col de l'lseran was closed due to an accident. We spent about half an hour waiting in the queue on the road to the Col de l'lseran before hearing that the accident was likely to take some hours to clear so we re-routed around the Col.

There was still the occasional period of drizzle that we rode into but we mostly avoided the rain. That said, the roads were wet for the whole day, showing we’d often just missed the rain.

The rerouting meant we also missed the Col du Mont Cenis and the Col du Galibier was not as good as we’d hoped due to the stream of diesel covering most of the down side. Diesel, wet roads and motorcycles don’t really mix well.

The Col du Lautaret was better and by the start of the Col d'Izoard the drizzle had stopped and the roads actually had some dry patches alongside the damp patches. That was good as at the start of the run up to the Col, we caught up with a Lotus Exige Sport 380 which decided to play with us. We all enjoyed a spirited run up the Col, with the Lotus having a slight advantage on the damp/dry bends but the bikes having a slight advantage on the short straights. We all arrived at the top at pretty much the same time and shared a “thumps up” with the Lotus driver who clearly enjoyed the drive as much as we did. What I can say is that, from the position of being the first bike behind the Lotus, I was really impressed with just how quick it was.

The run down the Col and to the hotel had the drizzle returning. We also came across the first police road block. Luckily we were going the other way so weren’t stopped, and don’t know what they were checking/looking for and were glad to not find out.

We arrived at the hotel, which was a little bit “in the middle of nowhere” but met our needs exactly, checked in, got showered and changed, then enjoyed a couple of beers and a nice meal in the restaurant.

That night, we were treated to a rather spectacular thunderstorm, with associated lightening show and near biblical rain fall.

Thursday 16th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5105430

Les Vergers, France to Cagnes-sur-Mer, France

La Villa des Oliviers: http://www.villa-des-oliviers.fr/langue-english-1.html

By the morning, the rain was again back to light drizzle and the clouds were just grey. After breakfast, we loaded the bikes, put on the waterproofs and headed to the nearest petrol station to fill up before continuing down the Route des Grande Alpes towards the Med.

The first pass of the day was the Col de la Bonette. It was still drizzling as we started the long climb up but the higher we got, the clearer the weather was. We encountered a number of other bikes doing the climb, including one chap from Belgium on a BMW Boxer who will be remembered for his total inability to handle uphill hairpins, especially right handers. He was obviously terrified he’d not make the turn so became target fixated on the far side of the road at the exit to the bend, and that’s exactly where his bike went! Luckily, from the point where we caught him up, the far side of right handers was into the mountain and he managed to bring the bike to a stop before actually crashing into the solid rock. The car directly behind him got frustrated at the bike riders ineptitude and ended up “undertaking” him at the next right hander. Luckily we managed to overtake correctly on the short straights between the bends and left him to struggle up the rest of the climb. We did eventually see him arraive at the top so he made it in one piece, though I suspect that was as much about luck as it was about riding ability.

For the first time (for everyone except Steve) the loop at the very top of the Col de la Bonette was open so we stopped for pictures in sunshine, but still in our waterproofs, photographing the clouds that were below us.

The ride down saw us split up into smaller groups due to both the amount of slower moving traffic and Steve’s enthusiasm. Steve disappeared off, ahead of James and I with Roger and Mark caught behind some of the slow traffic for some time. We did manage a couple of occasions on the way down where we were all visible at once, almost stacked on top of each other, at different heights on the mountain.

A bunch of sports cars we’d seen at the top, a couple of Mclarens, a couple of Lamborghinis, an Aston Martin and a Ferrari, plus some others caught us up as we dropped below the clouds and back onto the wet roads. They were definitely enjoying a spirited drive down the Col.

As we rode up and over the Col de Turini and the Col de Castillon (not on the official trip list) the sun started to shine and we stopped to take off the waterproofs. We were at the Med.

The Route des Grande Alpes finished and we headed for the Autoroute and our hotel at Cagnes-sur-Mer enjoying the views out over the sea and down to the towns of the Cote D’Azure.

We found the hotel, 1 block back from the sea, and parked and unloaded the bikes. It had been noted that Mark’s exhaust can was “bouncing around” and sure enough, a check showed the mounting bolt was not there. Whether this had been missing since the tyre change or had simply not been tightened and worked loose, was not known, but a couple of large cable ties were employed to hold the can onto its mount.

A quick shower and change and we were all heading for one of the bars/restaurants along the sea front. We started with a couple of beers on the front but the rain started again and we ended up inside the restaurant, where a nice meal was consumed by all, washed down by another beer or two.

Three of the group agreed to get up at 06:00 the next morning and come down to the sea for a swim. I left them to it!

Friday 17th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5105427

Cagnes-sur-Mer, France to La Lechere, France

Hotel Radiana: https://www.hotel-radiana.com/en/

The sun was shining while we all had breakfast on the patio of the hotel. It was with mixed feelings we were approaching the day. This was the day we’d ride the full Route Napoleon, from bottom to top, but it was also the last full day of riding good roads rather than just counting down miles on an AutoRoute.

After breakfast the bikes were packed and we headed out into the morning traffic, and there was certainly quite a lot of that. While passing through one of the towns set back a little from the coast, Steve spotted a scooter shop and he and Mark went to see if they could get a nut and bolt for Mark’s exhaust mounting. Sure enough the shop owner had a box of spare nuts and bolts (presumably those he forgot to re-fit to customer’s bikes!!) and he happily removed the cable ties and fitted a replacement nut and bold to Mark’s bike.

Once the towns were cleared, and we were onto the Route Napoleon, the fun really started. Much of the south section of the Route is made up of fast, open, sweeping curves with lots of visibility and a good surface. The sun was shining and the Old Gits were making the most of things.

Eventually, arrival in Gap with lots of memories from previous trips being recounted over the intercom, had us stopping for lunch before heading up the northern half of the Route Napoleon to Grenoble. A couple of sets of roadworks with minor diversions mean we didn’t actually do the whole Route so gives us all an excuse to do it again sometime in the future (even if getting there from Australia may be less easy for Mark).

After Grenoble we headed off east towards the hotel, riding the Col de la Madeleine (not on the official trip list) and having to follow a significant detour due to a road closure, before arriving at our hotel.

The hotel, actually a spa, was comfortable but busy. No room in the restaurant meant a walk down to the local village for a nice meal in a restaurant there, before rerunning to the hotel for a nightcap.

Saturday 18th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5105428

La Lechere, France to Chalons-en-Champagne, France

B&B Hotel: https://www.hotel-bb.com/fr/hotel/chalons-en-champagne

Breakfast in the hotel was followed by the packing of the bikes. The hotel had a large car park and luck was not with us when we parked so it was quite a hike from the hotel to the bikes, carrying all the luggage. Most of us had been following the approach of packing “old clothes” such that they could be binned after wearing, meaning the luggage load reduced throughout the holiday, but there still seemed to be quite a lot to carry.

The route had been arranged to give us some nice roads in the morning then onto the boring AutoRoute in the afternoon. The morning included the Col des Aravis and the  Col des Glieres, neither of which were on the official trip list, with the latter including a section of unmade road. Negotiating an unmade road on 250+kg of bike with luggage and rider certainly focused our attention but we all enjoyed the experience and none of us felt the need to add loads of extra LED DRLs and empty aluminium touring cases. Perhaps a GS isn’t the only answer to touring?

We were now coming out of the mountains and into the hills and valleys, with wider roads, sweeping bends following rivers and, of course, more traffic. The roads were still fun and the banter on the intercom continued but we were all aware that we were now on the way home.

A lunch stop at a little pizza restaurant in a small French town was followed by the run up the AutoRoute. I had a slightly surreal moment when I spotted what looked like an AutoRoute ticket in my mirror as it fluttered in the wind of the bike doing 130kmh. It took a second or so to realise it was my ticket and that I hadn’t zipped up my pocket when I collected the ticket from the booth. Luckily, I could feel that my credit card was still in the pocket so the zip was closed and I cursed myself for the next few miles.

Arrival at the exit toll both had first James, then Roger and Steve, unable to get the machine to take their tickets. Each had to use the help call button to get the person at the other end to make the whole system work. I rode through with James when the barrier was up so didn’t have the same problems as them.

We found the hotel, which was on the edge of an edge of town industrial estate. It was simpler but considerably cheaper than our previous hotels, but had a comfortable bed and a good shower. We’ve still not decided if the other hotels were worth the extra money.

An hour spent in the hotel reception, drinking beer, doing COVID tests and completing the UK Passenger Locator Form was followed by a visit to an “all you can eat” Chinese restaurant. After some confusion over exactly how the system worked we were delivered a nice array of dishes and some Chinese beer.

Sunday 19th September

https://www.myrouteapp.com/route/open/5105435

Chalons-en-Champagne, France to home

We had planned a nice early start with the intention of missing breakfast at the hotel but getting a brunch on the ferry. The only slight problem was that the large group from Eastern Europe, also staying at the hotel, had planned for a noticeably earlier start than us. We were all woken by the sound of doors opening and closing, luggage being carried out of the hotel and diesel vehicles sitting on idle while people and cases were loaded. Still, it meant we were all up and on the road slightly ahead of schedule. The first morning of the trip that had happened.

The run to Calais was the usual boring but efficient way to cover miles. We arrived at the port an hour before last check in time for our ferry and joined the queue for the single French customs booth. Eventually we got to the booth, got our passports stamped and joined the queue for the single UK customs booth. After another long wait, we were passed through to join one of the two queues for the only open P&O ticket offices. The speed of these queues made the customs queues seem unbelievably fast!

Eventually, with little more than a couple of minutes until the last check in time for the ferry, I, as the first of the group, made it to the ticket office where my ticket, passport, vaccination status, COVID test result and passenger locator form were all checked. “Are you with the others” the man in the ticket office asked. I was so close to saying no as I knew the implications but I decided I’d own up. “I’ll put you on the correct ferry for now but you may have to change if I can’t get everyone processed in time.”

Sure enough, after checking James through and starting to process Steve, he came and changed the paperwork on James’ and my bikes, moving us to the later ferry.

Eventually, everyone processed and all onto the ferry we found the restaurant. The meal choice was distinctly limited but there was enough for everyone to have something to eat that they were happy with, followed by a coffee or two.

We said our goodbyes on the ferry as it docked then headed down the stairs to the bikes before disembarking. We all headed up the M20, with Mark, Roger and I stopping at the Tesco petrol station at Folkstone to fill up. Roger took the south route around the M25 while Mark and I went through the tunnel. I split from Mark at the A12 junction then headed home. The weather had been pretty good through Kent, Essex and into Suffolk but literally a mile and a half from home the rain stated. Within half a mile it was absolutely dropping out of the sky and I arrived home very wet and bedraggled. Apparently the rain had been like that at home all day!

The trip was over! According to my bike computer, I’d covered 2,814 miles in 69:31 hours since leaving home. We’d ridden what are possibly some of the best roads in the world, many with famous names. We’d crossed international borders on at least 7 occasions, seen up to 170mph on the speedo and hit lean angles of 55 degrees, all with full touring luggage on board.

Everyone had enjoyed themselves and no one had fallen out but, most importantly, Mark had had a great time. He will definitely have some stories to tell his Aussie biking mates and, I believe, will remember his Old Gits farewell trip with great fondness. I know we will all really miss Mark on future Old Gits trips and I think he too, will miss us. Our very best wishes ride with you Mark and we all hope you enjoy your biking back in Australia.

PS We’re all hoping that accommodation rates in Mark and Cheryl’s spare room will be very reasonable as we’d all like the chance to visit Australia.