Summer Trip Ring - Alps - Black Forest, image heavy

Well here's some shots and a write up of this year's trip to the Alps, out by the Nurburgring and back by the Black forest. Sorry for the number of photos, but I took over 300 and choosing my favourites was tricky:

Day 1 North Yorkshire - The Ring Haus, Nurburg

Well an early 5 am start with my mate Kitch and his Dad in his Civic Type R, they also had most of my luggage. A lifting dawn soon revealed a cold and misty morning. The monotony of the flog down south was eased with some unexpected wheelie action as I tried to make a quick get away and catch my mate up at the Dartford Bridge toll. We were soon at the busy Euro Tunnel terminal in Folkestone, rammed with Rugby fans.



It was then a flog across Belgium, battling with 105 mph Renault Twingos and vans round Liege, and onto the N258, a nice road to take us the final leg to the 'Ring Haus. Passing the entrance to the ring revealed a pretty full car park for an evening session, but we carried on the 500m up the road to our hotel, too spent for the 'Ring.

Day 2&3 The Nurburgring

We awoke to a typical damp Eiffel mountain morning, with a little mizzle outside, so after some brekkie headed out to Brunnchen to watch some of the brave guys lapping in the damp. After twenty minutes or so a dry line had started to develop so we headed out in the Civic, enabling me to get some sighting laps in as a passenger and check the conditions.



After another lap or two as a car passenger I decided it was looking dry enough, and I wanted to get out there. So I was soon out on track and enjoying myself, getting a little knee down action and getting to grips with the circuit on the bike in the dry, previous laps were either car laps or slightly dampish bike laps.



By the end of the day 2 I was getting knee down at several points, and on a timed lap got a BTG time of 9:48, including slowing for some yellow flags. Not fast, but respectable enough on the little SV. The circuit was closed a number of times, with both bikes and cars crashing out, but we both managed to keep on the circuit, a good day with 8 bike laps in.

A typical car park shot:



Day 3 at the 'Ring saw another damp start, and with the circuit opening just after lunch I got out as soon as possible. On my second lap, I was following a Sierra that was being driven pretty raggedly, giving it a fair bit of room I hung back. He crashed out at Wipperman, sliding off gently along the barriers, luckily I avoided him, but believe that he managed to rejoin the track. I did no timing that day as a number of sections had 30 mph limits as they were carrying out repairs to the barriers from the previous day's crashes. I managed 4 laps until it began to drizzle/rain, so off we went to the motor museum, good if you like BMWs, Porsches and Mercedes. The rain carried on, so we went out in the Civic to use up the last of our laps, noticing a few crashed cars and muddy sections of track, so we were going steady.

Day 4 Nurburg - La Clusaz

My mate headed off home, and I headed south, now with luggage down the autoroutes to Besancon, where I came off onto the N roads and headed up into the Jura on the N5, quite a nice road in the sun:







From there it was on to Annecy in rush hour, and up to La Clusaz to stay in a hotel full of OAPS on a bus trip, not the best!

Day 5 La Clusaz - Chamonix

Well headed out of La Clusaz and over the Col des Aravis:



Followed by the Col de Saisies, Col de Meraillet and Cormet de Roseland where the lake was very still:





It was then up the Col du Petit St Bernard, a nice road, stopping briefly for some lunch and into Italy:



I then dropped down the valley to Aosta and took the Col Du Grand St Bernard up and over into Switzerland.



It was followed by the Col de la Forclaz, a road that rises dramaticlly out of the Rhone valley, followed by the Col des montets to Argentiere Chamonix where I stayed the night in a kind of backpackers/hikers hostel, pretty cheap place, but nice and atmospheric, the insides were all wood and it had a real explorers atmosphere:



Day 6 Chamonix - Laax

I awoke to this out of the front door:



And then retraced my steps to Switzerland, heading up the Rhone valley to Brig, where I then started to pick up the Passes around Andermatt, doing a great figure of eight. Firstly the Grimsel pass (that isn't Grim) :





Followed by the Susten Pass:





Along the Furkapass (a view from the top of the Furka looking at the Grimsel pass):



And the end of the Furka pass:



It was the the Nufennen pass:



Followed by a mixture of the old and new St Gottard pass, and the Oberalpass with roadworks at the bottom:



This group of passes were among the best in the Alps and some superb surfaces made them great fun.

It was then alomg the valley to Laax where I stayed in a back packers hotel for the night, only 36 CHFs for my own room which wasn't so bad. The place had a good bar, where I got chatting to a nice German girl who was working up the road in the resort of Flims.

Day 7 Laax - Bormio

I headed on to Chur, up the Lenzerheidepass, and then along the valley from Brienz to Davos:



Where I turned up the cold Fluelapss, and on in the direction of St Morritz, where I turned up the Passo Del Bernina:



I had some fun with a new M3 up there, a great sounding car, and pretty quick, the only way I could keep up was because I could make more dodgy overtakes than he could in the car! It was a little strange as it was German registered but RHD, and had a lap top plugged in on the passenger seat (I noticed when he and I both stopped to take photos at the above shot). I thought that perhaps it could have been a test car?

It was then down into Italy, And over the Passo del Aprica, followed by the Passo di Gavia, a tight single lane pass:



Where I came across this 2 stroke RG500:



And this unlikely chopper in a great JPS colour scheme, not exactly suited to the road:







It was then down the pass stopping for a few more shots:



And down into Bormio:



Where I watched a rubbish England match against South Africa.

Day 8 Bormio - Corvara

My chain was pretty well dead, I adjusted it again this day and it had one heck of a tight spot so I was a bit unsure but carried on. Up the Selvio Pass, then back down via Passo Di Santa Maria for a change from last year's route. Ithen headed down to Merrano, where I asked an SV thou rider where I could get a chain, he lead me to a bike/parts dealer where I managed to buy one ( although a few teeth too long). Unfortunately the workshop and all garages were closed as tghis was just before midday on a Saturday, so I had a new chain but not fitted! I carried on up the Timmelsjoch to the top:



Before heading back down then up the Jaufen pass, where I stopped for a drink and to experince Italian bikers at their best, caning Triumph Speed Triples, and almost losing it on KTM supermotos as they flashed past the cafe on a hairpin bend.

It was then on to the Dolomites, stopping for the night in Corvara:





And a nice Lancia Delta:



Day 9 Corvara - Isola (Slovenia)

I got a nice early lap of the Sella round, a group of passes in the Dolomites, ace fun and a must once in your life if you've got a bike, there was mist hanging over the peaks but some nice empty roads:






It was then through Cortina and up the Passo Tre Crociand actross to Tolmezzo for lunch, a great route along the S52, not a pass but a nice flowing road. From there it was over the Passo di Nevea and the Passo di Predil into Slovenia:



It was then up Slovenia's highest road for some more mountain views:



I then got some motoring done, past Bovec, Kanal and down to Nova Gorica at pace, And then on past Koper to Isola on the coast. I was hot, tired, and in the hustle of Slovenia's short and busy coast line but there was a nice sun set to meet me before I found a hotel:



Day 10 Isola - Murrau

It was then a case of heading back up through Slovenia, with my chain relly starting to affect the smoothness of the bike, but some nice roads and empty wooded hills up past Idrija and Bohinjska Bistrica, though Bled and then up over the Passo de Korensko in a mixture of wether and drizzle into Southern Austria, over the Turracher Hohe and to Murrau, a nice little town with an amusing bar with great views:





That evening I met an Austrian biker who had been to many of the same roads, and also pointed me in the direction of a garage to change my chain.

Day 11 Murrau - Eisernez

Heading north over the Solk Pass I was the met with rain, so on with the waterproofs and away with the camera. Along some nice river valleys via Hielflau, Mariazell, St Aegyd, where I got picked up for a minor speeding/overtaking infringmenet by a an unmarked cop car, after a little chatting with the copper I came off with only a 20 euro fine, although he said he could of fined me 95, so I suppose it wasn't too bad.



It was then on to the garage at Gloggnitz where they changed (and shortened) my chain. I vaguely retraced my steps, now out of my waterproofs when it started chucking it down. I couldn't be bothered stopping to fit my waterproofs which was a mistake as I arrived freezing and shivering in Eisernerz.

Day 12 Eisernez - Garmisch

A nice morning up into the Dachstein mountains over the Gschutt pass, on to Saalfelden and over the Griessen pass:



On through Kitzbuhel before heading up the Aachen pass, and then taking a great road towards Garmisch, a great deserted valley:



A night in Garmisch, with a fair bit of it in an Irish bar watching rugby, drinking Guiness and Sambucas, and coming out with a slightly hazy head.

Day 13 Garmisch - Triberg

A nice morning, I headed out for a few shots:



One of which tickled me:



It was then a case of skirting into Austriavia Ettal along a great road to Reutte, then back to Germany along the Deutch Alpen Strasse, until I got down to the Bodensee, and got on the highways and autobahns heading for the Black Forest, stopping for lunch:



Then into the Black Forest, some great roads, and some waterfalls in the town I stayed at:



Day 14 Triberg - Leuven

Had a nice morning heading north throught the black forest:



Managed to stop for some of their famous Gateau:



In a picturesque town:



It was then on to the autobahns, north again, then taking the N258 past the Nurburgring to Belgium, and on to Leuven for a night out with old friends.

Day 15 Leuven - North Yorkshire

Another flog along dual carriageways, some with a bit of a head ache from the night before.

Got back last night and am still adjusting to being still and in one place. The bike has been given a quick wash and my clothes in the washing machine. It was another great trip, over 4000 miles, and some amazing images burnt into my memory, and some amusing incidents and people along the way. Didn't get to Croatia due to time constraints and my required insurance docs not arriving in time, but that just gives me an excuse to head through the alps in the future.

Sorry about the length, but hope you enjoyed the pics even if you couldn't be bothered with the text, I'm an engineer not a journalist!

Beautiful pics Tim - especially the sunset, watefall and the one with the mist on through the Dolomite. Looks like you were lucky with the weather.

[Essex of Essex]

Thanks for sharing, it looks like a wonderful trip.

great write up and loverly pictures

Spot on mate I'm seriously jealous. I wish I had the time, money, understanding missus etc.

[Wideboy]

those pics are lurvely, wankbahn hahahah funny

WOW...

That looks like an amazing trip Tim. Cheers for posting them. Love looking at pics of trips like that. One day i'll do a similar route.

[DarrenSV650S]

Cheers for that Tim. Glad you enjoyed it

[RingDing]

Great pics Tim. Makes me want to do the same!

[Richie]

Truely Awesome Pic's
Can you pm or email me the Sunset one full size please so I can have it as a dektop.