The day started up in the Swiss Alps. I was staying at the delightful hostel at the top of the Grimsel Pass, with snow-peaked mountains everywhere I looked. I wasn't in a rush to leave the place, but I had been on the road for a long time, and it was time to start heading home.
The morning ride down the north side of the Grimsel Pass was lovely. My trip coincided with the heatwave, and just the day before I had been in Italy in 40 degrees C temperatures. Here, at the top of the world, it was 11 degrees, with no wind, just the gentle embrace from the morning sun, promising a warm day again.
I headed to the lowlands (relatively speaking, this is Switzerland, after all) with Interlaken as my initial goal. I had been there before, I knew the route, and I knew that the morning's ride was just long enough to justify another coffee when I got there, but not so long that I needed lunch yet. I tend to do any planning (however loose) of my rides based around meals and coffee stops - we all have our weaknesses.
When I stopped for a brew, I remember my brain registering that every sip that I took from my coffee in the quaint little café on the shore of Lake Brienzersee cost me around a pound. That's Switzerland for you.
To distract myself from the pending personal financial ruin, I started thinking about where to go next. It needed to be roughly on the way home, and it needed to be worth stopping for a night. I didn't fancy riding all the way back in one go. I had done that before, and it wasn't fun.
A quick study of the map revealed the perfect option: Vosges Mountains in France. I can't say that there was any particularly strong reason for the choice. Just that it was on my route, kind of, and that I had heard positive noises about riding there. So, that's where I headed.
To France
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.
