How To Tackle The Alps By Motorcycle

Part 1 - Checking Boxes.

Climbing the mighty Stelvio Pass in the rain, where a rainbow waited for us at the summit. Image: Michael Jay

The domino effect of touring the Alps by motorcycle in 2023 began when I became a serious cyclist in 2013.  

Then 47 years old, I was invited to be a guest of Trek Travel to participate in L’Etape du Tour, organized by the same promoters as the Tour de France. Literally meaning a stage of the Tour, ours was a 130 kilometer loop starting in Annecy, France, with Mount Blanc lording over everyone like Zeus. I flew from San Francisco to Geneva, Switzerland, then took a bus 45 minutes to Annecy, our home base for the week as 10 of us trained for the Big Ride. It was my first time road cycling in Europe, approximately 7-½ years after touring Rwanda by mountain bike.

My international cycling tours were organized – and paid for – by others, so the concept of doing all the heavy lifting and check writing for a 10-day European motorcycle tour of the Alps was daunting.

Several factors delayed my commitment to twisting a throttle through France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy, but once the research and planning was complete, everything fell into place:

1. Money – Our guided tour included a BMW R 1250 GS with top case and side bags plus a TomTom GPS, hotels, breakfast and dinner. We paid for our lunch, drinks, fuel, tolls, flights, trains, buses, and a speeding ticket through Switzerland.

2. Time – I rarely had enough PTO to get away from my workload, so this time I took a work sabbatical after saving my folding money for nearly four years. And just like cycling, it takes dedication, frequency and multiple adventures to build up skills necessary to ride the Alps.

3. Strength – I pinched a sciatic nerve in August 2007, and a herniated disc reared its ugly head 10 years later. ‘Wear and tear’ the doctor proclaimed. I was twisted like a human question mark for nearly a year. After visits to chiropractors, physical therapists and a back surgeon, road cycling straightened me out and my strength slowly returned.

4. Confidence – Prior to Rwanda and France, I had ridden bicycles religiously for 25 years and built up the stamina and skills to tackle most anything. I became serious with motorcycling in January 2014, and while there are several cross-over and shared skills between human- and gas-powered mobility, it took time to tackle big mountain passes after hours in the saddle. I have Pal Brian to thank for inviting me on dozens of trips around California, Death Valley and the Eastern Sierras.

Speaking of Brian, it was around his birthday in mid January this year that cemented our commitment to a European tour. Sitting around our dining room table, he asked Jean and I if we had any fun plans for the year. Jean said “We’re finally gonna do it; a motorcycle tour in Europe. Wanna come with?”

“Count me in,” he said with his casual grin behind tinted glasses. There’s no one more agreeable that we’d invite along on a maiden tour of Europe than Pal Brian.

Within days I shared all my research, and we put down our deposits with The French Ride for a guided tour, based in Aix-les-Bains. I found a direct flight from SFO to Newark, then straight to Geneva, Switzerland. After a 90-minute bus ride, we arrived in Annecy – nearly smack dab between Geneva and Aix-les-Bains – for a few active rest days to prepare our bodies and minds for the Big Tour.

We had no idea who our other riding companions would be, but it didn’t matter; we booked a small apartment on the fifth floor of a 17th century building in the walled city portion of old Annecy, and there was culture to be absorbed.

Next: Part 2 - “I HATE THIS!”