Italian Alps summer 2012

[CaptGoodvibes]

I'm in the pre-preliminary planning stages for a tour of Italia on rented Ducati's. Preliminary planning will begin in November and flights and bikes will be booked in early February at the latest. A tour of the Ducati factory and tix to the Italian GP at Mugello will be included.

NOTE: This is not a knee-dragging tour. Expect to be sightseeing and coffee drinking, shopping with your sweetheart, eating delicious food, and drinking fine wine. Bike choices are Monster 6 and 11 and Multistrada. If you are interested, let me know.

Interested(update 11/6/11):
1. CaptGoodvibes
2. Ninja2
3. Sully
4. OUTLAWD

[Matty]

any realistic prices you've come up with yet?

[Ninja2]

I'm potentially interested. I know you're in the very early stages of planning. Here some details that would determine whether I would do this or not. Maybe something to consider as you continue planning:

- Which month? (I could not find the MotoGP schedule for '12)
- Route? (Does this mean we'll be coming in from Switzerland over the Alps to Tuscany? Will we continue to ride in Tuscany?)
- How many days?
- Is there flexibility in terms of flights, meaning could I fly in and out at my convenience as long as I am at the start point for the tour?
- Last but not least, approx. cost?

[cbrjohnny]

any realistic prices you've come up with yet?

lol you know how the old saying goes... "if you have to ask"...

have fun i know i wont be on this one lol!

[asp_125]

If you want to check out packages, prices, and routes, look up Eldeweiss Tours. Captn' you thinking of Eldeweiss (sp?) - I assume by the Ducati rental it's them.

[Ninja2]

Wow. It looks like $4+K w/o flight. And you start in Bologna, which I believe does have not an international airport.
I am not sure if you're open to this, but there is a direct flight from DIA to Frankfurt Germany. Depending on the season, you can get a roundtrip ticket between $800 and $1500. You can rent a Ducati Monster 696 for about 600 Euro a week in Frankfurt.
We could plan the route and overnight stays ourselves. Maybe COS Mille's wife, Vita, would help us if we treat her to dinner. Vita is from Italy. I am from Germany.
We could go through Bavaria, Swiss Alps, and maybe spend a night there. From there to Mugello the next day. The distances are not far. Two years ago, we drove from Frankfurt to northern Italy in one day in a car. The roads through the Alps are a lot more fun than cruising through Tuscany.
We can buy tickets to GP and the museum ourselves online. Granted, it is more work, but I think planning ourselves would save us a lot of $$$. And we have plenty of time. Just a thought.

[asp_125]

The great thing about Eldelweiss, is that the $4K is all inclusive including ride support, accomodations etc. So that you don't end up being weighed down with luggage or worrying about making reservations etc. But I can understand, it is pricey.

I want to do Tuscany .. or southern Spain. We have mountains here .. the alps :dunno:

[CaptGoodvibes]

Wow. It looks like $4+K w/o flight. And you start in Bologna, which I believe does have not an international airport.
I am not sure if you're open to this, but there is a direct flight from DIA to Frankfurt Germany. Depending on the season, you can get a roundtrip ticket between $800 and $1500. You can rent a Ducati Monster 696 for about 600 Euro a week in Frankfurt.
We could plan the route and overnight stays ourselves. Maybe COS Mille's wife, Vita, would help us if we treat her to dinner. Vita is from Italy. I am from Germany.
We could go through Bavaria, Swiss Alps, and maybe spend a night there. From there to Mugello the next day. The distances are not far. Two years ago, we drove from Frankfurt to northern Italy in one day in a car. The roads through the Alps are a lot more fun than cruising through Tuscany.
We can buy tickets to GP and the museum ourselves online. Granted, it is more work, but I think planning ourselves would save us a lot of $$$. And we have plenty of time. Just a thought.

I'm not sold on a tour. I think, with great minds, we could totally figure this out and have a great week of riding/sightseeing. I'd love to start in Germany and perhaps make a multi country tour out of it.

Jeff, would you please stop trying to torpedo my trip? Every time I've posted about this(FB and BBO), you start blathering about Spain. Make your own plan, take 50sgrl to Spain and have fun. I am not going to Spain. I'm going to northern Italy and perhaps Switzerland and Germany. Thank you and goodnight.

[Ninja2]

If you want to do Tuscany only, consider a scooter tour: http://www.edelweissbike.com/en/allTours/false/cont/eur/tuscany-by-scooter.html
The towns, like Florence, Pisa and Sienna are crazy to drive/ride in.

There are a lot of beautiful places to visit and ride in Europe, just like in the US. Unfortunately, it would be more difficult to combine Spain with Italy simply because of geography.

In terms of sag support - I can try and find friend or family that might be interested. If I cannot, then we could rent a small car, and one less bike, and take turns driving/riding.

[CaptGoodvibes]

If you want to do Tuscany only, consider a scooter tour: http://www.edelweissbike.com/en/allTours/false/cont/eur/tuscany-by-scooter.html
The towns, like Florence, Pisa and Sienna are crazy to drive/ride in.

There are a lot of beautiful places to visit and ride in Europe, just like in the US. Unfortunately, it would be more difficult to combine Spain with Italy simply because of geography.

I'm in it for the Alps and coffee. :D It's going to be a blast! This is a bucket list entry for me.

Jeff, you're my friend. PM sent.

[Ninja2]

Same here.
When I drove that route two years ago, I told myself I will come back and ride it. The nice thing - you get the best of both worlds - we get to ride through the Alps, and we will have some time to visit a few places in Tuscany and MotoGP. Granted, we have mountains here, too. But the Alps are different. And the roads are different, too.
I am hoping we can cut about $2K off the cost if we are willing to do our own ride support and planning, and being flexible in terms of sharing rooms.

[Zenshu]

Damn you...now I might actually have to pass my college class so i don't have to pay back the 2k tuition cost -_-

[CaptGoodvibes]

Looking at the tour for ideas...

I'd be thrilled if we made the race and factory tour the southern part of the trip and also did riding in the alps and black forest. I'd like to swim in the rivers in Switzerland, and I know my gal is going to relish shopping for a cookoo clock in Germany. Did I mention sipping coffee roadside frequently. Also, I don't have to rent a Duc. Anything will do...

[CaptGoodvibes]

Damn you...now I might actually have to pass my college class so i don't have to pay back the 2k tuition cost -_-

In eight weeks, I'll have my engineering degree.

You can doo eet!

[Ninja2]

You can rent any bike. They have Ducs, Kawis, and lots of BMWs.
Just, please, don't kick the bucket while we are there.:lol:
Black Forest is prob the most twisties with the most crosses. But that alone will take one day. I do think we need to sit down and first determine the amount of time we have and go from there.

The good news: All those countries have excellent coffee!

[Zenshu]

In eight weeks, I'll have my engineering degree.

You can doo eet!

Problem is with all online classes I have no idea what the paper i am supposed to turn in on Monday is even on...since there was no actual class lol...but the alps trip should be awesome..hope I can make it.

[CaptGoodvibes]

You can rent any bike. They have Ducs, Kawis, and lots of BMWs.
Just, please, don't kick the bucket while we are there.:lol:
Black Forest is prob the most twisties with the most crosses. But that alone will take one day. I do think we need to sit down and first determine the amount of time we have and go from there.

The good news: All those countries have excellent coffee!

I'll do my best. One of the reasons I decided to get a proper degree was for health ins at a mega tech/aerospace firm.

[Ninja2]

And, with any luck, I can turn the ~5 year prognosis into 20+ years. At any rate, I have a lost of travelling to do in the next 5 years.
Sorry if that was an insensitive joke - did not know.


If anyone is interested, Sweetie and I are going to spend several days in Amsterdam after the riding portion of the trip. You know, for the flowers. Best to go after turning in the motorcycles ;)

Thank you for the offer. I'll likely spend time with family afterwards. Yeah, yeah. Flowers. In Amsterdam... .

[CaptGoodvibes]

No worries, I don't want to make it an issue.

[asp_125]

No worries, I don't want to make it an issue.
I didn't know it was that serious either, sorry if I was insensitive above.

[CaptGoodvibes]

So anyway,

Reading Google maps of Europe is difficult. What kind of daily mileage is reasonable in terms of sightseeing? <200mi/day? Also, I'm wondering if youth hostels might be a good solution for lodging. I did the youth hostel thing in Australia for 6 months, long ago, and since they were out of the way and because of the communal kitchen, I met a lot of interesting people and woke up away from urban centers - which I prefer.

Assuming Frankfurt is the best place to fly in, I'm going to bag the factory tour and focus on the race. Anyone that wants to play with maps and route and research on the must-ride roads, please do.

[Ninja2]

I started looking at this already. Mapquest works for Europe, too. I will be over there in 2 weeks, and will pick up some maps and talk with local motorcycle shops. Maybe we can meet after I return - early Oct? Hopefully, by then the MotoGP 2012 schedule will be out, too. I read that Mugello used to be late May/early June, but they pushed it out to July this year. Let's see. I wouldn't exclude anything yet. Let's just see how this pans out.

Hey, if we are really lucky, maybe we get a car-free track day in at Mugello: http://www.mugellocircuit.it/en/events/car-free-practices.html
That would be so awesome!

[powers]

I am liking this idea more and more... add in a GP and I will do everything I can to make it!

[Ninja2]

Just wanted to let you know that I stopped at several bike stores close by and picked up some maps for southern Germany/Austrian and Swiss Alps/Northern Italy, incl. most beautiful motorcycle trips through the Alps and Lake Garda (which is northern Italy) as well as motorcycle friendly overnight stays in Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Luxemburg and Switzerland.
Also briefly talked about renting motorcycles.

I couldn't think of anything else. Let me know if I need to look into anything else by tomorrow (Sat).

Also, Mugello this year is even later - in mid-July: http://www.motogp.com/de/news/2011/2012+MotoGP+World+Championship+calendar+released.

I am IN since I'll be here anyways and Lake Garda that time of year is awesome!8) Talk with ya soon.

[Ninja2]

BTW - I also asked about our leathers, helmets, etc. We can discuss as well.

[OUTLAWD]

this sounds prettyb awesome...if I can rob a bank between now and booking, I'm down ;)

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

After readig about Edelweiss tours for over 20 years, I've always wanted to do one. I think people could get a good tour going by themselves, but there's an equal chance that it would be a miserable experience. I've learned a lot from the last 2 summer trips into a foreign land (Utah). A lot of the roads that look great on a map.....are dirt, or otherwise impassable on a sportbike. Throw in other languages, lack of goo road signs, different laws and cops. To me, Edelweiss takes care of all that for you, and it's about what you'd pay, if not less because of the group discounts they get, than doing it yourself and risking it all. For me, that's not even close to be worth risking it. Now, if you really knew EU like those guys do and are fluent in multiple languages, awesome.

Regardless, I wish all the best of luck and a great and safe ride! Post pics!:D

[Ninja2]

I am open to whatever. I would always take my own maps, regardless. Never had any problems with roads that were indicated as paved not being paved in Germany, Switzerland, Austria or Italy.
You can get international health insurance. Bike rentals that are international you have to get full coverage, too.

I do not like organized tours because they are rather inflexible and usually include stops at tourist places because the organizer gets major discounts and/or some other form of incentives. Plus, they have to charge their "management" fee for organizing, etc.

To me, the risks mentioned are the same whenever I go on any vacation to a foreign country. But I do understand the concerns raised and would like to understand better the troubles you have run into because I know you've been riding for a long time.

My biggest concern with this trip is the weather because the weather in that area can really suck!

[CaptGoodvibes]

I like the idea of figuring this out ourselves. More of an adventure and all that...

One of my profs just took a semester off and went with her husband to Italy to recreate a motorcycle trip they did 40 years ago. She's back and said it was great! They did it themselves. She brought me all her maps and travel books including two moto-specific books. Good times!

[JDK1962]

Before I moved to Boulder, I lived in Ivrea, in northwestern Italy. A few thoughts off the top of my head...

-- Do it, do it, do it.
-- The autostrade (toll highways) are fast and expensive. Surface roads are almost always available as alternatives, but sometimes it seems like it takes forever to get anywhere on them. Fine if you're just soaking up the countryside, not so much if you're trying to get somewhere on a schedule. Plan for 200-300km/day at most for surface roads.
-- Watch your speed: they use photo radar in Italy. I was there in early June 2010, and got my ticket in the mail in February 2011. Between the fine and the wire transfer to pay it, I was out $250. For going 55km in a 40km zone.
-- Don't miss the Grand St. Bernard pass (sort of the Italian equivalent of Beartooth Pass) into Switzerland. You can check it out on YouTube...it's the road in the first five minutes of the original version of "The Italian Job.
-- Riding in the Cinque Terre area (between La Spezia and Genoa) is great. Mountains, forests, and the Mediterranean. What's not to love?
-- If you like lakes, Lake Como is definitely worth it.

I've heard good things about Knopf Tours, in southern Germany (http://www.knopftours.com/Web-Site/Hello.html) (http://www.knopftours.com/Web-Site/Hello.html). The neat thing is that you can buy a motorcycle in Europe and store it at Knopf, and when you come over, they take it out of storage, and get it all ready to go. Always thought that would be cool. Love motorcycling in Colorado, but miss Europe.

[Ninja2]

Thanks so much, JDK. Great info. Unfortunately, the radar works like that in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, too. But the good thing is that you can find out beforehand with certain software and some extra equipment in navigation systems, I was told.

Knopf is in Heidelberg, and my parents live only 20 mins away. I have the day planned to spend with my niece, and tomorrow everything is closed. So I will call them Mo morning before I fly back to CO. Meanwhile, here some pics from Heidelberg, which is a really nice town with a castle by the river. I know this is somewhat unrelated to the trip, but thought I'd share in case you do go back and go to Heidelberg.

Heidelberg Castle:
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/Ninjapic/DSCN7862.jpg

View of Heidelberg from the castle:
http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/Ninjapic/DSCN7842.jpg

[Sully]

Very interested!! Passport is ready and I will start saving $$ now.. then figure out how to rob a bank or sell a kidney by then! :)

[Ninja2]

Capt., now that we lured Sully into a trip to Italia, I think it is time to start looking into this in a bit more detail. I like the idea of all getting together and get to know each other in person, and look at dates, maps, etc. Thoughts?

[CaptGoodvibes]

I have a couple more weeks until I'm done with my degree and then I'll have to find a job. After that, I'm available to get together for sure. Fwiw, Sully knows me and you and I have met once. :) I'll update the top post in the next couple days with an "Interested" list so we can keep on this better.

[Ninja2]

Have you graduated yet? I'm getting impatient. LOL

[CaptGoodvibes]

Have you graduated yet? I'm getting impatient. LOL

Coursework is done. I'm graduated! :D I'm in the job hunt right now so very distracted. I'm not even checking CSC daily let alone every 15 minutes. ;) Everything depends on the job.

[Ninja2]

:yay: Congratulations!!! :cheers:
Hurry up and find a job! :lol:

P.S. What are you looking for?

[CaptGoodvibes]

:yay: Congratulations!!! :cheers:
Hurry up and find a job! :lol:

P.S. What are you looking for?

Entry level Electronic Engineer position for someone with 15 years experience as a Software Engineer ;)

[OUTLAWD]

I now have a job lined up, and I should have enough vaca by next summer built up...how long you thinking?

[Dr. Joe Siphek]

would so love to do something like this...unfortunately everything costs money, something I rarely have extra of. Dave, if you do plan a bank heist...let me know. :lol:

[Jmetz]

I'm in.

















For the bank heist.

[Ninja2]

As many folks participating in the heist, you may wanna find your own bank.

Meanwhile, here some pics I found from my trip to Lake Garda in '09. I think we might be going by some of the lakes in that area (Garda, Maggiore, etc) on our way south.

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/Ninjapic/BILD0707.jpg

http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/Ninjapic/BILD0732.jpg

[Dr. Joe Siphek]

anyone want to go see "Tower Heist" w/ Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller to see how it's done this weekend? :lol:

someone will need to take notes on the do's and don't's :D

[Dr. Joe Siphek]

j/k...i can't even afford to go to the movies. :banghead:

[Pharmgirl]

I am interested....was thinking of doing these areas and Mugello next summer. I am also interested in Southern France and Spain. I will go anywhere, as long as it doesn't interfere with the MRA schedule. :)

Once you have more information, please post-up. Trying to come up with vaca ideas for next year.

[CaptGoodvibes]

j/k...i can't even afford to go to the movies. :banghead:

Haha! I was thinking the same thing.

But that's now. Summer is a ways off. :multi:

And yes, I'd really like to time it so we can attend a race.

[CaptGoodvibes]

Update: Still nothing on the job front so I have no idea if I'll have the funds and/or be able to request the time off.

I did have a contact through CSC and will pursue that for sure, although the job boards at that company don't have anything obvious for me.

I've updated the top post. If you're interested please post here so we can start a tally of members.

[*KEN*]

I'm interested.

[CaptGoodvibes]

Update: Gainful employment has been fleeting. I am beginning to doubt I'll have funds and/or the ability to request the time for a trip. I'm not out yet but it's quite possible I'll have to make my bucket list trip in 2013 instead.

Sorry. :(

[Ninja2]

Sorry to hear. I can certainly hold off till 2013. It might actually work out well then - this way I'd go over there for Christmas next year instead. Either way, keep us posted. I keep my fingers crossed that you will find something soon. Keep your head up!

[OUTLAWD]

Jobs are out there man...just not in CO ;)

I'll likely be travelling for work in that vicinity this year, so maybe I'll rent a bike and send you some pics ;P

[Ninja2]

I bought my plane ticket. I assume this ride/route won't happen this year.
If anyone else is still heading to Germany, Austria, Switzerland or northern Italy, let me know. Maybe we can link up.

[CaptGoodvibes]

I got a good job and should have no problem planning for two weeks in summer 2013. Have a good trip!

[Ninja2]

Congratulations! That is wonderful news. I am very happy for you.
OK. Let's plan on Motorcycle Tour de Europe 2013!
Happy Easter.