The truth is that this trip was not at all well prepared. It all started with Facebook. The organizers of the Ténéré meeting in Bonaduz (Switzerland) invited me to go along. They were celebrating 30 years of Ténérés and liked having my Super Ténéré R there.

30th years Ténéré meeting web site

To begin with I wasn’t over keen on the idea, I’m a bit allergic to tarmac and the idea of doing over 2,000 km by road didn’t really float my boat. A few days later they asked me again. A friend told me that the Italian and French Alps had many good bikable tracks so I started to investigate and saw that Isaac Feliu (a tireless adventurer) had been. I got in touch with Isaac via fb; he was still in Africa on his Africa Call trip at the time, but he passed me some tracks that looked very appealing.
In July I met up with Isaac and the stories he told me and the videos he showed me completely convinced me: I had to do this route!!

 Meanwhile, I had decided to change the Super Ténéré 1200 for a Ténéré 660. Many people do not understand why I would want to change this beauty for the more modest 660 but the reason is simple; I want to start taking long trips alone and the 1200 is so heavy, I fear that if I got into any scrapes I wouldn’t be able to get out by myself. This was made clear in my last trip to Morocco, if I hadn’t been with the Transibericos group I would still be stuck in that sand dune!

So, as well as the promising journey, the meeting in Bonaduz, my first solo travel, this would also be good bye to my beloved 1200.
The final route had 3,000 km of road with 300 of those on tracks through 3,000 metre high mountain passes. Things were starting to look very promising.

THE PREP

Ok, I know that going alone to the Alps isn’t particularly heroic but for a posh kid like me, used to hotels and safety in numbers, it was a new experience. I had never taken a bike trip alone before, let alone with a tent. Also I had decided not to make any reservations; I didn’t even check out what camp sites or hotels were on my route. I knew the biking wouldn’t be too much of a problem – but the tent ….?

First I had to buy the tent, sleeping bag and mattress. Seemed simple enough, but when I saw the thousands of replies to my questions on different forums, I realized it wouldn’t be so easy. For the tent, did I need two, three or four seasons, one or two berth, water proof …. The different weights, size and warmth of the sleeping bag, the mattress – is it better inflatable or self inflating? Wow!!

The other problem about camping is how and where to recharge all my many electronic gadgets. Finally I invented a system to connect them to the bike and recharge as I rode.
Packing: I tried to reduce things to a minimum but even then I had about 20 kilos of stuff. I don’t have panniers, only the Giant Loop which is great as it is very light but has the problem of security. If you want to park the bike and leave it in a city, it’s vulnerable. The other problem it has is that it’s not easy to get stuff out, especially with the tent on the back. So I took a back pack to carry any valuables. I also packed clothing and waterproofs tucked inside a waterproof bag for quick access. This later proved to be a good idea.

The back pack, water and bag went on top of the Giant Loop held down with bungies and covered with a waterproof cover (those that people use to cover back packs) and a net. It was quite stable but took a lot of time to pack and unpack. Probably panniers are the best thing for this type of trip. Next time.

I wasn’t too worried about the rest of the stuff; I took the same as I had for other trips which had worked. So after a week of practice sleeping in the tent in my garden (and dreaming of my bed), a short trial run with the bike loaded up to check that nothing fell off and with my wife’s blessing, everything was ready.

I love the look of these bikes all packed up; whenever I pass one on the road I’m filled with envy. Where is he heading? I imagine him arriving at the most exotic, far away places, having had a thousand adventures on the way. This is what my bike looked like and people who saw me passing would think the same about me. I wasn’t going anywhere very exotic, no great adventure but it was my adventure and I planned to enjoy it to the full.

MONDAY: VIC- BOVES (CUNEO): 850 km

Vic-Ventimiglia-la Brigue: 700km
Loop Garezzo-LGK: 85km (off road)
Colle de Tenda by the old road: 28km (on/off road)
Colle de Tenda-Boves: 30 km

It’s only 5.30 in the morning but I’m already tired of thrashing about in bed (my wife too probably). Pre-trip nerves won’t let me sleep so I get up, have breakfast and hit the road.

It’s still dark and I have 700 boring km of motorway in front of me but I feel great and the bike runs like a dream.

I mustn’t forget I’ve got knobby tyres which have to last the whole trip, I’m especially worried about the back tyre, an old Karoo T, which is already half worn. My experience on motorways is almost nil, so it’s hard to calculate how long they’ll last. At the front I have a new Mitas E10 which I don’t imagine will give me any problems.

Whenever I do a lot of miles on the road, my arm hurts after being in the same position holding the gas for a long time. Isaac came up with an invention, made with a thick wire which is held in place by the break, allowing him to relax his hand a bit. I liked the idea and wanted to copy him and the Friday before leaving a friend of mine, who’s quite handy in the tool shed, popped by and told me he was also about to leave on a bike trip. I told him about Isaac’s invention and he turned up on Sunday with the gadget in the photo

On the road I can move it with my thumb to adjust the speed and thus rest my hand while maintaining my speed. Thanks to this little invention, my arm made the 700 km to Ventimiglia with no problems.

I stopped half way at a motorway service area for breakfast and felt the envious looks of the poor car drivers in their tin cans surrounded by kids, suitcases and mothers in law …..

On the road again and I had my first scare.
Paying the motorway tolls – opening jacket, finding credit card, paying the machine – all with my gloves, was very complicated. So I had fixed a little zip bag on the wind shield where I could keep my card. It seemed to work OK, at least it was a better option than the jacket. But suddenly I arrived at a toll and my card wasn’t there. I found another card after a lot of messing around, and much to the fury of all the tin can drivers in the queue behind me (I was no longer the cool biker getting envious looks but the pain in the backside holding them up because he couldn’t find his credit card). Later I stopped to see what had happened. Luckily the card had got caught between the windshield and he dashboard, I guess I hadn’t zipped the bag up properly and it must have slipped out. I didn’t use the bag again and at every motorway toll I reverted to the pain in the butt biker who couldn’t find his card. I must find a better system for the cards…

The motorway along the Côte d’Azur has beautiful views so I wasn’t bored, but the wind was really strong, buffeting the bike the whole time. In Ventimiglia, I left the motorway at last and got on to mountain roads, but it was in La Brigue where the real fun started. Isaac had told me about an off road loop track in the Colle Garezzo i el Ligurische or some such weird name which they conveniently abbreviate to LGK.

So I leave La Brigue and start to climb up a windy track; the view is magnificent. I meet some Italians on endure bikes and stop to chat; they are amazed by my bike. I continue the climb but after a while I’m in the cloud which is a shame as I’m sure the view is spectacular. It starts to rain, every time heavier, until it’s really pouring down. Having my waterproofs to hand helps a lot but riding in these conditions isn’t much fun so I turn back to La Brigue.

I haven’t been able to do the whole loop but never mind. Plus, I had arranged to meet up with a fbook friend in his workshop in Boves, near Cuneo, and I wanted to find a place to pitch my tent.

I’m really beginning to enjoy travelling on my own; doing things as and when I want. Turning back like that would have been more complicated in a group, but as it was, I just didn’t fancy continuing so I turned back. No discussion.
It’s still raining when I reach the Tenda Tunnel. There is a long queue of cars waiting to cross. I wait in the rain. After a few minutes I see a track leading up the mountain which looks interesting. The bike suddenly turns back and takes the track, it doesn’t want to wait in line with these tin cans, it’s an adventure bike and acts accordingly ….. I leave it to its own devices.

The track winds up the mountain with switch backs which drive the sat nav mad. It goes up and up. It’s the old track which was used before the present tunnel was built. At the top the clouds open and we are rewarded with a spectacular panorama. This climb, without really knowing where it would lead has given me a shot of adrenaline and made the trip worthwhile.

The 30 km to Boves are uneventful and I arrive at Christian Giordanengo’s workshop. Finally, after talking via fb we get to meet in the flesh. He works wonders with aluminium; his Super Ténéré is a peach with an auxiliary fuel tank under the seat, a fantastic bash plate and umpteen aluminium parts are works of art. The first thing we did was put the two Super Ténérés together for a photo, each unique in its own way.

Christian showed me around his workshop and had me dribbling at the Alfa Romeos, Ferraris, a specially prepared Subaru Imprezza and others, one next to the other. And the bikes: an unfinished Super Ténéré 750 with aluminium tank and windshield and a YZ450 R in which Christian took part in the Merzouga Rally.

He won’t hear of me camping out and insists I sleep at his place. I don’t put up a fight; the idea of trying to pitch the tent in this rain isn’t appealing, even for an “adventurer” like me… So I stay at his place and I’m amazed by his biking souvenirs: posters and photos of Christian in action (this guy has done everything on wheels!!) models of motorbikes, helmets ……. The whole house is dedicated to motorbiking.

He introduces me to his lovely girlfriend Priscilla and we go and have dinner: antipasti, pizza, pasta …. a real feast.

I drop into bed with a huge smile on my face …… things have started well

.
Video of the first day

The truth is that this trip was not at all well prepared. It all started with Facebook. The organizers of the Ténéré meeting in Bonaduz (Switzerland) invited me to go along. They were celebrating 30 years of Ténérés and liked having my Super Ténéré R there.

http://tenere-e-tours.ch/30years/30yearsblog_fotostercke.htm

To begin with I wasn’t over keen on the idea, I’m a bit allergic to tarmac and the idea of doing over 2,000 km by road didn’t really float my boat. A few days later they asked me again. A friend told me that the Italian and French Alps had many good bikable tracks so I started to investigate and saw that Isaac Feliu (a tireless adventurer) had been. I got in touch with Isaac via fb; he was still in Africa on his Africa Call trip at the time, but he passed me some tracks that looked very appealing.
In July I met up with Isaac and the stories he told me and the videos he showed me completely convinced me: I had to do this route!!

 Meanwhile, I had decided to change the Super Ténéré 1200 for a Ténéré 660. Many people do not understand why I would want to change this beauty for the more modest 660 but the reason is simple; I want to start taking long trips alone and the 1200 is so heavy, I fear that if I got into any scrapes I wouldn’t be able to get out by myself. This was made clear in my last trip to Morocco, if I hadn’t been with the Transibericos group I would still be stuck in that sand dune!

So, as well as the promising journey, the meeting in Bonaduz, my first solo travel, this would also be good bye to my beloved 1200.
The final route had 3,000 km of road with 300 of those on tracks through 3,000 metre high mountain passes. Things were starting to look very promising.

THE PREP

Ok, I know that going alone to the Alps isn’t particularly heroic but for a posh kid like me, used to hotels and safety in numbers, it was a new experience. I had never taken a bike trip alone before, let alone with a tent. Also I had decided not to make any reservations; I didn’t even check out what camp sites or hotels were on my route. I knew the biking wouldn’t be too much of a problem – but the tent ….?

First I had to buy the tent, sleeping bag and mattress. Seemed simple enough, but when I saw the thousands of replies to my questions on different forums, I realized it wouldn’t be so easy. For the tent, did I need two, three or four seasons, one or two berth, water proof …. The different weights, size and warmth of the sleeping bag, the mattress – is it better inflatable or self inflating? Wow!!

The other problem about camping is how and where to recharge all my many electronic gadgets. Finally I invented a system to connect them to the bike and recharge as I rode.
Packing: I tried to reduce things to a minimum but even then I had about 20 kilos of stuff. I don’t have panniers, only the Giant Loop which is great as it is very light but has the problem of security. If you want to park the bike and leave it in a city, it’s vulnerable. The other problem it has is that it’s not easy to get stuff out, especially with the tent on the back. So I took a back pack to carry any valuables. I also packed clothing and waterproofs tucked inside a waterproof bag for quick access. This later proved to be a good idea.

The back pack, water and bag went on top of the Giant Loop held down with bungies and covered with a waterproof cover (those that people use to cover back packs) and a net. It was quite stable but took a lot of time to pack and unpack. Probably panniers are the best thing for this type of trip. Next time.

I wasn’t too worried about the rest of the stuff; I took the same as I had for other trips which had worked. So after a week of practice sleeping in the tent in my garden (and dreaming of my bed), a short trial run with the bike loaded up to check that nothing fell off and with my wife’s blessing, everything was ready.

I love the look of these bikes all packed up; whenever I pass one on the road I’m filled with envy. Where is he heading? I imagine him arriving at the most exotic, far away places, having had a thousand adventures on the way. This is what my bike looked like and people who saw me passing would think the same about me. I wasn’t going anywhere very exotic, no great adventure but it was my adventure and I planned to enjoy it to the full.

MONDAY: VIC- BOVES (CUNEO): 850 km

Vic-Ventimiglia-la Brigue: 700km
Loop Garezzo-LGK: 85km (off road)
Colle de Tenda by the old road: 28km (on/off road)
Colle de Tenda-Boves: 30 km

It’s only 5.30 in the morning but I’m already tired of thrashing about in bed (my wife too probably). Pre-trip nerves won’t let me sleep so I get up, have breakfast and hit the road.

It’s still dark and I have 700 boring km of motorway in front of me but I feel great and the bike runs like a dream.

I mustn’t forget I’ve got knobby tyres which have to last the whole trip, I’m especially worried about the back tyre, an old Karoo T, which is already half worn. My experience on motorways is almost nil, so it’s hard to calculate how long they’ll last. At the front I have a new Mitas E10 which I don’t imagine will give me any problems.

Whenever I do a lot of miles on the road, my arm hurts after being in the same position holding the gas for a long time. Isaac came up with an invention, made with a thick wire which is held in place by the break, allowing him to relax his hand a bit. I liked the idea and wanted to copy him and the Friday before leaving a friend of mine, who’s quite handy in the tool shed, popped by and told me he was also about to leave on a bike trip. I told him about Isaac’s invention and he turned up on Sunday with the gadget in the photo

On the road I can move it with my thumb to adjust the speed and thus rest my hand while maintaining my speed. Thanks to this little invention, my arm made the 700 km to Ventimiglia with no problems.

I stopped half way at a motorway service area for breakfast and felt the envious looks of the poor car drivers in their tin cans surrounded by kids, suitcases and mothers in law …..

On the road again and I had my first scare.
Paying the motorway tolls – opening jacket, finding credit card, paying the machine – all with my gloves, was very complicated. So I had fixed a little zip bag on the wind shield where I could keep my card. It seemed to work OK, at least it was a better option than the jacket. But suddenly I arrived at a toll and my card wasn’t there. I found another card after a lot of messing around, and much to the fury of all the tin can drivers in the queue behind me (I was no longer the cool biker getting envious looks but the pain in the backside holding them up because he couldn’t find his credit card). Later I stopped to see what had happened. Luckily the card had got caught between the windshield and he dashboard, I guess I hadn’t zipped the bag up properly and it must have slipped out. I didn’t use the bag again and at every motorway toll I reverted to the pain in the butt biker who couldn’t find his card. I must find a better system for the cards…

The motorway along the Côte d’Azur has beautiful views so I wasn’t bored, but the wind was really strong, buffeting the bike the whole time. In Ventimiglia, I left the motorway at last and got on to mountain roads, but it was in La Brigue where the real fun started. Isaac had told me about an off road loop track in the Colle Garezzo i el Ligurische or some such weird name which they conveniently abbreviate to LGK.

So I leave La Brigue and start to climb up a windy track; the view is magnificent. I meet some Italians on endure bikes and stop to chat; they are amazed by my bike. I continue the climb but after a while I’m in the cloud which is a shame as I’m sure the view is spectacular. It starts to rain, every time heavier, until it’s really pouring down. Having my waterproofs to hand helps a lot but riding in these conditions isn’t much fun so I turn back to La Brigue.

I haven’t been able to do the whole loop but never mind. Plus, I had arranged to meet up with a fbook friend in his workshop in Boves, near Cuneo, and I wanted to find a place to pitch my tent.

I’m really beginning to enjoy travelling on my own; doing things as and when I want. Turning back like that would have been more complicated in a group, but as it was, I just didn’t fancy continuing so I turned back. No discussion.
It’s still raining when I reach the Tenda Tunnel. There is a long queue of cars waiting to cross. I wait in the rain. After a few minutes I see a track leading up the mountain which looks interesting. The bike suddenly turns back and takes the track, it doesn’t want to wait in line with these tin cans, it’s an adventure bike and acts accordingly ….. I leave it to its own devices.

The track winds up the mountain with switch backs which drive the sat nav mad. It goes up and up. It’s the old track which was used before the present tunnel was built. At the top the clouds open and we are rewarded with a spectacular panorama. This climb, without really knowing where it would lead has given me a shot of adrenaline and made the trip worthwhile.

The 30 km to Boves are uneventful and I arrive at Christian Giordanengo’s workshop. Finally, after talking via fb we get to meet in the flesh. He works wonders with aluminium; his Super Ténéré is a peach with an auxiliary fuel tank under the seat, a fantastic bash plate and umpteen aluminium parts are works of art. The first thing we did was put the two Super Ténérés together for a photo, each unique in its own way.

Christian showed me around his workshop and had me dribbling at the Alfa Romeos, Ferraris, a specially prepared Subaru Imprezza and others, one next to the other. And the bikes: an unfinished Super Ténéré 750 with aluminium tank and windshield and a YZ450 R in which Christian took part in the Merzouga Rally.

He won’t hear of me camping out and insists I sleep at his place. I don’t put up a fight; the idea of trying to pitch the tent in this rain isn’t appealing, even for an “adventurer” like me… So I stay at his place and I’m amazed by his biking souvenirs: posters and photos of Christian in action (this guy has done everything on wheels!!) models of motorbikes, helmets ……. The whole house is dedicated to motorbiking.

He introduces me to his lovely girlfriend Priscilla and we go and have dinner: antipasti, pizza, pasta …. a real feast.

I drop into bed with a huge smile on my face …… things have started well

.
Video of the first day:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf0qqUgF7t4&feature=player_detailpage