July 11-17, 2004
For years, Ken and I have been talking about taking
an Edelweiss
Bike Tour to ride the “real mountains”
in the Alps. Our plans finally came together in July
2004. Our official tour was scheduled for July 11-17.
However, we decided to leave on July 7, allowing time
to visit Innsbruck and relax prior to the official tour.
Edelweiss Bike Travel partners with BMW Motorcycles
to provide a unique riding experience for those wanting
to ride motorcycles in other countries. Edelweiss provides
the motorcycles, selects the best roads, hires skilled
and personable tour guides, and handles all the travel
and lodging details.
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Eric, Tammy, Thomas, Kurt, JoAnna, Ken, Jose, and Roland—pausing
to enjoy the beautiful scenery. |
|
Hotel Holzleiten |
The accommodations at the Hotel Holzleiten
in Austria were absolutely first class. The view was spectacular,
as were the amenities. However, the roads were much more
tempting to us than the massages and saunas. As you can
see, each morning we briefly poured over maps to familiarize
us with the day’s route—then off we rode.. |
Tracing the daily route |
|
| Our daily journeys often took us out of Austria and into Germany,
Italy, and Switzerland. The shear beauty of the land was unbelievable.
The history was very interesting—and beautiful as well.
King Ludwing’s Castle should be recognizable to anyone
who has visited Disney World. But the true delights were the
roads! The Stelvio Pass is known by many as the “Mother
Road”. With it’s 48 switchbacks on one side,
we now know why! |
One of many scenic views |
King Ludwig’s Castle |
Stelvio Pass in Italy |
|
| Of course, the Alps would not be the Alps without snow! There
was a major snow storm the Saturday before our Tour started
on Monday. I was wearing my electrics most of the time the first
two days when temperatures dipped 15° below normal. The
Timmelsjoch pass is only open in the summer months and with
the accumulation of snow still there, you can understand why!
BTW, notice that the snow is almost as high as the van (click
photo for a larger image)… |
Ken with the Rockster |
Snow banks as high as the van |
JoAnna and the F650GS |
|
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After five (5) days of riding in the Alps, we returned
home exhausted, but eager to start planning our next
Edelweiss Tour. It was a pleasure to meet Werner and
Coral Wachter who started Edelweiss Bike Travel 25 years
ago. All aspects of our tour continually reminded us
of the professionalism and quality that these two have
instilled in their company philosophy. One example of
these qualities was our tour guide Thomas who could
do everything from driving the pickup van, to translating,
to riding fantastically, to putting up with all of us.
Thomas, we thank you!!!
If you get a chance, take an Edelweiss
tour!
|
Our Tour Guide Thomas Ritt |
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