Italy 2013

I dont know what part of the u.k you are starting from or the kind of miles you would ride in a day, but the wife and i took 3 days to ride to WDW2007 from Hertfordshire.

Having done it i'd make this 4 days if i do it again.More likely to keep the wife on side with this timescale. Thats 1200 miles by the way and although people have done this in 24 hours its not the way to enjoy Italy.

The lakes are spectacular and the little mountain passes between them even more so. Google Garda riva at the north of the lake and Ledro just to the west of it follow that road west and just get lost in the hills !

The swiss alps may still have snow in july, turning to 35 degrees once into Italy. Having the right clothing for every eventuality is a challenge but you can always rest up if you haven't got what the conditions require. Thats when you find the little restaurant that you would have ridden right past otherwise so its all good.

 

Great idea and you would love Italy - anyone would - but you say "7 to 10 days". Well, if you take 3 or 4 days to ride down and 3 or 4 days to ride back, that doesn't actually leave much (or any) time in Italy to enjoy. It is perfectly possible to ride from London to Bologna in two days without too much stress (I found in 2011). Back in three days allows a bit of time for sightseeing (e.g. Stelvio Pass, Black Forest). 10 days overall is reasonable, but any less would make the whole trip a bit of a hasty scramble.

Remember that if you stay in a different hotel every night, all your riding will be with luggage onboard. I suggest booking one hotel for a few days together, then you can have more fun doing some rides with no luggage during your stay.

You have to cross the Alps somehow, and there is a limited range of options. Main ones are: (A) western route through France to the Mont Blanc tunnel (or through Switzerland to the Great St Bernard) then Aosta and Milan; or (B) central Swiss route via Basel and the St Gottard tunnel to Lugano and Milan; or (C) eastern route via Germany and Austria, Landeck to Bolzano and Verona. There are any number of variations, of course. If you take in some German autobahns you can treat yourself to some no-speed-limit blasts. I suggest you plan one way out, another way back.

 

I rode to Mugello last year for the Moto GP race.
Took three days to get there. Day 1 is autoroute to Merreville , just south of Nancy. This just gets you on your way south, and is not an unpleasant ride, even on the autoroute. Day 2 is to Andermatt (there are two or three different routes) and is a nice ride, ending with a ride over the Susten Pass. Day 3 is mountain passes from Andermatt to the top of Lake Margorie, around Milan & down to Bologna (unfortunately from Milan to Bologna it's all motorway & quite busy). Once in Bologna region you are spoilt for choice.
Ride home was 4 days going up the Route des Grande Alps from Menton to Lake Geneve (an incredible ride) across some rural France, then onto autoroute & home.
Your biggest problem is time........... If you want to get that far & back in 10 days I think some autoroute is a must on the first & last days. People will say you are missing some nice rural roads in France, which is true, but you need to get south more quickly, to also enjoy the roads there (which for me are even better (I love riding in the mountains).
My biggest suggestion is to travel as light as you can, don't laden yourself down with luggage. But I ride solo with just one or two friends, not with my wife. Also, for me this is a riding holiday, so I don't need lots of extra clothes. I wear a leather and mesh jacket & trousers. If it's cold in the mountains (I've had snow in July twice !!) just put on a cold killer underneath & a waterproof suite over (it's only cold at the top of the mountains, so your not going to be riding in cold weather for long). The waterproofs are of course essential, but in my mind so is a VERY breathable riding suite. Italy in the summer will be very hot (I had 40C) at times. Take two pairs of gloves, one light weight & cool & one waterproof & also light weight if poss.
I think the first time you do a trip like this it seems a bit daunting, but in reality it's very easy. This is quite a big trip for a first though, so, depending how far from Dover you live, why don't you pop over to France for a long weekend, and get a feel for it.
Have a great time and look forward to reading your ride report.......

 

I did WDW 2 years ago, took 3 days to get there and 2 to get back, this was me and a mate blatting along through Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Last year I did Mugello with her indoors on the back, took 2 weeks out to get there and back had a few days in Florence, Portofino, Germany, Switzerland, Chamonix... you're still looking at long days in the saddle anywhere from 3-8 hours.

We're going again this year to watch the Misano GP in September, that reminds me to buy the tickets but that will be two weeks also plus I might try and get down to Rome etc this time.

 

Hi Pete, I also did the WDW run in 2007 and have travelled a lot by bike in Europe. Considering your location, Cornwall, I would recommend that you use the Plymouth/Roscoff ferry in both directions. I used to hack up to Dover from Plymouth, stay overnight and take an early ferry/tunnel so that I could get a whole day's mileage done the first day. I stopped that since the journey to Dover from the SW can be a pain in the neck and having to face that when you get back to Dover takes the shine right off the trip.
Considering that Mrs Desmo will be pillion I would suggest you don't aim for too high a mileage/per day and also take the southern route under Geneva into Italy avoiding Switzerland. I did the return from Misano in 2 days to Roscoff on this route but don't be so ambitious on your first trip or it won't feel like a holiday to either of you.
One suggestion I would make is that for your first Euro trip you go on an organised bike tour with say MSL Tours where you know the routes they go are selected for bikers and well ridden, there's good quality hotels waiting for you at the end of each day and you are travelling with a bunch of like minded riders and pillions at whatever pace you feel like. Maybe do that in 2013 and individually WDW in 2014?
See you at the next SW meet?
Alan
You have the bike for it since I used to use one for Euro trips.

 

Bit of a cheat, but, there's a train goes from Holland to northern Italy ( it apparently used to go to Bologna). It takes cars and bikes. At least you are then in Italy and can ride round to your hearts content.

 

I was going to suggest the train option as well, never used it myself so can't advise on the experience but I think I will try it this year or next (my old bike can't take another 3 days of rain through Northern France!).
Day 1 you ride to Hertogenbosch in Holland or Dusseldorf and get on the train that takes you and your bike overnight to Innsbruck, Verona, Allessandria or Livorno. So start of day 2 and your in the Alps!! Cost a bit bit but offset it against fuel, tolls, B&B and time and it's not too bad.
Details on this site Complete guide to Motorail trains in Europe: Taking your car by train
I may join you for 2013 but its too far away at the moment for me to commit, I'll keep an eye on the forum.
All the best
Pat

 

Couldn't count the number of times I've ridden from Lausanne in Switzerland to England over the past 25 years or so. My personal take on it is this:
It can be done in a day (though not to Cornwall) but it's no fun. So this bit should take you two days. And yes, not much point going to Dover. Were you going to Dover I would recommend an overnight in Rheims and visit the champagne cellars (but don't turn up on spec - they get popular).
If you're just going to do motorway in France, it defeats the object of the exercise - may as well take Easyjet, cheaper and quicker.
Night 2 in Switzerland somewhere south-ish.
Seems sad to take a tunnel through the Alps, unless it's crap weather. So Grand St. Bernard pass rather than tunnel (which will save a few Swiss Francs or €) or the Simplon pass. Avoid Mont Blanc tunnel (uninteresting - more money).
You should know that the Po plain in northern Italy to Bologna is deeply dull. Things only get interesting around Florence.
Northern France north of Paris is also dull and difficult to navigate (too many towns). Worth taking a bit of autoroute to skip it.
Of course, if coming down western France, it is true that Switzerland and most of the Alps might be out of your way, which is a bit of a pity but hey.
I''m not even sure that with the timescale you suggest it is worth going to Italy because, as mentioned, most of Italy to the north of Bologna is not that entertaining, apart from the bit in the Alps. I wouldn't bother going as far as Bologna for a first European jaunt, as with France and the interesting bit of Alpine Italy you will have more fun.

As for riding on the continent: not difficult and easier on a bike than in a car, as you aren't driving along the verge. Beware of "priorité à droite" and roundabouts going the wrong way. Other than that one quickly feels at home. Bon voyage!
For info, I bought my first Ducati in Oxford - a 500 Pantah. The night of my first day of ownership, I was in Paris with it. Admittedly, I had already done the route on my 400N Honda a few times. Nothing to worry about!

 

2 days easy by motorway, and you might as well take the motorways for the first part of the journey, cos there ain't much of any interest. I'd take 3 days and pick a more scenic route for days 2 and 3. If you haven't already got one, buy a satnav, they save so much hassle (any old satnav'll do, no need to spend big money), and you can input what type of roads you want to ride with minimal planning.

On the motorway plan for 4-500 miles per day, and 250-300 off the motorways. And for me, staying in one place is a waste, there's a hell of a lot of Europe to see, so go see it. You will absolutely love riding in Europe, I promise you.