The idea for this trip started brewing back in 2017. My wife and I were on a camping trip to Chamonix, surrounded by the majestic peaks of the Alps, when we took a drive along the famous Gran-Saint Bernard. As we ascended the winding roads, I turned to my wife and said, “One day, I have to ride this road on a motorcycle.”
The seed was planted, and the dream of navigating Europe’s most iconic mountain roads on two wheels began to take shape. Many years passed, when I mentioned this idea to my friend, who shared my passion for motorcycling. As fate would have it, he had been dreaming of riding to Col de l’Iseran, the highest mountain pass in Europe, standing at an impressive 2,770 meters. Since both passes were relatively close to each other, we made a pact: in 2024, we would finally make this dream a reality and ride these roads together.
The planning, or lackthereof
It was time to put our plans into motion. My friend and I sat down with maps and a few beers, ready to finalize the details. Our first debate was about how to get started: should we take the highway on the first day to cover as much distance as possible, or should we start the trip by enjoying the scenic, winding roads right from the get-go? In the end, we decided on a compromise. We’d take the highway on the first day to gain distance quickly and then slow down to enjoy the ride once we were closer to our destination.
The rest of the trip, however, was left open to spontaneity and the whims of the weather. We made a conscious choice not to book any accommodations in advance. Instead, we wanted to embrace the freedom that comes with riding a motorcycle and let the journey unfold naturally. We would go with the flow, stopping wherever we found a place that felt right. Our only fixed goal was to reach Col de l’Iseran, the highest mountain pass in Europe. Beyond that, the adventure would guide us.
The journey
We started early on our first day, 6 o’clock caffee, then meeting at the first gas station where both of us would pass. It was a long day ahead. 650 kms to go till Zell am See. We started off on M1 highway, navigating through the morning traffic, quickly reaching the intersection after Győr, to go towards Sopron. This direction offered us a chance to revitalize our hands befor we get on the highway again. First on S4 then S6, we were able to cover most of the day’s ration in a matter of 5 hours, and had a little free ride at the end, before settling in with a quick dinner, and deciding which direction to go the next day.
Since our accommodation was at the feet of Grossglockner, a famous mountain pass in Austria, we warmed ourselves up by passing through the magnificent pass in the early lights of the sun. After a quick refill in Lienz, we took the slow and fully packed road 100, that turned SS49 at the border through Burnico towards Vipiteno. Lucky for us Passo Giovo was not so frequented, and we were able to enjoy the view and the ride as we ascended to St. Leonhard and made our way down to Merano. We wanted to get to Zemez through Valico, but it started raining, so after checking the weather radar, we turned towards Passo Stelvio, and entered Switzerland on the mountain pass.
The morning greated us with more rain, heavy this time… Trying to guess the directions of the clouds and the wind, we re-entered Italy and took the free portion of the highway to Milano through lots and lots of tunnels. Which was nice and warm, and most importantly for us, dry surface. During lunch, looking at Lago di Alserio, we realized, our wish to conquer the mountain passes around Domodossola are going up in flames… or rather drowning in the heavy rain. Finally, we made the logical decision, skip this part, and head to Matterhorn on the highway. After 2 more hours on the highway, it turned out to be the right choice.
Gran-Saint Bernard
Finally, the day has arrived. We had a nice breakfast at the Hostel, then we made it to Aosta, and as we turned onto SS27, the traffic cleared (they probably took the tunnel) and we were able to enjoy the road leading up to the top. It was just as amazing as I remembered. The asphalt was intact, well-maintained, and clean. Without a second thought, you could just flip the bike on the line and enjoy the freedom. Understandably, not many photos were taken, but here’s a little video to get a glimpse.
At the other side of the mountain pass, we found Martigny, and up the hill, towards Trient, we arrived to France.
Our goal for the day was to get to Annecy, where they have a Monteleone shop, we drove all the way here for some linens. 🙂 We took a few detours to Saint-Gervais, Flumet and Col des Aravis, which turned out to be also really enjoyable and stormphotos took a few pictures of us. We made it to Annecy, and had a really slow and horrible ride along the lake east towards the Alps again. Don’t go to “famous tourist places” at the end of summer!
Col de l'Iseran
We started the day with a nice breakfast at the local boulangerie in Ugine, and Went up the hill to Beaufort and Lac de Roselend. It’s really spectacular with nice views. Unfortunatelly, the road down to Bourg-Saint Maurice is not so much. this was the first time I was concerned about the surface and the width of the road. We needed a break, so we took a detour to Petit-Saint Bernard (just to meet the whole family 🙂 ) before heading to Val-d’Isere and up the highest mountain pass in Europe.
Heading home
We made it to Lomazzo.
The next day of our trip had a few gems for us. Just before crossing the border to Switzerland, we got stopped by the police and got a warning for taking over a car that was doing 30 in a 70 zone. The first surprize was the mountain road to St Moritz, with a view that made us stop to take pictures.
Of course, we needed another detour on Albulapass. It was an amazing 72 km of curve after curve, ups and downs before reaching Davos and crossing the border to Austria at Nauders.
On our last full day on the trip, we took the highway again, since we had the 10-day pass in Austria, to reach Königgsee once again, fast, and have time to discover Postalm and Attersee as well.
Another surprise came when the GPS took us through a 10 km-long unpaved forest road, but my SV was up for the task, and we made it with big smiles on our faces.
Early morning came when we headed to the A1 and continued on the M1 for the last 450 km of our trip back home.
Altogether we covered over 3100 km in 8 days and crossed off two items on our motorcycle bucket list.
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