Team Peach Melba Alps Hoon '09 - Views ?
Discussion
Last year we headed down to Route Napolean, Turini, Verdun, Ventoux, Millau, Tarn etc in the South of France.
Next year we're off to tackle the Alps, starting at the Nurburgring for the WSB round and then heading down to Austria over the Grossglockner and on from there as outlined below. We could tackle it in reverse and end our trip at the ring for the WSB round as well although I'd have to miss BSB at Cadwell and I have only missed it once in 20yrs
Appreciate anyones thoughts and feedback . . ..
Day 1 Iwade to Nurburgring Ben Lovejoy's twisty cross country route to the ring.
Day 2 WSB Nurburgring For the mad bike race fan's amongst us, a day's racing at the Nurburgring watching the World Superbikes.
Day 3 Nurburgring to Salzburg Boring autobahn to Salzburg - at least some of it will be unrestricted probably ;-) D
Day 4 Salzburg to Merano Dienten Sattel past Zell am See to the Grossglockner. Stopping at the Edelweisspitze & Pasterze glacier for photos. Then onto the Staller Sattel, onto a short section of autostrada. Then the Jaufenpass from Vipiteno to San Leonardo onto Merano for the night.
Day 5 Merano to Lacarno Merano to Stelvio (option for early morning go at Stelvio). Off the back of Stelvio on a little pass to the top end of Ofenpass, leading straight into the Fluelapass up to Davos. Then the fantastic road from Davos to Tiefencastel. Onto the Rofla Gorge through to Splurgen where we start onto the St.Bernadino Pass to Messocco. Jump back on the Autostrada and a run down to Lacorno on the shore of Lake Maggiore
Day 6 Lacarno to Martigny Autostrada run up to the original St Gothardo pass (cobblestones !) into Andermatt. Then the Furkapass into the Grimselpass into the Sustenpass into the Furkapass again(need to stop for photos of glacier). Then a short section of motorway in Martigny for the night
Day 7 Martigny to Briancon We leave Martigny heading for the Grande St Bernard past Aosta onto the Petit St Bernard. Leaving the St Bernard's we head on to the Col D'Iseran past Val D'Isere (lunch?). Then the N6 leading to St Michel for the Col du Galibier into the Col du Lauturet to Briancon for the night
Day 8 Briancon to Barcelonnette Briancon straight into the Col de l'Izoard heading onto the Col de Vars arriving at the foot of the Col de la Bonette. Finishing the Bonette we head through the Gorge du Cians and then through the Gorge du Daluis. We then head over the Col de la Cayelle into Barcelonnette for the night.
Day 9 Barcelonnette to Flumet Leave Barcelonnette towards the Lac de Serre Poncon on the D900 & D3 heading for the Route Napolean at Gap. Coming off the N85 drive the D526 through Mens to La Mure and onto the Col D'Ornon (this is where Billy took off last year and a fave with me for some reason). Over the road at the bottom and straight up Alpe D'Huez, we've done it before, but we liked it ;-) Col du Glandon follows into the Col de la Madelaine, finishing on the highly recommended Gorge de Larly all the way into Flumet for our stop over.
Day 10 Flumet to Reims We're on our way to Blighty now . .. Col des Aravis to start with the best view of Mont Blanc. Onto the motorway until the Col de la Faucille just past Geneva. Once over this we're on the autoroute until Reims. I've planned in the end of Hoon photos at the old Reims F1 circuit for those who've not been before . . .
Day 11 Reims to Calais Boring autoroute going home . . .
Total milaage 2567 (not including UK mileage)
Next year we're off to tackle the Alps, starting at the Nurburgring for the WSB round and then heading down to Austria over the Grossglockner and on from there as outlined below. We could tackle it in reverse and end our trip at the ring for the WSB round as well although I'd have to miss BSB at Cadwell and I have only missed it once in 20yrs
Appreciate anyones thoughts and feedback . . ..
Day 1 Iwade to Nurburgring Ben Lovejoy's twisty cross country route to the ring.
Day 2 WSB Nurburgring For the mad bike race fan's amongst us, a day's racing at the Nurburgring watching the World Superbikes.
Day 3 Nurburgring to Salzburg Boring autobahn to Salzburg - at least some of it will be unrestricted probably ;-) D
Day 4 Salzburg to Merano Dienten Sattel past Zell am See to the Grossglockner. Stopping at the Edelweisspitze & Pasterze glacier for photos. Then onto the Staller Sattel, onto a short section of autostrada. Then the Jaufenpass from Vipiteno to San Leonardo onto Merano for the night.
Day 5 Merano to Lacarno Merano to Stelvio (option for early morning go at Stelvio). Off the back of Stelvio on a little pass to the top end of Ofenpass, leading straight into the Fluelapass up to Davos. Then the fantastic road from Davos to Tiefencastel. Onto the Rofla Gorge through to Splurgen where we start onto the St.Bernadino Pass to Messocco. Jump back on the Autostrada and a run down to Lacorno on the shore of Lake Maggiore
Day 6 Lacarno to Martigny Autostrada run up to the original St Gothardo pass (cobblestones !) into Andermatt. Then the Furkapass into the Grimselpass into the Sustenpass into the Furkapass again(need to stop for photos of glacier). Then a short section of motorway in Martigny for the night
Day 7 Martigny to Briancon We leave Martigny heading for the Grande St Bernard past Aosta onto the Petit St Bernard. Leaving the St Bernard's we head on to the Col D'Iseran past Val D'Isere (lunch?). Then the N6 leading to St Michel for the Col du Galibier into the Col du Lauturet to Briancon for the night
Day 8 Briancon to Barcelonnette Briancon straight into the Col de l'Izoard heading onto the Col de Vars arriving at the foot of the Col de la Bonette. Finishing the Bonette we head through the Gorge du Cians and then through the Gorge du Daluis. We then head over the Col de la Cayelle into Barcelonnette for the night.
Day 9 Barcelonnette to Flumet Leave Barcelonnette towards the Lac de Serre Poncon on the D900 & D3 heading for the Route Napolean at Gap. Coming off the N85 drive the D526 through Mens to La Mure and onto the Col D'Ornon (this is where Billy took off last year and a fave with me for some reason). Over the road at the bottom and straight up Alpe D'Huez, we've done it before, but we liked it ;-) Col du Glandon follows into the Col de la Madelaine, finishing on the highly recommended Gorge de Larly all the way into Flumet for our stop over.
Day 10 Flumet to Reims We're on our way to Blighty now . .. Col des Aravis to start with the best view of Mont Blanc. Onto the motorway until the Col de la Faucille just past Geneva. Once over this we're on the autoroute until Reims. I've planned in the end of Hoon photos at the old Reims F1 circuit for those who've not been before . . .
Day 11 Reims to Calais Boring autoroute going home . . .
Total milaage 2567 (not including UK mileage)
Sounds good fun - if you're doing the Jaufenpass, I'd certainly recommend a detour to the Timmels Joch/passo Rombo - brilliant fun and you could stop in Obergurgl rather than Merano.
Johno said:
Last year we headed down to Route Napolean, Turini, Verdun, Ventoux, Millau, Tarn etc in the South of France.
Next year we're off to tackle the Alps, starting at the Nurburgring for the WSB round and then heading down to Austria over the Grossglockner and on from there as outlined below. We could tackle it in reverse and end our trip at the ring for the WSB round as well although I'd have to miss BSB at Cadwell and I have only missed it once in 20yrs
Appreciate anyones thoughts and feedback . . ..
Day 1 Iwade to Nurburgring Ben Lovejoy's twisty cross country route to the ring.
Day 2 WSB Nurburgring For the mad bike race fan's amongst us, a day's racing at the Nurburgring watching the World Superbikes.
Day 3 Nurburgring to Salzburg Boring autobahn to Salzburg - at least some of it will be unrestricted probably ;-) D
Day 4 Salzburg to Merano Dienten Sattel past Zell am See to the Grossglockner. Stopping at the Edelweisspitze & Pasterze glacier for photos. Then onto the Staller Sattel, onto a short section of autostrada. Then the Jaufenpass from Vipiteno to San Leonardo onto Merano for the night.
Day 5 Merano to Lacarno Merano to Stelvio (option for early morning go at Stelvio). Off the back of Stelvio on a little pass to the top end of Ofenpass, leading straight into the Fluelapass up to Davos. Then the fantastic road from Davos to Tiefencastel. Onto the Rofla Gorge through to Splurgen where we start onto the St.Bernadino Pass to Messocco. Jump back on the Autostrada and a run down to Lacorno on the shore of Lake Maggiore
Day 6 Lacarno to Martigny Autostrada run up to the original St Gothardo pass (cobblestones !) into Andermatt. Then the Furkapass into the Grimselpass into the Sustenpass into the Furkapass again(need to stop for photos of glacier). Then a short section of motorway in Martigny for the night
Day 7 Martigny to Briancon We leave Martigny heading for the Grande St Bernard past Aosta onto the Petit St Bernard. Leaving the St Bernard's we head on to the Col D'Iseran past Val D'Isere (lunch?). Then the N6 leading to St Michel for the Col du Galibier into the Col du Lauturet to Briancon for the night
Day 8 Briancon to Barcelonnette Briancon straight into the Col de l'Izoard heading onto the Col de Vars arriving at the foot of the Col de la Bonette. Finishing the Bonette we head through the Gorge du Cians and then through the Gorge du Daluis. We then head over the Col de la Cayelle into Barcelonnette for the night.
Day 9 Barcelonnette to Flumet Leave Barcelonnette towards the Lac de Serre Poncon on the D900 & D3 heading for the Route Napolean at Gap. Coming off the N85 drive the D526 through Mens to La Mure and onto the Col D'Ornon (this is where Billy took off last year and a fave with me for some reason). Over the road at the bottom and straight up Alpe D'Huez, we've done it before, but we liked it ;-) Col du Glandon follows into the Col de la Madelaine, finishing on the highly recommended Gorge de Larly all the way into Flumet for our stop over.
Day 10 Flumet to Reims We're on our way to Blighty now . .. Col des Aravis to start with the best view of Mont Blanc. Onto the motorway until the Col de la Faucille just past Geneva. Once over this we're on the autoroute until Reims. I've planned in the end of Hoon photos at the old Reims F1 circuit for those who've not been before . . .
Day 11 Reims to Calais Boring autoroute going home . . .
Total milaage 2567 (not including UK mileage)
Next year we're off to tackle the Alps, starting at the Nurburgring for the WSB round and then heading down to Austria over the Grossglockner and on from there as outlined below. We could tackle it in reverse and end our trip at the ring for the WSB round as well although I'd have to miss BSB at Cadwell and I have only missed it once in 20yrs
Appreciate anyones thoughts and feedback . . ..
Day 1 Iwade to Nurburgring Ben Lovejoy's twisty cross country route to the ring.
Day 2 WSB Nurburgring For the mad bike race fan's amongst us, a day's racing at the Nurburgring watching the World Superbikes.
Day 3 Nurburgring to Salzburg Boring autobahn to Salzburg - at least some of it will be unrestricted probably ;-) D
Day 4 Salzburg to Merano Dienten Sattel past Zell am See to the Grossglockner. Stopping at the Edelweisspitze & Pasterze glacier for photos. Then onto the Staller Sattel, onto a short section of autostrada. Then the Jaufenpass from Vipiteno to San Leonardo onto Merano for the night.
Day 5 Merano to Lacarno Merano to Stelvio (option for early morning go at Stelvio). Off the back of Stelvio on a little pass to the top end of Ofenpass, leading straight into the Fluelapass up to Davos. Then the fantastic road from Davos to Tiefencastel. Onto the Rofla Gorge through to Splurgen where we start onto the St.Bernadino Pass to Messocco. Jump back on the Autostrada and a run down to Lacorno on the shore of Lake Maggiore
Day 6 Lacarno to Martigny Autostrada run up to the original St Gothardo pass (cobblestones !) into Andermatt. Then the Furkapass into the Grimselpass into the Sustenpass into the Furkapass again(need to stop for photos of glacier). Then a short section of motorway in Martigny for the night
Day 7 Martigny to Briancon We leave Martigny heading for the Grande St Bernard past Aosta onto the Petit St Bernard. Leaving the St Bernard's we head on to the Col D'Iseran past Val D'Isere (lunch?). Then the N6 leading to St Michel for the Col du Galibier into the Col du Lauturet to Briancon for the night
Day 8 Briancon to Barcelonnette Briancon straight into the Col de l'Izoard heading onto the Col de Vars arriving at the foot of the Col de la Bonette. Finishing the Bonette we head through the Gorge du Cians and then through the Gorge du Daluis. We then head over the Col de la Cayelle into Barcelonnette for the night.
Day 9 Barcelonnette to Flumet Leave Barcelonnette towards the Lac de Serre Poncon on the D900 & D3 heading for the Route Napolean at Gap. Coming off the N85 drive the D526 through Mens to La Mure and onto the Col D'Ornon (this is where Billy took off last year and a fave with me for some reason). Over the road at the bottom and straight up Alpe D'Huez, we've done it before, but we liked it ;-) Col du Glandon follows into the Col de la Madelaine, finishing on the highly recommended Gorge de Larly all the way into Flumet for our stop over.
Day 10 Flumet to Reims We're on our way to Blighty now . .. Col des Aravis to start with the best view of Mont Blanc. Onto the motorway until the Col de la Faucille just past Geneva. Once over this we're on the autoroute until Reims. I've planned in the end of Hoon photos at the old Reims F1 circuit for those who've not been before . . .
Day 11 Reims to Calais Boring autoroute going home . . .
Total milaage 2567 (not including UK mileage)
That's a good shout and it's one pass I'd ended up leaving out to give us a good shot of getting onto Stelvio relatively early without adding too many miles onto the trip, but a run up and down the Timmelsjoch the following morning on the way to Stelvio . . . Will re-route and have a look 
Edited by Johno on Tuesday 16th December 19:37
btw, on day 6 as an alternative to driving the Furka West for the second time. you could head South on the new San Gottardo pass (good fun if you get a clear run although expect traffic and a great contrast to the original road - you get good views of the old pass too), and then head West over the Nufenen pass - the Nufenen is normally fairly quiet and really drivable with a highly satisfying sequence of corners - it's also higher than the other passes in the area and one of my favourites. (You could then run the Furka West to East up to the Glacier for the photos and it works really well in this directio asecending from the West.)
Hello mate . .. It was an outstanding trip last time . . The best day was Turini, Vence, Verdon, Ventoux in a day. Awesome, altough Billy bailed before Ventoux and missed a cracking drive up there . .
Ventoux fun, you can just see me occasionally will eventually convert my video although the mic didn't work on mine
Coming with us then ?
Ventoux fun, you can just see me occasionally will eventually convert my video although the mic didn't work on mine
Coming with us then ?
Edited by Johno on Tuesday 16th December 21:52
Johno said:
Day 3 Nurburgring to Salzburg Boring autobahn to Salzburg - at least some of it will be unrestricted probably ;-) D
Almost all of it unlimited.I'd recommend Nurburg, Koblenz, Frankfurt, Wurzburg,
Nurnberg, Munich, Rosenheim, Salzburg.
The A3 from before Frankfurt to Nurnburg is mostly
unlimited and partially three lanes.
The A9 from Nurnberg to Munich is unlimited and three
lanes - it's a racetrack. Expect to get flashed if you
drop below 120 mph ;->
Munich ring road is unlimited ;->
The A52 Munich Rosenheim road is also three lanes, mostly
unlimited, but carries a lot of Austrian traffic, so
you are unlikely to get over 120 mph much.
dcb said:
Johno said:
Day 3 Nurburgring to Salzburg Boring autobahn to Salzburg - at least some of it will be unrestricted probably ;-) D
Almost all of it unlimited.I'd recommend Nurburg, Koblenz, Frankfurt, Wurzburg,
Nurnberg, Munich, Rosenheim, Salzburg.
The A3 from before Frankfurt to Nurnburg is mostly
unlimited and partially three lanes.
The A9 from Nurnberg to Munich is unlimited and three
lanes - it's a racetrack. Expect to get flashed if you
drop below 120 mph ;->
Munich ring road is unlimited ;->
The A52 Munich Rosenheim road is also three lanes, mostly
unlimited, but carries a lot of Austrian traffic, so
you are unlikely to get over 120 mph much.
In fact now heading all the way down to Bischofshofen at the start of the Dieten Sattel to get back some mileage for the next day to get up the Timmelsjoch to Obergurgl as previously suggested.
Autoroute has the average mph for the trip as 78.96 without stopping for fuel and a bite to eat
over the 460.6 miles.Edited by Johno on Wednesday 17th December 13:07
Johno said:
Last year we headed down to Route Napolean, Turini, Verdun, Ventoux, Millau, Tarn etc in the South of France.
Johno, I'm looking to do a similar trip next year - how long did that route take you / which way did you go etc etc.....?Johno said:
Day 1 Iwade to Nurburgring Ben Lovejoy's twisty cross country route to the ring.
1st time I went to the Ring I used Ben's site for planning the trip and followed his suggested route. The road the other side of Eupen is THE worst road I have EVER been on in a car. On his website...... Ben Lovejoy said:
If towing a trailer, this is an excellent time to make sure the bikes are fastened down properly because there next few miles comprise an unofficial Belgian suspension-testing facility.
He's not wrong - with my firmed up suspension we crept along with fear of bits falling off of the car, fillings dropping out of teeth etc! Roads either side were great though.If I were you I'd go the way we came back i.e. south on E42 turn east to Malmedy, Waimes, Butgenbach, Kerschenbach etc to Nurburg. Empty roads through the forest, sweeping curves
Will be following that route again when we return next year Enjoy
Longers
Johno said:
That's great confirmation thanks dcb, as that's the exact route I've planned (well at least that's the route I got from Autoroute and it looked perfectly sensible).
You are welcome. Johno said:
In fact now heading all the way down to Bischofshofen at the start of the Dieten Sattel to get back some mileage for the next day to get up the Timmelsjoch to Obergurgl as previously suggested.
If you are near Salzburg and got a spare hour, I'd recommend theRossFeldStrasse between Berchtesgaden and Hallein. A toll road up at about
5,000 feet.
Obergurgl is a nice place. Please say hello to the bloke with the 'tache
in the mountain hut at the top of the Timmelsjoch pass. I'd recommend trying to crack
a few jokes with him - I did and he really appreciated it - they don't get many
Brits up there.
The twelve foot high stacked snow on the side
of the road in June meant that packing wooly jumpers was a good idea.
The road east from Timmelsjoch to Vipiteno is "quite interesting" in a dilapidated,
Italian tarmac and country lane sort of way. It once took me an hour to make that
15 miles or so.
I dunno how much Alpine touring you've done before, but in my experience
over 2,500 miles in 11 days is a lot. I usually try to limit it to
300 miles per day, if only to give the lady co-travellers a chance to exercise their
shopping glands in either the morning or afternoon.
In any event, if you miss a few Alpine passes, they will still be there next year.
Of course, if the entire group are keen drivers, then by all means press on.
Our daily 'driving day' is 243 miles. When we did the sth France tour we were nearer 300 a day and it is too much as you don't get a chance to stop for photos, lunch etc . .
Tried to average no more than 5.5hrs driving at Autoroute average speeds. Also tried to build routes where we could drop a pass or col in favour of major roads to get to our over night destination if weather/tiredness/boredom/desperate need for beer overcame the driving need.
Overall average is driven by the trip out to the ring at 330, Ring to Bischofshofen at 460 and Flumet to Reims at 350.
The 2 biggest days are Obergurgl to Lacarno and Lacarno to Martigny at 260 both days, and they've caused me headaches to try and keep them at no more than that !
Tried to average no more than 5.5hrs driving at Autoroute average speeds. Also tried to build routes where we could drop a pass or col in favour of major roads to get to our over night destination if weather/tiredness/boredom/desperate need for beer overcame the driving need.
Overall average is driven by the trip out to the ring at 330, Ring to Bischofshofen at 460 and Flumet to Reims at 350.
The 2 biggest days are Obergurgl to Lacarno and Lacarno to Martigny at 260 both days, and they've caused me headaches to try and keep them at no more than that !
Longers
The route I've picked of Ben Lovejys site takes us even further south than the one you suggest with us going along N66, N68, B410 ultimately coming through Kelberg . .
This route . .
More enjoyable outbound route:
At Brussels take the ringway and follow directions for E411 Namur.
At the Daussoulx motorway junction (region of Namur) follow the E42 motorway to Liege for 10 miles, leaving at exit 8 Huy-Couthuin.
In Huy take the N66 to Hamoir.
Follow N66 till you arrive at Trois-Ponts.
In Trois-Ponts, go right onto N68 towards Vielsalm.
At Vielsalm, go left taking the N676 to St Vith.
Before you arrive at St-Vith, get on the E42 at junction 14 towards Bitburg.
Leave at Exit 4 Prum and from here on take the B410 via Gerolstein to Kelberg and Nurburgring.
The route I've picked of Ben Lovejys site takes us even further south than the one you suggest with us going along N66, N68, B410 ultimately coming through Kelberg . .
This route . .
More enjoyable outbound route:
At Brussels take the ringway and follow directions for E411 Namur.
At the Daussoulx motorway junction (region of Namur) follow the E42 motorway to Liege for 10 miles, leaving at exit 8 Huy-Couthuin.
In Huy take the N66 to Hamoir.
Follow N66 till you arrive at Trois-Ponts.
In Trois-Ponts, go right onto N68 towards Vielsalm.
At Vielsalm, go left taking the N676 to St Vith.
Before you arrive at St-Vith, get on the E42 at junction 14 towards Bitburg.
Leave at Exit 4 Prum and from here on take the B410 via Gerolstein to Kelberg and Nurburgring.
Johno said:
More enjoyable outbound route:
Certainly a variation I hadn't thought of.But let's be clear: the #1 priority, based on driving it,
is to avoid the N67 Eupen to Monschau road at all costs.
I've driven smoother dirt roads ;->
For another possible variation, if I were at Bruxelles and I wanted
to get to Prum on the way to the 'Ring, I'd go east on the E40 to
Liege, then pick up the A27/E42 southbound to Prum, etc.
There's also the racetrack at Francorchamps to have a look
at, and anyway the A27 motorway on it's own twists, turns, ascends
and descends sharply enough to give you a taster for the 'Ring ;->
Johno said:
Longers
The route I've picked of Ben Lovejys site takes us even further south than the one you suggest with us going along N66, N68, B410 ultimately coming through Kelberg . .
Looks good, with a bit less motorway, but checked it on google map and it seems to add nearly an hour to our route which is a bit too much for us by the time we've driven from the Midlands, crossed channel etc etc.....The route I've picked of Ben Lovejys site takes us even further south than the one you suggest with us going along N66, N68, B410 ultimately coming through Kelberg . .
Longers said:
Johno said:
Last year we headed down to Route Napolean, Turini, Verdun, Ventoux, Millau, Tarn etc in the South of France.
Johno, I'm looking to do a similar trip next year - how long did that route take you / which way did you go etc etc.....?Longers
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