Currently in the process of planning a long Euro Tour in September 2019, to celebrate turning 50 years of age.
I know the date is someway off, but thought I'd start with a rough plan and then fine tune it as time progresses, with recommendations or from reading others tour plans on here
I have about 23 days to play with including getting from Blighty to the continent and back again.
I initially came up with a provisional route, utilising most of the Ride routes and came up with this as my plan
Day 1: Home address to Folkestone (overnight stay)
Day 2: Folkestone to overnight stop in France midway.
Day 3: Midway to Grenoble.
Day 4: Grenoble to Castellane via Col du Machine/Col du Lavent
Day 5: Castellane to Briancon
Day 6: Briancon loop around part of the RDGA
Day 7: Briancon to La Thuile via Col du Mont Cenis, Col d'Iseran, Col du petit Bernard.
Day 8/9/10: La Thuile to Riva Del Garda utilising Lakes and Mountains route from Ride Magazine via Menaggio, Bormio and Stelvio Pass.
Day 11/12: 2 day stop over in Riva Del Garda celebrating turning 50 with the domestic director who will meet me out there.
Day 13/14/15: 3 days around eastern Dolomites utilising Ride Magazine route, and ending in Bolzano via Managio and Cortina d'Ampezzo
Day 16: Bolzano to Grossglockner (stopping half way along Grossglockner)
Day 17/18/19/20/21 Grossglocker to Burwash, via Garmirsch Partinken, Baden Baden (It the last five days of the Grossglockner tour from ride magazine). I'm ending up in Burwash to visit best friend and kids with overnight stay.
Day 22: Burwash to home address.
Since coming up with that original plan, I have made some amendments. It seems a waste to travelling all that way and not do some of the other alpine passes, so I have come up with a plan B so to speak. Amended route as follows:
Day 1: Home address to Folkestone (overnight stay)
Day 2: Folkestone to overnight stop in France midway.
Day 3: Midway to Grenoble.
Day 4: Grenoble to Castellane via Col du Machine/Col du Lavent.
Day 5: Castellane to Briancon
Day 6: Briancon loop around part of the RDGA
Day 7: Briancon to Martigny via Col du Mont Cenis, Col d'Iseran, Col du petit Bernard. Col du Grand Bernard
Day 8: Martigny to Andermatt, incorporating the figure of 8 pass route from Ride Magazine around Furka, Grimsel, Gotthard, Nufen pass
Day 9: Andermatt to Bormio via Julier and Umbrail passes
Day 10: Bormio to Riva Del Garda via Stelvio Pass
Day 11/12: 2 day stop over in Riva Del Garda celebrating turning 50 with the domestic director who will meet me out there.
Day 13/14/15: 3 days around eastern Dolomites utilising Ride Magazine route, and ending in Bolzano, passing through Managio & Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Day 16: Bolzano to Grossglockner (stopping half way along Grossglockner)
Day 17/18/19/20/21 Grossglocker to Burwash, via Garmirsch Partinken, Baden Baden (It the last five days of the Grossglockner tour from ride magazine). I'm ending up in Burwash to visit best friend and kids with overnight stay.
Day 22: Burwash to home address.
With this plan B, I am thinking of cutting down the 3 days around eastern Dolomites, as I wish to somehow incorporate riding Timmelsjoch instead, either before Grossglockner or after, but haven't quite figured out a route to do this.
The other part of the plan is I am not entirely happy with is taking 5 days to get to Briancon. At much as its highly rated, I am thinking of cutting out the Col du Machine/Col du Lavant, Castellane part of the trip and heading direct to Briancon from Calais, i.e. take two days instead of 5. I have stayed in Castellane so have done the Verdon Gorge fairly recently. This will cut the trip down by 3 days.
I'm not at the stage of looking at places to stay yet, apart from it will be hotels and not camping, mainly because most of the hotels are not booking that far in advance and this tour will no doubt be amended/fine turned/scrapped many times.
So my main reason for posting on here is to seek any suggestions around incorporating Timmelsjoch into the route and is the Col du Machine/Col du Lavant as good as it is portrayed and therefore is a must do and so stays in the plan.
Really interested to hear thoughts and opinions. Am also open to any suggestions on routes I have yet to consider/missed.
Thanks for reading if you got this far
I know the date is someway off, but thought I'd start with a rough plan and then fine tune it as time progresses, with recommendations or from reading others tour plans on here
I have about 23 days to play with including getting from Blighty to the continent and back again.
I initially came up with a provisional route, utilising most of the Ride routes and came up with this as my plan
Day 1: Home address to Folkestone (overnight stay)
Day 2: Folkestone to overnight stop in France midway.
Day 3: Midway to Grenoble.
Day 4: Grenoble to Castellane via Col du Machine/Col du Lavent
Day 5: Castellane to Briancon
Day 6: Briancon loop around part of the RDGA
Day 7: Briancon to La Thuile via Col du Mont Cenis, Col d'Iseran, Col du petit Bernard.
Day 8/9/10: La Thuile to Riva Del Garda utilising Lakes and Mountains route from Ride Magazine via Menaggio, Bormio and Stelvio Pass.
Day 11/12: 2 day stop over in Riva Del Garda celebrating turning 50 with the domestic director who will meet me out there.
Day 13/14/15: 3 days around eastern Dolomites utilising Ride Magazine route, and ending in Bolzano via Managio and Cortina d'Ampezzo
Day 16: Bolzano to Grossglockner (stopping half way along Grossglockner)
Day 17/18/19/20/21 Grossglocker to Burwash, via Garmirsch Partinken, Baden Baden (It the last five days of the Grossglockner tour from ride magazine). I'm ending up in Burwash to visit best friend and kids with overnight stay.
Day 22: Burwash to home address.
Since coming up with that original plan, I have made some amendments. It seems a waste to travelling all that way and not do some of the other alpine passes, so I have come up with a plan B so to speak. Amended route as follows:
Day 1: Home address to Folkestone (overnight stay)
Day 2: Folkestone to overnight stop in France midway.
Day 3: Midway to Grenoble.
Day 4: Grenoble to Castellane via Col du Machine/Col du Lavent.
Day 5: Castellane to Briancon
Day 6: Briancon loop around part of the RDGA
Day 7: Briancon to Martigny via Col du Mont Cenis, Col d'Iseran, Col du petit Bernard. Col du Grand Bernard
Day 8: Martigny to Andermatt, incorporating the figure of 8 pass route from Ride Magazine around Furka, Grimsel, Gotthard, Nufen pass
Day 9: Andermatt to Bormio via Julier and Umbrail passes
Day 10: Bormio to Riva Del Garda via Stelvio Pass
Day 11/12: 2 day stop over in Riva Del Garda celebrating turning 50 with the domestic director who will meet me out there.
Day 13/14/15: 3 days around eastern Dolomites utilising Ride Magazine route, and ending in Bolzano, passing through Managio & Cortina d'Ampezzo.
Day 16: Bolzano to Grossglockner (stopping half way along Grossglockner)
Day 17/18/19/20/21 Grossglocker to Burwash, via Garmirsch Partinken, Baden Baden (It the last five days of the Grossglockner tour from ride magazine). I'm ending up in Burwash to visit best friend and kids with overnight stay.
Day 22: Burwash to home address.
With this plan B, I am thinking of cutting down the 3 days around eastern Dolomites, as I wish to somehow incorporate riding Timmelsjoch instead, either before Grossglockner or after, but haven't quite figured out a route to do this.
The other part of the plan is I am not entirely happy with is taking 5 days to get to Briancon. At much as its highly rated, I am thinking of cutting out the Col du Machine/Col du Lavant, Castellane part of the trip and heading direct to Briancon from Calais, i.e. take two days instead of 5. I have stayed in Castellane so have done the Verdon Gorge fairly recently. This will cut the trip down by 3 days.
I'm not at the stage of looking at places to stay yet, apart from it will be hotels and not camping, mainly because most of the hotels are not booking that far in advance and this tour will no doubt be amended/fine turned/scrapped many times.
So my main reason for posting on here is to seek any suggestions around incorporating Timmelsjoch into the route and is the Col du Machine/Col du Lavant as good as it is portrayed and therefore is a must do and so stays in the plan.
Really interested to hear thoughts and opinions. Am also open to any suggestions on routes I have yet to consider/missed.
Thanks for reading if you got this far