Going on a week-long motorcycle tour in June has become a tradition, here at the Team Throttle headquarters. And a second tradition seems to be emerging: making last-minute decisions about our destination. Last year, we headed to Norway because the weather gods thwarted our plans for Spain and Italy. This year, it looked like all of Europe would turn into one big rain zone during our planned week off. Luckily, two days before departure, the Spanish weather maps cleared up a bit, so off we went!
We, that is Jan_F on a Triumph Tiger 900, Shih on his KTM 890 Adventure and myself on a BMW R 1300 GS. Our destination: Picos de Europa, the mountain range in northern Spain, roughly to the southwest of Bilbao.
We had already planned the routes last year, and after a final check this year, our plans looked as follows: Continue reading →
It has become our annual tradition, we are once again planning a motorcycle trip for June this year. The concept remains the same: strap a tent on our bikes and off we go!
We had five destinations on our shortlist, of which Norway, Wales and Scotland have already been crossed off. That leaves us with the Picos and the Dolomites. We have roughly mapped out the routes for both trips, and now it’s time to make a decision.
Question: which trip would you choose and why? And for those familiar with the area: are there any roads we absolutely shouldn’t miss?
Option one: Picos
I haven’t been to the Picos before, but I’ve heard enough good things about it to rank it high on our shortlist. The biggest disadvantage compared to the Dolomites is that it’s a bit further before we reach our destination. Although the journey is just as important as the destination of course.
On day 1, we’ll be ride quite a distance into France, just over 1,000 km on the highway. On day 2 (blue), the winding roads begin just below San Sebastian. On day 3 (green), we’ll enter the Picos. On days 4 (yellow) and 5 (orange), we’ll ride loops through the Picos. On day 6 (red), we’ll leave the Picos and head east. On day 7 (purple), we’ll take a detour through the Bardenas Reales, cross the Pyrenees and end the day just across the French border. On day 8, we’ll take the fastest route back home.
The Dolomites are etched in my memory as one of the highlights of my trip to the Alps in 2017. So I don’t mind heading back in that direction again, this time taking more time to explore. Maybe add some Julian Alps too? Why not!
On day 1, we’ll ride to Campitello di Fassa in the Dolomites. Here we’ll stay for 4 nights and take loops on day 2 (blue), 3 (green), and 4 (yellow). On day 5 (orange), we’ll head east. On day 6 (red), we’ll say goodbye to the Dolomites and head into the Julian Alps. Our destination is Kranjska Gora. We’ll stay here for 2 nights and take a loop on day 7 (purple). Day 8: take the fastest route back home.
In 2018, Jan F went on a trip to the Sierra Nevada with Clubmot, a Belgian organizer of motorcycle trips and trainings, and he really liked it. When he suggested the idea of starting our motorcycle season early and with a lot of miles on a new Clubmot trip to southern Spain, I was sold immediately. Our biker bud Shih as well. Vamos a Andalucia!
The formula
The formula for this trip was the same as the trip to the Sierra Nevada: Fly & ride. Clubmot books the flights and the hotel, and provides you with routes. Your bike travels there and back via truck transport. Nicely arranged.
We left early on Saturday March 19th (so that we could already start riding on Saturday afternoon) and Continue reading →
Saturday will be a highway day to Valence, from Sunday till Friday we’ll do our Tournée Pyrénée and then we’ll ride back to Belgium in a day and a half.
If you know roads, campings or other spots we should not miss out on, do share them in the comments below. Thanks!
Team Throttle 