CRAFTWERK CHRONICLES
Grand Alpes
Michael Weber
When the two words are mentioned in the same breath, most motorcyclists go into raptures! This route, which winds its way through the French Maritime Alps to the Mediterranean, is legendary.
Grand Alpes
TEXT:
Michael Weber
PHOTOS:
Michael Weber
When the two words are mentioned in the same breath, most moped riders go into raptures. The route that winds its way through the French Maritime Alps to the Mediterranean is legendary. One pass follows the next. Over 800 kilometres of winding magic, mostly above the tree line with the most beautiful panoramas in the Alps and the highest Alpine passes.
The route starts at Lake Geneva and ends above Nice. In addition to the classic, well signposted route, there is always the option of adding further loops. You could certainly spend a week on it if you wanted to.
From Berlin, it's a total of over 2,100 kilometres to San Remo, my destination. I took five days to get there and sometimes rode my motorbike for over 10 hours a day.
The first stage led to Stuttgart, and on the second day to Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Geneva. From here on to Val-d'Isère. The Tour de France was taking place at the same time as I was travelling, so I had to queue up a few times and wait until the whole bunch had passed through.
On the fourth day, I cycled as far as Briançon, followed by the last section to the Mediterranean, along the coast to San Remo. I then enjoyed a 14-day Mediterranean holiday there, with short day trips to the countless valleys in the hinterland.
The return journey then took us through the foothills of the Italian Alps, via Piedmont to Lake Como and onwards over the classic Alpine passes to the Brenner Pass. Another stop in Munich before travelling through the Altmühltal valley towards Berlin.
In total, it was a fantastic 5,500 kilometres. In fact, in August you can safely avoid the Alpine areas that lie in the flight path of Munich. The general holiday season really spoils the free driving - too much traffic.
Unfortunately, there are now also many e-bike cyclists who are suddenly able to cycle up and down high Alpine passes. Unfortunately, you see too many beer-bellied hobby cyclists climbing the mountains in Tour de France outfits.
