Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Hope the pics are visible from home. Else let me know and I can upload in Picasa or other photo sharing websites.

Along with bikes and cars (super cars mainly ) there were lots and lots of cyclists as well. It must sure take a lot of effort & dedication to climb such a steep pass.

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Yes, they are visible now. Thanks.

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Yup it takes a lot of physical & mental strength to go up a climb like that. But this thread is not about that, its about your ride

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Day 1 Part 1 : The story unfolds!

Where do I start? I am still somewhat hungover from the ride but here goes.


Prologue:


Ever since I moved to Belgium for work in March, riding a bike there was always in the back of my mind. Obtained IDP after quite some hassles and bribes at RTO before leaving India and had already googled a lot regarding the usage of Indian license in Europe and it all looked positive. Almost all countries accept Indian license along with IDP but only for a limited time, (upto six months after landing here) and few countries like Germany dont even need IDP for those six months.


But a bigger setback came in terms of using my license in Belgium. Since I am not a tourist, the IDP isnt applicable here and I need a Belgian license! What a bummer! They have a huge list of countries whose license can be simply exchanged for a Belgian one and India is not in the list! I guess they have seen how we drive/ride in India


To get a Belgian license I need the Belgian ID card first which can take anytime from 1 month to 3 months depending on your luck, and for my bad luck, I havent received it yet But the good thing was that I can still use my Indian license/IDP in neighbouring countries (since I am a tourist there ) and that's how I ended up renting from Germany (that also means I have to carry all my luggage/riding gear on bus/train to the neighbouring countries & trains arent exactly cheap!).


Pre ride preparations:


Where to go?






After a lot of Googling on where to go, where the good motorcycle roads are through the Alps, the rentals, hotels etc the plan was slowly taking shape. Also, I had gone on a Swiss trip in May along with my brother and this was entirely on train and we visited many of the good tourist spots. The Alps seemed fantastic and I could see some amazing winding roads on the mountains while we were on trains and I kept wondering what it was like to ride there We also did a drive through the Black forest in Germany on a rental BMW car and this was a nice introductory session for me about general rules of driving in Europe. There were countless bikes on these roads and it just increased the itch to ride one


A pic from the famous B500 route in Black Forest, Germany









Pics from Switzerland





Trains are filled with tourists but they have fantastic connectivity though





One of the roads of Switzerland.. this is what got me thinking, I should be riding here!







So with all this, I was confident that I could ride a motorcycle but riding solo through unknown places with unknown rules and unknown language can be a bit scary when you think of it. So I tried not to think of it


One of the fellow xbhpian Mr. @Haroon has been extremely helpful all along! (Many of you know him from Ride for Passion - So Many Roads, So Little Time) Got a lot of insightful info from him, a big thanks to you sir ! Also few logs in xbhp and many logs from advrider were extremely helpful.


There is also this book " Motorcycle journeys through the Alps and Beyond" by John Hermann and this was it! It had all the info I needed and no more googling and looking around in forums!





I also did some recon work regarding which bike to choose. Went to a nearest BMW and KTM dealer which was almost in the middle of nowhere! But it was a fantastic showroom with lots of options for me to sit and try out. I could manage R1200GS and KTM Adv 1050, both feet would reach the ground but the ankles wouldnt touch. It was almost like tip toeing. The owner was confident that I can ride with that and I also felt somewhat comfortable. The Adv 1050 was not that heavy and it was beginner friendly bike. I didnt ride any bike though as I cant use Indian license

A pic of the showroom





Also since I came here, I was slowly acquiring riding gears one by one (most rentals offer gears but that would make sense if you ride very rarely and I can always get these back to India). I sold few of my gears from India even though they were good enough to be brought here but I was bored of them Websites like Motorcycle Helmets, Clothing, Jackets, Gloves, Boots & Accessories, FC-Moto.de - Motorrad-Helme, Motorradbekleidung, Jet Helme & Cross Helme etc had quite a few options and also both ship to Belgium for free (But EU websites in general have very few user reviews in comparison to American websites like Revzilla so I really had to search around a lot for a good no. of reviews). There are a lot of European brands which you dont usually hear of in India like Held, Vanucci, Arlen Ness etc which are priced in same league as A*, Dainese so they might be as good but I didnt go for them mainly due to budget (and also not knowing their reputation) and finally got the Scorpion Exo 1200 Air helmet, Rev It Excalibur Jacket, Rev it Enterprise Pants and TCX Sportour Waterproof boots. Here is a pic. I can give more details & pics of them if anybody is interested.






Regarding luggage, I was not sure what to go for. I might opt for a bike with luggage system but in case I dont, I needed something. Luggage options are also usually available for rent but I wanted a bag in case there was no other option. @Haroon suggested me to go for the best tankbag there is, which is known to fit almost all bikes, Wolfman Rainier tank bag, but it was simply too expensive in Europe and Revzilla wouldnt ship it to EU!


So I was looking for alternatives and after a lot of searching around, finally ended up with a Kriega back pack since it can be used irrespective of the bike (I use it while cycling as well ). I know nobody prefers backpack while riding but this isnt a regular backpack & I have never seen any gear being consistently rated around 4.7/5 in revzilla & also offer 10 year warranty Also got the optional Hydrapak and it was so useful I was kicking myself for not buying one in India!








Fast forward to Day 1


The nearest place with lots of rental option was Frankfurt (which was 4 hours by train) and I contacted a rental agency and booked the bike. June 27th (Saturday) was the D day and the train was at 530am from the town near my home to Brussels and then the Inter City Express train to Frankfurt. Finally reached the rental store by 11am and the bike was ready and waiting


But first, what a showroom it was! Let the pictures do the talking...























A 22000kms old Enfield 500 being sold for 4900 Euros









And the bike, I packed all the luggage to the panniers and top box and it was all set to go.














Thumbed the starter and the 1050cc twin roared to life! But wait, it was Ninja 650 in the first post! What happened to KTM then? Why was the bike changed? Well, you will have to wait for the next half of the story

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Superb! Waiting for the next installment!

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Wow. Let the movie begin....
The Alps ride is indeed a visual treat for any biker.
Eagerly looking forward to the pics Adarsh

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Great place, great pics. :thumbup:

Ninja 650 se KTM 1050 kaise hua?
Ye jaanne k liye dekhte rahiye "Mission Alps: Accomplished".

Sent from my Lenovo P780_ROW using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Thanks a lot man! No more background story and only ride reports from next log

Thanks so much Haroon. The next part will be ready soon

Haha, I couldnt have put it better And thanks for the compliments!

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Lovely post Adarsh! You're now giving me the itches to ride long.

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Video is real good. :thumbup:
Also in the shadow of redefining end of 1st episode, actually I forgot to mention: Pics r really awesome, its a dream ride. Keep coming more pics & some interesting stuff. Following ur travelogue.

Sent from my Lenovo P780_ROW using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Thank you sirjee Now go on a long ride and scratch those itches

Thanks again Sirish. It was indeed a dream ride for me. Wanted to Leh/Ladakh in India but never managed to do it, so this was my chance to ride in snow mountains

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Simply superb....

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Can't wait any more. Please!! enough with the suspense

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!


Day 1, Part 2 : Expect the unexpected!



What can go wrong? Everything is going as planned, bike is ready, so am I. Alps are calling from the distance and I am set to go on my longest solo ride ever. Wrong! Many things can happen when you least expect and especially when you are unlucky!



I thought I will skip the part on how the bike got changed & say that I booked Ninja 650 itself (because the truth is a bit silly and embarrassing) but then it wont be an honest log if I only tell the good parts!



Ok, here it is. If you have read the previous post you know that I had visited a nearby showroom to try out the bikes. And you would also know that when I sat on KTM Adv 1050 both my ankles were not fully reaching the ground. But it seemed easy enough to manage. But, a big BUT that is, it was an empty bike. The one I had now was fully loaded, 20 litres of fuel, loaded panniers, and partially loaded top case.



I sat on the bike checking the posture, moving around the seat and everything seemed fine. Got the intro about the bike, various power modes, traction control settings etc & I was happily grinning inside my helmet! That wasnt going to last long! I leaned the bike slightly to the side to check how manageable the weight is and that's when I realized what I was getting into, it wasnt comfortable. Not comfortable at all! These Adv bikes are top heavy so if the bike starts tipping over, you really need a good foot hold on the ground so that you can straighten it quickly. My new riding pants & boots were making things worse by restricting my leg movements since I wasnt used to them


After a few uncomfortable and embarrassing moments with the bike, the rental people saw my struggle and came to check what's going on. Once they heard I am taking it to the Alps and hearing the name of Stelvio pass, it was a big no-no from them to take this bike. They were discussing in German if something can be done.



There goes my dream of riding an Adventure bike I was just angry at myself for making such a mistake. Shouldve gone for a shorter bike something with seat height similar to my Duke 390 in India! Should've started small esp considering I will be riding solo on unknown places! But no, I had to go for KTM Adv 1050! How could I ruin my ride of a lifetime even before it started?


Finally they decided to give Kawasaki ER6F (Ninja 650) as that was the only one they had at that moment. It took almost another hour for them to process the new bike & contract and it was not as if this change of bike happened for free either.


I also got quite some gyaan from the rental people as they assumed I knew very little riding and was a total amateur. Lots of stories about bike tipping over in Alps esp Stelvio pass was narrated to me in great detail (This was in fact true, but more on that later) and I was advised not to go to Alps at all and go elsewhere instead! I just listened to them and nodded in agreement. I was still angry & disappointed at myself.


It was almost time for them to close the store by the time I got the keys for the Ninja 650 and I lost valuable riding time with all the drama. One good thing was that it had ABS here (It is mandatory) and not having ABS was the biggest drawback in India. I transferred the luggage in the meantime and I was all set to go now.


Interestingly, both bikes weigh almost the same but the seat height & weight distribution of the bike makes all the difference! I had absolutely no problem with the Ninja whatsoever and I could easily straighten the bike up when I tried tipping it over.


Since morning, the weather was shifting between being cloudy and clear. By the time I was ready to leave it started raining, not a slight drizzle but a proper downpour. What a way to start the ride! I was prepared for this and wore the liners for jacket (pants and boots were waterproof) before starting off and hoped that it will do its job. I was in no mood to click pics so simply got on the bike and went ahead.


Crossed the Frankfurt city and it was easy to get used to the bike. Riding a bike after such a long time and twisting the throttle & listening to the exhaust seemed so good and I was somewhat happy again slowly forgetting about the incident and the rains.


Got onto the Autobahn towards the Black forest in Germany which was my destination for Day 1. As you know, autobahns (which means highway in German) are famous for not having speed limits.


But my day of bad luck was still not over! I was stuck in a huge traffic jam or stau as they call it here. Where there was supposed to be no speed limits, I was going at 10kmph! I saw couple of bikers going between cars (lane splitting is allowed) but I didnt attempt any of that as I was sure the wide panniers wouldve broken the car mirrors


I had no idea how far it was like this. I heard that when the traffic gets stuck, it gets stuck for a really long distance. Rode like this for 20 minutes in rain (thanks to the pinlock visor, it totally did its job!) and took an exit for a rest stop. There was a restaurant there but the crowd was huge as everybody was stopping here waiting for the road to clear up. It was hot and humid inside and extremely uncomfortable with riding gear while waiting in long queue. I had to carry my helmet and gear with me while waiting in queue and not leave at some table, some of the disadvantages of solo rides!


After few minutes I couldnt take it anymore and I said screw it, I am going back to bike. Had snickers, few breads and juice (I had this with me) and the rains stopped by now but traffic didnt ease up.


I was wondering if all this was a mistake, maybe I shouldnt have planned such a long solo ride in the first place. Nothing is going my way today. But then Rocky (from the movie) came to the rescue! I remembered his speech "It aint about how hard you are hit... its about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward... How much you can take and keep moving forward..." That was enough to get my spirits up! Its surprising how the brain works and how words like that can have such a positive effect on you Here is a youtube link for the longer version of it if anybody is interested,

I decided I will complete the ride exactly as I planned to and I will not let my silly mistakes or the weather or the stupid traffic get in the way and spoil my ride! I didnt get the bike I wanted, so what? I mightve paid extra but I still have Ninja 650 which is one of the best sport tourers in the middleweight segment and I should make the best out of it!


And I ended up doing exactly that without any hiccups & I can never forget the look on the rental guys faces when I returned the bike having ridden 1800+ kms and also riding over Stelvio pass! I am getting ahead now, more on this later.


So then I started again and after another 15 mins or so of first gear riding, the roads cleared up a bit and I was at 60-80kmph. Phew! Occassionally it would come back to 10kmph but it was still a lot better than before. I had a lot of ground to cover that day as well.


Rode for more than an hour with similar traffic condition and stopped at a rest stop. Co-incidentally of all the countless rest stops along the way, I stopped at the exact same place where we had stopped during our trip on car! Small world


After having some food and relaxing a bit, I was eagerly looking forward to my ride ahead forgetting the past. Also got the cam out and clicked few pics.






Bikers here get similar attention as in India, as there are very few of them but people are used to seeing riding gear as its mandatory here and dont think of us as aliens . Also most avoid Autobahns whenever possible as the alternative routes are usually more fun to ride albiet more time consuming.


Not far from this rest stop there is an exit for Black forest and my plan was to go on B500 route. It is one of the most famous roads to ride/drive in Germany.


Here are few pics from one of the rest stops on B500.







Ninja raring to go!







Riding here was simply amazing, corner after corner of smooth tarmac and the 650 twin taking it all with ease. I was a bit cautious in the beginning but I was slowly getting my old rhythm back I also stumbled onto other local roads while riding but almost any road in Black forest is amazing to ride. I felt like switching off the GPS and simply keep riding without a destination but I had already lost enough time and had to reach my hotel on time.



I came across more and more bikers as I kept riding on B500. Almost everywhere in Europe there is a nice gesture of waving your left hand (holding your two fingers in V shape) whenever you come across a biker irrespective of the type of the bike! Almost everybody does that and I was getting used to it. It felt good to be part of the biking brotherhood even when I didnt know anybody. You dont feel like you are on a solo ride at all



Here are few pics from GoPro.

















Farms, farms and more farms!







Riding towards the evening sun is extremely irritating!








One can shoot "Meri sapno ki raani kab aayegi thu" here








The towns always have a speed limit of 50kmph if not specified otherwise. It is so easy to continue doing the speeds you were doing earlier when you are in the rhythm and forget to slow down near towns. In the below pic you can see the digital display which shows my current speed (40kmph). If you are slower than the limit, a smiley appears otherwise a sad face I hope that's all it does and not book a speeding ticket because I was around 55kmph couple of times








This is a very interesting sign board! Knee down allowed for the next 6 kms? No, its actually telling bikers to be careful for next 6kms.







Again, the evening sun right in your face! This was at 730pm, so I had couple more hours of riding time left with sunlight.







I had plans of riding to hotel only through the winding roads of the forest but there wasnt enough time. The GPS kept directing me back to Autobahns when I put the fastest route to my hotel so I finally took it. It was mentioned on the hotel booking that the check-in time is till 8pm and these are rural areas and people usually dont stay late. So I called the hotel to inform them and the lady at the reception was quite helpful and gave me the password for the safe which will have my room key in case she wasnt there when I came. It was almost 930pm by the time I reached and she hadnt left due to some other work. I checked in, got all the luggage to my room & freshened up. It was 403kms of ride today.


The pic of the helmet after the day's ride. Insects are abundant here esp in summer!








After spending quite sometime cleaning it, went over my plans for the next day with the help of Michelin maps and the Motorcycle riding in Alps book which I mentioned in prev log (Yes, I was carrying it with me!). All electronic devices were getting charged in the meantime.


After few mins, simply crashed on the bed thinking what a day it was! And I will be riding on snow mountains tomorrow!

Re: Mission Alps : Accomplished!

Just beautiful! One of the best places on earth to ride!