Have you ever fancied spending a week riding a shiny new motorbike in Europe on stunning roads only the locals know about? How about having all your accommodation booked at discount prices so all you need to do is enjoy the ride?
It’s certainly an appealing scenario and one which Edelweiss Bike Travel is offering as it launches its new range of self-guided tours in Europe, starting from as little as £900.
While purists may recoil at the thought of an organised motorbike tour, an organised self-guided trip offers you the freedom to roam at your own pace, with the luxury of knowing all the logistics have been sorted out by experts.
With this in mind, we sat down with Edelweiss Bike Travel and came up with a list of reasons why a self-guided tour could be perfect for your next motorbike adventure.
Hassle free
Finish work, catch a flight and sleep in a comfy hotel bed. Feeling fresh the next morning, jump on a shiny new bike and let the adventure begin. All your accommodation has been booked for you in advance and all you need to do is ride.
When you’ve got work and family commitments at home, and only a week or so of holiday to spare, being able to rely on someone else do all the planning is a blessing. You won’t need to spend hours before your trip plotting a route or researching biker friendly accommodation. And while you’re on the road, you won’t waste precious riding time searching for somewhere to stay.
Local knowledge
It’s easy enough to find the likes of the Stelvio or Furka passes on your own, but discovering the best roads in between can prove trickier. Finding these routes is what makes booking with an organised tour company so worthwhile.
They’ll let you know where the single lane mountain roads with no traffic are, as well as the back lanes between Alpine villages, or the private toll roads through unspoiled wilderness areas. While you may stumble across some of these routes after scouring ride reports and forums online, having the support of a tour company with years of local knowledge will ensure you don’t miss any.
Roam free
You’ll have a map and GPS with a recommended route, a hotel to aim for and all the time in the world to get there. But the joy of a self-guided tour is you don’t have to follow the route if you don’t want to. If you feel it’s is too short, then smash out another 50 miles. If you had one too many drinks the night before, just ride directly to the next hotel and relax.
Edelweiss Bike Travel also provides a tour book with juicy day-to-day information including descriptions of local highlights, history, and hidden treasures that aren’t common knowledge. You can use this information to tailor your day, including as much or as little as you like.
New bikes
Trawling through the list of bikes you can ride on an Edelweiss Bike Travel is enough to make you drool. Fancy a week riding the Alps on a BMW R 1200 GS Adventure? Or does swooping around the curves of the Dolomites on a Ducati Multistrada 1200 tickle your fancy?
You can ride the bike of your dreams safe in the knowledge that you’re not clocking up thousands of miles on your own pride and joy pushing it ever closer to that next service interval. And not matter how much you love your motorbike at home, all of us can be tempted to stray once in a while.
And relax
Motorcycle tours are brilliant fun, but we all know they can be knackering. This is especially true if you only have a week off work and you’re trying to squeeze in as many miles as you can. That long journey home slogging along French toll roads on a Sunday can leave you feeling shattered at work on Monday morning.
You’ll have no such issues after an organised motorbike tour. In fact, you’ll be feeling smug as you board your flight, crack open a beer and relax safe in the knowledge you’ll home in time for dinner.
Edelweiss Bike Travel
The team at Edelweiss Bike Travel has been helping people discover the world, explore incredible routes and ride the newest motorcycles for almost 40 years. They are experts in ensuring you have a carefree trip experiencing new cultures, meeting like-minded riders, and finding those hidden gems well off the tourist trail.
The tour company is now offering a selection of self-guided trips in Europe for people who like to relax and enjoy the ride but also want the freedom to roam. Riders can choose from:
Europe’s Finest Roads – Covering no less than five countries; Austria, Germany, France, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. The tour starts and finishes in the Alps and takes in the best roads in Europe.
Precious Dolomites – Thrilling mountain passes, stunning scenery and plentiful Italian food and wine. Bliss.
Stelvio, King of the Alps – Tour through Germany and Switzerland and then around Lake Como in Italy, before heading over to the mighty Stelvio Pass, arguably the best motorcycle road in Europe.
Touring Centre Tyrol – Spend your days riding epic motorcycle roads and return to the same hotel each night to relax and enjoy the luxury. The perfect tour if you plan to bring along a partner who doesn’t ride.
