Trip Summary
Was it worth it? I could do it cheaper?
This is probably the most common comment aboiut the trip. Yes it is expensive at $8,000 USD per rider (or about $16,000 NZD). I'm sure you could do it cheaper by hiring bikes yourself and doing all of your own planning. One this that we consider with these trips is that all you need to bring is spending money. 90% of meals (the rest day meals are at your cost) and all fuel is paid for. You have to take in to account the many many hours you would spend planning, what you would have to do if there was a disruption of some sort and the hours you would spend each day finding routes to take etc. Also, the support vehicle to carry gear and have any problems dealt to is included and is an important factor. For example, if you had an accident imagine trying to recover the bike and get to your accommodation 150km away?
The Bikes
Were very good and in excellent condition. Mine for example was brand new at 1500km. We travelled about 3700km on the trip (400 of which in my case was the Stelvio Pass day). My bike as a little tall for me, but had a comfortable riding position. Some took the extra option of a BMW R1200GS or Ducati Multistrada, which were great for two up riding. The bikes performed very well with the van driver Martej looking after a few light bulbs and rattles and the Ducati Multistrada pucked up a puncture which was promptly fixed.
The Group
Go on very well with a variety of ages from mid 40's to 82 (Graham was a legend doing it at that age!). Everyone got on very well. The riding pace was pretty good with no more than a 10 minute wait at most stops for the regroup. The van following was also golden and was able to recover the damaged bike following the accident early in the trip.
The Weather
Was fantastic! I had 2 hours of rain returning to the hotel on Stelvio day. ike said the weather was better than normal. Pretty much every day was between 25-32 degrees, except sometimes it dropped to about 15 in the mountain passes
