(Gear I had on this trip: Nolan Helmet, Rst Adventure Trousers and Jacket, RST Boots, Old Military Bags.)
Route that was covered
So here it is, almost the whole trip to Italy and back. 2000 Miles round trip and a map gives a very good idea of where I have been. In short, It features the Stella Alpina Rally obviously as it was the main event of the trip, as well as Stelvio Mountain Pass, Beautiful Lake Garda, and a few more incredible places.
Day 1 – Getting to Germany!
Funny, but as soon as I left the UK, it started to rain, all day… non stop. My super non functional waterproof gear has failed me by the end of the day and that was only my first day on this trip. Soaked, wet and cold, found a spot to park up for the night with hopes that next day will bring some sunshine! However…
Day 2 – Reaching North Italy!
“Getting wet”
Woke up in the morning feeling like a broken man, still raining, my riding gear wet, boots wet and my thoughts jumping from “keep going” and “head home”. Settled with “keep going” and soon after i left the campsite noticed that my phone that i was using for navigating got wet and the charging port failed. Phone simply ran out of juice. So another rock into my plans.
“Navigation – plan B”
Lucky i have prepared a printed map with the route that was already marked on it – that was super useful, sort of.. After some time stopped to pick up an alternative phone charger, – thank you technology! Wireless charger worked like a charm, and saved the day! I have to mention that it was raining non stop for a second day and me being completely wet and cold I had no choice but to source at least more decent waterproof clothing – and I found one in an Aldi type of shop in Austria, the very last pair around! Lucky!
Stunning places
Apart from rain, the route was super nice, twisties and beautiful views all around. Late afternoon I reached Italy and soon after all the famous Mountain passes, like Stelvio pass – absolutely stunning!
Hunting for camping spot
Closer to evening i was already looking for a potential spot to camp, but as it was getting darker and colder and i was still on the Mountain range, i quickly realised that best would be for me to find a nice warm hotel, warm up, dry out my wet clothes and gear. So in a first town i have reached i went to a first hotel and asked if they will have room for me, lucky they had a garage to store my bike for the night too! Drying my clothes, tent and all the gear in a small room was a bit of the challenge, but doable.
Day 3 – Getting To Bardonecchia!
Day three and i am feeling good! All Rested, finally dry and full of energy again! Sun is out but still cold in a morning, some 5 degrees or so. Left hotel around 6 in a morning all dressed up as if i would be riding in winter – wearing all the layers i had! Went past Gavia pass that was on the way to Lake Garda. Gavia pass – Just as nice as Stelvio pass. Lake Garda – mainly because of Strada della Forra road – very famous road, it also was featured in one of the James Bond movies i believe.
Boiling hot!
Anyway, as i was going down, and closer to the valley, temperature was going up and up, till it reached over 40 degrees and i had no choice but to stop and take all my layers off! Funny enough I did that on the side of the narrow road, as I couldn’t wait any longer! As it turned out, it was one of the hottest days that year too.
Calm before the storm.
Moving forward, all the way to Milano everything was awesome and trouble free! Stunning place! Not sure why but i have noticed that there is a lack of McDonalds around there and people looked very fit too!
After Milan, I bumped into paid roads that I did know nothing about, and getting to Bardonecchia turned a bit of a nightmare!
Disappointment…
First thing – the price was super high, multiple posts to pay for very few kilometers, and even roads were super nice and smooth, it seemed to me like as soon as i got closer to some nicer place, it was covered with panels – so passers wouldn’t see it! So all the way from Milan to Bardonecchia i was a little upset as i felt like i’m missing out, however, i had no choice but keep going as it was Saturday evening and i still had to crunch some mile before i will get to the trail that leads to the camp for Stella Alpina.
Stella Alpina was something new for me too, i had no idea how to get there, what kind of trail that will be, where to camp, how to find it, like literally nothing but a rough idea of location, and date.
Panic!
Sometime in between Turin and Bardonecchia panic has started. Getting dark, my fuel light on for the last 70 kilometers or so, I’m standing next to the fuel pump with no one around, my card gets scanned by the machine, however the fuel pump isn’t working! Not sure why but the pump nozzle didn’t pick up the plastic tank on my bike and just refused to start pumping the fuel. After 15 minutes or so, I decided just to leave that petrol station and hope i’ll find another one soon! And guess what, i did, and next petrol station did exactly the same thing! Accepted my card, but refused to fill it up, and no people around to ask!
“Numbnut”
Nozzle in the tank – a small screen on the station shows to stick the nozzle in the tank. Ok, I place it back where it should be – it shows to pick it up, I pick it up, it shows to stick it in the tank, I do – but it does nothing and it doesn’t allow it to fuel up! Tried a few times, and again – panic! Wasn’t sure what to do as it was getting dark very quickly too, and with no fuel – im stuck! Not long after Police came, two short slim super ripped blokes, in a tidy looking uniform, with pistols on their belts, my eyes popped – as i haven’t seen a real gun for a very long time, and i wasn’t sure if that’s normal in Italy. Anyway I started asking how that thing works, trying to explain that for some reason it doesn’t work for me….they had a quick glance at the pay point if the card was accepted, picked up the nozzle, popped it in my tank and boom! Pump is running. They looked at me like I’m a complete idiot who doesn’t know how to operate a fuel pump, had a laugh and after I thanked them they left me feeling like a complete numbnut, oh well – fair play…
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Finding campsite!
The rest was easy – few more miles on the tarmac, quick climb up the gravel track up to the dam, where i thought i’m already there so i didn’t waste any time and simply picked a spot, parked my bike, said hi to the rest of the riders around and after a quick dinner went to sleep! What i didn’t know, that the main campsite was a bit further away! but that’s not a big problem, the problem was a fairly low temperature at night!
Day 4 – Stella Alpina Rally!
Some time during the night, temperature dropped to 2 degrees, and even with 4 season sleeping bag and thermal mat – i woke up around 5am because i was freezing.. opened my tent, looked around – it was just starting to get brighter, however everyone was still sleeping. Didn’t want to wake everybody up so I thought I’ll make some tea, slowly pack my stuff and it will be more or less time to head up.
Lets start the actual Stella Alpina Rally!
I pushed my bike slightly away from everyone, started it and left. Didn’t take very long to reach second camp, i also went straight in thinking that the trail is on the other side, however, i made a mistake, as the trail that leads to Colle del Sommeiller top was on the right just before the camp.. so i’m sure by going into the camp i have woken up some of the riders… anyway, went back, and up and after a nice set of rocky zig-zag, stopped to take a picture with a sleepy camp in the background! After that followed a nice easy bit that wasn’t too steep or very rocky. Soon got to the point where hairpin turns seemed like will never end, turn after turn after turn… also noticed that higher i went the bigger rocks turned, and even i could see the tracks, none of the rocks where pushed away just yet, so obviously me being still fairly new to offroad riding, i started slowing down, and few riders caught up with me, one on big KTM i believe and another on some smaller Husquvarna.
First Off!
Everything went well till we reached that very first turn with sunshine, where not only me but also Husky lad got blinded and we came off… funny enough he quickly picked his bike up and kept going, me – pushed my bike to the side to take a few more pictures as it was truly a stunning spot!
No doubt!
Few moments later, after catching my breath back (it must have been good 2700 meters above sea level by then), and few ideas to finish it off right at that spot, I kept on pushing. And just another couple of turns I got to the spot where few riders stopped, as the track was blocked with a good amount of snow… i do remember seeing KTM lad like crazy animal pushing and dropping and lifting and pushing his KTM over that snow pile, till he got to the other side of it, just to get a little bit further ahead and drop it again, where he looked over the edge at us shouting for help, not sure what language it was, but it was very clear that he run out of steam – high revving engine for a second, silance for a second, and then some mumbling sound and a man lifting his arms up and down – pretty obvious to me.
Turning Back!
After the closer look, I decided not to keep going as it was way too much for me, however the lad on Husky did try to get over that snow, and after a fall on it and some help with pushing he managed to get to the other side. Me – finally decided to deflate tires and head back, and oh man, what a difference – that was the very first time i have decided to try to ride my bike on half inflated tires, and it helped a lot! Descend was a breeze, seemed like all the riders who went up made a nice big rock free track, that was a lot nicer to follow than going up.
I have to mention that it took me a good couple of hours to get up there and back.
Keep Rolling!
Back to usual stuff – packed my bags, had some food, some nice people made some tea for me too, quick chat with people, and I left…
I had a plan to do some extra trails around there, but i really didn’t feel like doing any more trails, so i picked a easy route, this time avoiding paid roads too and on my way when i stopped for coffee and a snack in one of those camping spots on the side of the road, i realised that i’m looking right at the Mont Blanc – Highest Mountain in the Alps that reaches 4,807 metres! It was simply stunning!
Visiting Mont Blanc!
After a bit of rest I decided that I wanted to get a bit closer to it and I thought that the best spot for that would be somewhere close to Tunnel du Mont-Blanc, a tunnel that goes right under it! Well… Yeah… I was a bit disappointed… as by the time i got there, it was already hiding in the cloud…
Anyway, i kept on going already towards Calais with no plans at all, stopped for a night in a small hotel that i found on google, run by a French family and that was still in the making. Nice remote area, Bee hives, horses… like a paradise in heaven, now guess the name of it? “heaven”! Slept like a baby that night…
Days 5&6 – Long Way Home!
In fact I slept so well that I missed my alarms and woke up very late that morning, late but not too late for French Breakfast!
Filled with food I kept on pushing towards Calais! I still had 2 days to go, and that was a good thing… After I got wet in Germany, and fried in Italy, I had some super annoying rashes on my rear end as well as my neck, and they kept bothering me all the time.
Also even if i felt rested in the morning, i was still tired overall, and as i kept on going i noticed that i started stopping more and more often – sometimes every 50 Kilometers or so.
Camping again!
Last night I decided to stop somewhere in Belgium, where I found a fairly cheap campsite. Funny enough I gave them a call to ask if they have any room for a tent, and after a quick chat managed to agree on a lower price too, that was good for me as it meant that i can use my last Euro Notes and come back home with no spare change.
The very last day was a bit boring, straight roads, not much to see on the way, and only one thought – how much I missed my family… I think at some point I have started to meditate too, and when I decided to stop to get some rest, that’s around 20 miles from home, I dropped my bike so hard that I completely smashed my cheap hand guards and crash bars!
Anyway, I enjoyed it a lot, and if i had a week and nothing to do, i would do it again, but i would make sure that i have proper waterproof gear and an extra day for this route – to avoid expensive motorways in Italy!
How much did it cost.
Overall i have spent around 500 euros on this trip, main expense was fuel, then food and roof. For the first night I paid nothing as I set up a bivouac, away and out of sight. Second night cost me 45 Euros, and I spent the night in AlpenColor Hotel Tonale – Family Hotel, Third night was in Stella Alpina camp, so it was free. Fourth night in Le Paradis, chambres d’hôtes et gîte, I paid for the night some 30 euros. And last night in Camping Chênefleur, that cost me 10 euros.
On average all around the price for fuel was 1.50 Euro per Liter, i’m sure there were cheaper places to fuel up too, i just didn’t bother to look for them, stopped as i needed.
Toll Payments in Italy:
40 euros for 350km of nothingness (Milano 7,50 € 105 km, Torino Rondissone 16,80 € 130 km, Falchera 1,50 € 18 km, Bruere 1,50 € 13 km, Avigliana 5,30€ 34.5 km, Salbertrand 7,30 € 47.9 km). Toll Prices can be checked at www.autostrade.it
Tolls in France:
I have avoided Tolls in France like i planned, however if i didn’t, from Bardonecchia to Calais it would have cost me an extra 47 Euros in Toll fees for 870 kilometers, avoiding tolls – 1170km, 8 hours VS 14hours (stops not included). So price wise I would say it comes more or less the same, as a longer trip means extra stay = more expenses. You can find more information about French Tolls on www.sanef.com.
Download Gpx File: (*.zip – compressed “zipped” file)
Please check the route before use! and if used – use it at your own risk!
