Touring Europe by motorcycle (without the boring bits)

Bikeshuttle
Specially designed motorcycle shuttle lorries will transport your bike to more interesting parts of Europe

For those of us living in England's south east, the roads of Europe are on our doorstep. Or rather the roads of northern France and Belgium are on our doorstep – Normandy, Nord Pas and parts of Benelux are within half a day's easy ride or drive.

But what if we want to go further afield to, say, the Swiss Alps? Hitherto the options for this destination have been the scenic route (maybe taking in the nerve shredding Nurburgring) or for the fainter-of-heart the sublime Black Forest High Road. Alternatively we could endure a relentless motorway slog to reach our destination and be ready for some serious mountain bend swinging the next day after a night in a hotel.

In recent years I’ve done all three, and indeed all have their merits. But what about when the modern malaise of being 'time poor' becomes a major factor or, as in my case in July, beholden to a pillion? 

Not just any pillion mind; the woman I love. Mary is new to biking, and hasn't done much more than a couple of hours in the saddle on any given day. Brownie points needed to be accumulated or at least maintained. Quite the quandary. 

Enter Bikeshuttle, a roll-on-roll-off motorcycle transport service from the UK to Geneva (the Alps) or Toulouse (Pyrenees). The brainchild of Guy Buswell who, after enduring non-stop rain riding the length of France one week, decided there must be an easier (drier) way of doing things.

Bikeshuttle Europe motorcycle transport 
Let someone else deal with the monotony of the French autoroute 

Bikeshuttle offers a weekly service through the summer to both Geneva and Toulouse, transporting your bike, luggage, and bike gear in a purpose built shuttle truck, utilising bespoke bike caddies and specially modified cases for helmets etc. You meanwhile take a plane from Luton to either of Geneva or Toulouse, rendezvous with your bike and embark on your travels.

This year the service is scheduled to transport 380 bikes up from 250 in 2017, a 50% increase. Their base is located in Northampton less than four miles from Junction 16 of the M1 putting it within easy reach of London and the Midlands, even my family home in Yorkshire is only a couple of hours away.

Our particular plan was a whistle stop five day, four night tour of some of the best sights Switzerland has to offer. Mary had never visited before whereas I did the Grand Tour back in 2015 so was reasonably well acquainted with the country.

When the weather gods favour you Switzerland is a wonderful place. The scenery is simply stunning and is matched by the quality of roads, not only are they are in impeccable condition, for biking they are sublime. Here in the UK we are told the extremes in weather are the reason for our pot hole ridden roads. Switzerland dispels that myth; over five days riding I can count the number of pot holes on one hand, and have fingers to spare. I’m not sure I could have chosen a better environment in which to initiate Mary to the world of motorcycle touring?

Our four nights were spent in Interlaken, St Moritz, the vehicle-free mountain village of Stoos, with the last night spent in the opulence of the appropriately named Grand Hotel du Lac in Vevey on the shore of Lake Geneva. The route was planned to show Mary the best of what Switzerland has to offer. The first day to Interlaken was the taster, nothing too extreme, though with the sat nav set to avoid motorways it remained interesting. Mary’s highlight was when we went off piste so to speak and had to descend several hundred metres on single track roads through mountain villages. The views it has to be said were breathtaking. Though when I saw the descent I thought it could set the tone for the rest of the tour; it did but not in the way I feared.

Day two saw us tackle our first real mountain pass together, the Grimsel Pass with the beautiful Totesee reservoir at the summit. The summit of the Grimsel was again an anxious time for me. With temperatures approaching single figures and Mary being of the warm blooded variety I did wonder as to her reaction. All that was needed was a warm cuppa in one of the restaurants and a change of gloves. The rest of the day to our overnight stay in St Moritz flew by, and once we were out of the clouds temperatures rose once more, and we spent the day swinging through sublime scenery, stopping for photographs and breaks whenever the fancy took us.

Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are some of the prettiest places to ride a motorcycle Credit: Westend61 /Westend61 

Day three was the highlight of the trip both in terms of ride and destination. It wasn’t planned but we did four mountain passes on route to Stoos. Virtually the whole day was spent either ascending or descending mountains, It’s a day neither of us will ever forget. But for Mary there was one more surprise. Stoos is a vehicle-free village that nestles 1300m above sea level  at the foot of the Fronalpstock mountain. As if the location of the village and our hotel wasn’t surprise enough, access is via the world's steepest funicular railway. This is the one place we have vowed to return in the not too distant future such was its impact on the both of us.

The ride from Stoos to Vevey was another visual delight, with hours spent alongside the beautiful Lac de Neuchatel. At 28 miles in length it is the largest lake located entirely in Switzerland. We saw the lake from all elevations from shore level to what felt like 100s of meters up. At times it was difficult to concentrate on the road. This part of the ride typified our whole experience. As I already knew Switzerland is a beautiful country, probably one of the most beautiful in the world. And in my view there is no better way to enjoy its charm than by motorcycle.

To be honest had I not been presented with what for me were unique circumstances I wouldn’t have given Bikeshuttle a second glance; I’ve always seen the ‘getting there’ part of the adventure. But what we have to remember is that not everyone wants adventure, or has the time for one. Some people want order and certainty, and Bikeshuttle manages to mix the two for those who want some of the former but are constrained by time. Their claim is that taking all things into consideration; fuel, tolls, hotels and depreciation etc. is that the service delivers a small cost saving over riding to either Geneva or Tolouse. Regardless the one thing money can’t buy is time.

Bikeshuttle motorbike
A safe and secure way to save time as a motorcyclist

I have come across bikers on various online forums who have waxed lyrical about the virtues of Bikeshuttle only to be shot down, sometimes in quite scathing fashion, for not being 'proper' bikers. Should we then apply the same theory to those who take the overnight ferry to Santander to cut out the slog of riding through France to reach Spain? From my experience, and for my set of circumstances Bikeshuttle worked. Would I use it again? Yes, certainly.

The final word goes to Mary: "Being new to motorcycling I had no idea what to expect, but no matter how Ian dressed it up the thought of the motorway slog to Switzerland didn’t sound appealing for a newbie like me. The Bikeshuttle service was an ideal introduction to touring Europe, and where better than Switzerland. I absolutely loved it. I’d do it again in a heartbeat”

For more information go to Bikeshuttle.co.uk. Geneva £499 return, £379 one way; Toulouse £519 return, £389 one way.

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