Nine adventurers from the United States embark on an epic journey through the best roads in the Alps. Seefeld is our starting location, where we held the briefing and prepared the guests what yet has to come. We are excited!!!

After a delicious dinner where we got to know eachother a little better, the very next morning we jumped on the bikes and made our way to Italy. First we had a short photo stop at the church along the Reschenpass. This is near the three-country point of Austria, Switzerland and Italy. This means we are in the heart of our playground, the Alps. The route continued over 47 switchbacks of the Stelviopass where Bruno was waiting for us with a delicious lunch. Before heading to Pontresina, we made a detour via the more rawer and challenging Gaviapass. This is just a warming up for what the rest of the week has in store for us

The second riding day, the journey took us from Pontresina via the Maloja- and Splügenpass to the San Bernardino and the legendary Gotthard pass. The last mentioned pass is famous for its cobblestone road on the south side, also known as Tremola. But first, the Malojapass took us to the Acquafraggia waterfalls over windy roads where we had a short photostop. 

A stop for a delicious Italian meal in Switzerland made our day.

Last but not least, we conquered the historical Gotthard pass. As we returned to the valley on the northern side, the architecture also changed from an Italian to a Germanic or Alp-like style. Very interesting how this can vary from one valley to another. 

The highlight was an extra round on the roundabout, since we passed the right exit. To be continued...

Departing from beautiful Brunnen with a bittersweet feeling, we headed to iconic Zermatt. Situated at the feet of the Matterhorn, one of the worlds most famous peaks, this town follows a strict no-car policy, which also applied to our bikes, so we had to leave them in a nearby village.

On our way to Göscheneralp -where Bernardo prepared a delicious picknick- we passed the same roundabout as when we came from the Gotthardpass. Since the group was splitted due to traffic, we had to make an extra round on the roundabout. But Chris didn't get the correct call and went straight fot the motorway. Oops... we lost him. Luckily he returned quickly and we were heading for our lunch. When we finished and were getting ready to get back on the bikes, it was also a call from the weather gods to try our raingear the first time. We continued, and guess what, it's the same roundabout... Third time's a charm. No-one got lost and we did only one extra round

Before arriving in Zermatt, we went over the Furkapass, the setting of the famous James Bonds "Goldfinger" scene. Unfotunately, the weather was not filmready, as a gigantic hailstorn hit us. This couldn't slow our seasoned drivers down, as we handled this challange like true professionals. To round off the day, we checked out Zermatt with its traditional architecture and unique flair.

Another day, another challenge! Todays trip will take us to Lugano, Switzerlands most Italian town. After jumping on our bikes we attacked the Simplonpass, where weather wasn't on our side. Still, we pushed through and made our way to our lunch stop at Lago Maggiore over some fun,tight and tricky roads. After filling up our batteries, we took a ferry crossing the lake, before embarking on the last stretch of todays journey, which took us over Passo di San Antonio to Lugano, where we ended our day with a relaxing stroll downtown, soaking up the mediteranean atmosphere and a terrific dinner.   

Luckily our side cases kept us afloat

We started our day in earnest as we raced through Luganos morning traffic to catch our ferry in Menaggio, with which would cross Lake Como. Sadly, we missed it. On the other hand it gave us time to enjoy a nice coffee at this beautiful lake, where "Hollywoods Who's Who" all have their residence. Could be worse!

After our relaxing ferry ride we rode over Passo di Vivione. Is this already the highlight of this epic journey? This very narrow and twisty road provided us with great fun and we were all thrilled when heading to the valley. An unforseen toilet stop brought us to a small store with the most delicious local products. This must be the highlight after conquering the Passo di Vivione.

Next came Passo Passo del Tonale, which was also a blast. We were lucky with the weather today. We got our raingear on and the clouds dissapeared inmediately. We arrived at the hotel with new experiences and great new memories.

Our morning started very good with a delicious breakfast. But as soon as we left te garage, we found out that Donnas bike had a flat tire. Luckily the manager of the hotel suggested a tire repair shop and made a phone call for us, so we quickly could get back on track!

We continued our way to Lago di Molveno before heading to Lago die Coredo, where Bernardo prepared a delicious picknick for us again!

After filling our tummy we headed to the impressive sanctuary San Romedio and lighted a candle for our loved ones. 

Day 8 was supposed to be our restday. But most of the group chose to explore the surrounding Dolomites. Who could blame them? 

Meanwhile Bernardo took the rest of the group, who actually wanted to get some rest, to the nearby city of Bolzano. South Tyrols capital and a city where german and italian cultures mix, Bolzano is also the home of Ötzi - The Iceman. After visiting the mummy and taking a relaxing walk in town we headed back to the hotel, where another spectacular dinner waited for us.

The others went to the Marmolada, or "Queen of the Dolomites", also by cable car. But first the group had to get there, over the most beautiful passes the Dolomites can offer us.

This day would take us through the Dolomites through many passes, one of them being the Passo Fedaia and the Pordoi Pass. Another highlight to add on the long list of highlights we collected on the way on this beautiful journey. We had lunch that day in Cortina. Famous for being the host of the 1956 Winter Olympics and for feauturing in the Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only". After a rather relaxing ride to Lienz, our destiantion, we had a proper austrian dinner to round off the day.

Ready and hungry for the Grossglockener-Straße, the road along Austrias highest mountain, we launched from Lienz and headed on this famous road, which offers spectaculars views over the Hohe Tauern National Park. After handling this challenging pass we needad a break, which we spent in the small town Kaprun, where in the year 2000 an accident involving a furnicular cost the lives of 155 people. We then went on to the Gerloßpass, the last pass of the trip. The last stretch of this epic trip would lead us over a very rainy stretch of motorway. After a small detour we left our bikes in the garage and visited the Edelweiss HQ for a quick pit-stop. From there on taxis would lead us to our hotel. 

The goal we set in the middle of the week was to achieve 2500+ km. Guess what? Not did we only achieve this, we also achieved 1600+ miles! Congrats to all of us!