For me as a beginner on unpaved roads, Liguria has proved to be ideal:
Strada del Assietta, Monte Jafferau, Colle Sommeiller, Parpaillon, Col de Tende, Ligurian border crest road (LGKS) and at the end of vacation still 2 days bathing in the Mediterranean. What more could you want.
But right from the beginning:
At the beginning of September 2010 we meet in a cafe at Tegernsee: Markus, Lars, Mike, Wolfgang and me. It’s pouring with rain, we can’t see any coffee anymore when it clears up and we set off. After a stop in Switzerland, we decided to go to the Assietta first. Nice start, and even for Wolfgang with his BMW 1150 GS relaxed (unfortunately his DR 650 was not finished in time).
The advantage of drizzle and fog is at least that it is not too hot and that few others are on the way. But cows are always there.
We spend a few nights at the campsite in Salbertrand. The pizza there is great and the rest of the campsite is also good for us: a good starting point for the high altitudes nearby.
Next we want to go to the Monte Jafferau. Also here we are practically on our own.
From the roof of the old fortress at an altitude of 2801 m you have a great view
The next highlight already follows: the Colle Sommeiler is with scarcely 3000 m the highest, legally passable point of the alps. Here you really learn to ride serpentines with gravel. Shortly before reaching the summit, we already feel like an absolute adventure. We haven’t seen any other vehicles for a long time, when suddenly a Fiat Panda is standing at the roadside. Very quickly we shrink back to normal size.
At the top of the pass it is really nice, but also cold.
In the meantime we have climbed the passes we set out to, it’s time to change the starting point: we set off with full luggage from Salbertrand to Tende. Among other things, we also drive through the Parpaillon. At the end of the tunnel the view is fabulous.
But also the Col de Tende impresses us: the narrow gravel serpentines are quite sweaty.
And the view from Fort Central is definitely worthwhile.
Next on the agenda is the LGKS, the absolute highlight of the trip:
There is more going on here – and playing on gravel is really fun.
At the end of a great motorcycle vacation we stay in Finale Ligure for 2 days – swimming, eating ice cream, writing postcards. And we are already planning to come back sometime.