Europe in the late summer is nearly unbeatable, especially on a motorcycle. Too hot? Twist the throttle a bit more. Too cold. Same. In a hurry? Don’t be!

Beyond the postcard scenery and centuries-old pictorama, the important stuff to Jean, Brian and myself were the people and machines in our touring group. 

After all the planning and preparation to arrive in Aix-les-Bains for our 12-day journey, it was important to be fully present and receptive to the “strangers” who rode their bikes from the far reaches of Switzerland, France and Belgium to join us English speaking Californians and New Zealanders in a French parking lot on Sunday, August 13, 2023.

A third of the way through our 1,491-mile European motorcycle Alps tour — with Switzerland in our mirrors and Italy in our sights — we crossed into Austria, tackling the 8,117-foot Timmelsjoch Pass (Passo del Rombo) in the Tyrol region. Before immersing ourselves into the splendors of Italy, though, extreme heat reared its ugly head before heavy showers greeted us a few days later in the Dolomites.

Our pace was quick and rarely interrupted. We embraced roundabouts, which aren’t as prevalent here in the U.S. This saved unnecessary stops and starts in larger cities, and provided some respite from the heat once the midday sun started beating down.

As I explained in Part 1, there was a certain luxury in not having time constraints when planning our first European motorcycle tour. After a few years of passive research, it was time to commit.

First, we chose August to tour the Alps for several reasons: agreeable weather to summit high passes (10,000-plus feet above sea level); drier conditions, because riding for hours in the rain sucks no matter how prepared you are; more time for prep rides in California’s mountainous terrain; a longer runway to decide which gear to wear and bring; and a clearer head after enjoying summer and all its loveliness.

The trade off? Higher travel costs (airline, Airbnb/hotels) due to August being the peak European tourist season and heat. In my experience it’s easier to deal with heat than cold or wet, so we rolled the dice and accepted our fate.

The domino effect of touring the Alps by motorcycle in 2023 began when I became a serious cyclist in 2013.

Then 47 years old, I was invited to be a guest of Trek Travel to participate in L’Etape du Tour, organized by the same promoters as the Tour de France. Literally meaning a stage of the Tour, ours was a 130 kilometer loop starting in Annecy, France, with Mount Blanc lording over everyone like Zeus. I flew from San Francisco to Geneva, Switzerland, then took a bus 45 minutes to Annecy, our home base for the week as 10 of us trained for the Big Ride. It was my first time road cycling in Europe, approximately 7-½ years after touring Rwanda by mountain bike.

Seven months or so after I rode with Brian Mock for the first time, the Milpitas native bought a 2018 Triumph Tiger 800 Adventure. He still rides the snot out of that same Tiger, despite other bikes catching his fancy. And after trying several dual sport and adventure bikes myself, I bought a 2007 Triumph Tiger 1050 this past July to level the playing field. Too many damn fine roads to ride in California!

So it was surprising that we hadn’t shared a long ride on our Tigers until this past weekend, when Brian recommended the Carmel Valley Loop, 200-plus miles of scenic northern California vistas and choppy roads.

It’s finally happening. After years of wishful thinking, best laid plans, conservative financial planning and research, we’re taking a guided motorcycle tour of Europe for most of August. I’m choosing not to bring my laptop, so this will be the last blog post until at least August 30. There’ll be much to share once we return, with rich detail, photo galleries and details galore.

Jean, myself and riding pal Brian board United flight 1411 departing SFO at 7 a.m., August 8, transferring planes in Newark before landing in Geneva at 7:30 a.m. CEST. We’ve been preparing for this since February, and the time has finally arrived to head east and hop on some bikes in a region of the world none of us has experienced before.

With an Americano at my right elbow and the music of Rush in my Airpods, it’s easy to process what my next motorcycle adventure should entail. I’m sitting at Red Rock Coffee while the July sun warms Villa & Castro streets, not struggling to keep my bike upright against gale force winds on CA-5 or getting pelted by hail through Bakersfield.

And any reinforcement from the late motorcyclist, writer, lyricist and Rush drummer Neil Peart is welcome. This is why I return to his books for mental and spiritual guidance. It’s been three and a half years since we lost Peart to brain cancer, but his words and music live on. 

This week’s Bite-Sized blog includes stories of riding near Lake Cuyamaca and Borrego Springs outside San Diego, seeing the latest Indiana Jones movie on opening night, and meeting new and old friends in Toluca Lake on my home to wrap up a great motorcycle adventure.

The old adage that ‘April showers bring May flowers’ still holds true, but in the case of California's record rain between January and March, I’d venture a more apropos statement is ‘biblical rain brings color to the Plain,’ which in this case is the Carrizo Plain in San Luis Obispo County. Travel pal Brian and I rode there and back a couple weekends ago to see the superbloom, taking the scenic route away from major highways every chance we could.