Jerry and Jim's "High Alpine Adventure"

The leg work

   I got the idea of doing a European moto trip a couple of years ago and mentioned it to my buddy Jerry Layman for the first time at the 2002 COG National in Montrose. The idea didn't go anywhere until later in 2003 when in talking with Jerry I realized we would both turn 50 before the end of the year. The flashbulb went off and I decided we needed to give ourselves an unforgettable birthday present.

    So with the goal of a Euro trip in 2004, I started researching options. I consulted with long time COG members Don Simone and Mark Cipriano regarding doing one of the organized trips vs. doing it on our own. Don and his wife Anne have done numerous moto trips to Europe, both with organized groups and on their own, and Mark has been stationed over in Germany for many years now.

Although Mark graciously offered to help us organize things if we came over on our own, and even play tour guide, in the end it was the convenience factor of the organized tour that won out. I got a laugh out of that decision when Jerry said his wife Mary was relieved we had decided to go with a tour group. She was worried about me getting us "lost and stranded" on the side of some road in Europe. Turns out that wasn't the only concern Mary had about me. I wonder what Jerry's been telling her. At one point I did get us a little lost, but the road was worth it and we had plenty of gas.

     The Edelweiss package we settled on was the first tour of the year in late May. There's a narrow window of opportunity there - it's late spring and the weather can go either way. You take a chance on the weather, but save some money because it's before "high season" when everybody starts taking their vacations.

     The route we chose, which takes in the best the Alps and Italian Dolomites have to offer, is the "High Alpine Adventure." It starts in the Munich area, heads southwest to Austria, down through Lichtenstein to Switzerland, east to Italy and then north through Austria again back to Munich.

   Ed notes: Jerry and Jim's route (road book) can also be dowloaded as an ".axe" file for use in Microsoft's AutoRoute for the EU contries. Click here and save.
You'll also want to click the pictures. The thumbnails are just small sections to whet your appetite...

On to Day one