I was going to call this the Alpine Stars Tour... then I thought that might not go down too well with a certain Italian clothing manufacturer. But that's what it is – a greatest-hits collection of big-name passes in the Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps. You can tick-off the famous roads you always wanted to ride with this one-week-long tour.

​

This is a comprehensively tried-and-tested tour. It's actually the latest, most highly evolved version of the very first tour I planned for a customer. The original was put together for a big birthday trip and it definitely delivered… and carefully honed variations have been a staple of my bespoke-touring business ever since.

​

What are the highlights? So many... It's essentially all highlights. Once you're clear of coast, the route takes you through the Ardennes to the Vosges mountains, before dropping into Switzerland. From there you head into Italy, over Stelvio, through the Dolomites to Großglockner, before heading for home along the Deutsche Alpen Straße and into the Black Forest. It's great road after great road.

​

Why nine days? The basic nine-day trip is timed to fit in with one week off work, getting a morning crossing to Calais on Saturday and then returning to the UK the following Sunday afternoon. Nine-day versions are also available to tie in with the ferry crossing from Hull to Rotterdam and Newcastle to Ijmuden (Amsterdam).

​

However, there are more options if you have a bit more time. The Tour Pack editions includes an alternate route in the middle, giving an extra day in the beautiful Dolomites, taking the core tour up to ten days.They also includes four daytrip routes at key locations, so you can extend the tour to 14 days, packing in the maximum amount of mountain goodness.

​

What’s included on the route? Each day’s route has recommended places to stop for coffee in the morning and afternoon, a suggested lunch stop and planned fuel stops (based on being able to do 130 miles between top-ups). Hotel suggestions are included too.

​​

How long is each day’s ride? This is a trip that's all about packing in amazing roads so they are full days in the saddle – but not crazy-long tests of posterior fortitude. It is still a holiday and that means getting to each destination fresh enough to enjoy it. If you're on the road at nine each morning, you should be at the next hotel before 6pm. That's allowing for lunch, coffee and photo stops along the way. Saddle-time rating: seven out of 10.

​​​

How is it supplied? Each individual download consists of an interactive eBook of notes plus the GPX file for that ride. The complete tour download and Tour Pack contain individual GPX files for each route plus one interactive eBook covering the full trip. The Tour Pack is supported by printable tankbag notes and comes with a paper map (can't beat a good map!) but these are prepared to order so there may be a slight delay in posting, if I'm on the road when you order the tour.