EuropeRides.com - your free motor travel consultant
We've been helping motorcycle riders (but also other visitors) TOUR EUROPE ever since 2005. But yours truly has been traveling Europe and the US for ever, starting at the age of three back in 1955. Haven't stopped since, although I LOVE to take the speed and hassle down a little now.This informational website is all about our services, our travels, and our love for motorcycles. 'US' means myself and Nina my lovely and supportive wife. You'll get to know us through this site... and you can also find me on many other places on the Internet.
Be our guest and start browsing!
Our various travels
The Netherlands
Riding through France
The D-Day Beaches
The Italian Dolomites
The United States
Umbria and Tuscany
Blogging news and stuff
Below you'll find the latest of my blog posts, news items and interesting links. Yes, I am usually more active on Facebook these days than on my own blog, but still... I try to keep up.
If you're new to EuropeRides, you may want to browse the blog further down and read some of the history. I have changed the site regularly, even lost it once to hackers, and just recently re-started it again.
You can also just browse the extensive MENU above of course and pick subjects to your liking !
And before you leave, be sure to also check my daily update eMagazine EuropeRides MotorMag with all the latest news on motorcycling, motorsport and the occasional car news
My latest BMWSportTouring post
For those of you not reading the greatest Discussion Board on BMW’s period….. I am appalled ….. By myself mainly. Why? Because for some reason unbeknown to me – really ! – I haven’t been riding anymore like I used to do. And I really don’t know why, although I have been trying to analyze the situation. This has been going on for some 2 years now. It also sort of kept me away from these boards. I used to write ride tales and post pictures, but without riding there ain’t much to tell. So….. any of you…
Alpentourer
Finally pulled the trigger and after all these years of buying the wonderful magazine from time to time at the kiosk, I now subscribed. I met the editor once at a motor trade show and I think he has the same mindset I have…. being a northerner with mountaineer blood and motor oil in his veins :-) Together with the first issue of the mag I also received the Tourenplaner 2018 (the thick booklet with the Biker and Betten hotels), the nice Tourenatlas and a ‘tube’ (headscarf). Still a pity there are not many places and tours for France and…
Riding up Col de l’Iseran
Yesterday Nina and I decided to benefit from more cloudless sky and ride up to the Col de l’Iseran (Iseran Pass) that connects Val d’Isère – the famous posh winter sports resort) and the Maurienne Valley and Modane on the other side. It was HOT in the valleys, up to 30 C, and fresh up on the pass which is up at 2770 m elevation (9087 feet). Not high to US standards, but wait….. the roads up aren’t the same as in the US either *grin*. If you have any doubt about your ability to ride straight while having a…
One of the Annual Dutch RT meetings
Yesterday was our yearly DUTCH RT Forum meeting and in spite of the bad weather along the way and at some parts of the tour, we had well over 130 bikes turn up for the get-together, subsequent tour and (inside) barbecue. Due to time constraints I only did half of the actual tour and after having a late lunch I returned to the starting point with some of the organizers. Riding back took us through one horrendous hail storm… I was afraid the stones might chip off the paint of my Schuberth !!! We were just about to pull over…
Col de la Madeleine
Collected here is a small series of photos of the Col de la Madeleine. The photos were made in 2005 and 2006. Col de la Madeleine is one of the more challenging ‘cols’ (or mountain passes) with rather narrow roads on the east side. The hairpins are not too difficult, but there are quite a few places where there is hardly room for a motorbike AND a car to pass each other. The east side of the pass (we usually go UP on that side) is the steepest and narrowest, climbing up from the valley that connects Albertville with the…
Our new BMW
Against all odds I (read that as: we) DID buy a brand-new, liquid-cooled, super-duper, all-options-included BMW R1200GS. Yessir….. It turned out to be too complex to ‘import’ my two old BMW’s into Italy, and with help of a friend and the movers company (who carried them back with them for free !!), I sold them both. That certainly wasn’t enough to get me a new one, not even a young used one. But then we also sold our house….. and that made the difference. So in the end, and with some adventurous traveling, we got us a new one. Now,…