Sap Tour 2004 Report


X-number of participants ready to rock-n-roll	X-quisite "Base Camp-1" one day before X takes off	X amount of time to enjoy some of the local sites	X-ass-perating. Walter meets a small ass!	X-uberant particpants receive their first route maps


X-periences of the first stage of 90 kms...	...off road and dusk starts to fall over the alps...	...and into the X-spance of night and beyond.	X-ternal feelings are high as Vic waits..	...for the darkness to decsend.


Day two and coffee break in the French Haut Savoir Alps..	..that turns into a lunch break on a very hot and strenious day some 400 kms down the road....	The flags are up and so is Walter's riding kit!	Now entering the central Swiss regions....	The X-tremers get ready to leave Base Camp 2..


Some of the things you...	...see on the road are quite nice!	A rather easy day some 250 kms down the road..	X-tremely thirsty by the looks of things....	Vic's putting in the replacement battery...


The Swedish are still getting their tent in order!	X-suberant amounts of tea consumed the evening before the longest section	First pass fourth day Susten taken by storm.	Second pass Klausen comes next...	Vic on the other leg gets a smooth one!


Austria taken by storm and the Biellerhoher Pass falls!	Then there were the Austrian boys in blue...It cost us each 30 Euro's to have this picture taken!	Well I'll be dammed!	and dammed again!	You reckon that bikes got wood worm?


Those snow capped mountains sure look good!	Austrian highways are good...	A X-treamly nice pass..but cost 10 Euro's to ride!	Now that's more like it some 9000 thousand feet above sea level. Europe third highest pass?	Did we just come up there at 100 miles an hour!


More pass bustin in the Italian Alps north of Bormio.	Vic & Thijs at Savognin Base Camp and time to make route plans.	After the longest day some 570 kms relax and take on food and water!!	Last post between Austria and Italy	Yet another Pass falls to the X-plorers


Soon all are allsettled in and the ice tea flows till the late hours	and flows and flows....	..with all the happy and tired SAP X-treme'rs...	especially Vic...	SAP X-Treme certificates...
If you have been on a SAP Tour then you will well understand that the pictures shown here do not really give justice to the beauty of each area we tour through...No matter how good the camera or/and the photographer is....being there is seeing and believing and only once or twice does an actual picture capture the outstanding beauty of the Alps...It is in fact breath taking and a supreme challenge to tour through these regions on your machine. The X-treme tour took us through many different regions including parts of the Haut Savoir in France and the Doub valley, across central Switzerland-through Liechtenstein and into the Austrian fore Alps, Italian Bormio and Pennine Alps, across the Southern frontier of Switzerland and through the Valaisanne regions.

The weather ranged from highs of 35 degrees to mighty thunder storms over the Bormio and Pennine Italian Alps. The X participants toured together for the first three stages and by the fourth stage there had been a significant change where there were three separate groups heading along the suggested tour stages. Stage one started everyone off on a serious challenge of 90 kms of off road surface at night. Going through altitudes from 800 to 2100 meters over a selection of routes to conquer three different passes. This particular stage ended in Martigny on the main exhibition area to watch a magnificent fire work display from the Batiaz Roman built castle which over looks Martigny. Stage 2 took us over the Swiss Alps into France down into the Haute Savoie to follow the River Doubs through the Franche Comte region and along the Doubs Valley to La Locle back in Switzerland. A stage that covered some 400 kms plus. Stage 3 put us back on a diagonal line straight across Switzerland passing Neuchatel and Thun to put us into the pre-Alps and experience one hell of a thunderstorm on the way to Schallenberg. After a necessary lunch and change of clothes break we pushed on to the central Swiss Massive and to our next goal smack bang in the centre of the big four Passes Furka, Susten, Grimsel and Gothard region and to the Base Camp three in Innertkirchen.. A light day of some 250 kms.

Stage 4 saw all of the SAP-Xers up at 04.30am to break base camp and head out on the longest stage so far. There were a few heavy heads at breakfast but all seemed up for the challenge. Ahead was Central and Eastern Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Italy and back to Switzerland. Some of Europe's highest passes stood in our way...and one of the wettest days I have experienced riding in the Alps! The day was won some 13 and half hours later at the base camp in Savognin with 572 kms coverd.

Base camp 5 over night stay came around all to soon, the nights sleep seemed short but intense for most of the participants. The next stage took us into the southern most point of Switzerland down the Poschciavo valley and out into Italy towards the Italian Pennine Alps. The further South we got the blacker the sky's was becoming and by the time we got to our turn off point for the Passo St.Carlo the weather had completely cleared up and we made the route to the Carlo to see some of the most spectacular scenery one could imagine in this part of the world. The stage took us over the Lake of Como by boat, and this gave us some time to do our Titanic impressions and generally pretend to get sea sick. We arrived at Melano 320 kms down the line. Sadly Walter had not been feeling well since the night before and we had to keep him confined in his tent away from the BAR! Diana his partner took good care of him though and he managed to pull through the rest of the week under sheer determination that's a biker with character!

Stage 6 and final leg of the route took us some 270 kms through the Vandesca range of mountains with some very nice un-protected roads with enormous drops and switch backs...the type of roads that are marked in a red and white dotted line on the map.( I mean seriously dangerous!). All X'ers really enjoyed that route and some were threatening to go back and do it again!! But time was pressing and ahead in the heat was Centovalli and our window back into Switzerland. Simplon Pass came and went to quickly and the decent back to our final base camp was in site. All arrived in good time, and in good spirits...which may I add was the theme for the final evening. With the tour over, nigh on 2300 kms covered in 6 tour days, numerous passes, 6 different base camps and loads and loads of brilliant open and mountainous roads, we all agreed that SAP Tour X-treme II was a success. The next day all participants were on route to there homes. Vic was off on the next major leg of his massive Euro tour and I put the bike away and went fishing!