I'm making a list. I'm checking it twice. I'm making sure everything on it is nice. Forget about about Christmas, I'm focusing on next year's tour – and it seems like lots of other people are, too. So many of the best hotels in the popular biking destinations seem to be fully booked for next year already – so if you want to guarantee yourself a bed in, say Potes in Spain or Andermatt in Switzerland, best get your tour plan together quickly.
Of course, it's only a problem if you want to go to the popular places. If you're happy going a bit left-field, getting off the beaten track, you'll find it easier to get a good deal. That may mean heading away from the "classic" biking areas…but that is usually a great thing to do, anyway. Finding any area away from motorhomes and cyclists, never mind hordes of other motorcyclists, is always brilliant… as long as the riding really does deliver as well.
So where do you start? You can try going further, getting beyond the obvious holiday hot spots. Yes, there's stunning riding in the Swiss Alps… and Austria… but what if you ride for another day or two to Slovenia or Croatia? There's awesome riding, it's all in the Schengen area and uses the Euro: no border checks, no fuss.
Slovenia's Julian Alps draw people to ride the Vrsic Pass and Mangart Saddle, but for me the fast, flowing D102 is just as great a ride. And in Croatia, while the D8 coast road is fantastic, there's epic riding inland. The D1 that runs the length of the country has some fabulous stretches and the D31 from Glina to Zagreb is a brilliant ride.
Head further south, out of the EU, and you'll find some great roads in Montenegro (uses the Euro) where the M18 running into Serbia is a thrill a minute. Head south into Albania and there's even more great riding to be discovered... some crazy driving as well! That really is an adventure.
You don't have to get so ambitious, though. There's great riding tucked away in every corner of Europe – even the most-popular ones. Take the Alps: from Route Napoleon to Col de la Bonette and Col de l'Iseran, they're full of big-name roads that attract hordes of hairpin-hunting hedonists every year, but there are still plenty of quiet roads to discover.
On my way to Corsica, I found myself cutting a different route to usual through the foothills of the Rhône Alps (very much to suit the Triumph Scrambler I had borrowed for the trip). I found a lovely new shortcut – the freshly surfaced, twisty D71. It dropped me off in the Vercors, where everyone knows about Col de la Machine, but Col de la Bataille (the D199) seems to be relatively unknown and it's a cracking ride.
Of course it isn't just the passes that deliver brilliant riding in the mountains. Some of the best roads run beside rivers, twisting and turning through gorges. Yes, the Gorges du Verdon is truly brilliant but it's always busy… whereas the Clue des Barles (D900A) outside Digne les Bains and the Gorges de la Meouge (D942) north of Sisteron always seem virtually empty and can deliver stunning rides – right in the heart of one of the most popular biking areas of France.
But France is so big that you don't have to go hunting in the Alps to find great rides. Roads like the D940 through the Limousin or the D944 through the Morvan, the D999 in the Auvergne and the D986 that spans the Tarn and the Cévennes regions can all deliver amazing thrills. Wherever there are hills, there are likely to be great roads.
That's true of most countries, of course – and if this blog can encourage a few people to get past the Picos de Europa (great as they are) to explore Extremadura or the sierras of central Spain, I'll consider my work complete (ish). There are so many brilliant roads – from the hairpin-heavy SA201 over El Portillo to the swooping, scenic CC81 or the EX322 that crosses a lake with a perfectly conical island in the centre that's Europe's maddest roundabout. And that's just the start of the great options.
Wherever you look, it's usually possible to find great riding just around the corner from the famous roads. Bored of the Black Forest's B500, with its 50kph limit? Try the L76b near Weisenbach or L123 near Münstertal. Or leave the Schwarzwald completely and head to Thuringia for majestic roads like the B19 and B84 outside Eisenach.
Austria's great mountain roads like the Großglockner may now have 70kph limits, but the national limit of 100kph still applies on roads like the B20 near Mariazell and the B69 that hugs the Slovenian border. Brilliant riding – but because they're not the big-name roads, there's hardly anybody out there enjoying them.
Really, it doesn't matter so much where you go – it matters that you do go. Start working on your plan now, and don't be put off if your number-one destination seems to be so busy that you can't get in there. Come up with a creative alternative. All time on the bike is better than time not on the bike… and the big-name roads aren't the only ones worth riding. Go out, explore and find fabulous tarmac (ahem, and let me know the best bits you find…)
What a terrific list of bike-friendly hidden gems! These routes appear exciting, and ideal for a daring ride. For those aiming to complete the image, a quality biker jacket is a must-have—it not only adds flair but also provides critical protection on the open road. Whether it's a stylish leather jacket or a more utilitarian, multi-pocketed version, each serious biker should own one. Thank you for sharing these lesser-known routes; I can't wait to discover them all.
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