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M O T O R C YC L E DIARIES OFFLI N E EDIT ION
www.motorcycle-diaries.com
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E D I TO
* Issue #1 & #2 have been limited editions only.
Welcome to this first* official off-line edition of Motorcycle-Diaries. Motorcycle Diaries is all about discovering amazing roads, endless landscapes, hidden places and distant horizons. With this edition we want to to give you a taste of what you can find on the website, but in the form of a collectors magazine. And we hope that with this inspiration you’ll close the magazine, put on your gear, roll out your bike out and go riding! Motorcycle-Diaries: for your riding pleasure only!
PICTURE & TEXT PETER-JAN WILLEMS
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O U R PA R T N E R S
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O C T O B E R
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5 DESTINATIONS FOR A LONG WEEKEND
Inspiration for your next weekend rides
48 R OUTE DES GRANDES ALPES
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FR ANCE
A classic in the French Alps
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GROSSGLOCKNER
For your riding pleasure only!
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NORTHERN CHILE
A land of arid and stunning emptiness.
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3 FORGOTTEN MOUNTAIN ROADS IN EUROPE
Off the beaten track.
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BORDER HOPPING IN THE PYRÉNÉES
Seeking the best roads between France and Spain
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5 SCENIC ROADS TO DISCOVER IN SPAIN
Take your motorcycle and ride!
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TET ITALY : SECTION UNO E DUE
Enjoying off-road riding in Italy
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ON HER BIKE
A free soul on an adventure bike
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MONTHLY COMPETITION
Share your best roads and win!
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PARTNERS
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AUSTRIA
CHILE
FR ANCE/SPAIN
SPAIN
ITALY
AROUND THE WORLD
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Route des
GR ANDES ALPES
LENGTH: 700KM MD ROADS: 13 RIDING: 2-3 DAYS TEXT JELLE VERSTAEN PICTURES PETER-JAN WILLEMS
Riding the Route des Grandes Alpes on your motorcycle, an incredible journey across
the French Alps, from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean Sea.
The roughly 700 kilometers long route kicks
off from Thonon-les-bains and heads towards Menton, while spoiling you with no less than eighteen Alpine mountain passes. Iseran,
Galibier, Izoard, Colombière, Bonette, and Cormet de Roselend and their panoramic views will leave you gasping for air.
On the edge of the Vanoise National Park, the route zigzags its way down into the valley, and climbs up again towards Val-d'Isère and Col de l'Iseran. The Col de l'Iseran might just be the holy grail for many motorcyclists: it’s the highest paved mountain pass in the Alps, which towers exactly 2.764 metres over sea level. ››
ROUTE DES GRANDES ALPES
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VORFUSCH
WINKLERN
GROSSGLOCKNER For your riding pleasure only !
ELEVATION: 2504M LENGTH: 68KM COUNTRY: AUSTRIA TEXT & PICTURES PETER-JAN WILLEMS
The many gates at the north tollbooth tell you to be an early bird to enjoy the road to the fullest.
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G R O S S G L O C K N E R : FO R YO U R R I D I N G P L E A S U R E O N LY !
E ARLY BIRD CATCHE S THE BEND The many gates at the north tollbooth tell you to be an early bird to enjoy the road to the fullest. At 6 am you’re allowed to enter. We’re at the end of May. There is not a single soul in sight. A series of long curves - not even corners - between the trees and an often cold en humid surface welcome us with a light warning. The road is long. Don’t spoil it before number 1. Now we’re really off! 2, 3 and 4 follow in fast succession. Then we accelerate with a bit more confidence. Left, left, right, left left,
right right… Souvenir shop, parking and speed trap… all possible dangers nicely grouped together and from there on the trees are less dense and the first views to the surrounding mountains get to you. Before you know it you pass 5 and 6 and even if there is no space in 6 the view from over the fence surprised us just like it did 8 years ago. Spring grass, hairpin, trees, and high alpine peaks still covered in snow. ››
CHILE
A land of arid and stunning emptiness
LOCATION: CHILE LENGTH: 4500KM TIME: 10 DAYS TEXT & PICTURES PETER-JAN WILEMS
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CH I L E : A L A N D O F A R I D & S T U N N I N G E M P T I N E S S
Streets are no streets, houses sheds or imposing, street dogs everywhere. You feel welcome, especially to buy an excursion of one of the hundreds travel agencies to any place in the beautiful surrounding. We have wheels and we have a full day ahead. A day that will stay with us forever, as the desert will be turning the surroundings into magic. The approach to San Pedro with deep red eroded salt gives you this unearthly feel. Heading west 27 greets you with an unbelievable climb. The road may look flat at certain points but don’t underestimate the climb. Yellow fluffy vegetation thrives here against a backdrop of blue skies and dark red/purple volcanoes. Every mile west takes you higher and higher: you notice vegetation disappearing, almost no one is here.
the blue, the reddish orange. We stand amazed. Incomparable beauty. And there’s life even at this altitude. Guanaco’s and Lama’s feed on low vegetation and salty water. A marvellous habitat but hard on life. And hard on us. After we have been exposed to the altitude we need to flee back to lower grounds. On the way back we stop with a cyclist. He peddles, he walks, and he came from Hungary or was it the Czech republic? I don’t remember, but what an effort…
We have wheels and we have a full day ahead.
We can see the border of Bolivia, to the left is the Laguna Blanca, beautiful they say, but we cannot cross the border so we had on to la pacana Caldera and the Salar le Loyoques. It’s here we all get light headed and where we move slowly to avoid getting out of breath by the altitude. The white,
We leave San Pedro by the South, a shortcut back to Baquedano. The B385 crosses the salt mines and more arid spaces. One way the salt seems white, the other way the sand colours the white crystals. We meander through. The road looks like dirt, but is salt, hardened by water and allowing up-tempo speeds. We’re leaving the Atacama back to Antofagasto and one of the must take picture places in the shape of the Mano del desierto. ››
CH I L E : A L A N D O F A R I D & S T U N N I N G E M P T I N E S S
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BORDER HOPPING in the Pyrénées
LOCATION: FR ANCE LENGTH: 1278KM TIME: 6-8 DAYS TEXT PETER-JAN WILLEMS PICTURES PETER-JAN WILLEMS & SÉBASTIEN NUNES
It’s an early morning on the Col d’Ares. I
t’s mid-summer, and there’s no one around. We’ve been riding a week long through
magnificent mountains hopping the FrenchSpanish border many times.
O
n perfect and less perfect roads. Through forests, fields and clouds. It seems like motorcyclists have forgotten how great the Pyrenees are… While in the Alps there’s traffic jam’s, here the main obstacles are farm animals and the occasional cyclists… For reasons beyond our control we tend to find ourselves early summer somewhere around Biarritz on the Ocean. We love the ocean and somehow the Basque country keeps calling us back year after year. On top of it we seem to meet the same people over and over… ››
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BORDER HOPPING IN THE PYRÉNÉES
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TET ITALY section uno e due
READ ALL THE TET STORIES ON
TEXT & PICTURES PETER DE JONGH
The last kilometre to the summit is a bit more challenging, this is a fairly rocky section and the climb is getting steeper. But the effort is rewarding. Because the views, once on top the Jafferau, are stunning! It feels like you’re on top of the world. Another great ride that is awaiting me is the Colle del Sommeiler. The road is a dead end, the 30 km long starts in Bardonecchia and takes you via a small winding tarmac road to Rochemolles, where the paved road ends and the not asphalted part starts. The first section is easy going, before you reach the Rifugio Scarfiotti. From this point the real work starts. For the next 9 kms you’ll have to conquer 800 altimeters. A series of hairpins take you higher up in the mountains. About halfway up there is a high plateau where you can get some rest before the ultimate climb. The road becomes steeper and surely more demanding. Big rocks and stones, narrow curves and sporadic snow form a guarantee for a technical ride up to the summit of this highest passable road in the Alps. At the top there is a small lake and the views are stunning! Going downhill is going rather smoothly and a little bit faster. At the high plateau I can choose to take the small bridge over the mountain stream or ride trough it. Being a real experienced enduro rider, I choose this last option. I stop for a photo of the bike in the water before continuing the water crossing. ››
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T E T I TA LY S E C T I O N U N O E D U E
T E T I TA LY S E C T I O N U N O E D U E
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