The purpose of this section is to help you quickly figure out what I’ve changed on my website since your last visit. The most current updates will be at the top.

February 1, 2014

Most of the 2015 updates are now posted. I apologize for the delay. A badly broken arm in late October made it difficult to type. It’s all good now.

There are several major changes and new tour features this season. One major item is the introduction of “FLEX TOURS”, which splits a longer tour into 2 shorter loops using our convenient home base in Thun as a 1-night pivot point like any other 1-night stay. This allows Tour members to join us for longer or shorter periods of time and lets Tour members who are riding the entire route gain access to their luggage to perhaps swap out clothes, tweak their bike, etc. The other major introduction is are the“MOTO TREK” tours designed to combine a ride focused and sight seeing focused tour into one great exploration. Other changes for 2015 include a simplified pricing for all tours along with a reduction in the maximum number of motorcycles per tour, which will be set at 7 bikes. Over the years I have found this to be a great size to maximize comradery and while allowing a good unified pace. The smaller the group the better the dynamic. I plan to cycle some new 2014 tour photos through the Photo Album in the near future.

December 15, 2013

Most of the 2014 updates are now posted. The 2013 tour schedule saw some unpublished changes at the end of 2013 with regard to the RECON Tour – we did not go to Southern France as planned. Hence, I am looking forward to riding down in that area in 2014. I plan to cycle some new 2013 tour photos through the Photo Album, add a 2013 testamonial or two, a couple of other minor updates and that should pretty much complete the website for the 2014 season.

October 18, 2012

Most of the 2013 updates are now posted to the website, including a few new testimonials.  As of today the exchange rates look to be similar to the 2012 rates – so 2013 costs should be close to 2012.  I’ve tweaked the text a little bit in a few places with the intent clarifying some minor points. As mentioned below February saw a major update to the Photo Album.  I plan to add even more pictures once I receive them from the 2012 tour members.

February 29, 2012

The website has been updated significantly for 2012 after an update hiatus in 2010-2011 due to full tours in 2010 and family health issues in 2011 that caused me to stay close to home during the tour season (although I did get to do some scouting in France and Switzerland by car in October 2011).  My tour offerings now include riding “intensity” options.  My tours are still for experienced riders who like to ride but now there are three different tours that give you the choice of riding and/or relaxing, riding a fair bit more with some relaxation or riding all the time.  The amount of riding increases as the number of riders decreases, meaning less time required for gas stops, pottie stops, food stops, etc.  The RECON tours in particular focus on saddle time and pass bagging.  Numerous other tweaks have also been made throughout the website.  The other major update is to the Photo Album.  I have added dozens on new photos, all taken by tour members.  They are arranged in loose order based on the TOP 10+ route.  My tours are riding intensive but the pictures show that there is a lot to see along the way.  They look best in “Full Screen” mode.

January 16, 2008

I did my major annual website update for the 2008 season this week. I have increased the fee paid directly to me by $5 per day, a 6% increase. This fee has remained unchanged since 2006 as the cost of a Euro went from $1.25 to $1.48, an 18% increase in travel costs. I use my fee to cover my travel costs so I reluctantly made the change. This will increase the cost per person by approx. $50 – $70 depending on the tour. I have made minor revisions to various sections to reflect the change in my fee. I have scooped some pictures from the photos sent to me this year by John and Kim, Bill and John from Australia. Thanks. I’ll be updating the Photo Album with some of those photos shortly. The exact motorcycle list will be updated in February-March 2008 when the dealer posts his 2008 rental list. Much of it will be same as this year but I expect to see a few new bikes on the list from all three manufacturers (BMW, Honda and Aprilia). It should be a great 2008. That is it for now.

November 2, 2006

I did my major annual website update for the 2007 season this week.

February 12, 2006

Updated the number of motorcycle slots available as of today. The tours are limited to 10 motorcycles or 15 people, whichever comes first. Both tours have 8 motorcycles reserved as of today.

November 11, 2005

I did my major annual website update for the 2006 season this week. I have increased the fee paid directly to me by $10 per day. This fee has remained unchanged during the last few years even as the cost of a Euro went from 89cents to $1.25. It does not look like the Euro is going down anytime soon so I reluctantly made the change. This will increase the cost per person by approx. $100 per tour (although as I post this the dollar has strengthened a bit thereby making the overall cost of the tours the same as last year). I have made minor revisions to various sections to reflect the change in my fee. I have scooped some pictures from the photos sent to me this year by John and Kim, Mark, and Fred and Carol. Thanks. I’ll be updating the Photo Album with some of those photos shortly. The exact motorcycle list will be updated in February-March 2006 when the dealer posts his 2006 rental list. Much of it will be same as this year but I expect to see a few new bikes on the list from all three manufacturers (BMW, Honda and Aprilia). It should be a great 2006. That is it for now.

February 4, 2005

Today I posted the fact that all the 2005 tours are fully booked. I am a little surprised that it happened so early in the season but I’m very pleased. I want to thank past tour members for their referrals and testimonials, which helped make 2005 a sold-out season. It always pains me to have to turn people away. I apologize to those folks who wanted to come but for whom there was no more space and to those people who may contact me after today about this year’s tours.

I also updated the FAQ on motorcycle rentals and rates. The update reflects the 2005 motorcycles available to rent and their daily rental rates shown with today’s exchange rate from Swiss francs to US dollars.

December 30, 2004

I have changed the Italian flavored tour description to show that it is now an 11-day tour instead of 10 days as previously described. I have always done 10-day tours. However, I wanted to add an extra day in the lakes region at Riva del Garda and with a few strokes there it is. I enjoy that area quite a bit and I know my tour guests will too. One day is not enough.

I have also revised the “Real Cost” section in the “Touring Details” to reflect a touring cost per day. That way I can then take those costs and multiply them times the number of tour days. I hope this makes it easier to understand what is covered in the tour cost and how each tour cost fluctuates based on the number of days.

I then went back and updated the “Tour Summary” and the individual tour descriptions to make sure all the tour cost information was in sync.

October 25 – November 12, 2004

I did my major annual website update during these three weeks. This update focused on providing information for the 2005 season. Updates were made to the “Moto-Charlie” homepage and the “Tour Summary”. In the “Tour Details” section major updates were made to the “Real Cost” section to reflect the current exchange rates. Updates were also made to the “Testimonial” section including links to pictures taken by two of the folks who provided testimonials. I have scooped some photos from their links and used them here on my website so a special thanks to Jeff and Jim. Thanks also to Ofer for the use of one his pictures. Other than some new photos and a few more tweaks here and there that is it for now.

The only major update that I could not do at this time was to the motorcycle section that deals with what the 2005 bikes and prices will be. That is because our rental shop only uses current model year bikes (i.e. in 2004 we had 2004 motorcycles and in 2005 we have 2005 model year bikes), which is what I want. The actual bikes to be available and their rental cost usually is listed in March of the current year. So, we are about four months away from knowing the exact 2005 line-up. Generally bikes that carry over from one year to another remain at the same price. For instance the rental cost for a 2005 BMW R1200GS will probably be the same as for the 2004 model. I will post the 2005 information as soon as it becomes available.