Spring & autumn

Layered textile suit with removable thermal liner, waterproof membrane or oversuit, heated grips or gloves, neck tube, and waterproof boots. Mountain passes can be near freezing at dawn.

Summer

Vented or mesh jacket and trousers with armour, CE summer gloves, cooling vest for southern Europe and North Africa, plenty of water, sun cream, and a light waterproof for mountain storms.

Winter & high passes

Heated kit, winter gloves with a spare pair, balaclava and pinlock visor. Many high cols close from about November to June, and winter tyres or chains are required in some regions.

Always

A properly fitted helmet approved to a road standard (ECE 22.05 or 22.06 in the UK and EU; see GOV.UK), plus CE-marked motorcycle gloves, jacket, trousers and boots. Hi-vis vest. Earplugs. Pack wet-weather kit at the top of your luggage.

The gotchas

• France, Belgium, Czechia, Poland, Slovakia use type E: the socket has a pin sticking out. A bulky "Schuko-only" (type F) adapter may not fit.
• Italy (type L) and Switzerland (type J) have their own sockets, often recessed. The slim two-pin Europlug (type C) fits nearly everywhere in Europe.
• Ireland, Malta and Cyprus use the UK plug (type G). New Zealand and Australia use type I.
• The USA and Canada are 120 V. Phone, camera and laptop chargers marked "100–240V" are fine. Hairdryers, straighteners and some heated-kit chargers aren't.

What to pack

• One multi-country adapter with type C/E/F pins, or a combined "Euro" adapter that fits both E and F sockets
• A small UK multi-socket extension (or a multi-port USB-C charger), as rooms often have just one spare socket and you'll want to charge your phone, camera, intercom and heated kit overnight
• Buy adapters from a known retailer, marked UKCA or CE. Throw away any that wobble or get warm

On the bike

• A USB-C (PD) socket or a 12 V SAE lead keeps your phone and satnav charged as you ride. Fit a fuse and a switch, or use the ignition feed, so you don't flatten the battery overnight
• Campsite electric hook-ups use the blue round CEE plug (16 A). Campers need a CEE-to-socket lead and often a UK-to-continental adapter as well

Fitness

Stamina matters more than strength. Short walks, stairs, core and shoulder work over the spring all help you hold a heavy bike steady at slow speed. Riding itself is the best training, so build up to two or three consecutive days before the big trip.

Hydration

Drink before you're thirsty. Have something at every stop, carry water (a hydration pack works well) and add electrolytes in heat. The NHS check: your pee should be pale. Dark yellow means drink more. Caffeine and alcohol both dehydrate.

Dehydration: the signs

Thirst, headache, light-headedness, dark or strong-smelling pee, peeing less often, tiredness, and a dry mouth and lips (NHS). Stop, get into shade and drink. Get urgent help if you're confused, very sleepy, short of breath, or your skin looks blue, grey or blotchy.

Heat exhaustion vs heatstroke

Heat exhaustion (NHS): tiredness, dizziness, headache, nausea, heavy sweating with pale clammy skin, cramps, a high temperature and intense thirst. Act now: get somewhere cool, strip off the kit, drink water or a sports drink, and spray or sponge with cool water and fan. They should feel better within 30 minutes.

Heatstroke is an emergency: a very high temperature, hot skin that has stopped sweating, fast breathing, confusion, a fit or collapse. Call 112, or 999 in the UK.

Fatigue & exhaustion

The Highway Code recommends a break of at least 15 minutes after every 2 hours, and avoiding long journeys between midnight and 6am. If you feel sleepy, stop somewhere safe. Riders' warning signs: yawning, heavy eyes, missing turnings, sloppy lines, and not remembering the last few miles. Our day plans keep riding to about 3 hours for this reason.

Alcohol: the evening and the morning

Alcohol dehydrates you (NHS), and a hot day on the bike makes that worse. It can still be in your blood the next morning, and many countries set lower limits than England and Wales. France's is a third lower, Norway's a quarter of England's (GOV.UK). If you've had a good night, plan a late start. Alternate drinks with water and eat with them.

Long days & blood clots (DVT)

The NHS lists long journeys (over 4 hours) and dehydration among the things that raise the risk of a blood clot in the leg. Its advice: move around every hour or so, drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol. Our break pattern does the first. Compression socks: some riders like them, but the NHS doesn't recommend them for journeys. If you have risk factors (a previous clot, recent surgery, being over 60), ask your GP or pharmacist.

Get urgent help for a throbbing, swollen calf or thigh in one leg. Call 112 or 999 if it comes with chest pain or breathlessness.

Riding with a medical condition

Plenty of riders tour with heart conditions, diabetes or other long-term conditions. You know your own limits best, and planning around them is what this site is for.

• Before a big or high-altitude trip (the Stelvio is at 2,757 m), check exertion, heat and altitude with your GP or specialist.
• Travel insurance: declare every pre-existing condition, or your cover may not apply.
• Medication: take enough for the trip plus spares, in your tank bag or jacket, not the panniers. Keep a written list of drug names and doses, and ideally a GP letter.
• Emergency info: set up Medical ID / emergency info on your phone (readable from the lock screen). Carry an ICE card in your jacket, and tell riding partners where your meds are.
• Heat & fluids: some medicines (diuretics, for example) make dehydration more likely, so take the hydration and heat advice above seriously.
• Know the signs of a heart attack: chest pain or pressure that can spread to the arms, jaw, neck or back, plus breathlessness, sweating or sickness. Stop and call 112 at once. NHS: heart attack ↗
• Pace: short riding days, regular breaks and rest days are good planning, not weakness. Our 3-hour days exist for this.

Heat on the bike

Use vented or mesh kit and a wet cooling vest or neck tube. In real heat, stop in the shade between about 11am and 3pm (the NHS heat advice) and ride early and late instead. Never ride with the jacket open and the armour out of place: rest in the shade instead.

Cold & wet on the passes

It can be near freezing at 2,500 m even in July, and a wet rider chills fast. Put waterproofs on before the rain, keep a dry thermal layer packed at the top, and use heated grips or gloves. Shivering, clumsy hands and slowed thinking mean stop, warm up and get a hot drink before riding on.

Mount positions

• Chin of the helmet: the most natural rider's-eye view; shows the bars and dash
• Side of the helmet: easy to fit, but a higher, wobblier view and more wind noise
• Chest harness: steady, shows hands and tank; can point at the sky when you're tucked in
• Handlebar / mirror stem: rock-steady road view; vibration can blur on singles and twins
• Rear rack or pillion: great for following riders and the rider in shot

Use a lanyard or safety tether on every mount. Check the mount before each ride: a camera bouncing down a pass is a hazard to riders behind.

Suggested settings

Ride first, film second

• Set the camera up before you ride. Use voice control or a bar-mounted remote, and never handle the camera while moving.
• Rules on helmet cameras vary between countries. Some insurers or police take a dim view of attachments that could affect a helmet's safety.
• Several countries are reported to restrict continuous "dashcam-style" filming of public roads (for example Austria, Portugal and Luxembourg). Check before you go.
• In the EU, publishing clear faces and number plates can raise privacy issues. Blur them before you post.

The flying-camera look

On an "invisible" selfie stick the stick disappears in the stitch, so the shot looks like a drone following you. Keep the stick straight in line with the camera.

Mind the join

The two lenses meet at a stitch line. Keep the main subject (you, the road ahead) in the middle of one lens, not on the join, and keep close objects away from the sides.

Reframe later

You can choose the angle afterwards in the app, as landscape, portrait or both. The catch: each reframed view uses only part of the 360 image, so it's softer than a normal 4K camera.

Protect the lenses

Bulging 360 lenses scratch easily. Use lens guards on the bike (a small quality cost), and keep a microfibre cloth handy, as one fingerprint ruins a whole clip.