Can I Bring My Significant Other?

If she will be on her own bike or riding with you, then by all means, yes. Especially if it means you might not otherwise be able to do the trip.

If she's a non-rider and not interested in being a passenger for 2500kms of riding then this is probably not the right trip for her.

That said, there are some things to take into consideration.

• Luggage
  If she will be a passenger then carrying both your stuff on the bike will be a challenge. The biggest bike likely will be a BMW R1200RT with side and top cases. While those are pretty big cases, packing a week's worth of luggage for two will mean packing extremely light.
• Little "tourist" activity
  With the exception of our arrival and departure days, there are no planned stops in major cities or tourist destinations - it's a riding vacation. If the wife is hoping for shopping, museums and gondola rides she's not going to be happy. Arabba, for example, you could "do" in 2 hours as a tourist- we'll be there for 4 days. Of course you could extend your stay on either side of the riding part of the trip and travel anywhere you like.
• Lots of guys
  There's a strong possibility she'll be the only female, so she'd have to be comfortable with that. We'll do our best to refrain from scratching ourselves in her presence.
• Group Riding
  This is a roll-your-own adventure, for the majority of the trip you can ride where you like, how you like, and with who you like. Don't worry about taking too many breaks, or holding people up. If you just want to ride with your wife, go ahead. If you find some folks who also want to ride with you, that's fine.
• Transit Days
  There will be a couple of transit days where I'd like the group to stay together, but it's certainly not mandatory. The longest transit day should be less than 250 miles. Once we're in one of our riding regions (Austrian alps, Dolomites, Stelvio, whatever) we'll be hotelling for a couple days and everyone can do day loops at their own pace.
• Hotels / Dining
  We're not staying in 5-star resorts, but by no means roughing it. The smaller hotels we'll be staying at during our trip have excellent dining, often have pool/wellness facilities, and a bar. In short, they should meet with spousal approval.

If you have any questions, concerns or thoughts please don't hesitate to e-mail me or post to the Alps2011 Google Group.