The production continues. Sorry, that I don't have a cool soundtrack, but just putting them together sucks up a half day at a time.
Riding south from Kastelruth through Südtirolian (Alto Adige) country side. Map
Südtirol
Just a cool, fast road to ride on by Rovereto. Map
Arsiero
Mountain road around Taleggio. Map
Goatpath
The one time I was scared on this trip. Descending on the Swiss side of Splügen. It was cold, I wasn't in the zone, it was late in the day. 15 switchbacks. Map
Splugen Pass
One the way out of Splügen towards St. Moritz Map
Switzerland
Friday, May 30, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Alps part one
Wow, it's been a week since I've been back. Not really a whole lot of downtime since. Bring the bike back, birthday party, guests for a couple of days after, help my sister with her new house, put together pictures, work on videos... I thought this was supposed to be relaxing? I thought I would get some reading done this summer. I have yet to even crack a book this past month. Guess I'm not bored.
One of my recurring thoughts during this trip was, WTF did I not do this sooner? It just never occurred to me. What a bonehead. My advice to everyone - DO IT. It's obviously awesome on a bike, but even on four wheels it's pretty cool - you just get stuck behind the buses that I get to pass. Fly into Munich, rent whatever and go. You're about an hour from the Alps at that point.
Every part was an adventure. A new city/town/village/collection of houses every night. A new type of abode every night. Figuring out the day's route after breakfast every day. Awesome roads, scary roads. Awesome views. Cool towns. Friendly, amusing people. Good food. Riding in below freezing to high summer temps, sometimes within hours. Everyone welcomes motorcyclists. Hotels & restaurants have little stickers that say 'bikers welcome'. Hotels almost invariably offer up a garage for free. No one bats an eye when you waltz in disheveled with all your gear. It's not without risk. There are lots, LOTS of signs on the side of the road, admonishing people to 'not forget your head', that ask 'are you faster than death', and a few others. I don't know what the Swiss ones said, because the print was so small, you were guaranteed to crash if you tried to read it. I think I rode pretty sane, kept the speed reasonable (yes, I know that word is open to interpretation), didn't pull any lunatic passes and rode within my limits. Arguably, just being on some of those roads at all could be considered suicidal, but by the time I noticed that it was usually too late (not to mention physically impossible) to turn around.
It was fun to feel my riding skills getting sharper, to feel the comfort level increase, to ride the bike harder as time went on. It was neat to have my experiences surpassed almost every day. From tunnels, to heights, to temperatures, to views. It was interesting to learn the different personalities of all the passes.
It wasn't lonely, it was solitary. Doubly so because of how empty the roads were, by and large. Very cool. Tough to explain. That might be something that's lost in a car. I like exploring cities by myself as well. Walk wherever I want (as fast as I want :). Don't much like eating out by myself tho. Oh well.
Anyway, I put together a photo album and started uploading/editing videos:
There are more videos to be done, but here's the first batch:
One of my recurring thoughts during this trip was, WTF did I not do this sooner? It just never occurred to me. What a bonehead. My advice to everyone - DO IT. It's obviously awesome on a bike, but even on four wheels it's pretty cool - you just get stuck behind the buses that I get to pass. Fly into Munich, rent whatever and go. You're about an hour from the Alps at that point.
Every part was an adventure. A new city/town/village/collection of houses every night. A new type of abode every night. Figuring out the day's route after breakfast every day. Awesome roads, scary roads. Awesome views. Cool towns. Friendly, amusing people. Good food. Riding in below freezing to high summer temps, sometimes within hours. Everyone welcomes motorcyclists. Hotels & restaurants have little stickers that say 'bikers welcome'. Hotels almost invariably offer up a garage for free. No one bats an eye when you waltz in disheveled with all your gear. It's not without risk. There are lots, LOTS of signs on the side of the road, admonishing people to 'not forget your head', that ask 'are you faster than death', and a few others. I don't know what the Swiss ones said, because the print was so small, you were guaranteed to crash if you tried to read it. I think I rode pretty sane, kept the speed reasonable (yes, I know that word is open to interpretation), didn't pull any lunatic passes and rode within my limits. Arguably, just being on some of those roads at all could be considered suicidal, but by the time I noticed that it was usually too late (not to mention physically impossible) to turn around.
It was fun to feel my riding skills getting sharper, to feel the comfort level increase, to ride the bike harder as time went on. It was neat to have my experiences surpassed almost every day. From tunnels, to heights, to temperatures, to views. It was interesting to learn the different personalities of all the passes.
It wasn't lonely, it was solitary. Doubly so because of how empty the roads were, by and large. Very cool. Tough to explain. That might be something that's lost in a car. I like exploring cities by myself as well. Walk wherever I want (as fast as I want :). Don't much like eating out by myself tho. Oh well.
Anyway, I put together a photo album and started uploading/editing videos:
 |
| Italy May 2014 |
There are more videos to be done, but here's the first batch:
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Mille Miglia/Brescia - Bergamo Lombardy
Today was the finish of the Mille Miglia in Brescia. Hopped on the Autostrada to be there by 11:30, when the first cars were scheduled to roll in. I hoped that I wouldn't have an issue parking because of all the spectators. I clearly haven't figured out Italy yet. When one uses sidewalks, parks, no parking zones, suddenly there's plenty of space available. A different interpretation of 'event parking'.
The Mille seems to be a pretty big event for Brescia. The center of town, where the cars would roll in, was pretty packed. People lined the street after the finish line and all the cars rolled slowly past - all 400+ of them. The cars that are eligible to run have to be from the years when it was run as a real road race (1927-1957) and had to be an eligible sports car then. There is some seriously cool hardware on the road and it's great to see them being run hard. Here are some examples:
Here's the album:
Most people peel off after finishing, but maybe a third head on to a central town square to park for a few hours. After watching cars roll in for an hour or so, I meandered over to the square, checkout out the cars, had a panino and some Gelato. By the time I was done, It was 16:00 and I was kind of cooked, so I decided to just hop over to Bergamo and spend the night there.
Bergamo is pretty cool. It is divided into a lower and upper city. The upper one is surrounded by a massive wall, which was clearly a good defensive position once upon a time. You can then take a furnicular up to the very top. Stayed in a hostel for the first time, but it was really very nice. Lacks some of the creature comforts, but has a cool vibe. Not that anyone was there. Dinner was at Taverna Valtellinese, conveniently located around the corner from the hostel. Very good find!
The Mille seems to be a pretty big event for Brescia. The center of town, where the cars would roll in, was pretty packed. People lined the street after the finish line and all the cars rolled slowly past - all 400+ of them. The cars that are eligible to run have to be from the years when it was run as a real road race (1927-1957) and had to be an eligible sports car then. There is some seriously cool hardware on the road and it's great to see them being run hard. Here are some examples:
Here's the album:
 |
| Brescia, Mille Miglia, May 18, 2014 |
Most people peel off after finishing, but maybe a third head on to a central town square to park for a few hours. After watching cars roll in for an hour or so, I meandered over to the square, checkout out the cars, had a panino and some Gelato. By the time I was done, It was 16:00 and I was kind of cooked, so I decided to just hop over to Bergamo and spend the night there.
Bergamo is pretty cool. It is divided into a lower and upper city. The upper one is surrounded by a massive wall, which was clearly a good defensive position once upon a time. You can then take a furnicular up to the very top. Stayed in a hostel for the first time, but it was really very nice. Lacks some of the creature comforts, but has a cool vibe. Not that anyone was there. Dinner was at Taverna Valtellinese, conveniently located around the corner from the hostel. Very good find!
Friday, May 23, 2014
Dätzingen, Deutschland - May 22
Last day on the road for now. I was close enough to home so I could take a detour in Austria and bag a couple more passes. First up out of Imst was the Hahntennjoch (1894m) . This has a pretty neat approach from the east. It's fairly shallow and winds its way up along a long gorge. The area is not traveled that much, so instead of building galleries (those are the tunnel type passages that are open to the valley side) to protect from rock and mudslides, the road is simply closed during thunderstorms, when the risk is too high.
I then went on past the Kelmer Sattel (saddle) (1342m) and the Berwanger Sattel (1336). This run was just a long string of open valleys and flowing curves. Very nice ride.
It was time to head into Germany. Mapped out a route avoiding highways, gassed up and set off on the last 260km of the trip. Once in the lowlands, I thought I crossed into Arizona. It was hot. At least 90 deg - Ok, that's not very hot for Arizona, but anyway, I was steaming. Stopped a number of times and kept on peeling off more layers. Now I needed some wind for the ventilation to work. Luckily the German country roads provided ample opportunity to blast along at 80 mph. 4h later, I was at home. Total for the day - 350 km. Total for the 2 week trip - 3500 km.
Today, Friday, the bike is going back. Sad to see her go. Also, it'll be weird that after 2 months of riding nearly every day I won't have 2 wheels available now for another month.
I've updated May 20 & 21 entries with pictures.
I then went on past the Kelmer Sattel (saddle) (1342m) and the Berwanger Sattel (1336). This run was just a long string of open valleys and flowing curves. Very nice ride.
It was time to head into Germany. Mapped out a route avoiding highways, gassed up and set off on the last 260km of the trip. Once in the lowlands, I thought I crossed into Arizona. It was hot. At least 90 deg - Ok, that's not very hot for Arizona, but anyway, I was steaming. Stopped a number of times and kept on peeling off more layers. Now I needed some wind for the ventilation to work. Luckily the German country roads provided ample opportunity to blast along at 80 mph. 4h later, I was at home. Total for the day - 350 km. Total for the 2 week trip - 3500 km.
Today, Friday, the bike is going back. Sad to see her go. Also, it'll be weird that after 2 months of riding nearly every day I won't have 2 wheels available now for another month.
I've updated May 20 & 21 entries with pictures.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Kaunerberg, Austria - May 21
Today I bagged a pass - and a glacier
As I was mapping out the day's route, I was a little perturbed that the big boys - Timmelsjoch and Passo della Stelvio, both over 2500m would elude me. I would miss both by maybe a week - unless it snowed more. Timmelsjoch gives daily updates of where they are, but even though they started clearing operations on April 30, they're not quite done. 10m of snow take a while to remove. Stelvio is cleared of snow, but not officially open. They need to be ready for the Giro a week from now, so I guess they're doing whatever repair work is required.
I started the day by riding the valley to the end. I figured it would be interesting to see where the Giro stage ended. The final few kilometers end in a 14% rise with a bunch of very tight switchbacks. Should be interesting to watch. I then set off to see how far up Stelvio I was able to go. I got to do the first five of 48 switchbacks. The mountain looks pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to riding it in June, but it would have been cool to do it with massive snowbanks on the side.
On the second pic the greyish lines are the stone 'guardrails' of the upper switchbacks.
Next up was Reschenpass into Austria. Fairly low at 1504m, but a long approach with nice sweepers. The north side is actually better, since theres more of a altitude delta, some some decent switchbacks that are wide enough to have a good flow. I rode that side down and followed that with a long descent into Tirol. I was planning on staying in Imst, but since I had plenty of time, I was going to do a 80km detour to the Kaunertal Glacier - 2750m! Stopped for lunch at a fish place and had a most exellent fresh and freshly smoked trout. The last 26km are a toll road, but it's well worth it. You wind your way along a long lake and the climb 29 switchbacks to the top. The road is pretty open, somewhat steep in part, but not too bad. That's a good thing, considering it's used by buses. At the top is a ski area - still open - and some pretty staggering views.
Every time I describe a view, I use superlatives, but it really is necessary. Everything is stupendous, breathtaking, astonishing - upend the thesaurus and you got it. Just to be clear, the Dolomites somehow still top it all. Undescribably, religiously awesome - so there.
Six hours on the road seem to be my maximum, so as I was heading back from the glacier valley and heading back up the mountain on the other side, I was thinking that it wouldn't be a bad thing if I didn't make it into Imst. as luck would have it, up came an Inn with rooms (and balconies) overlooking the valley I had just come from. Pretty cool. I decided that was a good thing and stopped for the night.
A few beers and a Wienerschnitzel on the terrace provided a satisfying end to the the day. So as I write this I'm getting pretty tired and will call it a night.
This is it - part one of the journey is just about over. I'll grab a pass or two tomorrow morning and then ride home to Grafenau. The next post will be from Germany. A quarter of my time away is over. It's not something I dwell on and in fact mostly everything is tuned out. The only reason I know what day it is, is because I keep track of the weather, so I don't run into trouble - and know when to ride to Germany. There were a time or two in an evening when I became introspective and started to think about my life. It didn't make me happy, but then I'm trying to maybe figure things out, so that's ok. It's been a good adventure so far. By tomorrow night I'll have covered over 4000km on the bike. I've been through six countries, seen some pretty neat sights. Three days from now I'll be 50. As my father, Klaus, likes to say - "So alt wird kein Schwein" :)
As I was mapping out the day's route, I was a little perturbed that the big boys - Timmelsjoch and Passo della Stelvio, both over 2500m would elude me. I would miss both by maybe a week - unless it snowed more. Timmelsjoch gives daily updates of where they are, but even though they started clearing operations on April 30, they're not quite done. 10m of snow take a while to remove. Stelvio is cleared of snow, but not officially open. They need to be ready for the Giro a week from now, so I guess they're doing whatever repair work is required.
I started the day by riding the valley to the end. I figured it would be interesting to see where the Giro stage ended. The final few kilometers end in a 14% rise with a bunch of very tight switchbacks. Should be interesting to watch. I then set off to see how far up Stelvio I was able to go. I got to do the first five of 48 switchbacks. The mountain looks pretty awesome. I'm looking forward to riding it in June, but it would have been cool to do it with massive snowbanks on the side.
On the second pic the greyish lines are the stone 'guardrails' of the upper switchbacks.
Next up was Reschenpass into Austria. Fairly low at 1504m, but a long approach with nice sweepers. The north side is actually better, since theres more of a altitude delta, some some decent switchbacks that are wide enough to have a good flow. I rode that side down and followed that with a long descent into Tirol. I was planning on staying in Imst, but since I had plenty of time, I was going to do a 80km detour to the Kaunertal Glacier - 2750m! Stopped for lunch at a fish place and had a most exellent fresh and freshly smoked trout. The last 26km are a toll road, but it's well worth it. You wind your way along a long lake and the climb 29 switchbacks to the top. The road is pretty open, somewhat steep in part, but not too bad. That's a good thing, considering it's used by buses. At the top is a ski area - still open - and some pretty staggering views.
Every time I describe a view, I use superlatives, but it really is necessary. Everything is stupendous, breathtaking, astonishing - upend the thesaurus and you got it. Just to be clear, the Dolomites somehow still top it all. Undescribably, religiously awesome - so there.
Six hours on the road seem to be my maximum, so as I was heading back from the glacier valley and heading back up the mountain on the other side, I was thinking that it wouldn't be a bad thing if I didn't make it into Imst. as luck would have it, up came an Inn with rooms (and balconies) overlooking the valley I had just come from. Pretty cool. I decided that was a good thing and stopped for the night.
A few beers and a Wienerschnitzel on the terrace provided a satisfying end to the the day. So as I write this I'm getting pretty tired and will call it a night.
This is it - part one of the journey is just about over. I'll grab a pass or two tomorrow morning and then ride home to Grafenau. The next post will be from Germany. A quarter of my time away is over. It's not something I dwell on and in fact mostly everything is tuned out. The only reason I know what day it is, is because I keep track of the weather, so I don't run into trouble - and know when to ride to Germany. There were a time or two in an evening when I became introspective and started to think about my life. It didn't make me happy, but then I'm trying to maybe figure things out, so that's ok. It's been a good adventure so far. By tomorrow night I'll have covered over 4000km on the bike. I've been through six countries, seen some pretty neat sights. Three days from now I'll be 50. As my father, Klaus, likes to say - "So alt wird kein Schwein" :)
Bad Salt, Suedtirol - May 20
Egads, second night without WIFI - oh but you should see the view... I'll be doing some text only entries and update with pictures when I get home. So for now, just imagine a spectacular view of a long green valley, surrounded by snow tipped mountains. If you can't wait, google Kaunertal, Austria.
I said goodbye to the amusing little town of Spluegen to complete my tour of southern Switzerland. I barely managed to avoid my motorcycling friend from the night before, which was good, as I didn't want to find out how little he could handle that bike - watching him pull out the previous night, everyone waited for him to drop it in the driveway.
I rode through some really spectacularly nice countryside. Everything is very green and framed by mountains. Rode through St. Moritz, another enclave of the rich and famous - sorry Cortina, you loose. Gorgeous lake, mountains. It IS pretty nice.
The first pass of the day was the Julierpass (2284m). Highest one yet, but the approaches aren't nearly as technical as Spluegen. This makes for a much more fluid, rapid, and more enjoyable traverse. The road is wider, as are the serpentines. The descent on the south side is very open and fast. I was cooking down the mountain at 70+ - and still got passed by an AMG Benz and a 911 convertible. I then rode on through a Swiss national forest to the Ofenpass (2149m). and back into Italy.
I was heading towards Meran in Suedtirol for no particular reason, mostly a somewhat convenient setup for the next day. About halfway along a fairly boring and busy road I suddenly had enough. I wanted ot get off the bike NOW. I pulled over and pondered what to do. I was at a place called Martelltal, so I thought what the hell, I'll take a right and see where it goes. Stopped in a village called Morten and managed to strike out at two places. One didn't have a room ready, at the next one no one could be found - I was starting to get ticked off. I rode up the valley, stopped again - all sold out - grrrr. Another 5 km up the road, a nondescript old hotel/restaurant. Sure they have a room, in fact they're all free. 25 euros incl breakfast - excellent, done. I went for a nice walk up the valley, which made me feel better. Had a prosecco at some bar, even better. The valley seems to specialize in growing Strawberries, in fact there's a festival there every year. In addition, its claim to fame this year is that the Giro stops by as part of the monster mountain stage on the 27th. After riding up Stelvio, they finish in this valley, which has a serious climb at the end. Had a simple but tasty meal of cold cuts and the landlady talked my ear off till 10pm. Another fun day in the books.
I said goodbye to the amusing little town of Spluegen to complete my tour of southern Switzerland. I barely managed to avoid my motorcycling friend from the night before, which was good, as I didn't want to find out how little he could handle that bike - watching him pull out the previous night, everyone waited for him to drop it in the driveway.
I rode through some really spectacularly nice countryside. Everything is very green and framed by mountains. Rode through St. Moritz, another enclave of the rich and famous - sorry Cortina, you loose. Gorgeous lake, mountains. It IS pretty nice.
The first pass of the day was the Julierpass (2284m). Highest one yet, but the approaches aren't nearly as technical as Spluegen. This makes for a much more fluid, rapid, and more enjoyable traverse. The road is wider, as are the serpentines. The descent on the south side is very open and fast. I was cooking down the mountain at 70+ - and still got passed by an AMG Benz and a 911 convertible. I then rode on through a Swiss national forest to the Ofenpass (2149m). and back into Italy.
I was heading towards Meran in Suedtirol for no particular reason, mostly a somewhat convenient setup for the next day. About halfway along a fairly boring and busy road I suddenly had enough. I wanted ot get off the bike NOW. I pulled over and pondered what to do. I was at a place called Martelltal, so I thought what the hell, I'll take a right and see where it goes. Stopped in a village called Morten and managed to strike out at two places. One didn't have a room ready, at the next one no one could be found - I was starting to get ticked off. I rode up the valley, stopped again - all sold out - grrrr. Another 5 km up the road, a nondescript old hotel/restaurant. Sure they have a room, in fact they're all free. 25 euros incl breakfast - excellent, done. I went for a nice walk up the valley, which made me feel better. Had a prosecco at some bar, even better. The valley seems to specialize in growing Strawberries, in fact there's a festival there every year. In addition, its claim to fame this year is that the Giro stops by as part of the monster mountain stage on the 27th. After riding up Stelvio, they finish in this valley, which has a serious climb at the end. Had a simple but tasty meal of cold cuts and the landlady talked my ear off till 10pm. Another fun day in the books.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Splügen, Switzerland - May 19
OK, I need to go out of order here, to tell the tale while it's still fresh in my mind and while I still have a buzz on.
I left Bergamo (to be detailed in the as-of-yet nonexistent post), with some vague goals in mind. I had a tour of Lombardy route, but I didn't want to end up back all the way south, though breaking out in the north east quadrant looked to be difficult due to the lack of alternate roads. So I laid out a route about half way around with the intent of evaluating how I was feeling and then making a decision on where to go. My likely route was to pop over Passo della Splugo/Spluegen pass (2113m) into Switzerland and find a room in Spluegen.
Out of Bergamo, I drove through San Pellegrino, proving that it's not just a catchy name. There was even a spring right in the middle of the inevitable roundabout, but I didn't see anyone filling bottles. I then went up into the hills and rode through Tallegio. It's fun to be reminded that these names belong to real places. I then rode up a pretty tight road to my first pass. Not quite a goat path, but close. It started out by going through a pretty cool gorge (video to follow), and came out on top with some nice views.
Low pass by my current standards - anything below the tree line barely counts nowadays. After lunch I wound my way north past Lago di Como, which is pretty cool since it's completely surrounded by mountains. I decided to go over Splugo. I was caught a little by surprise, since this used to be a major pass. It's tight and steep. Most switchbacks required counter leaning (you shift your body to the outside of the lean, so you can make a tighter radius) on the bike to make it around. I ran into pass clearing operations, which caused a 20 min pause. Some guys were up a 100 ft hill, tossing boulders and trees onto the road. Eventually the debris got pushed to the side and we were allowed to pass. At about 1900 m, I came across a moon scape. It was some kind of mountain lake, still frozen and dusted in snow. Had a really fascinating feel to it.
I took the opportunity to don cold weather gear, since I started the day almost 2000m lower and quite a bit warmer. Made it across the pass, and the came the descent. I think I have video, but I'm not sure. This was a scary as hell descent. Tight hairpins, lots of them. Steep grade, unsecured, narrow roadway, meters of snowbanks on the side. Where's a parachute when you need one. If you're a skier, remember your first time on top of a black diamond, when you weren't quite ready and wanted to walk down? Yep, that was me. I tiptoed down - as much as that's possible on a 500lb bike. Eventually the road opened up a bit, and the rest of the ride was nice. Only about a 700m descent, since I'm now sitting at 1463m. Felt longer. Counted the switchbacks on google maps. Only 10 in a row. Felt like 100.
So I rolled into Spluegen. Little Swiss skiing village. Looked like one hotel was open, so I went for that. I got the last, smallest room at the very top. I can't really stand up in it, but what the hell. I was thinking this morning that I really need to write up all the different rooms I've stayed in. The variety is fun.
I went down to the restaurant to have a beer. As luck would have it, I sat down at the 'Stammtisch'. It's a table that's sort of reserved for a group of regulars. It's kind of more than that, but that'll suffice.
So, Spluegen, pop 418 - obviously everybody knows everybody. I'm hanging out with this group of guys - let's see one just drove 1000km back from Bratislava, where is girlfriend is at the moment - it seems like a lot of the chambermaids for one hotel come from Slovakia - it's off season right now. So he got a divorce, bought a way too big $20k BMW R12GS, is dating a younger Slovakian and is telling everyone in earshot about sex toys/aids and what not he was using with his new GF. I was amused because it was the first time I heard it, everyone else had heard it several times before. Along for the ride were a father and son team who like to ride their Ducati Monsters over the passes - got lots of tips on where to ride, the local post office manager (who apparently is also quite the ladies man), the local goat farmer, a 70 year old who was dating 3 maids simultaneously and 2 guys who didn't say much. Everyone seemed to be divorced so they could play. Again, pop 418 - this felt like a soap opera - or these days a reality show setup. The real housewives of Spluegen - except I didn't meet them. I'm sure their stories are just as good. Well, then. definitely the most amusing evening I've had. Dinner was good too - Veal geschnetzeltes with Roesti. Oh and of course the Walliser dialect is next to impossible to understand. They spoke sort of high German for me, but it was still pretty funky.
Also, there's a british couple staying here that's doing the passes in their pristine red E-type coupe.
Also, there's a british couple staying here that's doing the passes in their pristine red E-type coupe.
Rovereto - Trentino-Alto Adige - May 17
Today the goal was to head south a bit, so I could head into Brescia early Sunday morning. I mapped out a ride stringing together paths through the farm lands or Suedtirol, a couple of passes and then coming down off the high plateaus into Rovereto. It was a nice easy pace. After the Dolomites, what passes for a pass in that area are mere bumps (1300m). After a really nice road with sweeping turns through the forest, my progress was summarily arrested. Whoops -
So I was saying earlier about the advisory road closings. This was not one of them. The boulder in the middle of the road signifies they mean business - none shall pass. For a pass to be re-opened in the spring, it's not enough that the snow melts. The roadways take a serious beating. Trees, rocks, boulders, avalanches come down. Often the guard rail is bent or crushed, sometimes the edge of the road is missing in action, sometimes a bit more. I'm encountering lots of construction, as well as tree removal. It's a big job to get the roads back into shape, but they're used to it and they do it well. Overall, the road conditions are excellent. Much better than say NY. There were a couple of spots on one pass in the Dolomites where the asphalt was summarily missing and there were a few heaves several inches high. On my big Enduro, that didn't bother me much, but I shudder to think what a Ferrari suspension would have to say about that. Speaking of the bike, it really is built for this stuff. Comfy, handles well, oodles of torque for all those tight bends - the front wheel comes up very nicely when you grab a handful of throttle in first or second.
Anyway, time to reroute. There was a pretty stream next to the closed road and since I was stopped anyway, I snapped a pic.
The thing with closed pass roads is that there usually is not a quick way around. So this put me on regular roads for an hour until I could reconnect to the second half of my ride. Towards the end I found a really fantastic motorcycling road. Clearly not a secret - tons of bikes around. About a 10km stretch of open sweepers, good road surface, little traffic. Got to do it both ways, since the GPS decided that was the most efficient way to the Hotel. Fine by me.
Rovereto is a medium sized town, picturesque, like they all seem to be. Much lower than I had been in the last few days. The town is at 200m. The night before, at close to 1100m, I walked to dinner in my winter jacket, now I was out in a t-shirt. Used Yelp to find a nice Osteria and had a good meal, which was way too big. Grilled polenta squares with snails, a white wine soup with cinnamon flavored croutons (awesome) and potatoes with meatballs - and strudel at the end. No more menu complettos!!!
GPS:
Rovereto - 45.8833, 11.05
So I was saying earlier about the advisory road closings. This was not one of them. The boulder in the middle of the road signifies they mean business - none shall pass. For a pass to be re-opened in the spring, it's not enough that the snow melts. The roadways take a serious beating. Trees, rocks, boulders, avalanches come down. Often the guard rail is bent or crushed, sometimes the edge of the road is missing in action, sometimes a bit more. I'm encountering lots of construction, as well as tree removal. It's a big job to get the roads back into shape, but they're used to it and they do it well. Overall, the road conditions are excellent. Much better than say NY. There were a couple of spots on one pass in the Dolomites where the asphalt was summarily missing and there were a few heaves several inches high. On my big Enduro, that didn't bother me much, but I shudder to think what a Ferrari suspension would have to say about that. Speaking of the bike, it really is built for this stuff. Comfy, handles well, oodles of torque for all those tight bends - the front wheel comes up very nicely when you grab a handful of throttle in first or second.
Anyway, time to reroute. There was a pretty stream next to the closed road and since I was stopped anyway, I snapped a pic.
The thing with closed pass roads is that there usually is not a quick way around. So this put me on regular roads for an hour until I could reconnect to the second half of my ride. Towards the end I found a really fantastic motorcycling road. Clearly not a secret - tons of bikes around. About a 10km stretch of open sweepers, good road surface, little traffic. Got to do it both ways, since the GPS decided that was the most efficient way to the Hotel. Fine by me.
Rovereto is a medium sized town, picturesque, like they all seem to be. Much lower than I had been in the last few days. The town is at 200m. The night before, at close to 1100m, I walked to dinner in my winter jacket, now I was out in a t-shirt. Used Yelp to find a nice Osteria and had a good meal, which was way too big. Grilled polenta squares with snails, a white wine soup with cinnamon flavored croutons (awesome) and potatoes with meatballs - and strudel at the end. No more menu complettos!!!
GPS:
Rovereto - 45.8833, 11.05
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Dolomiten pictures
I've conquered the technology at last, though I'm falling behind in the posts. Anyhow, here are some pics from the run through the dolomite passes, shot from the side of the road.
These are pictures of Kastelruth
Shot from "downtown"
View from the front of my hotel
My favorite alleyway shot
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Kastelruth/Castelrotto - May 16
Wow, what a day. Mind = blown.
Today, I was riding north and UP. I made sure no precipitation was in the offing, but temps were not a consideration. There's a reason I brought all my cold weather gear. After having the worst coffee *ever* at Hotel al Pelmo, I set off towards Cortina d'Ampezzo, which is the Vail of northern Italy. I wasn't sure if they checked bank accounts at the city limits, so I made haste to get past it. Pretty though, as are the visitors.
Before I even reached it, I had turned the handgrips on. 10 km past it I was already seeing the first snow and I decided to suit up. Neck gaiter, heated vest, winter gloves. Onwards. I was set to ride the Dolomites. The ride book mapped out a rough figure 8 west of Cortina, branching off the great Dolomite road. What followed is really impossible to to describe. The stats don't do it justice. I rode six passes plus one of them from both directions. None lower than 2000m and the highest at 2240m. Maybe close to 200 switchbacks and maybe 3000m or more of altitude delta covered. It was cold. Tons of snow. I had my heated gear cranked and taking the gloves off to take pics resulted in frozen hands in a hurry. Figure mostly around freezing and in a couple of spots below. But that's not it, in fact it's all irrelevant. Fun to be sure, but the scenery is what it's about. It's absolutely staggering. The vistas, peaks, valleys - your accolades notwithstanding, I'm nowhere near a good enough writer to put it into words, nor a good enough photographer to do it justice. I really wanted to have someone with me to share the feeling, the amazement. As it was, I had to focus on not running off the mountain because I was staring at the scenery. I had the camera rolling and the videos look good. You'll have to wait until I get back to Germany and have a chance to do some editing.
Today was the first day I started seeing more motorcycles. Traffic is still wonderfully sparse and there are many times I ride alone. At one point a local car club came back from an early blast through the passes. About 10 Lambos, 4 Ferraris, a Cayman in the lead AND a Miata right in the middle - nice :). Then there are those times I dodge oncoming buses. Quite unnerving and more than a bit annoying. They like to take more than their share of road coming around corners. Not fun. I keep wondering what would happen if I were another bus, not something that can squeeze into a third of a lane.
After six hours of buzzing Dolomite passes I entered a rift in the space time continuum. I decided to head for a village called Castelrotto in Suedtirol. In WWI Austria was on the wrong side of history and Suedtirol was ceded to Italy. It seems like this fact has been summarily ignored by the locals for the last 100 years. Everyone speaks German. All the signs are in German, with Italian subtitles. It feels as Austrian as anything north of the Alps, so really it's Kastelruth. I had a nice Tirolian meal with local Speck and a nice local bottle of Grauburgunder. I'm staying at the Wiesenhof. All the guests speak German too, the radio station is German. Weird, funny, amusing.
I'm not getting all the pics that I want on the iPad today somehow. I'll have to do an addon post.
GPS waypoints:
Cortina: 46.530, 12.1365
Arabba (center of the figure 8) 46.992, 11.8766
Kastelruth: 46.5947, 11.5858
Today, I was riding north and UP. I made sure no precipitation was in the offing, but temps were not a consideration. There's a reason I brought all my cold weather gear. After having the worst coffee *ever* at Hotel al Pelmo, I set off towards Cortina d'Ampezzo, which is the Vail of northern Italy. I wasn't sure if they checked bank accounts at the city limits, so I made haste to get past it. Pretty though, as are the visitors.
Before I even reached it, I had turned the handgrips on. 10 km past it I was already seeing the first snow and I decided to suit up. Neck gaiter, heated vest, winter gloves. Onwards. I was set to ride the Dolomites. The ride book mapped out a rough figure 8 west of Cortina, branching off the great Dolomite road. What followed is really impossible to to describe. The stats don't do it justice. I rode six passes plus one of them from both directions. None lower than 2000m and the highest at 2240m. Maybe close to 200 switchbacks and maybe 3000m or more of altitude delta covered. It was cold. Tons of snow. I had my heated gear cranked and taking the gloves off to take pics resulted in frozen hands in a hurry. Figure mostly around freezing and in a couple of spots below. But that's not it, in fact it's all irrelevant. Fun to be sure, but the scenery is what it's about. It's absolutely staggering. The vistas, peaks, valleys - your accolades notwithstanding, I'm nowhere near a good enough writer to put it into words, nor a good enough photographer to do it justice. I really wanted to have someone with me to share the feeling, the amazement. As it was, I had to focus on not running off the mountain because I was staring at the scenery. I had the camera rolling and the videos look good. You'll have to wait until I get back to Germany and have a chance to do some editing.
Today was the first day I started seeing more motorcycles. Traffic is still wonderfully sparse and there are many times I ride alone. At one point a local car club came back from an early blast through the passes. About 10 Lambos, 4 Ferraris, a Cayman in the lead AND a Miata right in the middle - nice :). Then there are those times I dodge oncoming buses. Quite unnerving and more than a bit annoying. They like to take more than their share of road coming around corners. Not fun. I keep wondering what would happen if I were another bus, not something that can squeeze into a third of a lane.
After six hours of buzzing Dolomite passes I entered a rift in the space time continuum. I decided to head for a village called Castelrotto in Suedtirol. In WWI Austria was on the wrong side of history and Suedtirol was ceded to Italy. It seems like this fact has been summarily ignored by the locals for the last 100 years. Everyone speaks German. All the signs are in German, with Italian subtitles. It feels as Austrian as anything north of the Alps, so really it's Kastelruth. I had a nice Tirolian meal with local Speck and a nice local bottle of Grauburgunder. I'm staying at the Wiesenhof. All the guests speak German too, the radio station is German. Weird, funny, amusing.
I'm not getting all the pics that I want on the iPad today somehow. I'll have to do an addon post.
GPS waypoints:
Cortina: 46.530, 12.1365
Arabba (center of the figure 8) 46.992, 11.8766
Kastelruth: 46.5947, 11.5858
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Pieve di Cadore - May 15
Today was a great day, well, it still is - the wine isn't empty yet.
Over a leisurely breakfast at El Greco, I laid out the plan for the day. I was going to string together two suggested routes, then ride to Pieve if I felt I had the energy, otherwise end the day closer - no repeat of yesterday. I'm trying to slowly move west to cover a number of routes.
Out of Ampezzo I rode up to lake Sauris and its surrounding communities.
Pretty much straight up. A couple of nice twisties to wake up to and some very cool, old tunnels. These were clearly cut by hand. Very rough walls and cobblestone road - damp cobblestones. Eeek! Then, coming around a corner - road closed. Not again! Sigh, oh well, at least today I'm still quite fresh. So much for the loop. 20 km back to Ampezzo and do the semi loop the other way round. Some nice roads and then we go up again. I'm now looking straight at the snow, and in fact, Sappado is a ski area. Altitude 957m. I stop for lunch, having Tagliatelle with Venison ragout, Foursquare knows exactly where I am.
Thusly fortified I head back down the mountain and head over to the second loop . I chicken out of Monte Crostis because the forecast calls for a high of 1 deg C (33 F). Seems a bit chilly. However, Monte Zoncolan is on the menu for the afternoon. It's a pretty nice and swift run up the mountain. They give alt readings every few switch backs. I arrive at the ski area at 1324m. Snow everywhere. Pretty cool.
But wait, the fun just starts - the road continues up the ski mountain. So I'm riding up past the slopes (looks like there's still a good snow pack) to the top of the mountain 1732m.
Definitely chilly now. I'm loath to let go of my heated handgrips to take pictures. Now we head down the backside. This is the side the Giro d'Italia boys ride UP. This road is officially closed, but open. Basically go at your own risk, abandon all hope, morituri te salutant and all that. I give it a hard look and press on, wondering what the group of French tourists is thinking as I ride past the road closed sign. It's a bit harrowing to be sure. Unsecured, very tight (foot down) switchbacks, then some more hand carved, unlit tunnels with icicles hanging from the roof. Guard rails really only pole vault you over the side if you're on a bike, so good riddance. Oh boy. I did say I wanted adventure. I make it down ok, trying to read the upside down scribblings on the road from past Giros.
Loops completed, I decide I'm good to go for the ride to Pieve. More curves ahead. In fact we go back up to today's record of 1790m. Incidentally, I pass by the other side of the closed road out of Sauris. There's serious snow up here. The banks on the side of the road are close to 2m tall. Good stuff.
Pieve is part of a set of communities around the Lago di Cadore. Fairly small, but I find a very cute wine bar to have an Aperol Spritz and a Prosecco. I love it when a plan comes together. Reasonable dinner at he hotel and I call it a good day!
GPS goodies:
Sappada: N 46.5684, E 12.7287
Monte Zoncolan: N 46.5127, E 12.954
Pieve di C.: 46.4267, E 12.3706
Over a leisurely breakfast at El Greco, I laid out the plan for the day. I was going to string together two suggested routes, then ride to Pieve if I felt I had the energy, otherwise end the day closer - no repeat of yesterday. I'm trying to slowly move west to cover a number of routes.
Out of Ampezzo I rode up to lake Sauris and its surrounding communities.
Pretty much straight up. A couple of nice twisties to wake up to and some very cool, old tunnels. These were clearly cut by hand. Very rough walls and cobblestone road - damp cobblestones. Eeek! Then, coming around a corner - road closed. Not again! Sigh, oh well, at least today I'm still quite fresh. So much for the loop. 20 km back to Ampezzo and do the semi loop the other way round. Some nice roads and then we go up again. I'm now looking straight at the snow, and in fact, Sappado is a ski area. Altitude 957m. I stop for lunch, having Tagliatelle with Venison ragout, Foursquare knows exactly where I am.
Thusly fortified I head back down the mountain and head over to the second loop . I chicken out of Monte Crostis because the forecast calls for a high of 1 deg C (33 F). Seems a bit chilly. However, Monte Zoncolan is on the menu for the afternoon. It's a pretty nice and swift run up the mountain. They give alt readings every few switch backs. I arrive at the ski area at 1324m. Snow everywhere. Pretty cool.
But wait, the fun just starts - the road continues up the ski mountain. So I'm riding up past the slopes (looks like there's still a good snow pack) to the top of the mountain 1732m.
Definitely chilly now. I'm loath to let go of my heated handgrips to take pictures. Now we head down the backside. This is the side the Giro d'Italia boys ride UP. This road is officially closed, but open. Basically go at your own risk, abandon all hope, morituri te salutant and all that. I give it a hard look and press on, wondering what the group of French tourists is thinking as I ride past the road closed sign. It's a bit harrowing to be sure. Unsecured, very tight (foot down) switchbacks, then some more hand carved, unlit tunnels with icicles hanging from the roof. Guard rails really only pole vault you over the side if you're on a bike, so good riddance. Oh boy. I did say I wanted adventure. I make it down ok, trying to read the upside down scribblings on the road from past Giros.
Loops completed, I decide I'm good to go for the ride to Pieve. More curves ahead. In fact we go back up to today's record of 1790m. Incidentally, I pass by the other side of the closed road out of Sauris. There's serious snow up here. The banks on the side of the road are close to 2m tall. Good stuff.
Pieve is part of a set of communities around the Lago di Cadore. Fairly small, but I find a very cute wine bar to have an Aperol Spritz and a Prosecco. I love it when a plan comes together. Reasonable dinner at he hotel and I call it a good day!
GPS goodies:
Sappada: N 46.5684, E 12.7287
Monte Zoncolan: N 46.5127, E 12.954
Pieve di C.: 46.4267, E 12.3706
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