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.

GPS:
Spluegen: 46.5532, 9.3234
Moon lake: 46.4673, 9.3452