Bozen aka Bolzano - June 27

Friday's previously miserable forecast had mellowed to the point where I plotted a path back to Trento covering several passes, with the intent to hit the Autostrada at Trento and drive to Vicenza. First one up was Passo di Gavia at 2621m. Wow, just wow. Forget Stelvio. Really. Gavio winds its way up via a narrow single lane road (by which I mean there's just enough room for a car and a bike) with a road surface quality that's rather questionable at times. The north side winds up gently and has long stretches above the tree line with great views. The south side is steeper and more dangerous. Even though  switchbacks are not too bad, it has some sections where there's a whole lot of nothing on the other side of the guardrail (when there is one) for a long, long time. It also throws in a couple of 14% and 16% grades, just to make sure you're paying attention. Meeting oncoming cars isn't much fun, but luckily it didn't happen in any of the blind turns. Never know who's NOT paying attention.

Passo Tonale (1883m - I used to think that was high), which came after didn't even clear the tree line. Booooring. Actually, it was a nice run up through the trees. Fairly narrow, but not terribly steep or tight. It did catch me by surprise though that I found a sizable town up top. Apparently a major ski resort. The east side descent then was a rather wide two lane road, suitable for buses and trucks, On a bike, it made for rapid transit back down.

I stopped for lunch at a funky bar before trekking further towards Trento.

At some point I pulled over to check routes and such and noticed that Saturday's weather had largely cleared. I thus decided to head north towards Bozen with the intent of running the Dolomites on Sat. Also, the BMW had blown its headlight bulb, which made me a bit uneasy, thus going to a large German speaking city seemed like a promising possibility to take care of that - which turned out to be true. Along the way I traversed a couple more passes and came upon the Lago di Molveno. The turquoise waters in the lakes around here is just stunning. We spend way too much time trying to be a productive member of society - for whatever that's worth, rather than just enjoying the beauty of the world. I really envy people who can just toss it all and live on their own terms. Aussteiger in German. Don't think I have it quite in me...

Central Bozen is a maze of one way streets and streets closed to traffic. It took me quite a while to realize that my hotel was only accessible through the closed roads and that I was thusly authorized to to drive on them. I came very close to punting and getting out of Dodge and it would have been nice for the dingbat at reception to mention this when I called. Oh well. The town is pretty cool. Lots of bars and restaurants. I managed to have an Aperol Spritz (always extra lovely when consumed on a piazza) and eat dinner (braised donkey) before the long promised rain came.