End of the road - July 7

But we went out in a blaze of glory. Once again, the weather forecast looked none too promising, but it seemed like the likelyhood of bad weather was more towards the end of the day. I wanted to have some fun before burning up the Autobahn for the last stretch, so I decided to finish this part of the journey the way I started, by crossing the Timmelsjoch. As luck would have it, I had to cross the Jaufenpass (2099m) to get there. Somewhere around 2050m, after popping out of the tree line, I met the clouds. Nothing too bad until I crossed to the other side, at which point I ran into a whole lot of gray. What's more exciting that riding a pass in the rain? ... Luckily, the clouds/fog seemed to not adhere to the mountain. This left enough space for the road to be visible, giving the eerie feeling of riding through some weird tunnel.

Luckily, after a few miles, I rode back out of the clouds and could enjoy the long, 27km descent a bit more. The moment I hit the bottom, I turned to go up the Timmelsjoch - but not before stopping to get my last Espresso in Italy - sigh...
The Timmelsjoch crests at 2509m, so I was wondering what the cloud cover would be like up there. I probably said that before, but it is a fantastic road. Wide, sweeping, awesome panoramas. A joy to drive and a joy to drive quickly if one is so inclined. Also easy and safe to pass those not so inclined. I think everyone should go up at least once, it's just beautiful. One can even take the bus up there or the gondola lift out of the Ötztal for hiking.
The clouds, luckily, were not as dense as before, so running into them at the top really wasn't a problem. It did provide for a interesting view of the mountains and valley.

The run down from the pass through the Ötztal is very pretty as you exchange the mountains for the green valley below. But that was it for the fun. A quick pop over the Fernpass and on to the German border and the Autobahn. After 7h on the bike I finished my marathon stage of nearly 500km back in Grafenau. Much to my surprise, I did not get wet and the promised thunderstorm did not come until late in the evening.
And so, 2300km and two weeks later I get to look back on another grand adventure. Less driving, more sightseeing this time around. I now feel very familiar with Südtirol and the Veneto. I got to do most of what I wanted to do and see most of what I wanted to see. I even forgive Riva for being what it is - well, mostly. I'd like to go back, but there are so many other places to see. We shall see.

A final goodbye to Italy from Lorenzo, named after his creator who goes by the name "Der mit dem Windhauch spricht". His genesis is from the river that carries the the snow melt from Stelvio.

Ciao.