Wandering Retirees

Today we rode west out of Meiming then turned south on Rt 186 through beautiful small towns with exotic names like, Silz, Sautens, Umhausen, Pilze and Rainstadl. Every community had its own church built with graceful spires reaching to the sky. They were clearly well built and many centuries old. It strikes me that these are testimonies to a faith and determination of people who have endured hardship in the shadow of such mountains. But I digress.

Beginning just south of Obergurgl (quite a name!) we came to the fantastic road rising to Timmelsjoch Pass, called naturally enough, the Timmelsjoch Pass Road. I’m a pretty conservative rider and I found it served me well. The road was in good shape but very demanding at first, though I soon began to feel the back-and-forth rhythm of the tight curves and switchbacks. Most of the journey to the top was spent in the lower gears and it was fun! At the top there’s a motorcycle museum if you care to stop in. But parked all around the summit were literally hundreds of bikes, of all makes and sizes, a veritable modern museum that morphs by the minute.

A word about the weather. Back in Morrisville today it’s about 100 degrees F. In Paris, it was nearly 95 degrees a couple of days. In Mieming, Austria it’s about 85. At the top of an alpine pass, it’s usually much cooler, between 45 – 60 degrees. And windy. And often cloudy with little sun. Hmmm. That translates to a lot of coolness at 50 miles per hour on the back of a bike. Hence, you’ll notice we have pretty warm protective gear. And we plug the gaps very tightly. And sometimes we keep it all on when we stop. We’re seeking warmth, not anonymity. If you’ve ever ridden, or walked in a strong cold wind, you’ll know what I mean.

The top of the Pass (at 2175 meters, or about 7100 feet) looks over the Ötz Valley of the Alps, which is beyond stunning. We paid €15 for the privilege of coming down the other side of the mountain into Italy. The ride down, once we tore ourselves away from our cameras, was a delight. The hard part is getting used to the idea that there is enough room for both a motorcycle and a regional bus on those tight turns! There is, you know.

After a great lunch we ventured north and east to the Passo Stovio Jaufenpass on Italian Rt SS44. Again, the ride was magnificent as was the scenery. In passing, I can’t say enough about our rented BMW R1250 – it has more than enough umph to get us whever we need to go.

We wound our way back to the Pension Seelos around 7:00 PM. We are tired but exhilarated, too. Tomorrow we change our digs to a Pension affiliated with Edelweiss Tours and get ready for our week long tour. We can’t wait!

We want to give a shout-out to Michael, the owner of the Pension Seelos, Alpine Easy Stay. Michael suggested our route for today that while fairly ambitious (about 300 kilometers over all) turned out beautifully. Michael has been so welcoming and helpful. He’s a 3rd generation owner of this Trip Advisor rated pension. He and his wife put their own stamp on the establishment and it’s a very airy, warm and modern home away from home. We just love it here and highly recommend it.