Wandering Retirees

Tour Day 5 – Levico Terme to Rasen Antholz via the Italian Dolomites.

Today was by far the longest and most beautiful day so far. We left our Hotel in Levico Terme and rode over 270 kilometers (nearly 170 miles) to Oberrasen, Italy through the heart of the Dolomites. We cleared seven passes with a combined more than 150 hairpin turns and over 1,000 curves. (Yes, someone actually counted them!). After the tough and tight switchbacks of Passo del Stelvio and others early on, these turns were challenging but so much fun!

The best passes were Passo Manghen, Passo Duran, Passo Cereda, and Passo di Giau. And unlike the famous Stelvio Pass, we met very little traffic through these passes. As a result, had a blast without feeling rushed or squeezed by buses and trucks. And our stops along the way gave us a chance to take in the Dolomites up close.

The name “Dolomites” is derived from the name of the French geologist, Déodat de Dolomieu, who discovered that the limestone in this area is chemically different from the mountains to the north. This means that this special sedimentary rock that has been thrust violently upwards forms incredibly rough and beautiful formations. Connie and I were reminded of the Sawtooth Mountain Range in Idaho which are high, very steep, and look jagged and dangerous.

Historically, the Dolomites are also very interesting. The region belonged to the Austrian Monarchy at the outbreak of World War I. The front ran right through the mountains. Austria was one of the losers of the war, and at the peace treaty of St Germain, Austria agreed to hand southern Tyrol over to Italy. Many of the road signs and villages still have both German and Italian names along what was the former Austrian region in southern Tirol.

Riding through the Dolomite mountains we honestly felt the roads were built for motorcycles. And Passo Di Giau is the best. There are 55 perfectly constructed hairpin turns that have a rhythm to them. Our traverse felt almost like a dance, if that makes sense. And we had the pleasure of some mind blowing views.

Interestingly, there are a ton of speed traps along the way. (The only stretch of the tour where this was true.) There were big blue or orange barrels holding police cameras that will take a shot of your vehicle if you’re moving too smartly. It seems there is a history of local riders using the road to Passo Di Giau as a racecourse. The cameras have put a damper on that because traffic fines here are really steep. So we minded the speed traps and saved ourselves some cash.

It has been a long and fun day. Now to bed. Tomorrow is our last day. <sigh!>

This morning we left Levico Terme and rode to Passo Mangen

Your Day 4 – Rest Day in Levico Terme, Italy

We spent a leisurely day here. The weather wasn’t great this morning. We did some laundry. Then this afternoon we walked into the Old City for coffee.

Tour Days 3 and 4 — Penegal , Italy to Levico Terme, Italy

As promised, here’s our entry for yesterday.  We left the Hotel Monte Penegal, situated on a sheer cliff about 5,700 feet above the Adlige Valley, heading toward Levico Terme, a small resort town about 20 km from Trento that sits well above a beautiful lake, Lago di Levico.  Though the distance isn’t much in a straight line, Michael, our guide, led us on a lot of fun roads to get to our destination. 

Our first pass was Passo Della Mendoza (Mendel Pass), which opens a path between two Italian provinces, South Tyrol and Trentino. This pass has long formed the border between the German-speaking and Italian-speaking regions of the Tyrol region. Bolzano is a town founded by the Romans over 2100 years ago and has been a trading center for most of that time because it’s almost dead center between Venice and Augsburg, Germany. Remember, control of the roads was essential to regulating, enhancing, and protecting trade. That’s why so many Alpine roads have such ancient origins and have been continuously improved over millennia . Our rides take advantage of these centuries’ old routes for our riding pleasure.

We continued over Passo della Palade (1518 meters or about 5,000 feet) and over Monte Bondone. The ride down Monte Bondone involved 40 switchbacks covering 1,450 meters (4,750 feet) in quick progression. The road was very good and the hairpins were not too tight. We always try to ride smoothly so our usual style was conducive to the road and we had much, much fun!

We landed at a lovely hotel in Levico Terme and had some fabulous pizza. But the day was tiring so Connie and I invited ourselves to crash early to bed.

Actually, “early” is a relative term. Our suppers all begin around 7:30 and can last a couple of hours. Part of that is the culture and partly to share time with our fellow riders. When we get up from the table after 9:30, we’re just about done. Very different from our routine at home.

Penegal, Italy to Levico Terme, Italy

A beautiful bounty of great riding and scenery. Sorry to say we are not writing a post tonight – we are just worn out! You have our promise of a full accounting tomorrow when we have more time. Ciao!

Prutz Austria to Monte Penegal, Italy via Stelvio and Gavia Passes

This was the most exciting day of the tour so far.  We rode through five passes in all, but we’ll focus on Passo dello Stelvio, which crests at a little over 9,000 feet. 

Planned in 1818, this pass road was built in 5 years (1820-1825) by about 2,000 workers. Because horse-drawn vehicles were state of the art, the gradient was limited to a maximum of 11%, which is still pretty steep. (We’ve ridden on hill grades as high as 16%.) The road to Stelvio Pass was was built on an ancient trade route dating back to Roman times to move goods between Switzerland and the Duchy of Milan, Italy.

Stelvio Pass is the highest pass in Italy and the second-highest paved pass of the Alps. With its 48 switchbacks rising up the northern approach, it is both a famous tourist attraction in its own right, plus a first-class challenge for bicycle and motorcycle riders from across the world. The switchbacks are very tight and very challenging.

When we made it to the top a little dazed and breathless, our fabulous tour leader, Michael, brought us to a small stand that served fabulous brats on homemade Italian bread. We felt we were eating like conquering champions. Well sort of. We were exhilarated and a bit wrung out actually, and needed a chance to refuel and reenergize. As a note: Ever since I first saw pictures of the pass some years ago, it’s been one of my must do’s. Connie and I both felt the thrill and she got some terrific shots which she shared with our fellow riders on the Edelweiss tour. Everyone is glad because most of us were otherwise much too busy to even think about photos.

After Stelvio, we climbed the Gavia Pass (8600 Ft) another high Italian alpine pass. Gavia is famous for the Giro d’Italia road bicycle race, and is notable for both stunning scenery and very narrow, rough roads. It’s usually best to enjoy these one at a time.

Andre, our new friend from Colorado, noted that Colorado bike paths are usually wider than these roads. A bit of fun with motorcycles, bicycles, cars and (yes) trucks going both ways. Amazing and fun.

We ended the day climbing yet another pass to the summit of Monte Penegal where we’re spending the night. The hotel offers a panorama of mountain peaks in Austria and Italy, especially the Dolomites which we’ll ride to soon.  

There’s so much more to tell, but we’re a bit wrung out. (Okay, I am.) Hope you enjoy the pics and thanks for coming along with us for this while. Good night!

PS. You can also follow along on our trip on the official Edelweiss Alps Extreme blog.

https://www.edelweissbike.com/en/blog/?p=33781

Untermieming, AT to Prutz, AT via the Kaunteral Glacier Road

We set out at 8:30 am in the rain this morning. Yeah, it happens. It’s part of the experience and we aren’t likely to melt. Besides, this area really needs the rain. We had a fun ride on the Kütai road (which Connie and I did on our own the other day), then stopped for coffee at a nice Gasthaus before continuing on to the Kaunertal Glacier. We were fortunate the weather changed.

Enroute to the glacier we stopped at a scenic overlook. Wow!

The Kaunertal Glacier Road follows an old pilgrimage route dating back to the Middle Ages. With 29 switchbacks, the road climbs to over 9300 ft. The road is purportedly Austria’s most beautiful cul-de-sac and is affectionately called the “dream road to the eternal ice”. There is skiing 10 months a year in this region. And what a fun road!

We had lunch at an “Alm,” a mountain hut that serves motorized travelers, bicyclists, and hikers. This seemed way more fancy than my preconceived image of a mountain hut.

We ended the day in a picturesque village in the Upper Inn Valley called Prutz.

Tonight we met all the whole tour group. Strangely enough everyone is from North America. There are five riders and one passenger, Connie. Our tour guide, Michael, hails from Germany. He is the architect behind many of the Edelweiss Extreme tours. We started the evening with an orientation and then had dinner together. Everyone seems quite eager to get started tomorrow.

Hank did a rider’s course earlier in the day with Michael and one other rider in our group. It was really helpful.

Connie took a long walk in the woods and spent some time around a local lake.

We are packed and ready to roll. Hoping to get a good night’s sleep.

Today was a day of transition to the next stage of our trip.  We checked out of Pension Seelos and moved our baggage train to Gästhaus Neuwirt which is close to the Edelweiss Bike Tours.  Beginning with a meeting tonight, we’ll prepare for our week on the road.  All that riding gear we lugged from home is getting put to use.

We headed out for a couple hours of riding south and west of Mieming. We rode by a couple of pretty and rather secluded mountain lakes near Kühtai. (You can Google it if you like.)

The roads were perfect for riding and seemed pretty comfortable to some of the larger farm animals around, too. We met two very pretty brown draft horses clopping their way up the middle of the road. Fortunately, they left us enough room to scoot gently by. No one, animal or human, was overly tense so this must be a fairly common occurrence in this predominantly agricultural area.

A bit later, we rode by some substantial leavings in the road that were both abundant and distinctly aromatic. Sure enough, we came to the source: a half dozen cows lounging and frolicking (?) about the roadway. Real free range cattle! Unlike our encounter with a herd of cattle in Colorado on our tour in 2017, the cows weren’t alarmed. No one seemed put out. We all just eased on by each other while trying to dodge the bigger road apples.

We stopped for cake and coffee then started back toward Meiming.  A little shopping for incidentals was important. Most stores and businesses are closed Sundays and we didn’t want to miss stocking up on snacks.

And here we are.

A last note. We had a question about border controls. Based on the Schengen Agreement, 26 European nations have open border agreements. It’s as easy to travel from France to Germany as it is from NJ to Pennsylvania. While staying in Austria these past few days, we had lunch in Austria, Germany and Italy. I find it’s still difficult to wrap my head around the fact that we move easily between different countries, sometimes without even noticing.

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.

A beautiful day for a ride. We set off around 10:30 heading west along Rt 189 through towns whose names sound very different to the American ear. Towns like: Imst, Mils bei Imst, Landeck, Grins, Pettneu am Arlberg and St Anton. The valley became more narrow and lush and seemed almost otherworldly to us Americans from the mid-Atlantics.

We stopped at a Gasthaus in St. Anton (also on the Arlberg River) for lunch. St. Anton is known as a rather famous and pricey ski area.

The Gasthaus was quite fancy inside; the outside where we sat seemed to attract bikers and hikers. So naturally we met 3 younger riders from Munich, Germany riding smaller off-road bikes; and an older gent from Innsbruck wearing cowboy boots, leathers and riding a tricked out Harley Davidson Dynaglide, of which he is immensely proud. There were a number of big Hondas gliding on by with geezers on board, and crotch rockets by the dozen.

After lunch we headed north through the winter resort towns of Stuben, Zürs and Lech on Rt 198. We traveled through part of the Zugspitze Arena again. It was heavenly (again!). We then wound our way back through the Fernpass and Fernsteinsee as we did yesterday. We don’t push the speed, yet the twisties, especially the switchbacks, are so much fun and very satisfying. This is such good prep for our tour next week.

Connie has taken a ton of pics and vids today. Hope those she shares give you a taste for what we saw.

A note in passing: I’ve used words like quaint, cute, neat and charming to describe the towns and villages we’ve ridden through. It feels sometimes like we’re encountering a country and people frozen in time and neatened up for the benefit of tourists like us. The truth is very different. The towns and homes we see are filled with hard working people who are raising families and building lives just like we do. We sometimes ride behind big farm equipment and construction vehicles and transports who together are making their country work and grow, again just like in America. We are so aware that we are guests who stay for a short while and revel in the wonders of their land. And we’re grateful for the kindness and generosity with which we are met. Acting like guests in someone’s home. That’s the ticket. And a big hint.