2007 Motor Bike Ride through the
Dolomiten in the Italian
Like
in the previous summer, I got a chance to spend a two week vacation in
As
for the logistics, I had considered a different bike compared to last year so
as to optimize the experience for Jill. The background here is that she had had
an uncomfortable experience on our last ride down to
As
a result, the next bike ride would have to be with back rest! As last year, I
contacted BMW dealership and Autohaus
Kaufmann in Kaprun again, asking for a comfortable cruising bike, such as
the (fairly monstrous) K 1200 LT. Weather-wise, the best day was going to be
Thursday, July 26. Unfortunately, the LT was already booked for that day. So we
waited until Friday, and eventually ended up still not getting the LT as it’s
rental had been extended (someone was having too much fun on it…) So we
switched back to the R
1200 GS as I had rode it last year and felt very comfortable on it. Here
you can compare the two bikes side by side (LT left, GS right).
Friday, July 27,
2007
I
get up early to pick up the bike at the dealership in the morning and then
drive back to my Aunt Rosi’s house to pick up Jill for the day trip.
The
rental agreement includes insurance for the bike as well as helmets, jackets
and gloves. We are all smiles when my cousin takes this picture of our
departure in Stuhlfelden near Zell am See.
The
first destination is the Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse, which I have also
crossed on the bicycle in 2004 (see trip report)
as well as in last year’s trip with Frank. It is
First
stop: Edelweiss-Spitze at 2570m (almost 2000m higher than Kaprun).
Up
here it is nice and cool; however, there are already a few clouds covering the
higher peaks and even this mountain top. So we don’t linger too long on this
peak, which according to the guide book offers a view of no less than 37 peaks higher
than 3000m (on a clearer day than today)! We continue to the highest point of the
pass road near the Hochtor.
This
view brings back many memories of previous adventures, whether it’s on the
motorcycle, the bicycle or even hiking the ridge line back in 1986…
After
crossing over the highest point we detour to the famous Franz-Joseph’s Hoehe,
where you can view and even walk down to the Pasterze glacier. Like last year,
when I visited this place with my son and my mother, the sight from this place
can’t compare with that of photos from several decades ago, when the glacier
was much more massive than it is today:
As
we continue our tour, we decide to stop at a small restaurant called Kasereck
with a lovely view above the little
We
continue on down South towards warmer and sunnier regions of the Italian Alps. In
fact, only little later, when crossing the town of
As
so often, I wish I had taken more pictures of the next part of the ride, passing
through Cortina and then crossing the Falzarego-Pass (2117m) West-wards towards
the little mountain village of Arabba. Due to the heat and ealry afternoon we
both have to confront our fatigue and decide to stop again.
We
find a lovely little place just above the main road which offers some reprieve
from the heat and a nice view at the same time. We enjoy some coffee and cake.
In moments like this it is good to reflect back and let the contrast sink in to
the hectic everyday life of the office and other chores back home – life is
good J
½
hour later we’re in the saddle again and start looking for a gas station to
refuel our BMW. To my surprise we don’t find any gas station in all of Arabba –
a reminder of the fact that we are surrounded by mountains and passes. On the
next ascent to the Pordoi-Joch we decide to take a few pictures. Getting off
the bike to take pictures takes time, but it’s always worth it.
Shortly
thereafter we are on top of the Pordoi-Joch (2239m) and enjoy marvellous views
of the surrounding rock formations of the Sella-Gruppe. The interplay of bright
sunlight and dark clouds creates a unique experience up here in the clear
mountain air. It would be nice to stop for 2 hrs or so and take the lift up to
the summit ridge of Piz Boe (3151m) – base and mountaintop visible right behind
the BMW headlight in this picture.
But
we continue on down to the town of
We’re
getting out of there to escape the intense heat of the lower valleys again. One
long backup behind a slow climbing and diesel-cloud exhausting bus is quickly
passed on the way up the Sella-Pass so we can enjoy the crisp views of the
surrounding mountains again, in particular the
Turning
around 180° from the same spot, we can see the well-known three towers of the
Langkofel near the Sella-Pass.
Again,
so many memories to this place, be it while skiing the steep coloir between the
towers or hanggliding above them. (I wish back then we already would have had
digital cameras, woul dhave made it a lot easier to include some pictures from
20 years ago or so…)
Another
view towards the North-West into the Groedner-Tal shows the typical Dolomiten
landscape with lush green meadows and the rocky towers above.
We
hardly descend down to the valley, when we follow the road again climbing up to
the Groedner-Joch, which provides the most beautiful late afternoon mood with
warm sunlight and meadows with picturesque wildflowers. I feel we could go on
like this forever…
At
the bottom we reach the
Compared
to the highlights in the mountains we face a less interesting road ahead back
to Bruneck and then ultimately back to Austria and via the Felbertauern Tunnel
back to Mittersill and later Zell am See. However we have one more highlight – via
the Antholzer valley to the Staller Sattel and then up to the Italian-Austrian border.
The pass road is a one-way which you can only enter between the half hour and
45 mins to the hour. Given those time constraints, Jill and I stop at the
beginning of the Antholzer valley at a restaurant and enjoy the last rays of
sun with a cool, refreshing apple juice.
20
mins later we’re on the bike again and ride up the valley. I knew from last
year that the road up the valley is very straight and allows fairly high
speeds. I also remember that last year, Frank almost engaged in some kind of
race with a car driven by a local who drove up this valley at speeds topping
160 km/h (100mph). Frank reported that he had trouble keeping up with the car,
which is unusual on a big motorcycle. Interestingly, we’re also passed by one
car at very high speeds – maybe that’s the local sport here to beat the local
best time up the valley on the evening commute from work? Anyway, we’re not in
a terrible hurry, and so I can safely report that we were passed by at least
one car that day…
The
actual pass road is a one-lane road winding up through the forest. It seems a
bit surreal riding up here on a perfectly well paved small road through what
seemed like a fairytale forest in the warm evening light – we’re literally the
only people driving up here this late and it feels as if we have the entire place
to ourselves. A great moment!
Topping
out at the pass I stop to take a quick picture looking back to the border.
From
here it’s a long drive out East down the Defereggental until we can connect to
the big road up North to the Felbertauern-Tunnel. We enter the tunnel at 8:20pm
as daylight starts to fade. Exiting on the North-side, we are greeted to a
light sprinkle of rain. In less than 15 mins we are at home at Rosi’s home
again. We’re happy to have spent this day in the Dolomiten. It was Jill’s first
day ever in the Dolomiten – what a way to get introduced to what I think is one
of the most spectacular sceneries in the