moto tour 2014 : 4th day  Grossglockner( Au) - Bormio ( It)  / 400 km - 7H30 

 

What I preferred on my Triumph tiger !  

- The beauty of the Dolomites ( Gardena Pass, Sella Pass)
-  Stelvio Pass: you must do it to believe it!

Report of this fourth day motorcycle tour 2014
Wednesday morning, 6:30 AM. During the last evening, the doubt has settled deep in everyone's mind as the previous was so challenging.
My fellow travellers start to evoke the possibility of zapping part of the route (and thus the Stelvio) if we must, like yesterday, face again the rotten weather.
This enventuality seems to me inconceivable as thePasso dello Stelvio seems to me the  climax of this trip.  But I must confess to have mixed feelings : it is raining cats and dogs and the temperature is not really summer representative!
It proves really difficult to load the motorcycle under such conditions and to set out again for more than 7 hours! Everybody in the team is lacking energy and moral.

 

We do not take the time to reach the terrace of “Franz-Josephs-Höhe” to admire the glacier of Pasterze,the fog is so thick.
This is a real frustration, as we cannot appreciate the Grossglockner and Austria in general to the full!
 
On the other hand low in the valley, the weather conditions are improving. Besides a beautiful rainbow greets us when we cross the toll of Helligenblut.

 

 Kawa, Triumph et Bmw keep on their pace accross the Trentino-Südtirol region.

 

Stopping for some refreshments allows us to note that even on the Italian side, people speak a German dialect. Jerome ( a good historian) then takes the opportunity to explain its origin: this province was attached to Austria-Hungary before the Great War.

 

 

 

We then feel more intelligent getting back on our bikes. Today we are heading towards the Dolomites!
There is once again a lot of traffic (coaches,trucks, camping cars) but the blue sky and the sun shining is a relief for everybody.
At the time of the layout, I have make the choice to cross Dolomites by two of the most beautiful passes and I do not regret it because, during this trip, the landscapes were absolutely amazing!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Gardena Pass is the first one : quite simply exceptional in beauty; the occasion to hum the wind at its rhythm and within a splendid site.

At the top of the pass, the lookout is extraordinary, you can juge by yourself :

 

It is enough to turn the head to admire another panorama quite as remarkable! Each one among us benefits from the present moment, we stop several times to take as many pictures as possible. 

 We meet and salute many other bikers from everywhere in Europe .

 The Sella Pass offers a magnificent panorama too .

 

 

 These mountains are like no other : we have the impression to be in front of Monument Valley with 2500 m high! Sublime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It is time for lunch break, we settle naturally at the edge of a bend to admire the many motorcycles (but also sport cars) which are heading towards the pass. The occasion to have a chat between pals.
The contrast is really seizing compared to the previous day, this time we really feel like on holidays on our motorcycle! 

Going down again of the pass we experience a new technical incident: the screw of the crutch contactor of the Triumph Trident is gone,Marc can now start with a deployed crutch which can prove to be dangerous.
A technical stop in the town of Bolzano is thus necessary, I program the tomtom to find a car garage (in the absence of a motorcycle one). the GPS then leads us to the SIMONETI Brothers..... And there my friends, what a welcome!!!
Marc, thanks to his Italian origins, goes to meet the two very busy brothers.
The mechanics come to see the problem and they immediately put on a new screw (they even give us another one just in case….). 

The youngest brother insists for us to come and visit his garage. In fact he wants to introduce his motorcycles, a er6n but especially a superb Tiger 1050…from there follows discussions of motorcyclists ,advices are given on the passes of the area to be made absolutely, he even takes the time to consult the weather forecast for us: really nice, a beautiful human experience!
Leaving Bolzano, I pass in front of, well decided  to rejoin Stelvio as fast as possible while there is still no rain!
A little more than one hour later (in the surroundingof 6:30PM) we are finally at the bottom of the “monster” of the Alps.

I had read, on many forums, that the ideal was to start either early in the morning, or at the end of the evening to avoid the procession of the hundreds of motorcycles (or cars) in the bends..
I thus traced the route consequently, the conditions are perfect: nobody on the road, the Stelvio belongs to us!

Riding to the top is stunning!  Marc passes in front, I stick to his wheels; the first bend is approached…. Good god how stiff and tight it is! We end up on the left side!  

Second bend we will try to do better: a glance to the top to see whether a vehicle goes down, we set off a little on the left of the roadway as starter and we try to cast our glance as far as possible to the next bend: it is physical and technical but it goes better! (good revision of the half turn of the licence but with a slope of 14%!!! )

The bends are numbered (there are  48 of them on our side and 36 on the Bormio side);  some passing places make it possible all the same to take pictures or seize the imposing decor of our playing field. Here is one of my favourite photo of this motorcycle tour:

Arriving at the top of the pass there are only 4 motorcycles, two Triumph, a BM and a Kawa : ours. The Stelvio is to be made and we did it well!
And each one among us is grinning with happiness.
I take the opportunity to stick my moto-sticker on the sign (mission accomplished!) 

After the pass there is a small Alpine Valley, the opportunity to take more pictures :

 

It is then time to take over the lead to Bormio in an impressive descent with its small wet tunnels to cross in a depressing darkness!
We had rented a self-catering accomodation. 

 

After a good meal of  Italians specialties (mainly containing 1 kg of pasta) and a good poker game (won by Princess), I fall asleep on the slopes of the Stelvio!