I can't tell you how jazzed I was about today - after 2 long years I would once again be riding in the Dolomites, a place I consider heaven on earth for motorcyclists. We'd be staying for the next several days at the Hotel Mesdi, one of the high points of the last trip. Adding to my excitement was the prospect of introducing 3 friends to this area and acting as tour guide. To top it all off, we'd be leaving Austria by the best way possible, riding over the Grosglockner.
Once again the weather looked uncooperative in the morning, so we had a quick discussion about changing our plans. Perhaps we shouldn't bother with the Grosglockner in the rain and fog? That alternative was quickly dismissed and we donned our rain gear after a hearty breakfast and headed south.
I wasn't sure about sharing my shower with "Tricky Ricky"
My room at the Hotel Almrausch
Funky sliding glass door to the bathroom
Nice view from my room
Getting ready to roll
Frank had plotted today's course so he took point as we rode down 311 past Saalfelden and Zell am See to the town of Bruck where we gassed up. I made one quick photo stop to get a shot of the Austria sign but couldn't swing getting the Germany sign on the other side of the road. Most of the ride was pretty uneventful, but pleasant enough. That may be how I would sum up riding in Austria on this trip - "pleasant enough". There had been a few really fun stretches of pavement, but there was also an awful lot of dull connectors to get to them. Don't get me wrong, riding in Austria kicks ass compared to riding near my home in southern New Jersey, but knowing some of the other areas we could have been in it didn't impress. As I described earlier, I had basically swapped out riding the passes near Andermatt, Switzerland for riding this area of Austria, and in hindsight I'm not sure I made the right choice. It was good to see a new area, but nothing we rode in Austria comes anywhere near the phenomenal confluence of Furka, Grimsel, Nufen and St. Gotthard passes from the 2009 trip. I would have hated to miss Munich though, that's a town I really fell in love with.
The big day begins
Dave
Dave waiting on me to finish taking pictures (as usual)
The scenery is definitely getting more interesting
Not sure about the ergonomics on that thing
So, how do you get to the other side of that?
A welcome sign of things to come
Frank heads off to the start of the Grosglockner. You can see a sign for it on the far left. No idea what those other 2 round signs were (or used to be).
OK, that's very pretty
The TDM900
It took us just over 2 hours to reach the toll plaza for Grosglockner. The tarrif was pretty stiff at 19 euro (about $26.50 US at the time), but the reputation of the road seemed to warrant it for us. For your duckets you got a brochure, a sticker, a receipt, and most importantly, a "magic coin" to open the tollgate. Temperatures were dropping and rain was falling so I had my heated gear connected and cranked up. I took up post at the toll machine to help get everyone through (no sense eeryone fumbling with coins and gloves) and get some photos, and in a few minutes we were ascending the famed Grosglockner High Alpine Road.
Not that we could immediately tell what the big fuss was all about. As we started bending through the initial hairpins the fog got thicker and thicker until you could just barely see the road in front of you. We had again started the "meet at the top" riding model, but nobody was attacking the road so we were in loose formation for most of the beginning. After a photo stop at an all-too-brief clearing in the fog (where a group of dozens of classic Alfa Romeos were heading the opposite way from us) we continued the ride up into the white mist. By this time the rain had started mixing with something more solid, and the fog had gotten even denser. I know I was happy to have another bike in front of me so I could see his taillight. There were some sections in the beginning where I don't think we did much more than 15 or 20mph for miles at a time. I can honestly say the ride up Grosglockner was enjoyable only looking back on it (what's the saying? Adventure is adversity recounted at leisure). At the time it was a pretty miserable slog up a cold, wet road with zero visibility. I had to laugh as it got colder, wetter and foggier, but after a bit I just wanted to be done with it.
The $26.50 magic coin
Enter...if you dare!
Dave
Frank
Hey Mikey! I think he likes it!
Hairpins ahoy!
Up we go
Frank and Dave appear through the gloom
Frank
Dave
A brief break in the fog
As always in the Alps you share the road with cyclists
Surprisingly it got a little better as we neared the top. The fog was going in and out (and the in sections were just as bad as earlier), but the rain/snow/whatever had stopped. One of the features of the Grosglockner that we were looking forward to (or dreading, depending on who you were) was the ride up the cobblestone switchbacks to the Edelweisspitze, the highest point on the "High Alpine Road". Our hopes were quickly dashed (or fears averted) when we got to the entrance and saw the snowplows still clearing the road. Even if they weren't clearing the road, the wet/icy conditions on the cobblestones would be a recipe for disaster for sure. We warmed ourselves at the rifugio/gift shop, had some ice cream, warmed ourselves again, and took in the views during the brief breaks in the clouds.
I don't think we're going up that road anytime soon
Where we're headed next
"next on the catwalk is Peter, showing off the latest offering from Frogg Toggs, the hi-viz rainjacket..."
Plenty of other crazies out today
Road? What road?
Oh yes, much better now.
Dave's debating if a snowball to my face would get me to stop making him pose for pictures
Our warming refuge for a little while
The other side of the mountain
Here come the guys
Frank and Peter
Dave
I really liked Peter's Hi-Viz Frogg Toggs jacket
Maybe, like the tunnel in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" things will be magical on the other side
It was only after we passed through the tunnel that the weather started to improve. Seamingly with every additional mile the clouds got thinner, the air warmer, and it wasn't too long before a patch of blue sky miraculously appeared. Maybe we could salvage this day yet! Sure enough, 15 minutes later we were carving up hairpins on a beautiful summer day (albeit a chilly one) under a blue sky with puffy blue clouds. Suddenly all was right with the world and a new item was added to the "Top 10 Moments of the Trip" list. The Grosglockner instantly became one of our favorite roads. Vastly different than everything we had ridden on this trip so far, it was all suddenly perfect pavement, big mountain views, and fellow bikers sharing the moment.
The run down that side of the pass was over much too quickly. Actually, I thought it kept on going. I had left the guys behind to go get some more photos, and when I came to a traffic circle I went across to the other side to take the spur road up to the glacier. Not all of us were on the same page, and some confusion led to Peter exiting the circle onto the road that led to the exit of the pass. We waited roadside for a while, then sent search parties out when he didn't show up. Eventually he was found at the southern toll plaza, unfortunately on the other side of the tollgate. Lucky for him he had kept his receipt so he had no trouble getting back in. I had really enjoyed my fast run down the pass to the toll plaza, to which I had added some sort of artificial sense of urgency to find Peter. For the run back I think I pretended I needed to get the word back to Dave quickly so I enjoyed another very spirited run to the roundabout.
Since the weather was so perfect none of us wanted to leave Grosglockner. We all agreed that we should take the side trip to the glacier, even if it meant delaying out arrival in Arabba until near dinner time. This turned out to be a great decision, as the road up to the glacier was excellent, and the views absolutely outstanding. We hung out at the glacier for a bit, grabbed some snacks, and then enjoyed a perfect summer-day ride down to the toll plaza.
Could that actually be a tiny piece of blue sky?
While the road was nice and dry, the shoulders were dicey
What an amazing road
Peter enjoying a dry road for a change
The 22nd hairpin on Grosglockner
You can see more of the pass in the left
What a change from only an hour ago
Frank passing by
The Grosglockner High Alpine Road
My kind of traffic
I can't overemphasize how hot I think the Honda CB1300S is
What a great way to spend an afternoon
I think every other biker stopped at this turnout to enjoy the view
The road up to the glacier
Well, he is ATGATT and he's wearing Hi-Viz, so I guess he's kind of safe
The Pasterze Glacier is moving at the rate of 15 meters per year
That's a very big rock. Too bad we didn't have time to take the Glacier-bahn tram down to the bottom
Goofy group photo
That walkway was just hanging in space and I didn't like walking on it. Not one bit.
View on the ride back down from the glacier
Frank's got his head in the right place
Wow
Beautiful series of man-made waterfalls
It was fair to say we really enjoyed the Grosglockner
That's a really long gallery coming down from the glacier
The exit of the Grosglockner
After regretfully leaving behind the best road of the trip so far we had a straight shot of around 20 miles on 107 to the town of Lienz so we put Dave out in front. For the majority of the transit sections either Frank or I would take point since we had the GPS units, but it was nice to be able to mix it up a bit. Besides, since Dave and I had our Scala Q2 headseats connected I could help him out with any route decisions if we came to any confusing junctions. This worked out just fine, even when we had to deal with another crossed-out road town that was on our intended route.
Our gas stop was well guarded
Tiny ski town
"Hey, is that...?"
For the most part we were on a fast B road (E66 in Austria, which turned into SS49 when we crossed the border into Italy) on our way to Valdaora, our jumping off point to the Dolomites. We were able to keep a good pace, but with our extended stay on the Grosglockner our ETA for the hotel was getting later and later. Once we crossed the border into Italy traffic started getting pretty, well, interesting, with Italian bikers doing what Italian bikers do - pass all over the place. I knew I was back in Italy when a rider on a Ducati 1098 (or 848, or 1198, etc) came at us around a curve, knee down, surrounded by pretty thick traffic. While I had gotten used to the "pass whenever" style of riding by the end of the last trip, after so long an absence it came as somewhat of a shock again to see riders lane-splitting in curves, passing in blind corners, etc. I can't say for sure, but I'm guessing the other guys eyes were popping out of their heads at some of the moves people were making. Of course it doesn't take too long over there to find yourself going over to the dark side...
Woo-hoo!
Technically the TDM900 was still in Austria
Dave
Frank's route had us leaving the main road at Valdaora and heading south on Furkelpass, or Passo Furcia. Even though it was getting late I was eager to try this pass out as it was a new one for me. I'm very glad we did, as it turned out to be a treat of a road. Very, very narrow in places, hairpins, views, perfect pavement, little traffic, all the things you hope for in a pass were present and accounted for.
Looking back down to the start of Passo Furcia
"I'm in Italy!"
You can just see one of the hairpins on the far right. Great little road.
My first Italian pass of the trip, and a new one to boot
After Passo Furcia we worked our way down SS244 through Corvara in Badia, and the guys got their first up-close look at the Dolomites at the start of Passo Campolongo. With a late-afternoon sun highlighting the mountains it was truly a magnificent sight, and I couldn't think of a better way to end a day that had started so uninspiringly. I can't begin to tell you how glad I was to be back in the Dolomites.
We dispatched Passo Campolongo pretty quickly, and while the guys were very impressed with it I knew Campolongo was really one of the area's minor treasures. The roads I would take them on tomorrow were going to blow them away.
Back in paradise
Dueling cameras
View from Passo Campolongo
We rolled into Arabba around 6:30, and as we got closer to the hotel I could feel myself starting to get downright giddy. You ever have that feeling when you're so excited you start talking too fast and can't keep still? That was me. Right up to the point where we pulled into the hotel lot and I dropped the bike. I think I was actually so elated that I forgot to put the sidestand down. First time I've had a bike on it's side in over 15 years, and it's a rental. On the plus side the bike was not in pristine condition when we picked them up, and the side cases (which took the brunt of the fall) were already sporting some battle scars. I was also in good company that day - Peter had dropped the FJR (which actually was pristine on delivery) earlier in the day on the Grosglockner, but out of sight of everyone, not right in front of all his buddies and the people enjoying drinks outside the hotel.
When I went inside to check in I was delighted to find that the manager/owner immediately recognized me and welcomed me by name - that was an unexpected surprise! We got ourselves checked in and met downstairs for dinner a little later. One of the big bonuses of the Hotel Mesdi (and most of the hotels in this area) is that your room price includes a full dinner as well as a substantial buffet breakfast. You have assigned tables that you return to every night, and we were seated at the very same table I had last time. I was even more pleased when our waitress came over to get our drink orders and she remembered me as well. She also asked about Jim who was with me last time while we ordered our first round of beers. Agnes was a delight last trip, and I was very happy to see that she was still here.
Dinner was excellent, as was the beer after a long day in the saddle. Back in my room, sleep came quickly.
Nice going
Our menu for the evening. It took a while to figure out the layout - salad, then ravioli, pasta or soup, then Cordon Bleu or pork chops or smoked ham, then creme caramel.
My plate of smoked ham. Tasty.
Texture was a little rubbery, but taste was phenomenal