Direction of travel today was determined by the forecast. Anything other than SE was definately
going to be wet. So decided to head for Lake Garda, which I had not seen two years ago.
From my little hostel in Moos, N of Merano, I took the Jaufenpass slightly northwards, before
heading S again on the Penserjoch pass. Officially in Italy, the local affinity is very much
Austrian/German. What looked like mini ski lifts across the valley, were actually for steel
milk churns of I guess 150 litre capacity.
At the 2215m summit of the Penserjoch, there was a little sleet in the air again, so I was glad
to be decending and heading S. On reaching Bolzano, it had climbed to 24C in the full sun. The
hillsides of this whole region above 3500ft are covered with apple plantations, with the
harvest in full swing.
Following a recommendation from alpineroads.com, I then took the Mendel Pass that certainly
lived up to its billing. The serface was smooth and grippy, and the wider lower bends could be
taken in 2nd or 3rd. I must admit that after all my alpine experience, I now favour the less
extreme passes, that can be taken at higher speed. The higher ones, with stacks of first gear
hairpins are a bit of a chore, especially on the Panzer where the gearbox is recalcitrant,
changing gear begrudgingly. The ascent from Bolzano was the best bit. The decent was not such
good riding, passing through the villages. The smaller passes today have not been so busy,
except for other bikers, but they dont count.
The view overlooking Lake Garda from the mountain was spectacular. In order to get a close up view of the water, I pretended to be interested in the price of an expensive hotel, just so I could step outside for a few shots for you. I would have liked to ride the Panzer through Reception and the bar, just so I could annoy Trippo with a pic of the GS with the windsurfers.
Going back to what I said last night about Italian motorcyclists overtaking on white lines. Nearly collected one today. Following a line of traffic doing about 40 mph with a no overtaking line. Had a white van fairly close behind filling my mirror. I moved a little to my left in order to take a right hander, only to be confronted with a bike wizzing past the queue of traffic.
Just had a very good dinner at the hotel up in the mountains W of Rovereto. Spagetti bolognaise starter but made with venison, followed by veal and profiterols. Had a venison stew at Oberamergau, but that lacked seasoning. I'm sure AJ would agree with me on this; a little salt, pepper and vinegar brings out the flavour.
It just started to rain as I found this hotel, and is still raining now. I want to start touring the Dolomites tomorrow and find a base in or near Cortina, but we'll see what the forecast holds.
- view from the hotel in Moos
- Lake Garda
Chris