2011 - Dolomiti Tour
Day 1 - Friday 1 July 2011
Our meeting point was the Leto Motel in Moosach,Munich. Marius arrived a day earlier, got lost in the beer garden and arrived a little late at the Hotel on Friday Morning. After a meet and greet, everyone went into different directions to pick up their rental bikes...
In the afternoon we went for a leisurely stroll through Munchen City Centre were Klaus was fascinated at the sight of all the Japanese tourists. They weren’t very interested in buying Andreas’s newly acquired spare underpants which Klaus tried to sell to them. We met Andrea’s Sister and Husband at a small local pub in Munchen were we had drinks served by Heidi followed by Dinner served by a man in Traditional Lederhosen.
Franz, Klaus & Andreas at the Pub in Munchen were we met.
Drinks Served by Heidi
Restaurant in Munchen were we had dinner and Andreas acquired his Travel "Companion"
Day 2 - Saturday 2nd July 2011
After breakfast in the lobby downstairs, we posed for a group photo and set off towards Winklern Austria passing through Chiemsee; St. Johann in Tirol; Zell am See and the Much anticipated Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse. The Highway out of Munchen was busy but the road users were all very well disciplined, as expected which made navigating through traffic a breeze.
First short stop outside Munchen.
Not long after our first run on the highway, the Italian electroics did exactly what was expected off them and caused Dietmar,’s Ducatti to stall. Klaus who has a PHD in Italian Engineering quickly recognized the symptoms and “rebooted” the bike by removing the key and re inserting it. To Dietmars surprise this seemed to cure the problem. This advice was promptly followed by Dietmar in future whenever the Ducatti experienced similar problems during the tour.
Quick Lunch at McDonals,Zell am See
Werner Enjoying his Cake
En route to Zell am See, our first planned stop we inadvertently lost Michael. We decided to stop at McDonalds and pondered whether Michael would ever find us again… In the meantime we had McDonalds for Lunch, Werner opted to eat cake rather than dead cow, were he was subsequently rewarded with two complimentary coffee mugs from McDonalds. He was very pleased about this, Herman followed suite since he also wanted a McDonalds coffee mug.
During lunch the weather changed suddenly and it started raining heavily, we received a sms from Michael that he was waiting at the foot off Grossglockner pass for us, to everyone’s relief. Michael confirmed that the weather was sunny and nice at Grossglockner and we decided to head out in the rain towards Grossglockner as we didn’t want to wait any longer.
The weather en route to the Grossglockner had changed suddenly
At this point we were very directionless and only knew that we needed to head Northerly. A quick glance on Franz’s Iphone showed us the directon which we should head. To everyone’s surprise we found the Foot of the Grossglockner pass with relative ease where Michael was waiting for us.
Entrance to the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, Fortunately the weather had cleared up quickly.
The Grossglockner pass was an awesome experience, the scenery was too beautiful for words too describe,but couldn’t be appreciated to its full extend as the road required ones full concentration. Dietmar put the Ducatti through its paces on the way up, we all met at the highest point 2600mwere we all admired the panoramic view.
Stretch of Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse
At this point we noticed how suddenly the weather conditions can change at this altitude. We experienced sunshine, rain and snow all in a time span of around 30mins. On the way down the Grossglockner we stopped at a Glacier were we encountered some snow en route.
Klaus + & Klaus - at the Gletscherweg,Grossglockner Pass
The roads were slippery and this necessitated some careful riding. Our destination for that evening was Hotel Tauernstern in Winklern Austria. After a few welcome drinks, and trying out the local sauna and steam baths we got ready for dinner and headed off to a local restaurant nearby. Unfortunately the Wiener schnitzel was nothing to write home about and we left somewhat disappointed. Klaus - , Dietmar & Marius stayed behind for a few more drinks.
Enjoying a few well deserved drinks at Taurenstube,Austria at the foot of the Grossglockner.
Day 3 - Sunday 3 July 2011
After a hearty breakfast we mounted our steeds and headed towards Arabba in South Tyrol (Northern Italy) where we would spend the next two days to explore the surrounding passes. From Winklern we headed in a Southern Westerley direction passing through Lienz and Crossing the Austrian / Italian Border at Arnbach. The Scenery and roads were too beautifull for words to describe.
From Winklern across the Italian Border en Route to Cortina.
We stopped for lunch at Cortina d'Ampezzo, where the 1956 games were held. At this point we unfortunately lost Herman and Werner in the Support Vehicle. We ordered lunch and waited for Herman and Werner in the Support vehicle who arrived a short while later and also had a bite to eat.
Cortina d'Ampezzo, where we had lunch and waited for Herman and Werner to Arrive.
From there we headed towards our stage goal for the day, Arabba , riding some amazing twisting mountain passes from Cortina d'Ampezzo towards Arabba in South Tyrol. Upon arrival at Hotel Olympia we first had our traditional round of beer before getting ready for dinner. To Marius’s disappointment everyone at the hotel could speak perfect german as the majority of the population in South Tyrol can speak German.
A slight taste of some of the endless twists encountered.
Nevertheless as this was not challenging enough, Marius persisted to order his dinner using his newly acquired Italian Phrasebook, he was subsequently rewarded with a rabbit for dinner. Andreas was convinced that this was indeed the Hotel’s Housecat and since the ears had been removed it was hard to argue otherwise. Klaus -, who had relied on Marius’s Italian phrasebook was also subsequently rewarded with a bunny for dinner. After dinner we had some drinks, exchanged riding stories for the day and headed off to bed, excited about the mountain passes which awaited us tomorrow.
Traditional round of drinks, after a hard days Riding
Day 4 - Monday 4 July 2011
As we were now in the heart of the Dolomiti mountain ranges, we were all looking very forward to get going. So promptly after breakfast we set off. Mountain passes encountered during the day were the Sella Ronda, Campolongo Pass, Pordoi Pass, Passo Giau.
Some of the Passes we Intended to Ride Today
Unfortunately Franz had a small accident near Canazei. Fortunately besides a few scratches on his rental bike which would amount to a 2000 euro excess from Triumph he was not injured. We all met again just outside Marmalade.
Passo Sella 2240m. Canazei
In the small sking village of Marmelade we took Chair-Lifts to the top of the mountain and admired the panoramic view. The photos below best describe some of the passes encountered during this day. We returned to Hotel Olympia for our customary evening beer before dinner.
View from the Chair Lift, Marmelade, South Tyrol
Dietmar and Marius headed out again to ride the Passo Giau and Campolongo Pass from Corvara to Arabba one more time. Marius learned his lesson from the previous night’s dinner expierence and ordered something on the menu in German this time round. After a day of hard riding, involving ditching Italian buses and tractors which required full concentration everyone was rather tired and went to bed a bit earlier than usual.
Panoramic View from the Top of the Chair Lift in Marmelade.
Day 5 - Tuesday 5 July 2011
This is what most of the Roads looked like en Route to the Gardasee (Lago del Gardo)
From Arabba our next destination was Lago di Garda (Gardasee). Our route took us along the Karerpass (Passo di Costalunga) and the passo di lavaze in Trentino (Trento ). We stopped for lunch just after the Karerpass and attempted to pose for a group photo. This proved more difficult than what we had anticipated.
Lunch en Route to Gardasee, were we had to Wait for Rambo Dietmar to return who was Practically already in Rivo del Gardo, but came back happily for Lunch.
Along the route we unfortunately lost Michael again, who was on a “Special” Vodacom Roaming Deal and could only be reached when there were no mountains,flowers,girls,or cyclists nearby and when the sun was shining at an angle of incidence of exactly 22,5° on his visor and then only via sms. Eventually we all met in the Beautifull Lago di Gardo, where we had some drinks before dinner. To everyone’s surprise and relieve Michael found the Hotel with relative ease and not long after we had our first few drinks.
Attempting to Pose for a group Photo seemed to confuse us...
Alle auf die Platze, Bitte ?
Getting There...
There we go, well almost... Except that here we cut off the support vehicle, which seems to be Worrying Werner :-)
Along the route we unfortunately lost Michael again, who was on a “Special” Vodacom Roaming Deal and could only be reached when there were no mountains,flowers,girls,or cyclists nearby and when the sun was shining at an angle of incidence of exactly 22,5° on his visor and then only via sms. Eventually we all met in the Beautifull Lago di Gardo, where we had some drinks before dinner. To everyone’s surprise and relieve Michael found the Hotel with relative ease and not long after we had our first few drinks.
Have you seen this man ? - Dieser man wurde ofters als vermist Erklaert.
Day 6 - Wednesday 6 July 2011
Today was Rest day. Klaus +, -, Dietmar and Marius decided to go with Herman to Venice, as Venice was only situated about a 180km east of Lake Garda and besides Herman none of us had ever been to Venice. The rest of the tribe explored the beauty of the Lago di Gardo, taking a ferry across, eating an ice cream and having a leisurely swim.
Day 7 - Thursday 7 July 2011
Headed from Riva del Garda back to Solden, Austria....
Can't remember anything noteworthy here, except that Dietmar almost fell of his bike when he saw Rodelhutte Showgirls hut. Unfortunately they were closed during Summer.
The coolest Bar in Austria, Soeldens Black & Orange Rock Bar !
Marius, showing off "his" Harley with side-car to the local crowd. A Harley with side car deserves respect and free drinks in any Country.
Marius & Dietmar with the T-Shirts they were rewarded with in Soldens Biker Rock Bar "Black & Orange"
Day 8 - Friday 8 July 2011
From Sölden we headed back to Munchen. En route we encountered some heavy rain and lost each other in the Traffic. Near the Austrian / Germany Petrol at a Filling station we found each other again, had something light to eat, dried ourselves off a bit and headed towards Munchen. We opened up the motorbikes for one last time on Munichs Unlimited Autobahn. This little highway stretch must have been the straightest stretch of road we had driven the entire week.
Just outside Munich, Dietmars ailing Ducatti was starting to sound worse and started emitting some smoke in the Munich City Traffic. Once back at the Hotel in Moosach we all went into different directions to drop of the acquired rental bikes. We spent the evening having some dinner and drinks in Munchen.
Day 9 - Saturday 9 July 2011
Our last full day in Munchen. During the Morning Klaus + & Klaus – went to fetch the rental car from the airport as they would still stay on a few days to visit family. During this time Doerthe assisted Dietmar in Finding a suitable Birthday present for Stacey.
Munchen City tour
In the afternoon we all met and went for a City bus tour through Munchen. In the English Garden, we got stuck at the Chinesischer Turm Beer Garden and spent the majority of the day there before strolling back home again.
Enjoying a Few Beers at the Chinesischer Turm Beer Garden
Surfing in the River at the English Beer Garden in Muenchen.
Day 10 - Sunday 10 July 2011
On Sunday we greeted Franz,Doerthe,Werner, Herman & Andreas. Michael,Klaus + &Klaus - left in a rental to visit some family and would return to Jhb a few days later. Over the past week we had ridden some of the most engaging roads, seen some of the most beautiful scenery and all in the company of good friends. While this tour must defniteley be considered a must do for bikers, next year we will be choosing a slightly less stressfull route plan. Till the 2012 Tour, Happy Biking!!
Wir Freuen uns schon auf die Nachste Tour in 2012 !
