RTV2202 - Alpen Deluxe
While others still arrived in Seefeld the Edelweiss Riding School started. Some time in the class room, after that challenging exercises at the parking and after that a great ride on nearby mountain roads. At 5 pm Johanna and Markus started the Welcome Brieifing to tell us, what to exspect the next ten days. Looking foreward!
Saturday morning, raining cats and dogs in Seefeld, fog and +2° C on top of Timmelsjoch - can we do it or not? Markus decided "Yes" and so we took off dressed in heavy rain gear. But the closer we got to the high pass the better it got. At the toll station it was still foggy, but coming around the corner the wind has torn up the clouds and the fog and an astonishing view was offered. Mind blowing! Descending on the south slope it got warmer and warmer and after lunch we explored Val Ultimo, did many more curves on Passo Mendola and arrived at our final destination - at wonderful Castle Korb.
It was ashort riding day. Starting out and diving into the Prosecco area was fabulous and it was not only the eye, that was delighted, you also could smell, that it is the time of ripe grapes and croping. Stopping at one of the wineries with an excellent viewpoint we got to overlook the wonderful area. Soon after we started to climb Monte Grappa on a road so small, you cannot imagine. It turned out, that the road was closed because of a rockslide on the very top, so we had to turn around.
Time for a rest day, even nobody took a rest. Some went to explore Venice, some explored Verona and only a handfull of riders went to see Lago di Garda. It turned out, that there are still tons of tourists from alöl over Europe enjoying the still summerly weather. But nevertheless it was worth to see! For dinner we went to Verona to experience the best wine resotto at Pane e Vino, one of the number one places in town. And not to forget, it was Ric's birthday.
Heading out of Verona was easier than thought, pretty soon we were on small roads leading through the backcountry in the north of VeronaSouth of Roveretto we switched to the other side of the Alto Adige Valley and started to climb the hills and mountains on the other side. On top of Passo Bordola a surprise was awaiting us. This time not organized by the tour guides, but nevertheless an outstanding highlight. 72 various Ferraris from countries all over the world including USA and Canada participating at a rally were passing a checkpoint on the pass. After we were allowed to continue we stopped for a special lunch at the Casa del Vino della Vallagarina and climbed Monte Baldo afterwards. Finally we got to the shores of Lago di Garda and took a ferry across.
The weatherforecast was not the best - they were talking about snow on Passo Stelvio. So we took off in the morning climbing towards the pass and got pretty soon into thick fog. Everybody clinging to the frontman's taillight we worked our way up the mountain. At the road fork to Umbrail Pass visibility was almost zero and the first snowflakes started to mix with the drizzle - so we skipped the last three kilometers to the very top because there was nothing to see anyway. Instead we cruised down Umbrail, visited the Monestary In Müstair and got in time to Glurns. After a short walk through the old town and lunch we headed towards Mieming with a quick stop at Lago Resia.