PT24012 Extended Touring Center Dolomites
What does that mean - first of all - it's a private tour - so if you have some friends and want to do a tour together here - just give us a call and we'll organize it ;-)
But more importantly!!! Where we are - we are in Collalbo, just south of the Austrian border and in Italy and why is that so important? Quite simply because you could call it the motorcycle heaven or playground where you have to be once in a lifetime!!!! No matter where you ride from here, you end up in the mountains with challenging roads, switchbacks, hairpin bends and the best of all - breathtaking scenery and on top of that - really good food!!!!
So, what's on the agenda for us - well, we have 6 days of riding where we will cover about 1350 km with at least 30000 bends - we will drive through a landscape where you can stop every 150 m to take a picture and all this - I can promise you now - you will never forget - I would even go so far: Some days there are words superfluous.
If I'm right, you'll see it here on the blog and I hope the pictures will match the action and the feeling we had on each day.
For me, that would be the intro to this tour, which describes it best.
So let's see if the weather, or rather Petrus, is kind to us and we can prove it.
Axel
Hello from Collalbo our headquarters for this Touring Center
For the next 6 days we will keep our fingers crossed for good weather, because in our playground here in the Dolomites - you see the real beauty when the sun is shining!!!!
But before we ride and talk about what we've seen!!! We need some motorcycles - and I brought them with me today, straight from the Edelweiss headquarters in Mieming. So first we take them to the garage to start the tour with the handover of the bikes and of course the welcome briefing, where I introduce the tour to all the riders. Then we'll optimize the bikes with everything we need (Go Pro....) and then we'll enjoy our first dinner together.
And tomorrow - tomorrow we start our first day of riding - so stay tuned if you want to see more about this playground for motorcyclists - for me one of the best places to be.
Axel over and out
Welcome to ride day number one!!!!
Soooooo..... let's go - I would say.
After a very good breakfast we set off in the direction of the Dolomites. The weather itself could be better, meaning that it rained most of the time today, but still we had our fun, because on the way there were some moments when you could see the magic of the Dolomites. As you can see in the pictures. On our bucket list today was the Passo Gardena with 2121 m and from there we went down into the valley to Corvara, from there back up to the Passo Campolongo with 1875 m and then? Yes, then we went back down to climb the Passo Pordoi with 2239 m and finally one more on top - Passo Sella with 2218 m. That was our little rollercoaster for the start of our touring center here.
It was a good start into the tour and if the weather cooperates, we have 2 more days in the Dolomites where we have the chance to take some pictures that we might have missed today because of the weather - let's see
So, that was day two - see you tomorrow
Axel
My favorite riding day of the tour! Well, today we were rewarded with a brilliant sunny riding day after all the rain yesterday. We started at 8:30 in the morning and drove to the Gardena Pass first to enjoy the view that we had missed yesterday due to the weather. After taking a few photos, we drove down to Corvara and from there we started a ride we will never forget. Passo di Valparola and Passo di Falzarego and Cortina d'Ampezzo were on the way to Lago di Misurina, where we had lunch. From there we went over the Passo di Giau, one of my favorite places here in the Dolomites, to the Passo Fedaia, from where you have a breathtaking view of the Marmolada. Next up was the Passo di Costalunga and finally we passed Lago di Carezza and then back to the hotel via Bolzano. All in one, it was an impressive 250 km day and if you ask me: this day belongs on every motorcyclist's to-do list!
A long day comes to an end and the smiles on our faces say much more than my words could describe.
It was a great day!!! And tomorrow - well, we'll see how the weather does and then we'll decide which way to go.
So stay tuned for tomorrow
Axel
Hello from day 4 here in South Tyrol
Today we had a relaxed 200 km day with some really nice roads like the Passo della Mendola, followed by the Penegal, from where you have a breathtaking view over the valley. But in our case, a cloud decided to skip this moment for us. Later, we drove around the dam and the lake of Santa Giustina before heading back into the mountains to enjoy the Passo delle Palade. This day was nice and not too long and at the end some of us decided to go shopping for some new motorcycle stuff - in Bolzano.
I would say this day was better than expected as the weather forecast promised a lot of rain and surprise surprise, we came home dry.
That was day 4
Axel
Rain Rain and more rain was our good morning greeting from Petrus!!!
Waking up to the sound of rain hitting the roof is not what you want as a motorcyclist. But in our case, it's a problem that can be dealt with - because we're at a touring center, which means we don't have to get out to ride to the next hotel. So, what did we do? After fortifying ourselves at breakfast, we decided to start later, so we set off at 11am as the weather forecast gave us hope of dry moments on the route. And in the meantime I mapped out a route based on the weather radar and somehow it worked out!!! We started with rain gear just in case we got caught behind the next mountain range - but nothing!!! All the passes we did: Passo di Costalunga/Karerpass (1745m) Passo San Pellegrino (1918m) Passo Cereda (1369m) Passo Rolle (1984m) and Passo di Lavazè (1808m) were dry, at least from the top. You had to be careful on the road itself, because it was still wet, especially in the forest. But the most important thing!!! We had fun on almost empty roads and that almost all the 241 km. I would say this day was a good day.
And tomorrow we will leave the Dolomites and continue to Lake Garda, where we will stay one night and return to Collalbo the next day.
So see you tomorrow
Axel
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Goodbye Dolomites and welcome home for a night at Lago Di Garda
Today we left Collalbo and didn't return to the hotel, so we packed what we needed into our side cases and off we went. Down to Bolzano and up to the Passo di Lavazè, from where we headed to the highlight of the day, the Passo del Manghen (2047m). The path up to the pass is steep and very narrow, with lots of blind hairpin bends where you have to watch out for other bikers, and as a reward there was a coffee at the top of the pass. The way down is like riding into a hidden valley where no one has ever been, and on top - the road is even narrower than on the way up. Later, it was time to have lunch, which we did after climbing the Strada del Menador Punto Panoramico. With power in our own tank, we continued along several winding roads towards Lago di Garda and, as a bonus, at the end of the day the customers were able to relax by the pool in the sunny weather.
Another day is over and tomorrow we will start the bikes for the last time on this tour and return to Collalbo where it all began.
See you tomorrow
Axel
Good Morning in the Morning from Lago di Garda
Today is the day we return to Collalbo. But before we park the motorcycles for the last time - there's one more ride. So we set off in the morning as usual and the first highlight was the ferry ride to the other side of the lake. It would have been even more impressive if the weather had been sunny. But we weren't lucky with the weather today. All in all, it's nice to be at Lago di Garda, but the drive along the lake is always a challenge because there is a lot of very heavy traffic, which isn't really fun. After the challenge, we headed back into the mountains and here we have less traffic and the freedom on the road what we enjoy so much. Winding roads through all the small villages were what we liked best. Well, and after passing Lago Molveno, we drove down to the highway and completed the last few kilometers on the highway to Bolzano and then took a road what we now know quite well after the tour center (up to Collalbo), which was our dessert of this day of riding and the end of our tour.
1341 km in the last days gave us a good impression of the Playground Domlomites and the little bit more around it.
Thanks for the ride and let's share the road again wherever it will be.
Axel
