Touring Center Dolomites DTC2603
Yes! There it is! The first day of the tour that we've all been waiting for! With people from USA, Canada, Austria, Australia and the Netherlands. The tradition welcome brieving, held by our fearless tourguides, was quite entertaining. And after we had met our beautiful motorcycles it was time for a great welcome dinner. With our minds filled with a lot off information, we're all looking forward to the first riding day. Sleep well!
When you see the sun rising over the Dolomites and you know you're gonna ride a motorbike there, one eats his breakfast quickly and puts on his helmet. A first riding day is always extra exciting. Our expectations are quickly met when we go down towards Bolzano amd we have a first glance at the spiky mountains. The views are simply breathtaking. At our first coffee stop we're all in awe of the beauty that mother nature gives us. On pass after another bring us to our lunch stop. But in order to get there we have to take a cable car to almost 3000 meters. The view from there is literally a highlight! And great gullash! Windig down along rivers and thrue valleys we have our first taste of gellato. Upon arrival back in our hotel we share our experiences and enjoy beers and cocktails!
Again the weather gods have listened to our prayers and provided us with beautiful sunshine! Todays ride will bring us to one of the passes located at the high range of the Central Alps northwest of Bolzano, bordering Austria.Asd we were riding from Klobenstein West through lush green maddows and forrestthe temperaures were low, but got even lower as we entered the Sarn Valley. At one point the display showed 8° C, which is about 46°F, heated handgrips and seats were mostly welcome. For one group some coffee, for the other just a short picture stop at windy Passo Penne, before we descended on the northslope. Just a short ride in the valley around Vipiteno, not enough to warm up for the next climb. Brandnew asphalt almost all the way to the top of Passo Giovo made the ride really enjoyable. After cruising downhill on its southslope we started climb our main destination, Timmelsjoch on the border to Austria. Breattaking sceneries all the way to the top, the only downside was a gusty wind blowing over the mountains. The last section led us towards Meran, where we turned east, climbing the hills North of the Etsch Valleyagain, unbelievable scenery and in the distance the shimmering white mountains of the Dolomites.
Our friend the sun came out bright today but until our first coffee stop at Passo Gardena it was cold! 3°c/37°f. By the time everybody had found out how there headed grips worked it started to get warmer. The mountains in this area are truly spectacular! On all the six mountain passes we did today the view was almost 360°. And it's great to see that everyone os improving its riding skills. Switchback after switchback, up and down, left and right, mile after mile. And smile after smile! Having excellent coffee, good pizza, gelato and a well deserved beer and wine at the end of the day. What a holiday!
Today several different routes are being taken to explore more of the Dolomites. One group is going to the north. Starting with a visit of Brixen. The cathedral here is beautiful from the outside, but stunning from the inside! The decorations of the walls and ceiling are prove of a very wealthy group of Christians. The caffé we have on the church square is delicious and so is the weather! After a ride through the Bruneck valley we arrive at our lunch stop on passo della Erbe. A hidden gem with hardly any traffic, stunning views and great food! Others explored and enjoyed the wellness area of the hotel, while some went to see Bolzano, including the 500 years old iceman and the old town. Six riders, including the tourguide Markus were on a mission to explore the most south-eastern part of the Dolomites and to collect as many passes as possible. So there was no time for pictures. Slaloming up and town the mountains the ended with almost 300 kilometers and seven major mountzain passes. As they arrived at the hotel, nobody could wipe off the grin on their faces. finally the evening was finished with a little "Happy Birtday!" to Mark.
How quickly time flies when your having fun. Already we're riding the last stretch of this lovely tour. Although this makes us a little sad, we will have a blast going to the east of the Dolomites. A true highlight is Mendola pass. It's build solely for motor riders. And the panorama view from up there is simply breathtaking. We're overlooking the huge valley with is agricultural activities, flankt by rugged mountains. After a good coffee in the sun we move on to the San Romedio monastery. A 1000 year ago they started building chapels on the steep hills. For us it means a feisty hike up but it's definitely worth it! We even get to see a bear! After this hike it's time fornour last Italian lunch. Sitting in the shade of a local café we enjoy our sandwich and meatballs. In the afternoon it's many more curvy roads and a worthy goodbye to the mountains we have grown so fun of. During our farewell dinner we enjoy the music performed by locals and we even get the chance to Jodel! Thanks to Mark, Margaret, Paul, Mary, Ron, Cherylee, Wolfgang, Robert, Lisa, Kristin, Brian, John, Charles, Roland and David we had a safe, fun and stunning tour. Until next time! Marcus and Jan