2014 - Austrian & Central Alps
There & back again, Sunday, 1 June & Friday 6 June 2014
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At last, the day has come for our long awaited 2014 tour! Per established protocol, we met on Sunday at Maidstone Services on the M20, conveniently located some 30 miles from the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone. The weather was pleasantly sunny and warm, boding well for the week ahead. Unlike recent previous years, we were earlier this year, travelling on the 18:50 departure from Folkestone. Arriving in Calais at 20:30 local time is great as it was still very light and the warm and dry weather continued as we headed off into Northern France.
Both of us were on different bikes from previous tours. Chris on his Triumph Trophy, already well proven as an awesome touring bike and as a testament to its mile munching ability, Chris had ridden from Belfast on Friday and was suffering no ill affects from having already completed over 400 miles just to get to the 2014 tour start line. Nick was on his R1200 GS, acquired when 2.5 years old from Ocean BMW in Plymouth and having only done c1000 miles since buying it, was looking forward to establishing its touring credentials. Regular readers will know that Passport Tours is something of a Triumph favouring outfit, all tours other than 2007 having been exclusively ridden on Triumph bikes. Regular readers will also know that we have not previously been particularly complimentary about Munich's finest so it will be interesting to see if our view, well Nick's anyway, changes after this year's tour.
As ever in our experience, the roads in Northern France are very quiet, almost deserted and we made great progress easing along at around 85mph for mile after mile. Nick's range gauge was very pessimistic and called for fuel earlier than the 16 or so litres (of a 20 litre tank) that he could squeeze in suggested was really required. Chris was loving the fact that his range was always showing over 100 miles more! This year, we were both wearing Sena SM10 Bluetooth headsets which enabled open communication between each other and work exceptionally well, up to a range of about 500 metres. We were able to talk constantly with almost perfect sound quality and this makes the miles slip by even more quickly. A great tool and thoroughly recommended, especially as at the end of the first day, they were still going strong, battery life not proving to be an issue at all….although later in the tour that wasn’t quite the case, Chris’s dying towards the end of day 4 on the long slog home.
The target for the first overnight stay was Metz, some 320 miles from Calais. In previous years, we have arrived here at around 3 or 4 in the morning, in 2007 in fact, the sun was already rising... this year we were in the area by 12:30, a fabulous achievement. Experience, and comfy bikes, were certainly paying. After locating the Ibis Metz Nord, it wasn't looking good when the electric gate into the car park wouldn't open and no-one responded to our persistent buzzer pressing. After gaining access to the car park of the hotel next door (Chris poking his arm through the electronic barrier to press the exit button on the inside and being very lucky not to lose his arm in the process!), and finding the 24/7 key dispenser out of action, we stated to head to the next nearest hotel. As we passed the entrance to the Ibis Metz Nord again, a liveried race team truck turned into the car park and gained entry. In we went too and found a very welcoming receptionist and a very clean, if a little functional room, complete with hot water and wifi for €70, not at all bad! Read our TripAdvisor review here. We were unpacked and in bed by 01:20, late but some 3 hours earlier than previous years. All in all, a fantastic start to the tour, both bikes proving more than up to the task of travelling great distance quickly and effectively.
Friday 5th saw us returning - Another good night’s sleep in the comfortable Ibis. This time we did avail of the breakfast before the ride back to Calais. A slight delay at Eurotunnel as a result of technical difficulties, we were still back in Britain by lunchtime.
The tour proved beyond any doubt the touring ability of both the Trophy and the GS. The GS in particular being something of a revelation considering how much grief we have previously written about it. It’s clearly not one of the best selling motorcycles in Europe for nothing. Whilst on our tours at least, they are ubiquitous around Europe, there is a good reason for this. Nick was able to ride without the usual Air Hawk seat cover (in fairness, Chris had dispensed with his too, proving the good seat design is all that’s required to avoid a numb bum) and both bikes were supremely comfortable and relaxing. The GS engine does have a huge amount of character, being quite vibey at idle and smoothing out immediately once above tick over. It was especially nice in the passes where it made a glorious noise pulling hard from the hairpins in a low gear. Not for everyone perhaps, Nick was sold! For Chris this was his first Passport Tour on his Trophy. Whilst he had made many long distance rides in the UK and Ireland over the previous 15 months it was the first time to test the bike with the heady mix of motorway miles, Alpine passes and fast liaisons. The bike did not disappoint. The weather protection was astounding, the heated seats, grips, cruise control, electronic screen, etc. made everything so much easier than previous bikes.
Both of us were on different bikes from previous tours. Chris on his Triumph Trophy, already well proven as an awesome touring bike and as a testament to its mile munching ability, Chris had ridden from Belfast on Friday and was suffering no ill affects from having already completed over 400 miles just to get to the 2014 tour start line. Nick was on his R1200 GS, acquired when 2.5 years old from Ocean BMW in Plymouth and having only done c1000 miles since buying it, was looking forward to establishing its touring credentials. Regular readers will know that Passport Tours is something of a Triumph favouring outfit, all tours other than 2007 having been exclusively ridden on Triumph bikes. Regular readers will also know that we have not previously been particularly complimentary about Munich's finest so it will be interesting to see if our view, well Nick's anyway, changes after this year's tour.
As ever in our experience, the roads in Northern France are very quiet, almost deserted and we made great progress easing along at around 85mph for mile after mile. Nick's range gauge was very pessimistic and called for fuel earlier than the 16 or so litres (of a 20 litre tank) that he could squeeze in suggested was really required. Chris was loving the fact that his range was always showing over 100 miles more! This year, we were both wearing Sena SM10 Bluetooth headsets which enabled open communication between each other and work exceptionally well, up to a range of about 500 metres. We were able to talk constantly with almost perfect sound quality and this makes the miles slip by even more quickly. A great tool and thoroughly recommended, especially as at the end of the first day, they were still going strong, battery life not proving to be an issue at all….although later in the tour that wasn’t quite the case, Chris’s dying towards the end of day 4 on the long slog home.
The target for the first overnight stay was Metz, some 320 miles from Calais. In previous years, we have arrived here at around 3 or 4 in the morning, in 2007 in fact, the sun was already rising... this year we were in the area by 12:30, a fabulous achievement. Experience, and comfy bikes, were certainly paying. After locating the Ibis Metz Nord, it wasn't looking good when the electric gate into the car park wouldn't open and no-one responded to our persistent buzzer pressing. After gaining access to the car park of the hotel next door (Chris poking his arm through the electronic barrier to press the exit button on the inside and being very lucky not to lose his arm in the process!), and finding the 24/7 key dispenser out of action, we stated to head to the next nearest hotel. As we passed the entrance to the Ibis Metz Nord again, a liveried race team truck turned into the car park and gained entry. In we went too and found a very welcoming receptionist and a very clean, if a little functional room, complete with hot water and wifi for €70, not at all bad! Read our TripAdvisor review here. We were unpacked and in bed by 01:20, late but some 3 hours earlier than previous years. All in all, a fantastic start to the tour, both bikes proving more than up to the task of travelling great distance quickly and effectively.
Friday 5th saw us returning - Another good night’s sleep in the comfortable Ibis. This time we did avail of the breakfast before the ride back to Calais. A slight delay at Eurotunnel as a result of technical difficulties, we were still back in Britain by lunchtime.
The tour proved beyond any doubt the touring ability of both the Trophy and the GS. The GS in particular being something of a revelation considering how much grief we have previously written about it. It’s clearly not one of the best selling motorcycles in Europe for nothing. Whilst on our tours at least, they are ubiquitous around Europe, there is a good reason for this. Nick was able to ride without the usual Air Hawk seat cover (in fairness, Chris had dispensed with his too, proving the good seat design is all that’s required to avoid a numb bum) and both bikes were supremely comfortable and relaxing. The GS engine does have a huge amount of character, being quite vibey at idle and smoothing out immediately once above tick over. It was especially nice in the passes where it made a glorious noise pulling hard from the hairpins in a low gear. Not for everyone perhaps, Nick was sold! For Chris this was his first Passport Tour on his Trophy. Whilst he had made many long distance rides in the UK and Ireland over the previous 15 months it was the first time to test the bike with the heady mix of motorway miles, Alpine passes and fast liaisons. The bike did not disappoint. The weather protection was astounding, the heated seats, grips, cruise control, electronic screen, etc. made everything so much easier than previous bikes.
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Statistics
Start - 1600hrs BST Finish - 0120hrs CET Miles covered - 365 miles Passes bagged - 0 Return - 395 miles Tour total - 2,270 Tour passes - 25 |
Countries
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Passes
None |
Day one, Monday 2 June 2014
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An excellent room in the Holiday Inn meant a good night’s sleep and we departed Dijon just before 10:00. We headed further south on the A31, then the A39 past Bourg en Basse and onto the A40 south of Geneve. Along the A40 Autoroute Blanche, near Junction 8 and at around midday, we bagged the first pass of the tour, the Col du Ceignes. Admittedly only 646 metres high, and nothing more than a small hill on the autoroute, a pass is a pass though.
The weather was warm and sunny and the progress through France continued to be swift, the combination of light traffic and comfortable, powerful bikes proving a good one. The map shows our route south, essentially the A40 to J16 onto the D4 to Bonneville, past Le Grand Bornand and then Saint Jean de Sixt on the D224. Finally, onto the D909 Route des Grandes Alpes at the ski resort of Clusaz and we stopped for lunch in La Porte des Aravis at the top of Col des Aravis. A Passport Tours first, a full on mountain pass by lunchtime on day 1.
From Col des Aravis, we headed further along the Route des Grandes Alpes, the D909 to Flumet and then onto the D71a and D218B to Les Saisies, the ski resort we last visited in 2006 (and Nick by chance in 2007 during a family holiday to Annecy). As ever it seems during the summer, the French ski villages are largely deserted and Les Saisies was no exception save for some road maintenance around the summit of Col des Saisies. The second full pass of day 1 completed by 16:00.
From Les Saisies, we headed further south on the D218B and D925 to Beaufort following a couple of spiritedly ridden BMW GSs. We didn't manage an overtake on the ascent although when we reached the dam of Lac de Roseland half way up, they stopped. A good fun ride up the pass! We stopped for coffee at a Bar Les Lanches on the side of the lake where again we last stopped in 2006 and memorably watched a posse of Honda Goldwings ride past. The D925 continues the Route des Grandes Alpes to Cormet de Roseland for another great photo stop at the top of the pass and where the road number curiously changes from D925 to one of our favourites, the D902. Continuing further south east along the D902 to Bourg Saint Maurice. It’s worth mentioning that whilst there might be only Cormet de Roseland as a formal pass, the road is stunning around here, great surface and great visibility for mile after mile.
Just ahead of the main town of Bourg Saint Maurice we turned left, firstly and briefly on the D1090 to Seez where the road once again becomes to D902, and then on to one of the best roads anywhere, Col de l'Iseran after Val d’Isère. From Val d’Isère to Lanslevillard and a left turn onto the D1006 and yet another stunning pass, Col du Mt Cenis. Through the Italy/France border where the road becomes the SS25 at the summit and then the descent to Susa where we found the Hotel Susa and local restaurant, Pizzeria Miro, for a pizza and first decent coffee of the Tour!
A stunning first day and without question the best of any tour, 6 passes, 5 full on mountain roads including 3 of the very best. And all on the first full day. Our previous best was 3 and on some of the very early tours, we achieved none!
The weather was warm and sunny and the progress through France continued to be swift, the combination of light traffic and comfortable, powerful bikes proving a good one. The map shows our route south, essentially the A40 to J16 onto the D4 to Bonneville, past Le Grand Bornand and then Saint Jean de Sixt on the D224. Finally, onto the D909 Route des Grandes Alpes at the ski resort of Clusaz and we stopped for lunch in La Porte des Aravis at the top of Col des Aravis. A Passport Tours first, a full on mountain pass by lunchtime on day 1.
From Col des Aravis, we headed further along the Route des Grandes Alpes, the D909 to Flumet and then onto the D71a and D218B to Les Saisies, the ski resort we last visited in 2006 (and Nick by chance in 2007 during a family holiday to Annecy). As ever it seems during the summer, the French ski villages are largely deserted and Les Saisies was no exception save for some road maintenance around the summit of Col des Saisies. The second full pass of day 1 completed by 16:00.
From Les Saisies, we headed further south on the D218B and D925 to Beaufort following a couple of spiritedly ridden BMW GSs. We didn't manage an overtake on the ascent although when we reached the dam of Lac de Roseland half way up, they stopped. A good fun ride up the pass! We stopped for coffee at a Bar Les Lanches on the side of the lake where again we last stopped in 2006 and memorably watched a posse of Honda Goldwings ride past. The D925 continues the Route des Grandes Alpes to Cormet de Roseland for another great photo stop at the top of the pass and where the road number curiously changes from D925 to one of our favourites, the D902. Continuing further south east along the D902 to Bourg Saint Maurice. It’s worth mentioning that whilst there might be only Cormet de Roseland as a formal pass, the road is stunning around here, great surface and great visibility for mile after mile.
Just ahead of the main town of Bourg Saint Maurice we turned left, firstly and briefly on the D1090 to Seez where the road once again becomes to D902, and then on to one of the best roads anywhere, Col de l'Iseran after Val d’Isère. From Val d’Isère to Lanslevillard and a left turn onto the D1006 and yet another stunning pass, Col du Mt Cenis. Through the Italy/France border where the road becomes the SS25 at the summit and then the descent to Susa where we found the Hotel Susa and local restaurant, Pizzeria Miro, for a pizza and first decent coffee of the Tour!
A stunning first day and without question the best of any tour, 6 passes, 5 full on mountain roads including 3 of the very best. And all on the first full day. Our previous best was 3 and on some of the very early tours, we achieved none!
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Statistics
Start - 0900hrs Finish - 1900hrs Miles covered - 400 miles Tour distance - 795 miles Passes bagged - 3 Tours passes - 3 |
Countries
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Passes
Wolfgang Fluelapass Moloja pass |
Day two, Tuesday 3 June 2014
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The combination of not bothering with breakfast and early night was a winner yesterday so was put into action again and we were on our way by 8:20. The Aurora receptionist was slightly surprised we didn't bother with breakfast, and we relented slightly with a cappuccino and water before hitting the road. The first decent coffee of the tour!
Along the SS36, 5 km down the road at Chiavenna and the sign for Passo Dello Spluga/Splugenpass appears from the main street, not unlike Umbrail from St Maria Val Mustair on the 28. We spent a good hour or so playing around the artificial lake at the top of Splugenpass, the road surface and layout being great for fast action shots and video. From Splugen along a brief autodstrada, or Swiss equivalent (E43/A13) to the San Bernardino pass (A13) turn off where we stopped for coffee/brunch at the Hotel Bellevue by a torrent of water flowing down the mountain.
Sitting outside, our presence encouraged a German couple on a GS like Nick's to stop and join us. As ever on Passport Tours, the interaction with bikers from all over Europe, most of whom speak excellent English, and certainly better than our French, German, Italian etc is very much part of the experience! Very expensive stops for what it was... Then we headed back under the San Bernardino pass in the tunnel Galleria San Bernardino, an exquisitely engineered tunnel, straight, beautifully surfaced and lit, clearly learning from the Mont Blanc disaster, re-joining E43/A13 and back to Splugen.
From Splugen along the A13, a nice main road for 30km or so before Tom guided us to the start of the Julierpass at Thusis; what an amazing road!
From the bottom of Julierpass at Silvaplana left through St Moritz and then a lane assisted exit to the Bernina pass turn off on the A29 where the pass gets going straight away. Down the other side to the Swiss/Italian border at Tirano.
Much village, liaison action along the SS38 for a while and then a long straight taking us to the turning for the Mortirolo pass at Mazzo di Valtelina. Wow, talk about a total contrast to Julier and Bernina! We stopped on the way down at the Hotel Belvedere for a lovely lunch stop half way down the other side. A great stop on the side of a tiny mountain road. Eventually arriving in Monno.
From Monno, left on the SS 42 to Pontagna, small villages, slow going and a little tedious before arriving at Ponte di Legno and turning onto the SS300 and the Passo Gavia. Nick missed the easy left hand turn, which resembled a switchback, or at least it did coming from the other direction and after some tricky u turns on a busy and wet SS42, we had to negotiate an extremely tight (virtually 180 degrees) right hander now, also wet and featuring a road wide metal drain cover across the road. With traffic coming the other way and wanting to turn up onto Gavia too; cue some untidy slow speed bike handling...
Gavia effectively starts where the road changes from SS300 to SP29 at Sant’ Apollonia. Once over Gavia and down into Santa Caterina di Valfurva and the road continues through a number of slow villages and an impressive looking footbridge as it arrives in Bormio. Up the SS38 Passo Dello Stelvio to the summit for a coffee and lunch stop at one of our favourite Alpine locations, Café Tibet – the quality (and price!) of the food only surpassed by the stunning scenery and view of the Passo Dello Stelvio descending down to Stevio. Sadly not yet open this year (a theme for this tour…) so we had to settle for a coffee and diet Coke at one of the cafes at the summit of Stelvio. The weather was starting to turn so we retraced the 500 yards or so of the road back to Bormio, turning right towards Switzerland and onto the Umbrail pass. Down Umbrail, into Santa Maria val Mustair and a right turn onto the A28 and back into Italy at Clus and then along the SS41 to Laudes. Not much to report, relatively flat and easy liaisons between S Maria vM and Laudes where we stopped for the night in the excellent and well priced Gasthoff Lamm.
8 passes in a day and quite possibly the best day ever on any Passport Tour.
Along the SS36, 5 km down the road at Chiavenna and the sign for Passo Dello Spluga/Splugenpass appears from the main street, not unlike Umbrail from St Maria Val Mustair on the 28. We spent a good hour or so playing around the artificial lake at the top of Splugenpass, the road surface and layout being great for fast action shots and video. From Splugen along a brief autodstrada, or Swiss equivalent (E43/A13) to the San Bernardino pass (A13) turn off where we stopped for coffee/brunch at the Hotel Bellevue by a torrent of water flowing down the mountain.
Sitting outside, our presence encouraged a German couple on a GS like Nick's to stop and join us. As ever on Passport Tours, the interaction with bikers from all over Europe, most of whom speak excellent English, and certainly better than our French, German, Italian etc is very much part of the experience! Very expensive stops for what it was... Then we headed back under the San Bernardino pass in the tunnel Galleria San Bernardino, an exquisitely engineered tunnel, straight, beautifully surfaced and lit, clearly learning from the Mont Blanc disaster, re-joining E43/A13 and back to Splugen.
From Splugen along the A13, a nice main road for 30km or so before Tom guided us to the start of the Julierpass at Thusis; what an amazing road!
From the bottom of Julierpass at Silvaplana left through St Moritz and then a lane assisted exit to the Bernina pass turn off on the A29 where the pass gets going straight away. Down the other side to the Swiss/Italian border at Tirano.
Much village, liaison action along the SS38 for a while and then a long straight taking us to the turning for the Mortirolo pass at Mazzo di Valtelina. Wow, talk about a total contrast to Julier and Bernina! We stopped on the way down at the Hotel Belvedere for a lovely lunch stop half way down the other side. A great stop on the side of a tiny mountain road. Eventually arriving in Monno.
From Monno, left on the SS 42 to Pontagna, small villages, slow going and a little tedious before arriving at Ponte di Legno and turning onto the SS300 and the Passo Gavia. Nick missed the easy left hand turn, which resembled a switchback, or at least it did coming from the other direction and after some tricky u turns on a busy and wet SS42, we had to negotiate an extremely tight (virtually 180 degrees) right hander now, also wet and featuring a road wide metal drain cover across the road. With traffic coming the other way and wanting to turn up onto Gavia too; cue some untidy slow speed bike handling...
Gavia effectively starts where the road changes from SS300 to SP29 at Sant’ Apollonia. Once over Gavia and down into Santa Caterina di Valfurva and the road continues through a number of slow villages and an impressive looking footbridge as it arrives in Bormio. Up the SS38 Passo Dello Stelvio to the summit for a coffee and lunch stop at one of our favourite Alpine locations, Café Tibet – the quality (and price!) of the food only surpassed by the stunning scenery and view of the Passo Dello Stelvio descending down to Stevio. Sadly not yet open this year (a theme for this tour…) so we had to settle for a coffee and diet Coke at one of the cafes at the summit of Stelvio. The weather was starting to turn so we retraced the 500 yards or so of the road back to Bormio, turning right towards Switzerland and onto the Umbrail pass. Down Umbrail, into Santa Maria val Mustair and a right turn onto the A28 and back into Italy at Clus and then along the SS41 to Laudes. Not much to report, relatively flat and easy liaisons between S Maria vM and Laudes where we stopped for the night in the excellent and well priced Gasthoff Lamm.
8 passes in a day and quite possibly the best day ever on any Passport Tour.
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Statistics
Start - 0820hrs Finish - 2000hrs Miles covered - 240 miles Tour distance - 1,035 miles Passes bagged - 8 Tour passes - 11 |
Countries
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Passes
Splugen pass Passo del San Bernardino Julier pass Bernina pass Passo di Mortirolo Passo di Gavia Passo dello Stelvio Umbrail pass |
Day three, Wednesday 4 June 2014
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Back in Italy south of Austria and you have the weird German approach to everything, especially the language and food. Luckily for two such talented linguists, this is not a problem...
Fabulous breakfast in the hotel, lovely cappuccino with breads and meats, well worth the money. Total bill for the night and a great steak dinner only €124. Proving once again that the Passport Tours top tip of not staying in Switzerland is the right answer. Italy value and food variety is the way to go.
Another earlyish departure and carrying on north towards Austria. The road is pleasant enough, quiet, fast sweeping bends and without much in the way of traffic or villages. Relatively flat though and before long, we arrive at the Austria border having already completed the Reshenpass/Passo Resia without really noticing! We wouldn't come here for it because as passes go, it's pretty flat! However, it's the only route through to Austria here. Past the border post and the road continues through the valley, fast, wider open, immaculately surfaced and a joy to ride. Although not climbing at all, it's as much fun as a pass, and probably a lot safer!
Further on, the road appears to be closed ahead at Nauders with something of queue headed by a large artic complete with friendly driver. Stunning valley surrounded by step tree-lined mountain sides; we wait and eventually get through, after chatting to the to lorry driver and then eventually turn right onto the Pillerhohe pass over the top and down the other side. Get to bottom at Blons and the road closed is closed again at Wenns with no way through, so we retraced back over Pillerhohe and a better ride going the other way. Back down to the main road where we turned onto Pillerhohe 45 mins ago and on the way to Silvretta. Long and slow, tedious through loads of villages and slow going, Mathon pass sign says closed, we ignore and eventually get all the way to the bottom and no way through! Apparently opening tomorrow! We weren’t alone though, a biker all the way from Poland was also considering his options.
Time for a coffee stop in Wirl at the Wirler Hof hotel and replan... We decided that Austria was clearly largely closed this week so we planned a route out and back into Italy. The run back to Silvretta turn off was not too bad, quicker downhill and then onto the autobhan and an amazing 15km tunnel for €9 and exit to Hofenpass immediately after it. The road took us through the Zurs Ski Area and we managed to bag both the Flexenpass and the Hochtannbergpass both fairly unmemorable as they were really just way points along the road.
There had been great bridges on the passes, with good road surface but also with lots of engineering and rework. We decided not to bother with any others and headed back the way had come, again, something of a theme today... Having bagged these two passes, we stopped in Warth for a coffee and strudel at the Dorfcafe (with amusing football goals in the urinals…).
Having decided to abandon Austria, we planned to head due east towards Innsbruck and Berwang along the 198, passing through a number of very nice Austrian ski villages along the way, all largely deserted The road starts to climb and Nick can’t resist the temptation to show off, arriving in Berwang with sufficient time to dismount at a bus stop and feign sleep as Chris finally arrived! We think this was Fern pass, having reviewed the map, but didn't see any signs marking it!
We continued on past Berwang to Bichelbach and from there followed the 179 all the way down to join the A12 autobahn heading towards Innsbruck. The Timmelsjoch exit from the A12 follows the 186 through a variety of ski villages until the pass proper starts just after Angern at Konigsrain - Austria is definitely doing its annual pass road maintenance this week as once again, the village main road is subject to restrictions and we wait at the front of the queue for some considerable time for our turn to go. It does at least make passing the busses and lorries easier.
Super high speed sweeping roads through the valley which seem to go on and on. Some small villages which require serious braking! Very, very misty at the top, seeing one side of the road from the other was a challenge. Back in Italy (and now called Passo Romba), the mist wasn’t so bad, we stopped to record some flabby farty action in one of the tunnels, slightly scary for Nick having to brake on a very wet road surface at the end of a tunnel straight into mist. The things we do for art… Much clearer down below though.
Once at the foot, we head for Moso where we are binned by first hotel, we ended up in Plata by mistake and found Gasthof Albergo. Basic but great value (and cash only). We decided not to stay for dinner and headed into downtown Plata (blink and you miss it) to Restaurant Platterwirt where we discover cash only again, and absolutely no English spoken which made dinner choice a bit of a lottery!
Fabulous breakfast in the hotel, lovely cappuccino with breads and meats, well worth the money. Total bill for the night and a great steak dinner only €124. Proving once again that the Passport Tours top tip of not staying in Switzerland is the right answer. Italy value and food variety is the way to go.
Another earlyish departure and carrying on north towards Austria. The road is pleasant enough, quiet, fast sweeping bends and without much in the way of traffic or villages. Relatively flat though and before long, we arrive at the Austria border having already completed the Reshenpass/Passo Resia without really noticing! We wouldn't come here for it because as passes go, it's pretty flat! However, it's the only route through to Austria here. Past the border post and the road continues through the valley, fast, wider open, immaculately surfaced and a joy to ride. Although not climbing at all, it's as much fun as a pass, and probably a lot safer!
Further on, the road appears to be closed ahead at Nauders with something of queue headed by a large artic complete with friendly driver. Stunning valley surrounded by step tree-lined mountain sides; we wait and eventually get through, after chatting to the to lorry driver and then eventually turn right onto the Pillerhohe pass over the top and down the other side. Get to bottom at Blons and the road closed is closed again at Wenns with no way through, so we retraced back over Pillerhohe and a better ride going the other way. Back down to the main road where we turned onto Pillerhohe 45 mins ago and on the way to Silvretta. Long and slow, tedious through loads of villages and slow going, Mathon pass sign says closed, we ignore and eventually get all the way to the bottom and no way through! Apparently opening tomorrow! We weren’t alone though, a biker all the way from Poland was also considering his options.
Time for a coffee stop in Wirl at the Wirler Hof hotel and replan... We decided that Austria was clearly largely closed this week so we planned a route out and back into Italy. The run back to Silvretta turn off was not too bad, quicker downhill and then onto the autobhan and an amazing 15km tunnel for €9 and exit to Hofenpass immediately after it. The road took us through the Zurs Ski Area and we managed to bag both the Flexenpass and the Hochtannbergpass both fairly unmemorable as they were really just way points along the road.
There had been great bridges on the passes, with good road surface but also with lots of engineering and rework. We decided not to bother with any others and headed back the way had come, again, something of a theme today... Having bagged these two passes, we stopped in Warth for a coffee and strudel at the Dorfcafe (with amusing football goals in the urinals…).
Having decided to abandon Austria, we planned to head due east towards Innsbruck and Berwang along the 198, passing through a number of very nice Austrian ski villages along the way, all largely deserted The road starts to climb and Nick can’t resist the temptation to show off, arriving in Berwang with sufficient time to dismount at a bus stop and feign sleep as Chris finally arrived! We think this was Fern pass, having reviewed the map, but didn't see any signs marking it!
We continued on past Berwang to Bichelbach and from there followed the 179 all the way down to join the A12 autobahn heading towards Innsbruck. The Timmelsjoch exit from the A12 follows the 186 through a variety of ski villages until the pass proper starts just after Angern at Konigsrain - Austria is definitely doing its annual pass road maintenance this week as once again, the village main road is subject to restrictions and we wait at the front of the queue for some considerable time for our turn to go. It does at least make passing the busses and lorries easier.
Super high speed sweeping roads through the valley which seem to go on and on. Some small villages which require serious braking! Very, very misty at the top, seeing one side of the road from the other was a challenge. Back in Italy (and now called Passo Romba), the mist wasn’t so bad, we stopped to record some flabby farty action in one of the tunnels, slightly scary for Nick having to brake on a very wet road surface at the end of a tunnel straight into mist. The things we do for art… Much clearer down below though.
Once at the foot, we head for Moso where we are binned by first hotel, we ended up in Plata by mistake and found Gasthof Albergo. Basic but great value (and cash only). We decided not to stay for dinner and headed into downtown Plata (blink and you miss it) to Restaurant Platterwirt where we discover cash only again, and absolutely no English spoken which made dinner choice a bit of a lottery!
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Statistics
Start - 0930hrs Finish - 1930hrs Miles covered - 265 miles Tour distance - 1,300 miles Passes bagged - 7 Tour passes - 18 |
Countries
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Passes
Reshenpass Pillerhohe Pillerhohe (in reverse) Flexenpass Hochtannbergpass Fern Pass Timmelsjoch |
Day four, Thursday 5 June 2014
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Another beautiful day; out of Plata, we managed to find a tiny, narrow, tree lined driveway pass going through what looked like grottos! Quite steep in places and wet!
Once clear of Plata, we followed the SS44 to Merano, slow and busy, very warm, some vineyards etc plus the inevitable vineyard tractors slowing the pace down. Merano was beautiful, and with no Americans in sight!
After Merano along the SP117, we stopped for petrol, oil and coffee at Sinigo. We had lots of chat with the very pleasant and friendly petrol station cashier who claimed only to speak a little English but seemed pretty fluent to us, and in both Italian and German this being Sudtirol.
From Sinigo, we essentially headed west, finding the SS42 at Cagno and following the road through numerous small towns and villages. A stunning road, contour risers with fast sweeping bends, long straights almost as far as the eye can see and one or two 180 degree switchbacks. A fantastic combination, we rode along for what seemed like ages with a trio of Austrian bikers on a GS, Suzuki SV1000 and Yamaha R6. Along this road, Chris was learning to ride his bike properly, keeping his vision up and with nice warm tyres.
Eventually arriving at the summit of the Passo del Tonale where we stopped, twice, there being two summit signs in different places! At the second sign we had coffee opposite a very impressive monument to the Italian military and in a car park with many bikes, including a German group on a variety of BMWs. From Passo del Tonale we continued along the SS42 to Ponte de Ligno and the SP29, Passo Gavia, much drier today although the solid white line down the middle of the road was still there, and the true quality of the surface much clearer. More snow on top. Very narrow and snow bound and almost single lane on the way down given the snow at each side of the road, not helped by a very slow guy on a BMW GS with a faster mate on a Ducati Multisrada. More snow and a boulder in the road further down.
From Gavia to Bormio and up the same part of Passo dello Stelvio again to the summit and this time, an open Café Tibet. We stopped for the awesome bressola salad they do along with the customary best tasting cappuccino anywhere (helped by the occasion and the view). Once done at Tibet, we again retraced Stelvio to Umbrail where we happened upon a guy riding a German registered Ducati Multistrada. His riding was as stunning as the scenery, we passed him a few times as he stopped for pictures (complete with Go Pro style camera) and we reckoned he was out taking video for a touring company website. Each time we passed him, it didn’t take him long for him to re-pass us!
At the bottom of Umbrail, a left at Santa Maria Val Mustair onto the 28 and almost immediately onto Offenpass and oddly with loads of Christmas trees etc on the way into Zernez. Then right towards the Bar Post Hotel and Sus. Further up the road we turned left onto Fluelapass in reverse, great stacked passes, a bit like Offenpass. And then once again, Wolfgang pass and Davos through the straight and incredibly long tunnels.
At Bregenz the long slog home began! We turned onto the motorway, into Austria briefly (no roadworks here) and then into Germany on the A96. At this point, the autobahn was very quiet and relatively straight enabling Chris to see 145mph on his Trophy and Nick 215kph (135mph) on his GS; not bad for a slab-sided adventure bike with panniers, top box and no fairing. And both speeds verified by Tom!
Just to prove that Austria wasn’t the only place being dug up/repaired, we encountered some serious roadworks on the A96 on the way up to Ulm where we joined the A8. From here we routed south around Stuttgart and joined the A5 at Karlsruhe. We then turned off the A5 onto the L87 and crossed the Rhein into France just north of Rheinau (and where we last crossed in 2006 and 2007). The volume of water is incredible, the road seemingly dividing a huge lake/river with locks and other water controls all around. It’s quite eerie, especially in the half light. Immediately in France, we joining the D2 briefly before the A35 and then the A4 towards Metz. We retraced our steps to the Metz Ibis Nord and the same receptionist greeted us as before (although there was no trace of recognition!).
Once clear of Plata, we followed the SS44 to Merano, slow and busy, very warm, some vineyards etc plus the inevitable vineyard tractors slowing the pace down. Merano was beautiful, and with no Americans in sight!
After Merano along the SP117, we stopped for petrol, oil and coffee at Sinigo. We had lots of chat with the very pleasant and friendly petrol station cashier who claimed only to speak a little English but seemed pretty fluent to us, and in both Italian and German this being Sudtirol.
From Sinigo, we essentially headed west, finding the SS42 at Cagno and following the road through numerous small towns and villages. A stunning road, contour risers with fast sweeping bends, long straights almost as far as the eye can see and one or two 180 degree switchbacks. A fantastic combination, we rode along for what seemed like ages with a trio of Austrian bikers on a GS, Suzuki SV1000 and Yamaha R6. Along this road, Chris was learning to ride his bike properly, keeping his vision up and with nice warm tyres.
Eventually arriving at the summit of the Passo del Tonale where we stopped, twice, there being two summit signs in different places! At the second sign we had coffee opposite a very impressive monument to the Italian military and in a car park with many bikes, including a German group on a variety of BMWs. From Passo del Tonale we continued along the SS42 to Ponte de Ligno and the SP29, Passo Gavia, much drier today although the solid white line down the middle of the road was still there, and the true quality of the surface much clearer. More snow on top. Very narrow and snow bound and almost single lane on the way down given the snow at each side of the road, not helped by a very slow guy on a BMW GS with a faster mate on a Ducati Multisrada. More snow and a boulder in the road further down.
From Gavia to Bormio and up the same part of Passo dello Stelvio again to the summit and this time, an open Café Tibet. We stopped for the awesome bressola salad they do along with the customary best tasting cappuccino anywhere (helped by the occasion and the view). Once done at Tibet, we again retraced Stelvio to Umbrail where we happened upon a guy riding a German registered Ducati Multistrada. His riding was as stunning as the scenery, we passed him a few times as he stopped for pictures (complete with Go Pro style camera) and we reckoned he was out taking video for a touring company website. Each time we passed him, it didn’t take him long for him to re-pass us!
At the bottom of Umbrail, a left at Santa Maria Val Mustair onto the 28 and almost immediately onto Offenpass and oddly with loads of Christmas trees etc on the way into Zernez. Then right towards the Bar Post Hotel and Sus. Further up the road we turned left onto Fluelapass in reverse, great stacked passes, a bit like Offenpass. And then once again, Wolfgang pass and Davos through the straight and incredibly long tunnels.
At Bregenz the long slog home began! We turned onto the motorway, into Austria briefly (no roadworks here) and then into Germany on the A96. At this point, the autobahn was very quiet and relatively straight enabling Chris to see 145mph on his Trophy and Nick 215kph (135mph) on his GS; not bad for a slab-sided adventure bike with panniers, top box and no fairing. And both speeds verified by Tom!
Just to prove that Austria wasn’t the only place being dug up/repaired, we encountered some serious roadworks on the A96 on the way up to Ulm where we joined the A8. From here we routed south around Stuttgart and joined the A5 at Karlsruhe. We then turned off the A5 onto the L87 and crossed the Rhein into France just north of Rheinau (and where we last crossed in 2006 and 2007). The volume of water is incredible, the road seemingly dividing a huge lake/river with locks and other water controls all around. It’s quite eerie, especially in the half light. Immediately in France, we joining the D2 briefly before the A35 and then the A4 towards Metz. We retraced our steps to the Metz Ibis Nord and the same receptionist greeted us as before (although there was no trace of recognition!).
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Statistics
Start - 0930hrs Finish - 0100hrs Miles covered - 575 miles Tour distance - 1,875 miles Passes bagged - 7 Tour passes - 25 |
Countries
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Passes
Passo del Tonale Passo del Gavia Passo dello Stelvio Umbrail Pass Offenpass Fluelapass Wolfgang Pass |
