Tornanti Road Yarns Part 3_Final

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Yup folks, you're still in the right thread :chug:
This is the 3.part and final of the Euro-Alps yarn.

What's ahead?
Oh...boooyyy!! :glu :slobb:slobb:kna
The Dolomites....Southern Austria, a dream called Slovenia, then more Switzerland...the Grossglockner...
More stumping pics, snow, snow and endless twisties, day after day after day.

We'll start with Day21 on the road, crossing from Glurns, the old medieval city... into the Dolomites, THE MECCA of motorcycle-riding.

To re-cap the last day (of part2) before continuing here:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1506&page=30


I WANNA READ IT ALL AGAIN...FROM THE START!!!:
http://www.austouring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1506


Enjoy... :so:so
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Re: Tornanti Road Yarns Part 3

:gday::gday: to all

I've done a couple of minor changes which hopefully make reading this thread a little easier.
While pages are loading quick enough here, I've found up to 168 pics on one page (of 10 posts),
I've reset that to 5posts per page to cut down the number of pics that have to be downloaded (in order to be displayed).
This should speed up the loading of pages somewhat.

You will also find, that the page-counter at the top-right of the thread will now display up to 10 "previous pages"....instead the 5 it was set to previously.....which should make navigating within the thread quicker and easier.

Hope it helps :so
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
On the Road...day21

It’s another one of those moments…..look at the faces and you know that some bond has grown over the short 2 days we’ve been with Helga.

Some “Farewells” don’t come easy… :cdle

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Traffic is fairly heavy, there are more little tractors with the proceeds of the grape-harvest clogging the main road to Merano, down-valley.

The small city is just as choked, roadworks everywhere…as the clouds are breaking up within 10 mins and things are getting warm!:clap:

There ya go…the Italian Postie!:doh::so

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Finding the road up towards Meran2000 and Hafling is a bit of a roundabout affair, but we get there…traffic thins…another group of bikes is quickly overtaken, after that it’s sheer single-laner bliss:so:so….a tiny band of asphalt snaking along the hillside high above the valley, magnificent views…time to breath DEEPLY.

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Into Bolzano (Bozen) for a few wrong turns and a subsequent, but short city-tour…. then straight north again, up the Sarner Valley towards the Penser Saddle.
Not 20k’s later is the turnoff to the Ritten Mountain….and other areas beyond.
Glad to get through Bolzano relatively easy, it’s time for a break at the “Sausage-Hut”, one of those tiny Kiosk-Style "Snack-Bars” common for this area.
It’s “Banger on a bun”….Banger on a bun with Sauerkraut…with mustard and Sauerkraut…with this…with that….you get the idea.:cool:

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Again we’re high above the valleys, more narrow single-laners, more lush green meadows…and high above, in the distance, the first sight of the Dolomites.:glu

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OHHH YEAHHHH……the DOLOS, as what they call them here.

The place of mysteries and dreams for anyone on the globe who loves riding a bike. The place where 20 or more passes run into eachother, overlap and undercut.
The place of endless AHHHs and OHHHHs, whatever m’cycle forum in the world one gleans into….in ONE WORD : Motorcycle-MECCA !!!!

The Europeans swoon over it, well-travelled Yanks are going bananas about ‘em…the Dolos get universal approval of being the BEST there is….and LOTS and LOTS of it.
The towns are real…no seasonal resorts, but proper settlements, that have been there for hundreds of years…and longer.

In winter it’s a GIGA-skicircus with over 300lifts and 1000s of km of groomed downhill-slopes of every kind and difficulty.

Still from a distance…

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
On the Road...day21 cont.

We’re right on time for the meet up with Rudi and Petra from the Alpenbiker forum, Brixen is a small town and we find some shade under some gnarly, old chestnut trees. :kna:kna

I’m really looking forward to the meet, after more than a year of getting along really well through the forums it’s finally time to meet face to face.
I wonder how things will turn out…:wink:

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No big Hello’s…
”Let’s get out of here, up the Wurzjoch and have a break at the Edelweiss-Hut, have a cuppa and sniff each other out, eh?”.
I knew it….my kind of guys!:so

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Yep…getting along like a house on fire….let’s get down to St. Martin and south to our stay in Arabba, just across the shallow Passo di Compolongo.

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Into Arabba, stay for the next few nights…

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A loooong way from home…:wow:

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The bikes are in good company…this is a Biker’s stay, the Hotel Olympia can house 150 riders at once….easily!

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Rudi and Petra can only stay one night, but will ride with us for half a day tomorrow, before returning home.
Things get late…there’s soooo much to talk about…

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C

Clowndog

Guest
Re: Tornanti Road Yarns Part 3

That shot going from the road all cast in shadow and showing detailed cracks running through the road line and moving all the way up to the bright well lit mountain is just stupifying ! It looks like a painting to me, I just can't comprehend standing infront of that in person.


I also love the mirror shot with the sun giving a startburst effect. Whoever took that shot is an evil genious :D
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
Re: Tornanti Road Yarns Part 3

That shot going from the road all cast in shadow and showing detailed cracks running through the road line and moving all the way up to the bright well lit mountain is just stupifying ! It looks like a painting to me, I just can't comprehend standing infront of that in person.

Which one?
(Just R-click/ properties the pic to get the URL, then re-post it here as a pic..)

I also love the mirror shot with the sun giving a startburst effect. Whoever took that shot is an evil genious :D

Think that was one of TT's...the mongrel IS EVIL !! :bs:bs
 

glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
On the Road...day22

There are twisties…and there are TWISTIES!!

The Dolos got them ALL…the smooth, wide, gentle stuff, medium-speed scratchers….the barely asphalted single-lane goat-tracks…other passes are in-betweens…take 2 dozen of the above, shake well… and drop them, willynilly, on the map.
Those that don’t tie in immediately, string the ends together by what would be considered, in Australia, an EXCEPTIONAL bike-road by itself!!!

Then add breathtaking scenery, glaciers and whitecaps galore…chuck in literally hundreds of superb, little eating places, bakeries and cafes….100s of accommodation places of every type one could possibly dream of…get the idea??:glu:glu:glu

Then top it all off with Rudi, who knows the place like his back-pocket…
Welcome to the Dolos !!!!!!!!

No use wasting a second of a day then…:wow:

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There’s even “Parking for busted Bikes” !!!:wow::so

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It’s still bloody cold…but…it’s easy to get weak-kneed when looking at the skies and thinking of the day ahead!!:drool:
Up the Passo di Falzarego first…

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Rudi and Petra on the ST1100

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Tim and Karel swap bikes for the day…Tim on the GS12

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ALL GRINS….:so:so

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Come along…it’ll be A W E S O M E !!!!!!!!!!:doh::doh:

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Typical TT style…set up, feather…and….HAMMER !!:so

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Still on the descent…there’s the turnoff to the Passo Giau …

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Karel flying the barge into a lefthander…

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If marked on the road, both their lines would be within a couple of inches...

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
On the Road...day22 cont.

…Goodie and the Big Single at redline, just short of the top

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“Did you see THAT???”
Yeah…and heard it, too!! :clap::clap:

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RUDI !!! …showing those guys the birdie ?? :bs

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A little further along…

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After the Colle Santa Lucia, it’s another turn-off across the Passo Staulanza, this one a bit quicker, more open…

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And right away…the next turn-off in “wot???” Don’t??
Naw…Dont!!

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Chasing Rudi and Petra at close-quarters up the Passo Duran to Agordo:so:so

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Into Agordo for a coffee and to say a sad goodbye to our 2 new mates…
:(:(

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Look, the 2 Gs’s had some offspring during the lunch-break!!??:bs

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The town’s is typical for the area…

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Coming apart at the “seams”..."What's sticky-tape in Italian??":rolleyes:

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glitch

Mapping the next ride...
Staff member
On the Road...day22 cont.

Only 1k out of Agordo, it’s up the Passo di Cereda next

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“Mate!!! ….those last few bends were NUTZZZ, aye??:drool::drool::drool:

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5k’s south of Tonadico, the Passo di Brocon starts….all 58k of it between Imer and Castelnuovo…

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It’s pretty smooth…and quick…

5k’s along the main road towards Trento, another turn-off, Passo di Manghen….it’s a PERLER !!! :glu:glu:glu:glu
The signs say it’s closed….hmmmm…whatever…let’s just go and see…

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Hehe…

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GOSH…it just keeps coming…and it’s getting harder and harder to concentrate…
The day is turning LATE and there’s still the Passo Pordoi to go to make it back to Arabba…..all 60 hairpins of it…
…and some late-afternoon splendour is waiting.

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The final few tornantis…

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Not even 300k’s and everyone’s knackered to the core!
300k’s….9 hrs on the road!!
It’s impossible to decide to be either quietly stumped or yelling out pumped !!

The Dolos??? Y E A H B A B Y !!!!

WHAT A DAY !!!! WHAT A PLACE….

JEEZAZ !!! :so:so:so:so:so:so:so:so
 

motorradrudi

Tour Pro
Re: Tornanti Road Yarns Part 3

Hello Pete,

thank you for the pics!

For Petra and me ist was a pleasure to spent those two half days with you!

Best greatings to all of you!

It's a fantastic area and a beautiful landscape - I love it!

And then the rest of that day: Creda, Broccon and MANGHEN :glu

It looks like you've enjoy it :bs

Best greatings from good old Germany
Rudi
 
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