Tornanti_2...Three Weeks Of Carve Till Ya Barf!!

HEY…we’re in Italy!!



GO!!...the DOCTOR!!



Marty’s taking a sabbatical, so there are 5 of us ready to roll this morning.

Pissfarting around



The valley floor is still in the morning shadows as we slip up the Val Mustair into Switzerland, the turn-off in the barely 10ft wide centre of Santa Maria is covered by house-corners, balconies jutting out over the road and flowerpots.

Up the Umbrail Pass, where things are tight, narrow and steep but well sealed.
Then onto the few k’s of dirt, which is even smoother….most of it is firm clay.





The tar starts at the bridge again…a short stretch later, we dive into the white morning sun.








What a difference to T1 in ’07…around here is where the snow started.













At the junction with the Stelvio again…and crossing from Switzerland back into Italy.
A good 30mins on the bike and already crossing borders twice.



Oh yes….special police for EVERY-thing. This one, the “Tax-police”

Goodie’s been taking some photos on the Umbrail and is the last one of the bunch.



The customs officer comes out his stuffy little box for some fresh air… time for some fun and games.
We haven’t been asked for passports once in the last 2 weeks….let’s see if I can talk this guy into making things a bit difficult for Goodie.

My 3 words of Italian are nowhere near good enough to get things across…some German does the trick, though.



There’s the sound of a winding-down 650 from behind the crest. She’s STUMPED to see some official waiting for her.

GOTCHA!!



After a minute of stern talk, our friendly official walks away…with a smirk on his face.



She still reckons it was all for real



No way, we can keep looking serious any longer



Shit, that was priceless !!



A big HIGH-5 to our customs friend!!

Oh man….decisions, decisions!



Down the Stelvio into Bormio it is….the old road.







Time for a cuppa in Valfurva, tacking south across the Gavia.

Coming for a ride, baby??

…and up the Gavia.
Coming from this side, there’s a ~12km section of old roadworks, where they must’ve buried a pipe under the road… then patched it with bucket and shovel, stamping the hotmix in by foot.

CHRIST, what a kidney-cruncher!!













LOVE this one!



…and some choice gear up here this morning. This one looks THE GOODS!!



Hmmm…nice….but back to the Beemer.









What a ripper of a bike! The owner gives us the lowdown on all the mods.



Time to roll down the other side then…

Taking a slightly different way through Ponte di Legno, we’re doubling back on our route from a few days ago.

West towards Edolo, and this time the run is good with very little traffic.

Then it’s a tack north to Monno….and up one of the lesser known passes (and let’s hope it stays that way)…the Passo di Mortirolo/ Passo di Foppa.

Look at the first pic…and you’ll know what’s in store!

Singlelaners, breathtaking views, no traffic and fingerlickin’ scenery ALL THE WAY!



This is waaay too good to rush through…







…the little Gasthof on the left is just too inviting, it’s all like phantasyland up here…and maaate, the VIEWS!!







And such starts a deeply enjoyable afternoon of just just wandering the tiny roads leading through wooded sections alternating with gently dropping grassland, followed by some rugged stretches and some steep, deep valleys below.

I’ll leave you with the pics.



Stumped us both....the car not expecting me....while me busy with finding the trigger on the little handlebar-cam

It’s an afternoon of sheer bliss up here…certainly one of the highlights of T2



















Eventually, the enchanting little singlelaner drops into Tirano, the southern terminal of the Glacier-Express Railway.

From here both the railway and road run up the Poschiavo Valley to the Bernina Pass.

Railway and vehicles share the same road for a while



Up the Bernina



The sun is still out on the tack to the east…. topping up with cheap petrol in Livigno again before it’s time to make tracks across to Bormio and up the Stelvio to check on our jolly customs guy at the Umbrail Pass turn-off….but he’s shut shop, nobody around to check us into Switzerland.

Retracing our route from the morning, things are getting nippy near the bottom of the Umbrail and out the Mustair Valley to Glurns and Prad….we finally pull in just as the first course of dinner is about to hit the table.


A million bends…. a million vistas…

A MILLION SMILES!!!

glitch said:

HEY…we’re in Italy!!

Click to expand...

Cardigans! Socks with sandles and thongs! Thermal pants with shorts over the top?

You really were soaking up and embedding yourselves in the European atmosphere.

Hi Pete,

what can I say?

The Mortirolo / Foppa - still a gem!

A highlight of the whole alps (for me)!



More infos: http://www.motorradrudi.info/Highli...l-Mortirolo-auch-Passo-della-Foppa.123.0.html

Love it, and done it very often - but the last time is just a few year ago
Maybe next year?!

Thank you for the outstanding pics and the RR!

Best greatings from Germany
Rudi

nev said:

Cardigans! Socks with sandles and thongs! Thermal pants with shorts over the top?

You really were soaking up and embedding yourselves in the European atmosphere.

Click to expand...

Mate!! Get with it, willya?
You've GOTTA go with the local fashions

motorradrudi said:

Hi Pete,

what can I say?
The Mortirolo / Foppa - still a gem!
A highlight of the whole alps (for me)!
Rudi

Click to expand...

Ohhh yes....it's simply stunning up there....I'd like to have a few days to REALLY see all the nooks and crannies in that small triangle up there.
There are endless little roads and tracks to explore.

Planned was a “rest”-day….hmmm….we’ve been on the road for a solid 5 days and things are getting a little wishy-washy….nobody can remember where we were a couple of days ago, Slovenia seems years ago, the Panoramica is taking a distant backseat to yesterday’s Mortirolo…

We also need some “private” time, get into contact with home, write some cards, back up the memory cards and get organized for tomorrows “shift of location”…but really, who wants time out here and now?

Stuff it…let’s keep burning the candle from both ends!

We’ll make it a shorter one then…

Goodie’s secret stash…Engadin Walnut cake



What a sight when stepping out the front door, eh?





By now, some of the other houseguests have gotten used to the Aussies (no shit )…cheerful goodbyes:
“See you tonight…where are you off to?”



The lady of the house has offered to run a couple of loads of washing for us….hope she doesn’t keel over from the stench.



Just past Glurns and into Laatsch, there’s a church out of the middle-ages with part of the road running underneath.






Officially it’s closed this morning due to resurfacing works….but it only takes a couple of minutes of friendly talk and we get the whole thing to ourselves for a little while.














The Mustair Valley and Ofen Pass into Switzerland are just about a “commute” for us by now…
(but what a commute!!)


The going is quick, 30mins later we’re through Zernez, tacking down-valley 4k’s to Susch, then west again across the Fluela Pass to Davos, ski-resort of the wealthy jet-setters.

The Fluela doesn’t really grab us…it’s long and drawn-out across a high saddle and pretty uninspiring.

The bare landscape of rubble and brown grass, then the gentle drop into Davos….but the ski-mountains opposite, Parsenn and Gotschnagrat, are gleaming in the morning sun.

This all takes on a totally different spin once the white, fluffy stuff starts to cover everything.

We tack south, wiggle our way through Davos and past the huge conference-centre….then turn off the main road at Clavadel into a little dead-end side valley….the Sertig valley.

I only remember it from a ski-holiday as a kid…and never forgot the place.

Coming along for a little discovery?













How pretty’s THAT?
Speeds drop to a crawl…. every one of us finds another little nook or crick to stop, gaze…. and slowly dig out the camera….







Some of the crew’s camera gear



Hire fleet of scoots….roll down valley, then grab the bus back up. Neat!



Shit, he might be even quicker on that one than the GS12





Hmmm… homemade cakes.



Goodie’s 650GS readout…average fuel consumption 3.7/100km….bloody OUTSTANDING!