I woke up at 5:30 and planned to leave by 6:00 to give
myself plenty of time. Soon the
challenges began. First, I could figure
out how to get out of the hotel parking lot.
There was a barrier across the entry/exit. They must put it down at night because during
the day whenever I looked, it was up. I
tried everything I could think of to make the barrier go up with no
success. I returned to the hotel. The hotel workers don’t show up until 7:00 (no
one on duty over night) so I looked around the desk for a while and then found
something like a special coin with some slots on it that looked that matched
notches on where money would go into the barrier mechanism. Bingo!
First challenge resolved.
There was a mixture of snow and light falling rain when I was ready
to leave. I know the route I planned was
going over a passo (pass) in the mountains but I thought things would be OK so
I began my planned route.
Unfortunately, as I began to climb the pass the snow became deeper. Finally I met a snow plow going the other way
and hoped that would be enough to allow me to cross the pass. Not so.
Due to the rain/snow mix and the fact that roads had been warm, the
first snow melted and then froze to the road.
I got to a point on the pass where I could not climb any higher due to
the ice on the road. Now what? Blood pressure rising! Determined best option at this point was to
back down the pass until I could find a place to turn around. It was about ½ mile back. Backed down the snow/ice covered mountain
road until a turnaround spot was located.
Turned around and heading back down; now on to plan B. As this route was not longer an option, I
headed back to Bolzano and was back to where I started 2 hours earlier. Plan B is to get on the autostrada (Italian)
or autobahn (German) and take the fast way back to Munich. With the new route calculated on the GPS, I
was scheduled to be in Munich by a round
11:30 which would still give me plenty of time to fuel and drop off the
rental car and get to my gate for a 2:10 departure. Second challenge conquered!
While I am waiting in the Munich airport, I decided to put
together some thoughts about the trip to share:
- Riding in Europe has been on my “bucket list” for some time and this was a great way to do it!
- During the 5 days, we rode about 1,200 km or 750 miles.
- It was a great experience! When I had thought before about riding in Europe, one question was always do I try to plan something on my own or use a tour package like the one provided by Edelweiss. I must say I am very happy with my choice. Having someone that speaks the local language and knew the roads and the ways of the area you are riding in was worth the price. Manny knew some of the best roads, knew how to put together a good day's ride and was able to adjust quickly based on the weather and roads. Manny was able to translate when needed such as restaurant menus and he helped me be able to get my hotel bill settled on Thursday evening because I knew no one would be around when I planned to leave on Friday. Little things like services prevent little things from being stressful events.
- I was very happy with the bike selection available as well as the bike I selected, the V-Strom 650. While many were riding larger displacement bikes (1200 vs 650) with all kinds of fancy capability such as traction control, suspension adjustments etc, I was able to focus just on the riding. Having ABS and heated grips was very nice and helpful during multiple occasions but I didn’t miss any of the other options. The bikes all came with a tank bag as well as trunk and side bags to make it easy to carry what you needed for the day. I immediately removed my side bags to reduce the width of the bike; which I was glad I did several times during the ride. The tank bag provided quick and easy access to things like the camera and sunglasses while the truck carried extra gear such as a rain suit.
- The Dolomite's provided some of the best road riding in the world. The roads were fun to ride, technically challenging, and the views were amazing.
- This ride was what they call a “touring center” because we stayed at the same hotel every night. This arrangement allowed you to unpack and almost feel at home when you returned each night. Some of the tours require moving every night or every other night and then a van is provided to move the luggage to next place for you. Moving on a daily basis may allow you to see more different areas but not having pack and unpack everyday also had its advantages.
- The gear I brought along worked well for the many different conditions we rode in. My jacket (a TourMaster Flex) has 3 layers that I can use in different combinations. For the first 4 days of riding, I used all 3 layers. On Thursday when we headed south and into the sun, for a while I only needed 1 layer. When it looked like rain, I added the rainproof out shell and stayed dry. I purchased (with the guidance of my daughter - Lindsey - Thank You) a new set of riding boots just before the trip (TCX X-Cube Waterproof) and they are definitely waterproof. I never had wet feet from the rain; many others did. I also purchased a set of waterproof gloves for the trip and they also did well. Having the right gear that allows you to be flexible based on the weather conditions and goes a long way in keeping you comfortable and happy while riding.
When I booked my flights, I was a little concerned with my
connection flight in Amsterdam as I only had 1 hour 10 minutes between flights
but everything worked out well. The
flight from Munich arrived in Amsterdam on time and it allowed enough time to
through “Passport Control” and to the gate for my final flight home and through
the extra screen at the gate; not sure why we had another security check at the
gate.
The flight from Amsterdam back to Minneapolis also went well;
we actually landed about 30 minutes early.
Cathy picked me up at the airport and we headed home. We got back to the house about 9:00 p.m. I was up at 5:30 a.m. Italy time until 9:00
p.m. Minnesota time which is about 22 ½ hours
with only a couple short naps on the flight back home. Time to get some sleep and get back on
Minnesota time.
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