Back to the Alps, no Edleweiss!

[RBEmerson]

Having rattled on about the K1600, I checked, first hand, whether my Garmin 660 is "plug&play" in a K1600. It is. Installing any GPS in the panel mount is... so... what? BMW. Raise the windscreen, push a button on the dash next to the [=6=] thingie, watch a "cartridge carrier" rise majestically (not just pop!s up) from behind the dash, and remove the [=6=] panel. The 660 goes in the plug/carrier bit, push the 660 back into the carrier, and voila!. Sooooo BMW...

Otherwise, there's nothing of any importance going on. I'd hoped for a demo ride on a K1600 at the dealer's "ride a demo" weekend. No K1600's to demo - all stock is committed (saw one new one leave). The '17's haven't shown up for dealers, however the BMW inventory is thinning out. "Sometime next month..." Sounds like Air Canada's promise about "Fly Your Bike"...  

[Sport-Touring]

[Global Rider]

Looking at your maps, you are missing some really great roads.

For example, you are taking the B100 from Lienz towards the Italian border.

Just 2 kms out of Lienz, there is the Pustertaler Höhenstrasse that parallels the B100 high above the valley.

It beats the hell out of the boring B100 (unless you're in a rush), but great roads have less traffic, are slower going, narrow and offer spectacular views.

https://www.google.ca/maps/dir/Lienz,+Austria/46.7583646,12.528095/@46.7928693,12.6122308,13.75z/data=!4m29!4m28!1m25!1m1!1s0x47775df33af9ab35:0xabab5e14dd85353b!2m2!1d12.76272!2d46.82769!3m4!1m2!1d12.6800436!2d46.7984391!3s0x4777611767d4ab23:0x20c03cb6eab323e3!3m4!1m2!1d12.6089052!2d46.7843209!3s0x47776249bf174dc5:0x9069cfc518337b13!3m4!1m2!1d12.5773924!2d46.7978636!3s0x47776302fbf9a4b7:0x880095c57955453d!3m4!1m2!1d12.5452804!2d46.767479!3s0x477762a33703562d:0x9f9205e7a33c2133!1m0!3e0

Are you going over the Sölk Pass in Austria. I have another great road for you.

[RBEmerson]

Pustertaler Hohenstrasse is very much on my list, with staying on B100 only if I'm really pressed for time. Sölk Pass will have to wait for another trip. But, hey, thanks for the suggestions!

[RBEmerson]

To date, everything remains as listed earlier.

Air Canada finally came up with their charges for this summer. With a 2 1/2 - 3 week trip, "Fly Your Bike" remains a huge win.  

One small gear change: the mesh gear is for sale here because I've moved to an Aerostich Roadcrafter. Temperatures, later in the coming week, should get into the 80's. That will be a good test for the lower Italian valleys, where temps in the 80's are the norm.

Going with the Roadcrafter, now that I finally learned how to use Nikwax properly, means leaving the rain suit home, which means slightly less weight in the bags. (Although I doubt very much it will need it, I'll probably re-coat the suit "just 'cause ya never knows...") OTOH, I might just bring along my bike cover - less volume, more weight, I suspect. Or not. It's not my bike, after all...

[Global Rider]

I've moved to an Aerostich Roadcrafter.

And after 24 years and two Roadcrafter suits (that were treated annually before my tours) where I always had to cart my rain suit along, I've gone to a Klim Latitude suit last year. I never needed my rain suit, even in the heaviest of rain and we got our share last summer in Europe.

[RBEmerson]

Good point, Klim gear seems to be an increasingly common choice for the "not just a ride around the block" folks.

[Global Rider]

Good point, Klim gear seems to be an increasingly common choice for the "not just a ride around the block" folks.

Well after one season so far, I have to say my Klim gear meets and exceeds my tough expectations. But like anything, I expect it to perform equally well for many years, so I cannot comment on it long term yet.

I can comment on my Held Satu Gore-Tex gloves that have gone through 3 seasons so far and they still keep my hands dry in the heaviest of rain. I wear them over the cuffs of my Klim jacket.

[RBEmerson]

At $160 from Revzilla, they'd better keep your hands dry.

[Global Rider]

At $160 from Revzilla, they'd better keep your hands dry.

RB, get them in Germany while you are there.

I got my Held gloves from Bikerland in Bad Kreuznach, 5 kms off the A61. I stopped by their shop, but their web-site does not show a location anymore...on-line only???
N49° 51.710' E7° 54.268'
https://www.biker-land.de/index.php?language=en

Also Tom's Motorrad Shop in Weinheim, 5 km off the A5.
N49° 33.387' E8° 39.322'
https://toms-motorradshop.de/index.html

And Seiboth in Laundau in der Pfalz.
N49° 11.444' E8° 07.723'
http://www.seiboth-mb.de/motorradbekleidung/ueber-uns.html

[RBEmerson]

Thanks - I have a set of BMW Atlantis gloves picked up at a dealer "silly low prices, today only" event.

[Gulliver]

Since you will be in the vicinity (of the Furka pass) you have to do Tremola.  Very nice but not for racing.  And try to approach Stelvio from the Swiss side via the Umbrial pass.  It is very nice and takes you right to the top.  From there you can do Stelvio down and up from both sides and return via the Umbrail.  Then you have done everything up and down, which is a nice bonus, weather permitting.

Enjoy your trip.

[RBEmerson]

Tremola is very much on my list. Day #3 is my wander around Andermatt day. (#1 Munich-Mittenwald, #2 Mittenwald-Andermatt) The passes on the list are Tremola/St. Gotthard, Nufenpass, Furkapass, Sustenpass, Grimselpass, and Furkapass again. It's not a long list, but the route's about 120-130 miles. Again not a lot, until you dial in an average speed of around 30, or roughly fours of travel time. Toss in a coffee break or two, lunch, time to stop and smell the roses edelweiss and it's a comfortable day. Day #2 is about a 200 mile day; not too surprisingly, I found some good roads (Leutach area in Austria, for example) and a pair of passes (Sattelegg and Ibergeregg) as well as good stops along the way. It'll be a full day, so a "slow" day afterwards won't hurt.

It gets busy after that, going to Landeck, AT, which means sprinting through Liechtenstein again, but at least there's Oberalppass and Silvetta Panoramastrasse along the way. The next day includes Stilfser Joch/Stelvio, unfortunately on a Friday. Once again Bormio will have to get by without my visit; I'll break off and head back into Engadin to add Umbrail, Ofen, Albula, Flüelapässe to my collection. That's another 200 mile day with a bunch of passes; looong day. I won't be surprised if I'll need headlights for the last stretch of road (no passes).

The passes around Andermatt will be new, ditto for Albulapass and Flüelapass. Not that I have the roads for the other passes memorized. ;)

[RBEmerson]

OK, BTDT

Straight up: the K1600GT is a bad choice for a pass hunter. There's no bottom end, even in 1st. Some of the hairpins were ...um... not without pucker factor as I wondered if the motor would stall (didn't happen - whew!). Away from that, the bike was "all that". See my first video for a sample of that.

My Garmin 660 screwed me over more than once, including missing the ascent on La Tremola. I did catch the descent, though.


Albula, Flüelapässe didn't happen - not enough time.

Stilfserjoch/Stelvio was not a lot of fun. Too much traffic, the camper from hell (wish it would go back there), and the insane took the shine off the climb. And the KGT's low/no torque didn't help.


The glacier roads were more interesting than I expected. Silvretta was underwhelming and cursed with an "old timer" rally descending... in the middle of the road.  

The big disappointment, though, were the Dolomite passes. The scenery is amazing. The shapes of the peaks is fantastic. But the passes are little more than huge parking lots for ski areas on summer break. Cortina d'Ampezzo had IMHO almost no charm or call to look around further. One more large Italian town - ho hum.

The weather was on the warm to hot side but dry during the day. Except for the trip towards Grossglöckner. A rather nasty storm developed behind me and looked to be headed my way. Turning north, to follow the pass/panorama road, seemed to get me out of the direct path, but looking over my left (SW) shoulder wasn't encouraging. I didn't stop anywhere near as long as I wanted to.

Rather than write a long and tedious RR, here's the first of the videos from the trip. It's a short chunk of the ride to Andermatt, but gives a sense of the Tyrolean "outback". The rest of that ride was autobahn, following the effin' GPS to back roads that the people who live on them don't even know, and standing in traffic near Teufelsbrücke (Devil's Bridge - well named because the construction created the traffic jam from hell). Unfortunately, the camera quit before I got to Sattelegg and Ibergeregg passes, but they were twisty rides in woods and fields, with no view at the top. Anyway, here's the Leutasch valley. Don't let the slow opening fool you. There's a spot where I almost didn't go any further. Permanently. And there's an amusing phone call later on.


(Updated to the 4K version)

[Global Rider]

The big disappointment, though, were the Dolomite passes. The scenery is amazing. The shapes of the peaks is fantastic. But the passes are little more than huge parking lots for ski areas on summer break.

Well it is where most people stop and take in the scenery from the highest point in the road, and for that, you need parking lots.

Plus you have a rifugio/restaurant to take a break and have something to eat and drink.

All those cars and tour buses parked along the side of the road with people walking on the road to the pass would have us cursing.

[RBEmerson]

Passo di Valparola (at about 10:00) was worth the stop. Passo di Falzarego (at 14:30) at least had a view around it. Tre Croci and a couple of others I rode through... not so much.



The VW Eurovan "turtle top" in the video still shows up after Falzarego. Check out the ground clearance as it goes into the parking lot. The sudden stop, with the back of the van in the road, didn't make my day. But, to be fair, I guess I'd get excited too, listening for the sound of an expensive scraping noise under my van.

[RBEmerson]

This is an entrance to the Dolomites, coming from Bozen/Bolzano to the west of the Dolomite area. Passo di Gardena and Passo di Valparola were the last "real" passes for that day's ride. Until I got to the Grossglockner panorama road.

I finally got rid of the demonic little blue Fiat (6:00) just in time to find three bicycle people stretched across the road. Traffic for the day was like that.  

[ninjadad66]

Morning from Sicily "RB"

[RBEmerson]

Boungiorno back atcha.

[ninjadad66]

LOL...Greetings once again. Yes I've landed in Sicily for the next few years so here I am again ready for European travels. Sorry for the delay but I found some of your videos on YouTube so I stayed LOL

How you doing?

[rajflyboy]

Sicily

Time to air dry your clothes outside after you wash them