If not now, then..... when?

[HPPants]

Day 11

Brienz, Switzerland to Airolo, Switzerland

It’s a little bit warmer this morning, especially for Switzerland. We are hearing wind of a “dangerous heat wave” coming to southern Europe. I assure you, this south Louisiana boy ain’t worried about that.

We gear up at the KSU time and taxi out of Brienz ready to ride. There was lots of chatter on the intercom about how much fun the past 2 days were enjoying the beauty of Switzerland. But our fearless leader Greg re-focuses us and promises new and exciting adventures just around the corner.

Which corner is anyone’s guess – I suppose at any point, we can just …. pick one.

These roads in Switzerland are quite simply the finest riding I have ever experienced. They are all impeccably maintained with nary a crack in the pavement. I’m having fantastic fun leaning the bike in these curves.

Lunch at the top of some mountain pass.

And then…. rinse, lather, repeat.

Let me make a statement regarding the Alpine Mountain Passes. According to Google, who knows everything (LOL), there are 222 primary mapped paved mountain passes in the Alpine Mountain Range of Europe. We tried to the best of our ability to document each one we crossed over the month of our travel. I’m quite certain that we missed documenting one or two along the way. But for posterity’s sake, we rode over sixty-four (64) documented mountain passes. During the rest of this ride report, when I am able to discern it from the pictures, I will mention their names. And at the end of the report, I’ll list all of the passes in random order for the benefit of anyone planning a ride to the Alps.

But the short version is, while I have my favorites, they were ALL wonderful.

Some of the passes still utilized the old cobble stones for the roadway. Extra caution was called for there.

It’s just one twisty ribbon of roadway after another….

In the afternoon, we ran up Grimsel Pass in the sunshine with a little bit of traffic to deal with. But it’s easy – there are plenty of places to pass, and mostly, these people just move over for us. We get to the top and I remember it being exactly 50 degrees F and a little windy – that cool air felt really nice running through my jacket vents.

We start heading down and soon realize that a group of late model Lotus sports cars were behind us, and they were feeling as frisky as we were. We had great fun passing 5 or more cars at the same time on some of the more open areas. On that particular run, I kind of wished I had my FJR1300 with me. But the Africa Twin is doing just fine and I’m enjoying the ride very much.

Greg and Bryan found a set of rooms with a common bathroom in the town of Airolo, Switzerland. This a great place centrally located around some of the finest riding passes in the Alps. So we booked 3 nights at this place. They have a restaurant in the hotel, and the pizza there is very good.

But the hit of the show was dessert. This is Chocolate Panna Cotta with homemade cream, and it was scrumptious.

We had a lot of fun cutting up with the waitress at that dinner, who was the daughter of the hotelier. She was cute (in a non-creepy way) and she played along with us.

It was only 225 kilometers, but we made big (s)miles today.

 

[the Ferret]

This is a spectacular ride report. Looking forward to more

 

[Uncle Phil]

Grimsel is one of my favorite passes - and Susten ain't bad either!

 

[HPPants]

Day 12

Airolo, Switzerland

I slept very well in the twin bed of our hotel, but I must say, Europeans have a nocturnal housekeeping habit that I’m struggling with: Their blankets are too short. Seriously, EVERY place we stayed at provided us with clean linens, but if you are taller than about 5’-9”, then you left with only 2 choices: sleep in the fetal position or your feet hang out the end of the blanket. My solution? Wear socks to sleep – done. I guess that’s part of immersing yourself into the culture of another part of the world.

At the risk of sound redundant, Greg has informed us that for today, he’s got BIG plans for us. Today – we are gong to ride the motorcycles. As “original” as that might be, today we are going to ride from one alpine mountain pass to another.

When I was a kid, like most everywhere else in the deep south, we had a horse racetrack. Cajun people enjoy drinking and gambling, and somebody figured out how to make money on both. The races were broadcast on a local radio station, and as it typical from that era, the Race Announcer had a great voice. He would do a good job of entertaining you using only your ears and your imagination. At every race, after the horses were staged, the bell would ring, the gates opened, and the announcer would say:

“Ils sont partis!!!!”

Which is cajun French for: “And….. they’re off!”

I hadn’t thought about that for maybe 40 years, but somehow on this morning, thinking about our motorized “horses”, and what is getting ready to happen, I waited for a lull in the intercom conversation, and proudly exclaimed: “Ils sont partis!!”

Heading toward the top of the first (or second, it doesn’t matter) pass, Greg stops here for some nostalgia. This is where a scene from the James Bond movie Goldfinger was filmed.

Gary has fallen, and fortunately he CAN get up. I haven’t heard much about his foot, so I am presuming that he is either feeling better, or he has chosen to live with it.

A few days ago, Gary loaned me one of his head socks to serve as added padding for my bald head still healing from bumping it a week or so ago. That was GOLD for me and speaks volumes to something that I wanted to point out. Quite simply…..

***** happens.

When you are halfway around the world for a month with four other people, exposed to the weather every day, performing activities that are physical and physically demanding, then the idea that you and them are going to just “sail” through that without a hitch is ludicrous. The possibilities are endless, and as a retired Risk Manager who spent decades of his life honing in the art of being paranoid, if I allow it, I can lather myself over this real good. But I’ve learned over the years that there is another way:

Chill out

Relax about it. Some ***** is gonna happen – to ALL of us. We’ve all packed resources that give us the best chance of addressing _______ on the road, and for everything else, we have a credit card and insurance. So – when that “thing” rises its ugly head, you have a choice. You can sit in the corner and suck your thumb, or pour money on it and …. Don’t worry, be happy. Let me tell you, the latter is MUCH more enjoyable.

We get to the top of a pass, and the sun is just right for some terrific photography. We would stop and shoot, ride a little bit to another spot for a different angle, stop and shoot, etc…..

Why don’t I just STFU for a bit and let the pictures tell the story…..

This is one of my favorite photos from the entire trip.

This is another shot that mimics a scene from Goldfinger.

We stopped at the intersection of 3 pass roads and this was parked next to us. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these. It was in immaculate condition and obviously ride ready.

Today kind of reminded me of Northwestern Arkansas. It doesn’t matter – just… go!

Joie de vivre, my friends.

(look it up)

Now late in the morning, we turn off the Sustan Pass to this little bitty out and back road that Greg found somehow. It goes to Lake Engstlenese. It’s one of those fantastic Goat Trails I’ve been raving about.

No lie – this was one of my most favorite parts of the trip.

We are just putt putting along this exquisite mountain valley with the entire world to ourselves, except for these gals doing their thing and clanging their neck bells in wonderful song.

Water is spewing right out of the mountain in 8 separate places here – stunning!

Now if you fine people don’t like this, then do yourself a HUGE favor: sell the motorcycle and take up golf ‘cause I’m gonna tell ya, it don’t get ANY better than this.

As if this is some kind of moto-fairy tale, at the end of the road there’s a café, its lunch time, and it’s open.

This is a rare moment.

I’m in paradise, with people I care about. We have it ALL to ourselves. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is perfect. The weather is perfect. The riding is perfect. The bier is perfect. I’m feeling ZERO pain anywhere. And the best part? I’m smart enough to know it!

After lunch, we have no choice but to ride the same road back, an inevitability that pleases me very much.

I wish I would have written down the name of this road – Greg, can you help?

We get back to Sustan Pass, take a left, downshift 2 gears, and let the horses run!

Sustan Pass was my favorite riding road of the entire trip. It has everything in abundance: 1st gear switchbacks, double apex curves, decreasing radii curves, rhythm S-curves – you name it.

And even … tunnels with waterfalls!

What a day!

We get to the end of Sustan, and ….. it’s about that time!

Then it was a short ride back to the hotel in Airolo. The restaurants were closed (I think it was Sunday), so we bought groceries in the village, so I made a simple salad for dinner, and ate it at a public sitting place.

Today was some of the finest riding I have ever experienced. It was just…. Perfect.

Passes for today include:

San Gottardo
Sustan
Grimsel
Furka
Nufenen

 

[Uncle Phil]

Those passes were my favorite route in that area!

 

[Moto-Charlie]

The Grimsel, Furka, Susten, Nufennen and several other ones in that area epitomize what makes Alps riding so special and the Swiss Alps in particular.

I too am a fan of those "Goat Trail" roads. I have ridden many of them multiple times including the road to Engstlensee. Like you I really, really enjoy these roads because they show you a part of Switzerland and back country mountains that a lot of riders miss. They are another example of how the Swiss make all their natural beauty accessible almost everywhere.

The cobblestone Tremola Road used to be the old Gotthard pass and is Switzerland's longest road "monument." The Swiss have all kinds of monuments. You may have seen the view of the Tremola Road from the Gotthard Pass. It's a unique ride for sure.

 

[HPPants]

We did ride the cobblestones at Tremola over there. Surprisingly, the grip was pretty good, although we were taking it easy. It was dry that day, though.

 

[Moto-Charlie]

I saw your pictures of the cobblestone road, which sparked my comments. Riding it in dry weather is the way to go - it is pretty much deserted on rainy days. Looks like you had a very fun tour.

 

[HPPants]

Day 13

Airolo, Switzerland

The ride yesterday was absolutely incredible. We had a heaping helping of everything a rider could want, and we soaked it up like a dry sponge. Greg dialed up another route for today – I can hardly wait to see what’s in store.

We don’t get far and it’s already looking terrific!

Every chance I get, I find myself staring at it, trying with all my might to burn it into my worn out neurons. It’s endless and I hope I can remember this forever.

I also can’t pass a chance up to strike a pose!

All of the lakes we find in the mountainous region of the Alps are gorgeous. The water has this turquoise hue to it. I’ve researched this and am fascinated with what I’ve read: it is not caused by a prevalent mineral, as I have seen elsewhere in the world. This color is mostly due to the light shining against the background of the adjacent mountains.

The light shining on my delicious dessert after lunch ain’t too shabby either!

By now, I’ve adjusted my “sniffing habits” quite a bit. When I’m touring a new place, I know that I grate my riding mates with my incessive stopping. What can I say? I have a big nose and I know how to use it. I’ve always been a tactile learner. I struggle with books, but take me to the lab, and I’ll get it. This laboratory is just too nice to ignore.

Be that as it may, the Alps are an ENORMOUS laboratory, and the urge to sniff can wane on you a bit. Don’t misunderstand, it’s not out of disinterest. Rather, you grow to realize that failing to stop at a particular place isn’t really gonna cause you to miss anything. Just keep riding, there’s another great place to stop just around the corner.

And so…. We keep riding.

See what I mean?

Yesterday, Greg asked us to share our favorite pass road. The context of the question was: riding. The answer was unanimous – Sustan Pass. So last night, Greg incorporated into our route for today and run up and down Sustan BOTH ways. Just do an out-n-back run of our favorite road. Boy was that fun! I didn’t take a peek at any scenery. I warmed up the tires on a few curves, then put my head down, and let the big girl sing her song. Good times!

Now late in the afternoon and Greg’s route takes us on a little out and back road to Lake Goscheneralp. This is terrific place to just sit for a minute and immerse yourself into the Switzerland Alps.

I counted 6 waterfalls dropping into the manmade reservoir. And we read a sign that explained how they pipe this water down to a village quite a distance away. I like how they create something beautiful that is useful and efficient as well.

325 kilometers later, we find our way back to our hotel in Airolo. The restaurant is open tonight, and our server from the other night was happy to see us. The steak was a perfect Medium.

I’m not much of a “pretty plate” eater. I’m much more interested in how it taste. But I must admit, these desserts are as delicious as they look.

Over the past generation, I have observed a significant misunderstanding in the use of the word “Amazing”. My adult children use that word habitually. “This was amazing.” That was amazing”. This can’t be. By definition, “amazing” should be reserved for describing something astonishing. Something uniquely good. Something unusually pleasing. If everything is “amazing”, then nothing is astonishing. I keep silent about it, but between you and me, I think they got it wrong.

However, and I make no mistake about it, this European adventure has been ….. amazing.

Passes today:

San Gottardo Pass

Klausen Pass

Pragel Pass

Sustan Pass (twice)

 

[HPPants]

Day 14
Airolo, Switzerland to Salouf, Switzerland

Good bier does what it does, and I slept like a baby last night to the rhythmic tune of Greg’s moderate snoring. No breakfast at the hotel, so we snack at whatever we have and then it’s Ill sonte partis!!

I think this says that we will poke our eyes out…..

Quite often as we are riding, we come upon one lone “structure” that is usually abandoned or uninhabited. I like including that in a landscape picture – its offers some scale to what the viewer is seeing.

As we move (generally) more East, the terrain is changing – the mountains are starting to look different. The peaks are more “jagged”, with more exposed rock. And the light is providing a slightly different hue to the hillsides.

I have no idea where we ate lunch or what my entrée’ was, but apparently the dessert was picture-worthy!

Splugen Pass was a fine piece of riding.

Wherever that FJR goes, we go!

It was warm in the afternoon at this stop. There is a big waterfall visible from this overlook, but in atypical fashion, I didn’t take a picture of it.

Good to see Gary getting around.

Just another day in Switzerland.

We arrived at our hotel in Salouf, Switzerland early in the evening. This place is owned by a very nice family. The restaurant is on the 1st floor, and the top 3 floors have rooms in various configurations.

The Matriarch of the family was a HOOT! She was quite evidentially “in charge”. I started calling her “Mama” mixed in with some VERY broken Italian, a little French, and whatever else I could come up with. She was a super nice lady and I had great fun cutting up with her.

At Mama’s insistence, we had dinner on the patio. This appetizer bread was delicious

The chef for the restaurant was also very nice and he came to our table to talk a while about the food. He told us that he makes the pasta homemade in house. In these parts, the pasta is usually not served with tomato sauce or even cream sauce. It’s served with olive oil and garlic. Mine had fresh mushrooms as well – this was very good.

On the menu, they call this “spaghetti”, but for us, this is fettuccini.

For dessert, Gary tried to order chocolate cake with Vanilla ice cream, and Mama looked at him like he had a 3rd eye! She then informed him that he would have lemon ice cream with his cake, and he would like it. Yes Ma’am. Oh boy, we laughed at that a lot.

Pants went with lemon gelato and some fresh cream, and as I recall, Mama approved!

We had a wonderful time with dinner in yet another quaint and cozy alpine village.

Passes ridden today:
Oberalp Pass
Lukmanier Pass
San Barnadino Pass
Splugen Pass
Julier Pass.

 

[Uncle Phil]

I finally checked where Airolo was as I knew it had to be close Andermatt cause a lot of your pictures looked very familiar.
We based out of Andermatt which is only 16 miles north of Airolo on highway 2. You probably rode through Andermatt on some of your rides.

 

[ChucksKLRST]

Love the picture of the old stone building along the route. Mind if I copy it and put it in my Euro picture file? and Google translates the sign as He who dares loses.

 

[ST1100Y]

Google translates the sign as He who dares loses.

On their Austrian counterparts it says:
"Don't ride faster than your guardian angel can fly"...

 

[Weaselinsuit]

"Make sure your skills match your intentions"

 

[Uncle Phil]

Uncle Phil's Version -
"If your gut's in a knot it is your brain telling you that you are riding above your skill set - crash is imminent!"

 

[HPPants]

Day 15
Salouf, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy

As I woke up, I wasn’t very hungry. Our fine meal last night was very filling. But breakfast this morning looks so delicious, how can I refuse?

As it typical for this trip, we devoured the fresh bread, cold cuts, cheese, etc. We thought that was “it”, but then the owner came out with a plate of crepes. And then a plate of omelets! It’s going to be a light lunch today for sure!

After breakfast, we loaded the horses, which slept in dry digs last night.

We said goodbye to our gracious hosts. We really had fun at this place.

I simply cannot believe how good the weather has been this entire trip!

This is a nice train bridge running over the roadway. Europeans place value on form, as well as function.

Today is going to be a terrific day!

We run up to the top of a nice pass (I think it was Umbrail) and then go further to another rite of passage for any motorcyclist.

Stelvio Pass is considered one of the curviest roads in the world. And trust me, it’s twisty!

Greg is excited to be here, can you tell?

At the top of the pass is a small village of buildings catering to tourist and it was PACKED with people including a lot of riders. The vibe was pretty exciting.

But…. we didn’t come here to go shopping.

We rode down Stelvio, and then turned around and rode back up. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. The road is amazing – these are without doubt the tightest switchbacks I have ever ridden on. On the right handers, you MUST hug the center line going in, and then lean on the clutch quite a bit (going uphill) coming out. And there are TONS of these switchbacks to navigate.

But it was super crowded. Really, it was like stop and go traffic the whole way. Lots of bicyclists, motorcycles or all kinds, sports cars, even …. BUSES! This road has just opened a few days ago – perhaps this crowd is because of that? I don’t know but I found myself worried about getting stuck mid-switchback, and dropping the bike. Greg insists that in lighter traffic, Stelvio is much more fun, and that seems reasonable. The others enjoyed it more than I did, and that’s perfectly fine. This was kind of like The Tail of the Dragon to me. It’s a rite of passage – you have to do it. But it’s so overrun with people now, unless you are local and know when to go and run it, perhaps it’s best to just skip it after you’ve done it once. I’m glad I rode it, but I wouldn’t put it in my top 5 for the trip.

We get back to the top and take the walking trail to the peak. Its very cool up here, in more ways than one! Riding here not withstanding – you cannot argue one bit with the view. It’s amazing!

My “fat ass” motorcycle is easy to pick out in a crowd.

This is the Italy/Switzerland border – there may or may not be some yellow snow there.

Some things speak for themselves…..

We got back on the bikes and rode up to the other side of the pass. The views here are stupendous.

Chicken strips today need not apply.

And then it was onward for more adventure!

One of my close riding buddies reminds me that in these times, you don’t have to get it perfect. Close enough is more than good enough.

However, perfect works too.

This is another one of my favorite photos from the entire trip.

Greg and Bryan found a really nice apartment in the village of Tirano, Italy. We had a little challenge getting to the actual building, riding through these really narrow cobblestone alleyways. But we made it ok and our hosts were very nice.

We got settled in and then walked into the village to eat and look around.

Delicous salad for dinner.

We did eight (8) mountain passes today over about 325 kilometers. The twisty roads were abundant and the riding was fantastic. Everyone is having such a good time. We really are blessed. At the end of each day before I close my eyes, I try to take a peek at the 30,000-foot view of the map. I’m trying to orient myself and learn more about the bigger picture. It’s now pretty clear that we are heading toward another aspect of the Alpine Mountain Range that I’m very excited to see:

The Dolimites!

Passes today:

Albula pass
Pass Dal Fuoron
Umbrail. Pass
Stelvio pass
Pass Foscagno
Eira pass
Pass del Bernina
Forcola di Lavingo

 

[Uncle Phil]

The Dolomites were also incredible.
We headquartered in Misurina which sits on a beautiful lake.


Your trip gives me a bad itch to go back!

 

[wizel]

I'm coming with Phil.
Holm from Germany

 

[Moto-Charlie]

This is another one of my favorite photos from the entire trip.

I've stopped at that spot many times over the years for pictures, both when solo and on my tours. It's beautiful. It is also a sad reminder for me how much the glaciers have melted over the last 40 years. The Rhone Glacier on the Furka is often mentioned as the poster child for glacial melting. When I first started riding the Furka you could get off your bike at the Hotel Belvedere (the James Bond hotel photo) and touch the glacier about 30 feet off the road. Now you can't even see if from the paid entry kiosk. I saw an article where the Swiss are monitoring it this summer and it retreated approx. 4 feet in 6 weeks during this summer's heat waves. It's a shame.

The glacier in your 4-bike photo has held up pretty well until the last 5 years or so as Switzerland has gotten noticeably warmer and that glacier has visibly shrunk. At the rate it is going it will likely be gone in 10 years or so.

 

[Weaselinsuit]

Regardless of what you think of the cause, it's clear that climate change is here and is going to have some pretty devastating consequences. The glaciers are retreating here in Canada as well. Add in the wildfires and it's not a pretty picture.