Days 1-5 in previous post. Rolling rally began on my day 3 of travel. Cheers:)
DAY 6
We were set to start today’s ride at 9am. Late for us and we needed it. Dinner and breakfast were excellent so we had the energy we needed to mount up and ride smart for another bunch of passes. First was Newfenun Pass, then St Goddard Pass followed by Susten Pass and Grimsel Pass. While the groups took breaks and went on side trips this morning I broke off for another crack at Furka Pass before lunch. I was afraid I’d be super late to lunch and just hoped nobody would mind. I keep snacks in the trunk anyway - never ride without a certain amount of tools and snacks. Shit happens and some peanuts will get you through anything; especially if the alternative is getting hungry; or h-angry. As luck would have it I had an easy and fast ride up and back down Furka while most of the other riders were sitting in traffic somewhere. When I returned to the point that I left the route I managed to somehow merge into traffic with 2 of the 3 groups! Better to be lucky than good I guess. The ride up to lunch was brilliant and they had an area roped off for our bikes waiting for us. Thanks for setting that up Mika!
All of the passes were amazing and each different in its own way. Newfenun has a gorgeous view and bikers, cyclists, hikers with llamas and automotive enthusiasts with exotic cars all fit right in at the top. The roads built out of the mountain sides on Susten Pass were just outstanding. Tunnels kept the roads dry and added to the scenery quite well without taking anything away. I had a bit of vertigo at the top of Grimsel and it took about 20 minutes to wear off. I shouldn’t have gone up the extra scenic road but I will never regret it now. The lake held back by the dam we climbed up to was a spec in the distance from the top of Grimsel. The view, narrow road and extreme drop just got me spinning and the whole world tilted. We returned to Oberwald before 4pm and I just had to go hit Newfenun again. Totally worth it. Chasing a waterfall the entire pass is just awe inspiring. The scenery isn’t static when there’s always rushing water around somewhere. An old man on a 1966 R60 BMW invited me to go hit St.Goddard Pass with him. He thought I was here alone and that was super cool of him. Richard must have decided he likes riding as much as I do and pulled up a few minutes after he got gas and caught up to me. Why wouldn’t he?! The roads in the Alps are beautiful and we can ride them as much as we want to!
Tomorrow we head back to Italy, through Turin and into Susa. WooHoo! It should be a long ride fully loaded but at least I did my laundry. A dry bag full of soapy water makes for a fantastic washing machine. Shake, shake, shake - rinse and repeat:) No dirty clothes in my luggage tomorrow(!) We have a bright sun drying the clothes now. Travel light and travel often my friends:) I’m off to dinner and a glass or three of wine, a bottle of source water from a fountain down the road and maybe one of Marc’s fancy cigarettes before bed. Ciao for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment