Edelweiss Ducati Tour Part 5: Stelvio in the Rain

The day began with a steady showers.  Personally, I welcomed the cooler temperatures but the  prospect if riding the Stelvio Pass in the rain was a bit disappointing. So it was on with the wets and out into the pouring rain.  

By the time we arrived for a brief coffee stop at the historic ( so they tell me ) town of  Glurns, I had discovered just how porous my boots were. With a 14 degree temperature, my feet were pretty cold.

The Stelvio at 2757m is the 3rd highest pass in Europe-  the other two are in France. It is very much part of European motorcycling folklore and is a destination for anyone touring the Tirol.  It is a very impressive sight even though on the day there was a lot of mist. (The pictures below are not all mine)

From the bottom, all 48 switchbacks to the top were quite wet. The road surface is generally quite good but is patchy in places and can be quite narrow, so one has to ride carefully. When it was built, horse drawn traffic determined a maximum gradient of 11%, so it's not that steep and many cyclists come to do the Stelvio.  Lots of cars, caravans and camper vans too.

After a brief stop at the top, it was down the other side, which is a lot more modern and more fun to ride.

After lunch in Bormio we rode the Gavia pass- definitely the most tricky and dangerous road I have ever been on .  The temperature was down to 6 degrees - note to self: need new boots! In places the cliff hugging road has no barrier at all and drops off for hundreds off metres. The road is barely wide enough for one car and scores of blind corners make it quite hair-raising. You have to use your horn around every corner. There are a number of YouTube videos where you can see this. Just add pelting rain and wet roads to the equation and you will get the picture. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures. But we all made it without any mishap. A testament to the ability of the riders on this trip.

The last bit of the days ride into Bolzano was fast sweepers on a fantastic road. So in one day we got to really see how fabulous and versatile the Multistrada is. Despite the rain we were able to maintain a pretty good pace on wet roads due to the great grip and suspension. The rough roads are dealt with by simply switching driving modes and in the fast bits we could ride at super bike pace.

Tomorrow its the Dolomites.