Edelweiss Ducati Tour Part 6: The Dolomites and the end.

The night in Bolzano, (or Bozen in German) is worth mentioning. We stayed in a 5 star hotel, apparently the best in the city; a cut above any of the other hotels we stayed at - not that any of them were bad, but this was special. I suspect someone at Edelweiss head office goofed, and this was all that they had time to organise. We enjoyed an excellent dinner in the garden, and then our guides took us on an interesting city walking tour.

The Dolomites in northern Italy are not only a great riding area but a hugely popular tourist destination.

 Great roads, spectacular mountain scenery, plenty of restaurants and accommodation made for a lot of traffic in places, although we tried to avoid the main roads. Lots of bikes on the road and lots of very capable riders really winding it.  Not to be outdone, with Matthias leading, we kept a cracking pace  - speed limits be damned. Apparently in Italy the road signs and road markings are viewed as "guidance" only, so on the "odd occasion" we crossed the solid white line, lane split, sped, etc. and had this been Australia, we would have probably lost our licences and had our bikes impounded several times over, on the day. But simply put, you cannot help yourself on these bikes on these roads. They are very twisty and are well surfaced and properly cambered, making fast cornering at unbelievable lean angles easy. Up at the front of the group, it was simply balls-to-the-wall all the time. 

We had lunch at the top of the Giau pass surrounded by stunning Alpine peaks 

and then rode on to the picturesque ski resort of Cortina where we mooched around for a while.

We made our way back from Italy into Austria to overnight at the town of Lienz. Being peak European holiday season there was a big open air market right next to our hotel, surrounded by several beer garden style restaurants. Unfortunately the revelry outside went on into the wee hours, to the great irritation of some of our party. 

The last day

The next morning it was raining and misty as we made our way to Grossglockner. I was ffffffreezing as the temperature went down to 3 degrees, with the Ducati ice warning coming on. But as we arrived at the main viewpoint, there was a sudden break in the weather and the view of over 30 peaks higher than 10,000 ft became visible against a crystal clear blue sky - a truly magical moment and unique vista. And then, just as we were leaving, the weather closed in. Impeccable timing. 

Our guide Marko, stopped for lunch at this spot in the middle of a series of tight turns on the road where we were treated to a grandstand view of the passing show of bikes roaring through. Inspired, some of the group left early to ride the road again while we finished our coffees.

The final section of the ride took us through the Bavarian State Forest with a coffee break at a golf course right in the middle of it.  And then it was back to Seefeld to return the bikes. Unfortunately on one of the days, a stupid parking lot mishap cost me a me a mirror at €55 and a hand guard at a price yet to be determined.

In all, it was a very memorable tour, probably the best riding I have ever done, although New Zealand comes close. Could I have done it a bit cheaper? Yes, but without knowing the area and the best roads it probably would not have been anywhere near as good. Having a support van makes a big difference for this type of tour. You have much more luggage with you and don't have to carry any of it.  It is waiting for you in your hotel room when you arrive. Also it was fun meeting a group of people from all over the world with a common interest. I had many interesting conversations and we shared a wonderful experience.