2005 Dolomite Ride
My Amsterdam based friend Ram sounded rather depressed over the line: "I am really pissed! Now that I've got my new Hornet (that's a Honda 599 in the US), I am starting to realize that there's not much anywhere to ride to in these flatlands".
After a long and painful separation from his loved -- but limited in range -- Yamaha SRX6, Ram bought more proper tackle for touring and scratching. But, as it turns out, "I have to ride 120 miles for decent turns and better forget about mountains in proper". Well, in Amsterdam you might be able to legally obtain some interesting stuff, but none of the right stuff if you're a sporting rider.
So then, 'why don't you move your sorry bottom over to Italy for some twisties?' says I. "Oh, yeah? Ha! That's only 700 miles just to get there, but listen, we could meet somewhere in the middle or at least nearer no?" Okay then, ever been to the Dolomites? "Well, it's not really midway, but I've heard about this train that crosses Europe north to south on which you can take your bike and it lands in Bolzano, smack in the mid-Dolomites". Brilliant idea, a deal!
Not that I have something against healthy lunacy but it just looks out of place in this setting.
After such a nice welcoming we are all warmed up. We pass picturesque Nova Levante, a village that's surrounded by mountains that threaten to swallow it, and start climbing up to 5,000' levels. The character of the road changes completely and we are transported to a classic Alpine setting. At Canazei, a village that sits like a belly button in the creases between the peaks of Marmolada, Sasso Lungo and Sella, we are also reminded that this is pure motorcycle country. The Café's parking lots are crammed with bikes and we are compelled to stop for a caffeine recharge . Within this multitude of scooters, it's not surprising to find license plates from far away Finland and Norway. After Canazei, we must decide on our direction. It's possible to circle the mountains of the Sella range from south or west. We opt for the first in order to scout over the Marmolada's peak, the highest in the central Dolomites area with its 10,000' summit. If you have time on your hands, make sure to visit the "Ice City" by taking the ski lift. There's an amazing museum up there that documents the life of the soldiers in the network of trenches carved into the glacier by the Austro-Hungarian army in WW I. It doesn't seem like it was a particular pleasant army base to be stationed in but in those times you'd get a bullet in your head for refusing commands, no questions asked.
We stop for lunch at Passo Falzerego. Officially we are in Italy and indeed, you'll find Polenta on the menu, a typical Northern Italy plate, but there are also plenty of decidedly non-Italian offerings such as Wurstell mit Krout or pasta with Speck (Austrian bacon). So what's the reason for the split personality that we also noted in our breakfast? A hint can be found in the road signs. Bellow the Italian names you can always find the German version. Turns out that we are in some sort of "conquered territories". Till WW I, huge chunks of Northern Italy were actually Austrian territory. After the fall of Franz Josef's empire and the signing of the humilating surrender accords, these territories and their inhabitants were passed over to Italian rule as some sort of compensation for war damages. So it shouldn't be surprising to hear even the youngsters here speak Italian with a very heavy German accent and to this date, the area maintains a sort of political independence within Italy. The population is quite keen on maintaining their cultural identity through language, food and architecture, the last much more ornate and kitschy than that of Italy.
If you are staying in any of the moho hotels, don't forget to ask for the toll discount voucher. Although the ride in the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse turned out to be quite interesting, I must say that at the main scouting spot over the glacier, the setting was too touristy for my taste. Too many cars, too many crybabies, too many dogs looking for a convenient parked bike for a pee post. If you want to experience the area in peace, it's worth continuing further north on the road towards Edelweiss (guess that's where the Famous tour organizers got the name from). We are not so keen to continue all the way up for a simple reason. It's Sunday, there's a MOTO GP round and there's not much of a chance that any Austrian bar owner will put the race on the telly. So we must reach Italy by midday, because the Italians have much more appreciation for Valentino's antics. We head back south, cross the border back into Italy and start a mad search for a bar with a TV set.
After a few tries we conquer the lobby of a small hotel and watch the race while lunching on sandwiches and shouting obscenities at Gibernau. Back on the road, after Dobbiaco we head back south again, towards Cortina d'Ampezzo. The small road that leads to town is beautiful in its quietness and as we hit the outskirts of town we start searching for a hotel. After a few tries we find a nice and quiet place and set out to enjoy the pearl of the Dolomites. Cortina is indeed one beautiful town, you'll have to try very hard to find even one balcony that is not spilling over with colorful Geraniums in full bloom. The city's center is in full swing, plenty of posh shops geared towards rich skiers offer all the high-end labels. There are also beautiful pubs with quality beer and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. Very nice.
In Lago di Garda, Italy's largest lake, we leave the Venezia-Milano highway at the Sermione exit. The amazing beautiful medieval castle-city of Sermione sits on a long tongue that projects into the lake, at some points no wider than 100 yards. We find a nice beach and jump into the water with our underwear. Sorry, we didn't think we'd need any swimsuits in the Dolomites, that's my excuses to all the old Italian ladies we offended with our bad taste. We'll try to remember next time around.
More by Yossef Schvetz
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