Alps 2008
 
 

Day 06

June 24

 
 

Today we pack up and move on from Lermoos to Kaprun, Austria, bagging a few passes along the way. Dave once again is up earlier, tending to GPS business so we can get on the road after breakfast.

 
 
 
  The sun is just coming up over the mountains as I collect my stuff for packing on the bike. I'm still not in 'road mode' but I'm slowly organizing so I have to do the minimal unloading from the bike into the room.  
 
 
  With my room cleared, I do what I call my final 'paranoia, schizophrenic' room check to make sure that I have not left anything of value behind. It's just a habit I have gotten into over many years of travel - having left stuff before.  
 
 
  We enjoy one last breakfast with Allan and Dot, then settle up with hotel. As we get ready to head out, they are chatting with the owner, who has a wall full of trophies in the entranceway to attest to his skiing prowess.  
 
 
  Allan has directed us to a different way than Dave had originally planned, but Dave is happy because he did not care for the pass we were going over. It is plagued with heavy commercial traffic and royal pain to get through. As we head out of Lermoos and make the turn that Allan has shown us, I see this sign. I don't have a clue what it says, but the road pictured on it sure does look promising!  
 
 
  As we thoroughly enjoy making our way through the sweepers on this almost deserted road, we come to an unusual roadblock -  
 
 
  Seems as if a lady bicyclist was coming down the hill and for some reason ran off the cliff side of the road. From what Dave can gather from the first car on the scene, the rescuers had to haul her up from the terrain below. When they carry her to the chopper, she is awake but not in so good a shape. I am completely amazed how the pilot could land that thing on the road as steep as it is. But they load his precious cargo and he takes it out of here without a hitch.  
 
 
  Soon we are moving again up the mountain and enter what will be one of many tunnels that I encounter on this trip. Some will be well lighted, some will not be lighted, some will be short and some will be incredibly long.  
 
 
  Before long we are looking at scenery that I do not believe I will ever get accustomed to. The Italian Alps stretch out before us in a majestic panorama.  
 

 
  We have arrived at the first pass of the day, the Timmelsjoch. It is also know as the 'secret gap' in the Alps.  
 
 
  I still can only imagine how deep the snow must get during the winter, with the remnants still banked this high. After this shot, I decide to name my ST1300 'Snow White'.  
 
 
  The clouds are looming over the surrounding mountains and threaten to come down and engulf us. So we decide to move on while we can still see and it ain't raining.  
 
 
  After we crest the top, we come to the border of Italy. Once again all that greets us there is a sign and more beautiful scenery.  
 
 
  Soon I get my initiation into the 'hairpin club'. Unlike in the States where highway engineers are concerned about grade and such, these roads just hug the mountain and twist and turn like mad serpents of asphalt.  
 
 
  It just seems like at every turn the scenery is just too spectacular to get any better - and yet it does.  
 
 
  As we come down the mountains, it's about lunch time. So Dave wheels into a nice looking restaurant just sort of hanging off the mountain side. The grade is so steep, that we park the bikes with the front wheel into the curb to make sure they do not decide to run down the mountain without us.  
 
 
 

There's an Edelweiss tour group also enjoying the view and the food and we nod to them across the room. A young CBR600 rider from Vermont sees my Tennessee T-shirt and says -

"I bet there's no rides like this in Tennessee."

Dave quickly corrects him, having ridden with me on many of my favorite backroads back home -

"You would be really surprised - I've been there."

I ask him if he has ever ridden the Kancamagus highway out of North Conway, NH but he looks at me like a calf staring a new gate. It runs right across New Hampshire into Vermont and is a great ride. He's never heard of it, so I figure he must be a transplant. I am always amazed at how many people don't even know what great roads there are in their own area because they've never just gotten out and explored. We wish him a safe ride and return to enjoying the beautiful view stretched out before us.

 
 
 
 
Before long the viener schnitzels we've order show up and they're as good as the view and as plentiful as the trees on the mountainsides. It just don't get much better than this - and yet it will.
 
 
 
 

Before we leave the restaurant, I snap one more picture looking down into the valley that we will be descending into.

 
 
 
  On the way up to Jaufen Pass Snow White decides to go into 'surge' mode right at the apex of a hairpin and I miss my shift. I end up in neutral which is not a very good thing on these kinds of grades but I manage to save it. I motion the local bikers behind to go ahead as I recover. I really thought that they would blow on by me. But once I got rolling again it was very easy for me catch back up and stay up with them. Before long, we summit at the pass on our way to the Brenner pass near Innsbrook.  
 
 
  We take a little break at the top for a Coke, and run into the Edelweiss group again. The leader lets me know that I left the headlights on and I appreciate it. I'm so used to leaving my ST1100s on since I can turn out the headlight, that I forgot this ST1300 does not have that option. Once again the view from the top seems to stretch on for miles and miles.  
 
 
  The 'official' Brenner Pass is located on motorway E45 which you need an Austrian vignette to ride on. It is one of lowest passes in the area and almost does not qualify to us as a pass. Dave routes us around by some neat backroads, which are just fine with me, so we don't see the pass sign. But the descent down past Innsbruck, town of past Olympic fame, is much more enjoyable than crossing the Sill River on one of the busiest roads in Europe.  
 
 
  On the outskirts of the city, the first rain of our trip creeps up on us. So we head for the nearest covered gas station and gas up and take a break. It's coming down in buckets so we take our time sipping our drinks after we fill up the bikes.  
 
 
  Soon the rain moves on and so do we. It's cooled things off a bit and we decide we will not put on our rain suits. Dave moves out quickly and I am in hot pursuit.  
 
 
  We come to the Gerlos Pass and I cannot seem to find a sign. So I have to settle for this picture of Snow White with the beautiful Krimml falls in the background. It is a tough sacrifice, but some days you just have to bear up under the burden.  
 
 
  As we move down the mountain the majesty of the Krimml falls becomes even more apparent. It reminds me so much the waterfalls in the mountains of Tennessee and I get just a little homesick thinking about it.  
 
 
  Soon we are rolling into Kaprun, Austria where Dave has booked our accommodations. Kaprun is a major ski resort in this area but it is off season so traffic is extremely light.  
 
 
  We will be staying at the Pension Alpenrose which is really top notch. Just across the street is a glacier stream running full force from the snow melt down. The green hue of the water is something that I will see again and again but it grabs my attention today.  
 
 
  We ask the lovely lady who owns the place about where to eat. She explains that since it is off season, many of the shops and restaurants are currently closed. But the one she recommends for us is outstanding. We chose to sit outside on the patio and once again have a beautiful view. Dave orders some gut burning concoction of pizza with jalepenos and I go for the simple proscuittio ham and cheese. Neither one of us are disappointed with our choices - except it seems to evaporate quickly in clean mountain air.  
 
 
  We talk about where we are headed tomorrow as the sun slowly sets over the mountains. It will just be another day in paradise - breathtaking views and mountain passes. It's tough job but we are the crew for it!  
 
 
  It's a pleasant walk back to the hotel after a great day of riding. With a full stomach and some miles and passes under my belt, it does not take long to drift off into a peaceful slumber.  
 

Totals For The Day -

Countries - 2 (Austria, Italy)

Miles - 251

Passes - 4 (Timmelsjoch, Jaufen, Brenner, Gerlos)

Hairpins - 104