Thursday 08.05.2008:We met with Heike aka “Dirty Osirius” and Franz at Sonthofen and drove towards Italy!  At the Oberjoch we met up with Thomas aka “Toutou” and Cathy.  Through the Tannheimer Tal we went towards Namlostal (the Hahntennjoch was still closed).  Unfortunaly construction stopped us after about 2km and we had to turn around since the road was closed.  So we went back to Weissenbach and went to the Fernpass via Reutte.  Light traffic made it quite a treat this time.Through Nassreith, Telfs and Zirl we drove towards Innsbruck.   From there we drove over Igls and Ellbögen to Matrei.  From here it was a short drive towards the Brenner where we met up with Rita aka “Chili” and Helmut.  Due to the detour in Namlostal and a few other holdups, we met up at 14:00 instead of the planned 13:00.  On the way towards Sterzing we stopped for lunch and then continued on to Brixen.  Here we left the Brenner route and took a right towards Feldthurns.  There was supposed to be a right towards Latzfons, but I turned right too early and we drove through Schnauders, continually climbing.Then the asphalt ended and we had to turn around.  While turning around, Thomas stumbled and his new BMW K 1200LT fell on its left side.  What is the saying:  Only once you dropped your bike do you truly own it.  Okay Thomas, you now own her!With combined effort we righted the bike and so we could continue.  Back to Feldthurns and this time we really went up to Latzfons.  Going up the road it is nice and wide but after the town it becomes very narrow!  We drove down towards Klausen through a narrow chasm.  Here we parted ways with Rita and Helmut, they attacked the direct way towards Bozen while the rest of us drove up to Villanders.  Wide roads with nice curve combinations kept leading us higher.  Above Villanders there is a marked way to Barbian, we followed this road.  The street is also very narrow and one has to be careful with oncoming traffic.  Beatiful sights in the Eisacktal are the reward for this side tour.We continued on through Lengstein towards Klobenstein and down towards Bozen.  Here I wanted to follow the signage left to Trento but the traffic light was out and the cross traffic didn’t allow us to turn, so we decided to turn right into the center of Bozen.  Here we got stuck in total rushhour, we continued at walking pace.  Finally this adventure was over and we found our way towards Leifers and further on to Auer.  At the climb towards Montan we suddenly met with Rita and Helmut again, they didn’t find the way to the guest house and were happy to see us.  Together we drove up and quickly reached our destination, Haus Heinrich.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/08u090508/005HausHeinrichMontan.JPG[/img]Due to the many delays it was already 18:15.  Total distance from Sonthofen was about 340km.  We quickly got to our rooms and got changed and met up at 19:00 for a relaxed dinner.  In a relaxing manner we discussed the events of the day.

We went back to the bikes and we continued through Hafling towards Meran.  The entire route from Mölten is characterized from the many glorious views to Meran and into the Etschtal.The road led us through Lana up to the Gampenjoch.   There we stopped for lunch.  Through Fondo it quickly went up towards the Mendelpass and from there even further up to Monte Pénegal, another wonderful vantage point and a road full of curves that led up to it.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/08u090508/023MontePenegal090508.JPG[/img][img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/08u090508/025Mendelpass090508.JPG[/img]After a ice cream stop in Kaltern we followed a side road (labled Laimburg) towards Auer and up to Montan.  Total distance about 170 km.A few of the additional participants, Chris aka Sir Footloose, Gabi, Peter aka gehtnixle, Ingo, Rudi aka katfisch, Inge, Joachim aka bartl, and Sylvia had already arrived.  Only Kai-Uwe aka KUB0711, Andrea and daughter Alea were missing, they didn’t arrive until about 00:30 on Montan).  Dinner was at 19:00 again and afterwards we enjoyed jovial discussions.

In a “free drive” (everyone goes at their own pace without having to worry about the group) we descended Giau and then ascended Falzaregopass (2105 m).  Here we waited shortly for everyone to regroup and we headed up Passo di Valparola (2192 m).[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/100508insHerzderDolomiten/039amPassodiValparola100508.JPG[/img][img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/100508insHerzderDolomiten/040amPassodiValparola100508.JPG[/img]We drove through St. Kassian towards La Villa/Stern.  There we stopped for lunch.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/100508insHerzderDolomiten/041LaVillaStern100508.JPG[/img]

Hello again!Here is the rest of the RR:Sunday 11.05.2008:Again at 09:00 we started off, this time towards Caldonazzo Lake.  From Montan over a narrow asphalt band towards Truden and on to Kaltenbrunn.  Behind S. Lugano we took a right towards Altrei.  The 6km stretch of road to town is in good shape and wide, but because of being wet could not be driven at the pace we wanted.  In Altrei the road turns to cobble stone and goes by on the left side of the church.  Now the road suddenly became very narrow, the space barely allows a motorcycle to squeeze by a oncoming car.However, we did not have any oncoming traffic and we quickly got down into Val di Cembra.  Here we took a right and quickly drove towards Faver.  The road switches between being nice and wide to very narrow, but the sight is good and ideal for motorcycles.  In Faver we took a left into the valley and then through Lasés to the Caldonazzo Lake.  There we turned right and after a few kilometers left towards Carbonare.  Half the distance there (at S. Nicolo), we stopped for lunch.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/060SanNicolo110508.JPG[/img]Then we headed up to Passo di Sommo and left towards Tonezza.  Shortly before town, just as 3 years ago(!), the street was closed and we had to take a narrow side street.  The street was still partially covered in snow, so we had to be careful.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/062Helmut110508.JPG[/img]Nevertheless, we all made it without incident and we continued on.  After Tonezza turns off an almost imperceptible small asphalt ribbon, left towards the valley.Once we arrived at the bottom we shortly went left and then immediately right again towards Asiago.  As narrow and small the previous section was this section was equally wide and large.  A curve rush with 17 curves![img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/065hinaufRichtungAsiago110508.JPG[/img]We followed this route until Asiago and then turned left there towards Vézzena.  Here we took a cappuccino break.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/071PassoVezzena110508.JPG[/img]

After Borgo ensued the last highlight of the day: The Passo Manghen (for me one of the highlights of the entire Alps!).  Photo stop at the summit and then down to the Manghen hut.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/083PassoManghen110508.JPG[/img][img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/085PassoManghen110508.JPG[/img][img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/087PassoManghen110508.JPG[/img][img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/110508RichtungCaldonazzoSee/091PassoManghen110508.JPG[/img]But most quickly continued because it started to rain.  A few stayed at the top and took a break.  Then we drove, almost the entire way in a constant downpour, down towards Val di Fieme and back to Montan.In a relaxed bout if discussion our last day together as a group came to an end.

Tuesday 13.05.2008:At 09:00 we headed towards home!  Through Kaltern we drove to Eppan and then on the highway towards Meran.  Going up towards Vinschgau the heavy traffic in the area caught up with us again.  In Schlanders we left the main route and turned right towards Kortsch.  From there we drove, a sometimes very narrow road, through Tannas towards Schluderns.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/12u130508/120VinschgaubeiSchluderns130508.JPG[/img]Then undistrurbed we drive up the Reschenpass and up to Samnaun.  The cheapest gas (on this day €1.01/Liter), and duty free shopping always make this detour worthwhile.[img width=800 height=600]http://www.motorradrudi.info/fileadmin/12u130508/122Pillerhoehe130508.JPG[/img] Continuing on the detour we decided to tackle the Piller-Höhe from Prutz and then hot footed it to the Fernpass (Hahntennjoch was unfortunately still closed).  On the Fernpass there was a lot of traffic again and some of the large trucks arduously made their way up the hill, because of this we did too!At a rest stop we said our goodbyes to Heike and Franz (they wanted to drive home via Füssen) and we headed home via Reutte and the Tannheimer Tal back to Sonthofen.Conclusion:Altogether we clocked a good 1500km in six days.  Even though we did not know some of the participants personally everything went smoothly.  It was a great group and it was a lot of fun!  The weather cooperated, with exception of the descent from Passo Manghen.  We had a lot of sun, great roads, little traffic and lots and lots of joy!All pics from the tour (a lot more than shown here): http://www.motorradrudi.info/Suedtirol-Montan-2008-Fotos.214.0.html (klick on the images for bigger size)With the best greatings from GermanyRudi