It was down to 5 degrees before we turned in last night. We got up for a wee during night and there was frost on the tents. We were surrounded by mountains and glaciers though so it would be wrong to expect any different.
Seemed appropriate to do Stelvio Pass today. It was Sunday so we assumed it would be busy with plenty of local bikers and we were just around the corner from it. It was actually even better than i expected. Not a road you can rush but there was shed loads of bikes out playing. I thought it might just be a box ticking exercise but the road's enjoyable for the fantastic scenery, bike watching and slightly more technical riding. There's a huge feeling of isolation too, even though there's plenty of other traffic around.
We got in a huge queue behind a French people carrier but picked off all the traffic and quickly cleared the lot. Always surprises me that some bikers won't ever consider overtaking other bikes. Quick bip of the horn and a lifesaver then gun it past everything you can as quick as possible. The done thing over here is to stick your right leg out in acknowledgement as you pass. It also maintains karma with car drivers who might otherwise think sounding the horn was meant aggressively. Once we picked our way past the congestion we had a perfectly clear run to the top with absolutely no other traffic anywhere to be seen behind. It was quality.
Obligatory photos at the top. Catherine picked up some marmot postcards, then nearly wet herself with excitement when she saw some wild ones on the way back down the other side. If any prospective mate could bag her one I think they'd be in.
Bit of tyre kicking and banter at top. No other Brits mind but that never stops people over here. Got talking to an Italian chap who happened to be Giovanni Sala, the ex KTM enduro racer. Thoroughly nice chap who'd popped up for a quick blast on his KTM Adventure. Would have loved to see him tackle the descent but he was chilling and we needed to make tracks. Obviously we had to rope him into a quick photo call first and he happily obliged...
Had a great bratwurst at the top too. The full works with sauerkraut and all the trimmings.
We rode S38 east. Not marked as such on the map but it's lovely valley with rolling farmland up the hillsides and mountains in front and behind. Stopped at petrol station. The cafe was closing but the young waitress kindly left a table and chairs outside for us so we could sit down while we looked at the maps.
Decided to push on to Dolomites and find a base for a couple of nights. Hit some toll motorway but it only cost us 60 cents. The S241 took us to a campsite at Canazei with fantastic views of the Dolomites all the way. Campsite's got excellent free showers and a lovely receptionist who speaks perfect English. Unfortunately it's also got no loo roll and rock hard ground. Our German neighbours came straight over to kindly lend us a mallet though.
Don't want to tempt fate but the weather's been incredibly kind to us over the last few days and it's getting hotter still as we move further into Italy. May it please continue.
Treated ourselves to proper Italian pizza for tea from a little restaurant nearby (as recommended by our friendly receptionist). Catherine once again fell instantly in love with an Italian waiter, although she hoofed me under the table when I was about to practice my matchmaking skills. Apparently the more beer he brought her, the more attractive he got.
It wasn't beer goggles, I think he'd just worked out that she's a wino.
142 miles
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