Showers were bloody brilliant. Worth the camping cost alone. I stayed in for a good half hour trying to warm my core. Overnight i was woken by the cold. -1 feels much colder in a tent. I put on every layer i could find without stepping outside to the panniers but still it was damn cold. After my shower i put on two long sleeve thermal tops, a wicking t-shirt, a fleece gilet and a windproof jacket. A pair of thermal long johns completed my rather fetching outfit. Plus my leathers, obviously.
Popped the kettle and the radio on. Swiss radio is a fairly even mix of Heidi music and (bad) 80's pop.
A couple of Dutch walkers came over to ask about my plans. I said i wanted warm and sunny, maybe the Italian lakes. Lake Maggiore is closer than i though - they reckon 100km. They warned me it's 'only 21 degrees' at the moment though. They were been serious, but 21 degrees sounds like heaven to me.
I loaded the bike and kept the essentials under a gazebo. There's a few dotted around the field over big wooden picnic tables. The campsite is actually ok. My only gripe is that you have to cross a road to get to the toilet and shower block. If there was at least drinking water at the camping side then it would be fine.
Waited for the rain to ease then hit the road. It wasn't gonna stop but the heavy stuff was coming in fairly regular waves. I obviously abandoned any hopes of playing in the Alps so no St Gotthardpass or Nufenenpass this year. Road north east to Chur. I'm wanna end up south of here but there's some pesky Alps in the way so i need to go up and over. I'm also heading towards the Stelvio, but I'll make a judgement call later this afternoon. It ain't gonna be any fun in the wet but i could murder a bratwurst mit sauerkraut and there's no better place to get one than the top of the Stelvio.
Pulled over in Chur for provisions and a break. Stopped at the first place in town - Lidl. The cold and wet was taking its toll on my bladder and i was busting for the loo. No such luxuries in Lidl, or the garage next door so i went against a bush in the car park. It was either that or wet myself. Lidl was full of people dithering, which wound me up so i left empty handed.
A local chap came over for a chat as i studied the map in the shelter of the trolley park. An ex-pat, so no language barriers. He checked the weather for me and it was fairly obvious i had to get south of the border. An Italian bloke also came over gushing with love and enthusiasm for the bike. This time there was a huge language barrier but i got the idea from his very animated, and somewhat amusing, gesticulations.
From Chur i rode south to St Moritz, over the Julierpass. Last time we were here it was been resurfaced. They've done a marvelous job so full credit to them.
The rain was easing now. My leathers were repelling most of it, although some water was running down into my boots. It wasn't waterproof weather though and i figured my boots would quickly dry out in Italy.
The roads were wet but there was shed loads of grip. Providing you didn't hit any road markings, in which case things got a bit hairy. I caned it past a large group of Italian bikes and pretty much every other vehicle on the road.
Stopped at Passo del Bernina. From here i could cross over into Livigno and onto Bormio and the Stelvio, or south into Italy.
The weather looked terrible over Livigno so i gave up on any sauerkraut plans.
The Swiss police were at the border crossings inspecting every bike. A huge group of Italians were held up at Livigno while their mates bike was being photographed. He had a BMW with Akro cans with the baffles removed. He had the baffles with him and they made him refit them and bolt them in before they took him to their van to process his fine.
I crossed the border into Italy at Tirano, after getting my bike inspected then waved through. I let satnav guide me to Lake Garda. It's south east of here with no direct route. South to Breno then east looked the most obvious route but satnav wanted to take me up and over via Cles. I studied the map then agreed with satnav. Distance and time wise, there was very little in it.
Satnav kept changing its mind but in the end we agreed on Edola NE to Dimaro on the S42, then south on the S239 via Madonna di Campiglio. From Bolbeno, east on S237 to Ponte Arche then finally south to Riva del Garda on S241.
The entire route was brilliant. The roads were dry, it was late afternoon and the temperature was hovering around 18 degrees. The views east from Madonna di Campiglio were superb and demanded a quick photo stop. I've marked the route for future reference.
Rode through Riva del Garda about 7pm then straight into Torbole. There's a Coop here that I've often used and i know it closes at 8pm. I desperately needed batteries for my head torch. I can make do with the provisions I'm carrying but a bottle of local red and some cold beers would be nice too.
The last leg took me to my favourite campsite in Malcesine, right on the banks of the lake. Francesca wasn't around but her mother was and i remember she speaks very little English. I managed to gather that Francesca isn't working tonight. She's just had a nipper but she'll be in tomorrow morning. Her mum thought maybe I'd phoned and booked with Francesca which is why i was asking for her. I hadn't, but she speaks excellent English which would make this a whole load easier. I then showed her my loyalty card which i always carry in the kitty wallet, along with a shopping trolley token. She then lit up and told me to choose any pitch and come back in the morning to sort out the paperwork.
My favourite pitch was free, right at the front. It's on it's own and perfect for parking the bike.
Threw my tent up then went for a paddle. The lake was quiet apart from a German lad fishing from the bank. He was casting to the middle of the lake a spinning a lure back in. I stood talking to him from a few feet out while huge fish swam past my feet.
Caught up on a few phone calls while i cooked tea. Was on phone to sparky when the fireworks started over the lake. Sounded like gunshot at first so there was concern from the other end. It took me a while to see the fireworks but could then confirm all was ok.
I love it here so I'm gonna stay put for a couple of nights. Tomorrow I'll be able to catch up on some washing and then chill for the day. I might ride the James Bond tunnels and pick a few things up from Torbole but otherwise the bike can have a well earned rest.
251 miles
Popped the kettle and the radio on. Swiss radio is a fairly even mix of Heidi music and (bad) 80's pop.
A couple of Dutch walkers came over to ask about my plans. I said i wanted warm and sunny, maybe the Italian lakes. Lake Maggiore is closer than i though - they reckon 100km. They warned me it's 'only 21 degrees' at the moment though. They were been serious, but 21 degrees sounds like heaven to me.
I loaded the bike and kept the essentials under a gazebo. There's a few dotted around the field over big wooden picnic tables. The campsite is actually ok. My only gripe is that you have to cross a road to get to the toilet and shower block. If there was at least drinking water at the camping side then it would be fine.
Waited for the rain to ease then hit the road. It wasn't gonna stop but the heavy stuff was coming in fairly regular waves. I obviously abandoned any hopes of playing in the Alps so no St Gotthardpass or Nufenenpass this year. Road north east to Chur. I'm wanna end up south of here but there's some pesky Alps in the way so i need to go up and over. I'm also heading towards the Stelvio, but I'll make a judgement call later this afternoon. It ain't gonna be any fun in the wet but i could murder a bratwurst mit sauerkraut and there's no better place to get one than the top of the Stelvio.
Pulled over in Chur for provisions and a break. Stopped at the first place in town - Lidl. The cold and wet was taking its toll on my bladder and i was busting for the loo. No such luxuries in Lidl, or the garage next door so i went against a bush in the car park. It was either that or wet myself. Lidl was full of people dithering, which wound me up so i left empty handed.
A local chap came over for a chat as i studied the map in the shelter of the trolley park. An ex-pat, so no language barriers. He checked the weather for me and it was fairly obvious i had to get south of the border. An Italian bloke also came over gushing with love and enthusiasm for the bike. This time there was a huge language barrier but i got the idea from his very animated, and somewhat amusing, gesticulations.
From Chur i rode south to St Moritz, over the Julierpass. Last time we were here it was been resurfaced. They've done a marvelous job so full credit to them.
The rain was easing now. My leathers were repelling most of it, although some water was running down into my boots. It wasn't waterproof weather though and i figured my boots would quickly dry out in Italy.
The roads were wet but there was shed loads of grip. Providing you didn't hit any road markings, in which case things got a bit hairy. I caned it past a large group of Italian bikes and pretty much every other vehicle on the road.
Stopped at Passo del Bernina. From here i could cross over into Livigno and onto Bormio and the Stelvio, or south into Italy.
The weather looked terrible over Livigno so i gave up on any sauerkraut plans.
The Swiss police were at the border crossings inspecting every bike. A huge group of Italians were held up at Livigno while their mates bike was being photographed. He had a BMW with Akro cans with the baffles removed. He had the baffles with him and they made him refit them and bolt them in before they took him to their van to process his fine.
I crossed the border into Italy at Tirano, after getting my bike inspected then waved through. I let satnav guide me to Lake Garda. It's south east of here with no direct route. South to Breno then east looked the most obvious route but satnav wanted to take me up and over via Cles. I studied the map then agreed with satnav. Distance and time wise, there was very little in it.
Satnav kept changing its mind but in the end we agreed on Edola NE to Dimaro on the S42, then south on the S239 via Madonna di Campiglio. From Bolbeno, east on S237 to Ponte Arche then finally south to Riva del Garda on S241.
The entire route was brilliant. The roads were dry, it was late afternoon and the temperature was hovering around 18 degrees. The views east from Madonna di Campiglio were superb and demanded a quick photo stop. I've marked the route for future reference.
Rode through Riva del Garda about 7pm then straight into Torbole. There's a Coop here that I've often used and i know it closes at 8pm. I desperately needed batteries for my head torch. I can make do with the provisions I'm carrying but a bottle of local red and some cold beers would be nice too.
The last leg took me to my favourite campsite in Malcesine, right on the banks of the lake. Francesca wasn't around but her mother was and i remember she speaks very little English. I managed to gather that Francesca isn't working tonight. She's just had a nipper but she'll be in tomorrow morning. Her mum thought maybe I'd phoned and booked with Francesca which is why i was asking for her. I hadn't, but she speaks excellent English which would make this a whole load easier. I then showed her my loyalty card which i always carry in the kitty wallet, along with a shopping trolley token. She then lit up and told me to choose any pitch and come back in the morning to sort out the paperwork.
My favourite pitch was free, right at the front. It's on it's own and perfect for parking the bike.
Threw my tent up then went for a paddle. The lake was quiet apart from a German lad fishing from the bank. He was casting to the middle of the lake a spinning a lure back in. I stood talking to him from a few feet out while huge fish swam past my feet.
Caught up on a few phone calls while i cooked tea. Was on phone to sparky when the fireworks started over the lake. Sounded like gunshot at first so there was concern from the other end. It took me a while to see the fireworks but could then confirm all was ok.
I love it here so I'm gonna stay put for a couple of nights. Tomorrow I'll be able to catch up on some washing and then chill for the day. I might ride the James Bond tunnels and pick a few things up from Torbole but otherwise the bike can have a well earned rest.
251 miles
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