FJR Forum Alps Extreme M/C Tour; August 8-15 of 2012.

[yamafitter]

... here is where Papa Chuy will be staying at from Thursday morning August 2 to Sunday morning 8/5: Meininger Hotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

Thanks for the warning. I'll be giving Berlin a wide berth.

 

[beemerdons]

... here is where Papa Chuy will be staying at from Thursday morning August 2 to Sunday morning 8/5: Meininger Hotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

Thanks for the warning. I'll be giving Berlin a wide berth.

yamafitter at a young age (last week!).

 

[yamafitter]

yamafitter at a young age (last week!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzQadza_vlA

Don is obviously amazed at my display of manly drinking. This is completely understandable when one considers the weak knee, wimp wristed, girly man umbrella drinks that Don favours ...

Like Shirley Temples.

 

[beemerdons]

yamafitter at a young age (last week!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzQadza_vlA

Don is obviously amazed at my display of manly drinking. This is completely understandable when one considers the weak knee, wimp wristed, girly man umbrella drinks that Don favours ...

Like Shirley Temples.

You are one rough tough muy Malo Hombre Guillermo, I usually have to add a strawberry to my Shirley Temples!

 

[beemerdons]

ACHTUNG, Mein Freund:

https://www.edelweissbike.com/en/allTours/true/cont/eur/alps-extreme.html If you've been considering this High Alpine Riding Adventure, you now have 2 weeks and 2 days left to make your decision. Tracy of Edelweiss Bike Travel has two openings left for this incredible trip, but you must call her at 1-800-507-4459 and pay your fees by Wednesday, June 6.

Make sure you mention Don Stanley in order to get your 8% booking discount, if you need any more information on this Alps Run please contact BeemerDonS at either 1-480-440-4666 or [email protected] Mach Schnell, Bitte Sehr! Auf Wiedersehen!

 

[SacramentoMike]

Make sure you mention Don Stanley in order to get your 8% booking discount. . .

In fact, mention it wherever you go. Better than an AARP card!

 

[beemerdons]

Passo di Stelvio is open, they had a bicycle race up there yesterday. Something called a Giro, I thought a Gyro was a sandwich!

 

[SacramentoMike]

I guess they did. Me, I'd rather ride down it on a motorcycle than up it on a bicycle, like

. Nice views of the pass, though.
.

 

[beemerdons]

I guess they did. Me, I'd rather ride down it on a motorcycle than up it on a bicycle, like

Nice find, Mike! This video definitely shows the route we will be riding in August!

 

[SacramentoMike]

Went into the Kaiser Audiology department to see about getting a set of those Westone ear plugs that were discussed a while back here. So I'm talking to this lady as she gets ready to pour hot wax into my ears, or whatever she was doing, and we're talking about motorcycles and riding noise. Turns out she and her husband ride. In fact, she tells me, they did this great trip summer before last. The Alps! So I start smiling and I tell her I'm doing the Alps this summer. She got so excited I thought she was going to start dancing! "Are you using Eidelweiss?" Yes. She actually began to jump up and down and clap her hands. Bottom line, she liked it. A lot. Another satisfied customer, I guess.

 

[beemerdons]

Went into the Kaiser Audiology department to see about getting a set of those Westone ear plugs that were discussed a while back here. So I'm talking to this lady as she gets ready to pour hot wax into my ears, or whatever she was doing, and we're talking about motorcycles and riding noise. Turns out she and her husband ride. In fact, she tells me, they did this great trip summer before last. The Alps! So I start smiling and I tell her I'm doing the Alps this summer. She got so excited I thought she was going to start dancing! "Are you using Eidelweiss?" Yes. She actually began to jump up and down and clap her hands. Bottom line, she liked it. A lot. Another satisfied customer, I guess.

Brother Mike, I know a hell of a lot of motorcyclists and I do not know of a single person that has had a bad experience with Edelweiss Bike Travel!

Here is a nine minute video of the exact same Alps/Dolomites Tour that we all are riding on:

 

[beemerdons]

Thanks for posting the video. Some of the grades, according to the rider were between 22 percent and greater, if I understood him correctly. That is some steep grades, no matter what you are doing.

Bruce

Brother Bruce, it's still over 2.5 months away from our riding Passo di Stelvio and I already have butterflies in my stomach thinking about riding that Monster! Really, it is the most demanding paved motorcycle road in the World!

 

[beemerdons]

From Daniel - Nitrox32 of AZ Beemers Club:

Some history of Pass di Stelvio

History

The original road was built in 1820-25 by the Austrian Empire to connect the former Austrian province of Lombardia with the rest of Austria, covering a climb of 1871 m. The engineer and project manager was Carlo Donegani (1775–1845). Since then, the route has changed very little. Its sixty hairpin turns, 48 of them on the northern side numbered with stones, are a challenge to motorists. Stirling Moss went off the road here during a vintage car event in the 1990s, with an onboard video of his incident being shown on satellite TV.

Before the end of World War I, it formed the border between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Italian Kingdom. The Swiss had an outpost and a hotel (which was destroyed) on the Dreisprachenspitze. During World War I, fierce battles were fought in the ice and snow of the area, with gun fire even crossing the Swiss area at times. The three nations made an agreement not to fire over Swiss territory, which jutted out in between Austria (to the north) and Italy (to the south). Instead they could fire down the pass, as Swiss territory was up and around the peak. After 1919, with the expansion of Italy, the pass lost its strategic importance.

The Stelvio Pass retains an importance for sport when it is open from June to September. Countless cyclists and motorcyclists struggle to get to the highest stretch of road in the Eastern Alps. It is the highest finish of any Grand Tour. The Giro d'Italia often crosses the Stelvio Pass (it was crossed by the Giro for the first time in 1953, when Coppi beat Koblet). The last winner on the pass was Thomas De Gendt in 2012. Every year, the pass is closed to motor vehicles on one day in late August when about 8000 cyclists ride on the Stelvio. https://naturatrafoi.com/stelviobike/english/index.php

Bormio regularly hosts World Cup ski racing; its Pista Stelvio is among the most challenging men's downhill courses on the circuit.

The Stelvio Pass was also picked by the British automotive show Top Gear as its choice for the "greatest driving road in the world", although their search was concentrated only in Europe. This conclusion was reached after the team went in search of a road that would satisfy every "petrolhead's" driving fantasies in the premiere of the show's 10th season. Top Gear later decided that the Transfăgărăşan Highway in Romania was possibly a superior driving road.

In 2008, Moto Guzzi started selling a Stelvio model, named after the famous mountain pass.

Today the Stelvio Pass is visited by many motorists attracted by the exhilarating drive and many event organizers choose the pass as a way-point driving through Switzerland to Italy, such as The Great Rally https://www.thegreatrally.com.

 

[beemerdons]

yamafitter will love this one, free beer at der Hofbrauhaus!

https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=6a8Eimr-fm0

 

[beemerdons]

Well, nothing left to do but wait until August 1 to fly to Berlin and get out of "The Valley of the Blast Furnace"! Ich bin ein Berliner!

Thank you for placing your order with Rail Europe. Your payment of $303.00 has been accepted by Rail Europe. Your Order Summary:

 

Booking Number: PU-20465187-P6G9, Berlin-Munich Trip $285.00

 

Trip #1

From: Berlin HBF

Departs: Aug 5, 2012 - 8:39AM, Inter City Express, Train #1707

 

To: Muenchen HBF

Arrives: Aug 5, 2012 - 3:17PM

 

Class of Service: First Class Comfort

 

Reserved in: Coach# 27, Seat# 012

 

Terms & Conditions: Reservation

 

You will have a reserved seat on this train.

 

[beemerdons]

For my Fellow Alps Extremists suffering in the heat! Take heart, 2 months from now we'll be on this curve. One of the scenic outlooks on der Grossglockner Alpinestrasse!

 

[beemerdons]

Since it's about a 900 degree Fahrenheit day here in Phoenix today (400 Celsius!) I just went for a cool 20 minute motorcycle ride of the Grossglockner Road in Austria via Video; are we there yet!

 

[beemerdons]

Alps and Dolomites got hit with snow again, but we are still 6 weeks out and it will be all gone by then. This is the end of the road at Kaunertal, our destination for our first FJR Forum night out on der Alpenstrasse!

 

[beemerdons]

Grossglockner - Edelweissspitze - Austrian National Park.

One of the long pass roads we will hit on the last riding day!

 

[yamafitter]

Well, nothing left to do but wait until August 1 to fly to Berlin and get out of "The Valley of the Blast Furnace"! Ich bin ein Berliner!

Thank you for placing your order with Rail Europe. Your payment of $303.00 has been accepted by Rail Europe. Your Order Summary:

 

Reserved in: Coach# 27, Seat# 012

 

Terms & Conditions: Reservation

 

You will have a reserved seat on this train.

Looks to me like they put you in the back of the bus. Nice of them to give you a seat for $303.