Guest svrider Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 So due to V4 Rosso's advice, I ended up going to the Dolomites for a few days. All I can say is the place is amazing this time of year. Its almost deserted (I was the only person in my 20 room hotel) except for locals and bikers (including the pedaling sort). Lodging is cheap, people are friendly, food is great...oh and the roads are pretty incredible too....Trip started out pretty rough as it rained almost the whole way from Munich to Italy. In Texas I always avoided the rain and waited for safer weather to ride in. Well just as I got into the mountains at about dark, it started raining. Mountain passes in the night time, when its raining, well lets just say that's a something that this person from Texas has never experienced... I was pretty freaked out to be honest. I spent the rest of the night in my hotel room trying to plan a route for the next day that had the fewest mountain passes...I'm actually a pretty novice rider. I had less than a year of riding experience in Texas before moving to Germany. I had never encountered anything close to a mountain road or an alpine pass before. To be honest, I was a little intimidated since the VFR is a new bike for me and I was traveling solo. I knew my cornering technique was horrible so I tried to read "Twist of the Wrist" and "Sport Riding Techniques" before going. The first day was pretty rough. Straight away I had to go through about 20 hairpins in a row, which is pretty intimidating. I was making all the common mistakes described in the books that I read. Fortunately After about 2 or 3 hours being absolutely determined to do what the books said, I think it finally clicked for me. I finally realized how to properly apex a corner, position myself on the bike, trail brake ect. After that I was having the time of my life It's so much nicer to come into a corner with an executable plan of attack vs just "herding the bike into a corner" as Nick Ienatsch describes. In the mountains it felt like all of my weaknesses were being totally exposed. It really felt like sink or swim, and there were definitely moments when I felt like I shouldn't have gotten in the deep end. However, in the end, I think going to the alps was probably the best thing that ever happend to my riding. Also per V4 Rosso's advice, I stayed in a small ski town called Arabba. Its a great place, maybe the best place to ride out of for day trips. This is the view from my hotel balcony: VFR in touring mode: I had reserved parking:) Other pics from the passes: Oh in case you thought I forgot about the most important pictures.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted September 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 22, 2013 Great to see you got used to Europa so quickly!! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted September 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 22, 2013 That is sweet! The Dolomites would be such a great trip for so many reasons - the riding, scenery, culture. A moto trip though through there is on my bucket list. Great photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted September 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 22, 2013 It's all about practice...there's a known trend among not-quite-novice riders who think they've nailed it and become over-confident. That's when I crashed! Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 yes, of course. I am still definitely a novice. I guess all I was trying to say was that I feel like I am finally on a trajectory of improvement, compared to just turning into a corner and hoping for the best... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted September 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 22, 2013 Wow every pic looks like a post card shot .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RollinAgain Posted September 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 22, 2013 You are one lucky sum'beech. Thanks for sharing with us....We all wish we could be there with you. Rollin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 Wow, great pics, that postcard will make the people back home very jealous for sure. I wish I was there now myself Yes, riding in the mountains for the first time can be a little intimidating at first but if you just take it easy and maintain a pace at which you also can enjoy the scenery you'll be fine. You may have noticed most of mountain passes do not have a line deviding the road in seperate lanes. Just use all of the road going into a right hairpin after having made sure no vehicle is coming your way. Now go and enjoy Octoberfest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Awesome scenery. Good job on the sink or swim, err ride safely thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB-Oz Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 great work, keep on swimming!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Lorne Posted October 8, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 8, 2013 I've ridden in the Sierra Nevada and the Canadian & American Rocky mountains many times. It may be time to add a trip to Europe to my cv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keny Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 Great pics, some familiar wiews that I remeber from my riding in the Dolomites on way back from the Mugello MotoGP. I wish I will do a trip again back there some day. And as you also know, V4Rosso is a handy man when you needs routes for the Dolometes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer 2thdr Posted October 9, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 9, 2013 Wow! Thanks for the ride report and congrats on conquering your survival instincts and sticking with it. Your are correct...your path is now open for as far as you want to go. Good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted October 11, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted October 11, 2013 If you think those passes are rough, try Spa in Belgium, same roads (just a bit less high) but potholes and stones everywhere you go. I have been where you are, it's pretty cool there and the food is awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoOp Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 You might have been looking for routes with less passes at the beginning, But I'll wager that in pretty short order you'll be stringing as many together as possible on your ride plans. Also, damn nice ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Thanks for sharing....... Great Pic's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted November 13, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted November 13, 2013 Thank you for sharing your ride experience and the pictures are amazing! As was said above, every pic looks like a postcard. I think Honda should steal a little from the current BMW 3 Series marketing and show a bunch of photos/videos of classic VFRs being enjoyed and then show the new 8G bike...your pics would surely be in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosarge22 Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 Nice photos, I really want to see that area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boattail Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Great photos and a fantastic trip! Thanks för sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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