I have had the opportunity to travel by motorcycle through many countries throughout Europe since the summer of 2022 and have failed to ensure that I share those travels. I definitely intend on doing better with sharing my travels more throughout 2024.
A brief re-cap of my travels from this summer the resulted in me riding the highest pass in Italy. Stelvio Pass. I will say that the pass is not at all intended or designed for Harley Davidson touring bikes and after completing this pass I realized even more that I need to invest in an adventure touring motorcycle in the future. But none-the-less I made it to the top of the mountain.
But allow me to walk you through my travels leading up to this amazing venture. I took off to ride to the Harley Davidson HOG Fest to celebrate 120 years of HD in Budapest, Hungary. I spent the weekend exploring Budapest for the first time, trying new foods and staying, for the first time in a boat hotel docked on the Danube River. Catching the sites of the Rock Chapel, Shoes on the Danube Bank, The House of Terror, and many more nearby sites. Upon departing the Harley Festival, I decided to take the long way home and travel down to Split, Croatia before making my way back home to Germany crossing through Slovenia and Austria first. The winds that I was embraced with in Croatia made it clear that I needed to ride with great confidence and not overthink through the twist and turns in the mountain passes. Those winds are surely unforgettable and will definitely cause you to question your riding skills. I survived!
After making it home, I managed to rest up a little bit, re-pack my bike and head back out. This time, a different direction. This route was taking me to Lagos, Portugal. Crossing through France at night, proves to be challenging as many gas station pumps aren't open and many do not accept many American debit cards. But charging forward through 13 hours of riding in France and another 10.5 hours of riding through Spain. Finally arrived to beautiful Lagos, Algarve, Portugal. I spent a few days in Portugal to attend the Afro Nation Music Festival, explore the beaches and of course try a different restaurant daily.
Now, lets talk about the ride leaving Portugal heading to Rome to see my younger sister. Somehow I managed to get a blowout in Northern Italy and it took over 8 hours to get a tow truck, a Harley Davidson Shop with a tire and a mechanic willing to come to work on a Saturday and install a new tire. Talk about being stressed out! Finally made it to Rome to spend a bit of time with my younger sister before getting up the next morning and heading back north.
Italy... For Italy to be so beautiful, the roads are some of the worse that I have traversed in the 18 Europe countries I've rode thus far. Reaching the base of the mountain range was a beautiful sight to see but nothing that I was really prepared for. All I knew was that this was going to be the quicker route back home through Switzerland, Austria and back into Germany.
Stelvio Pass, is located in the Ortler Alps and was built in 1820. I strongly believe that those riders that think highly of The Tail Of the Dragon in the United States will be challenged a great deal climbing this pass. The pass consist of 75 hairpin turns in which I almost collied with on coming vehicles at least twice. To reach to top of the pass you will climb 2,757 meters. Passing grazing cows that have large bells wrapped around their necks, the multiple adventure bike riders coasting through the curves and then me. On a 2018 HD Road Kind Special with 18" apes utilizing every skill I have ever learned in 20 years of riding motorcycles. I was ecstatic when I made it to top, right before the gift shops closed. I had to be sure to grab a patch, push-pin and stickers to commemorate making it to the top!!
Only to realize that I had to go back down the mountain through Switzerland.
Probably one of my best rides of my summer!! Definitely thinking about which Passes I will be traversing in the summer of 2024.