Cycling the Penserjoch Near the Italian-Austrian Border
(conclusion)

I pushed off after a (you guessed it) can of Coke. Goodness gracious, how steep the road looked! The road dropped faster than an internet stock gone out of favor. The road lost altitude as if it couldn’t wait to get out of the slopes of Hochwart/Guardia Alta. I guess "precipitous" would be the way to describe it.

(Above: Looking down the southern approach to Passo di Monte Giovo)

I eventually caught up with a red Mercedes driven by a septuagenarian. The glaciers in these parts moved faster than the said car. I would have been content to drop back, but because of the steepness of the road, it would have meant muscle cramps from tightly gripping the brakes. Nothing against slow drivers, but they should pull over as soon as they realize that a procession had formed behind them. I, and the parade of cars behind us, eventually managed to overtake him.

(Below: Sweet dreams are made of these...)

After what seemed like forever, I emerged 1400 meters below in a handsome Tyrolean town of Sankt Leonhard, a low-key pleaseant and friendly looking town. It was mid-afternoon. I sat on a park bench in the town center and bathed in the warm rays of the sun. I sat staring at the mountain hovering over the town, somewhat shocked and amazed at how high I was and how steeply the road had come down.

(Above: Nearing Sankt Leonhard)
(Below: The town of Valtina/Walten before Sankt Leonhard)

The difficult climbing bits behind me, I remounted Erasmus in a more relaxed manner. It was an exceptionally bright afternoon and all I had left were 20 flat-to-downhill kilometers to Merano, and a further 30 flat kilometers back to Bolzano.

Since no one wants to really read about a flat ride, I only need write that the 20 kilometers of S44 from Sankt Leonhard to Merano were very enjoyable and scenic. The road followed the course of Fiumo Passirio, another of the many rivers that fed the Adige. Over the eastern shore of the river were stacked a series of grapevine-covered gentle hills that seem to have been lifted out of a Tuscan countryside.

(Above: Gentle, Tuscan-like scenery near Merano)

I reached Merano after a final downhill, then picked up the S38 (incidentally, a long road that goes over Passo de Gavia some 70 kms to the west, and continues all the way to Lake Como just north of Milan). The S38, too, was fairly flat between Merano and Bolzano as it travelled just above the narrow, fertile valleys adjacent to the Adige river. I was here four days earlier, albeit riding on the bank opposite, on that rainy Monday when I climbed Passo Mendola and Passo Pallade.

(Above: More than just a castle in the cloud--riding in Sudtirol is a dream come true)

Just past Terzano, five kilometers before Bolzano, I saw another impressive castle on a cliff. Soon traffic got heavier and I re-entered Bolzano from the northwest. Thus concluded this most memorable week of bike trips to the Dolomites.

(Below: Back to Bolzano)

Fini.

Last Updated: January ,(, /),(