TEAM AZ Rides Europe: The Hills Are Alive
Last Updated: June 3rd, 2022
Part Five of TEAM AZ Rides Europe – CLICK HERE FOR ALL SEGMENTS
In just one short week, the trees and hills of the Schwarzwald provided a world of its own away from the frenzy of urban life. Riding out of the Black Forest was revelatory in a strange way. I felt freed as I parted ways with the gorgeous, lush trees into the vibrant blues and greens of the German meadowlands. The novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s nest pops into my mind; in particular, the moment where Chief Bromden liberates himself from the confines of the medical facility. The open spaces, the giant spinning wind turbines, and the fast, curving roads provide for a brilliant morning ride. I was grinning from ear to ear as I flicked the motorcycle left and right on the German roadways; I felt massive.
The morning ride ended with a stop at Lake Bodensee. It is a lake on the Rhine situated in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria near the Alps. I find a gorgeous winery along the lake, nestle my bike under a fruit tree, and pull over for a snack of fruit and spicy sausage. Bliss.
After a brief respite from riding, I work my way through traffic and head towards my Austrian destination. Apparently, Europeans seek water for their summer vacation and I was smack dab in the middle of their trailblazing; an immediate contrast to my laid back, breezy time in the Black Forest. I couldn’t get out of the bustle fast enough. I paid for a vignette at a gas station (mandatory for riding in Austria) and motored on. Luckily, I was only forty miles away from some of the most fun riding I experienced the entire trip. Southern Germany is a rider’s dream. I take the 12 out of Lindau and connect with the E532 and ride it all the way through Füssen to my destination in Ehrwald, Austria. At points, I was singing in my helmet. I’m a terrible singer, but nothing could ruin that ride.
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MOTORCYCLES
Ev and Gary, the owners of Haus Karl’s Ruh, greet me warmly. They immediately make me feel at home. Initially I was worried about the communication challenges I might experience, but find out they’re from England! Other than Gary adding a “U” or “Y” in words like colour and tyre, we understood each other just fine. The room was VERY clean and the views from the second story balcony were outstanding. Including breakfast, their cozy room will set a rider back less than 30 Euro (about $40 at the time). Truly a pittance given the level of care I received during my stay.
Since all planning for the trip was now on the fly, it was up to me to create a daily agenda from scratch. First stop? The largest BMW motorcycle rally in the world. Imagine my surprise when I found out I was staged twenty miles away from the rally on the weekend it would be happening. The event was nice and respectable. The food was outstanding and inexpensive. The most interesting sight? An R1200GS with a full barbecue for grilling sausage and wine serving station in its sidebags. The stereotype about Germans loving their sausage is perpetuated by at least one German motorcyclist.
With the alps at my doorstep, literally and figuratively, I could no longer wait to go on what I lovingly refer to as a “Squiggly Lines On A Map Day”. I visited the local information center and obtained a paper map. I love GPS and Google Maps; both have proven to be invaluable. However, some route planning just seems to flow better with a physical map. With map in hand, I cobbled together a day ride with little straight line riding in the mix. The route took me on the Fernpassstraße, into the Ötztal Alps, towards the Austrian-Italian border crossing of Timmelsjoch, onto the Jaufenpass, and finally ending with the Brenner Pass. I wish I possess the words to describe what I witnessed. The beauty came in many forms on this route. Switchbacks, forest passes, gentle flowing meadow roads along a river, wide open valley freeway passes, and fog immersed tunnels all provided their own form of beauty.
For the next three days lightning and thunderstorms threatened my ability to ride. I don’t mind riding in the rain, but lightning is a whole other deal. Fortunately, on the second day, the skies parted and provided an opportunity for more exploration. Some research revealed that I was within a half hour of some filming sites for The Great Escape. For a motorcycle geek like myself, that particular movie contains some of the finest examples of motorcycle riding ever caught on film. Yeah, it pales in comparison to some of the stuff we might see today thanks to GoPro cameras and the like, but in its day, Steve McQueen on a motorcycle was the epitome of cool.
So what is a guy to do? Apparently, the answer was roam around meadows and farms of Southern Germany in hopes of capturing some of that Steve McQueen cool. In a wild twist of events, I popped into the Pfronten Information Center and was served by a woman who is married to a man from Portland, Oregon (my hometown). We talked for almost an hour about our shared experiences, and by the end of my visit she whipped out a paper with The Great Escape filming locations AND their GPS coordinates. There was no doubt I should be pursuing this rabbit hole at that exact moment in time.
I rode from place to place taking picture after picture. In one instance, a farmer politely shooed me out of his field. I came to understand later that by riding in his field I was disturbing the crop. So that was a big fat fail on not being the “Ugly American”, but I think it resolved itself as a no harm-no foul situation.
My time in Austria ends, but I carry with me several key takeaways:
- Wandering isn’t wasting
- The world really is smaller and bigger than we can imagine
- I’ll never be as cool as Steve McQueen (and I’m okay with that!)
Do you have any questions for RiderCoach Bill about his adventures? Shoot him an email! Bill@motorcycletraining.com or post your inquire on our Facebook page.
<In Part 6, and final installment, RiderCoach Bill heads off to Sachsenring for the MotoGP race and finds himself involved in MotoGP PART TWO!> <CLICK HERE FOR ALL SEGMENTS>
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