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A few of us split off • the end of our second day to get some additional kilometers and a few extra pas. .s under our belts. As you can see, the scenery In the Dolomites is well worth the added effort. running tours aII over the world for over 20 years (see sidebar), but they got their start right there in the Alps, and besides, they use BMW Motorcycles exclusively, so who better to ride with on our BMW-sponsored trip? The last thing that we did before departing for our trip was visit the BMW design center, where we were given an excellent tour of the facility by none other than BMW Motorcycles' Vice President of Motorcycle Design David Robb. It was a great tour that gave all of us great insight into the design philosophies of the company. To add to our crash course in everything BMW, we toured the company's museum in Munich, right across the street from the sight of the ill-fated 1972 Olympic Summer games. Our journey began in Ismaning, Germany, a suburb of Munich. The night before, we had each selected a bike on which we would spend many long miles in the saddle - I chose an R1150 R roadster. Upon embarking on the ride, it was immediately apparent that I was going to actually use the rain gear that I had packed in the sidebags, especially considering that the Rl150 R doesn't have much in the way of weather protection. Within 20 minutes on the bike, we were riding in the rain on the Autobahn. I could care less about the weather protection, because I picked the lightest bike that was available for the trip, and I knew that would payoff later in the hairpins - read on. The tour that Edelweiss put together for us was a custom tour that they had never done before; it was called the "Editors/Best of the Alps Tour" and incorporated elements from many of their tours. Our first day was to take us over one of the most famous passes in the Alps, the Timmels Joch, which, at the summit, measures 8279 feet. It starts out in Austria and then drops you down into Italy. After a short stint in the rain on the highway, the weather cleared just in time for the pass, which led us to another cool pass, the Jaufenpass. Our first-day destination was a town called Wolkenstein, Italy, where we were to stay for two nights while we explored the famous Dolomites range in the Italian Alps. Day two of the journey started as every day on the trip would. We would meet in the lobby ready to ride, sit down and look at our guide's master map, then copy the route that was highlighted for us. In addition, we always had a road book with us, which outlined the day's trip and listed all of the intersections where we would change direction, and gave explanations of the myriad of different road signs we would encounter. We ~ere spoon-fed, to say the least. Day two was my favorite of the entire trip. The weather was perfect, the roads were amazing, and the number of passes we conquered that day was impressive to say the least. The total distance traveled this day was fairly low - only 200 kilometers but it was a long day when you consider how tight and twisty the roads were. On that day, we rode over the Passo Sella, Passo Fedaia, Passo di Giau and Passo Tre Croci, and then we took a dead-end road up to one of the most famous mountains in the Dolomites, the Tre Cime Di Lavaredo, where, during World War I, the Austrian army battled against the Italian army before eventually having to give the territory back to Italy after the war. Not finished yet, we continued over the Passo Di Falzarego, Passo Pordoi, and back over the Passo Sella to our final pass of the day - the Passo Grodner Joch. Seven passes in one day was pretty cool, and they ran through some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. Our tour guides on the trip were haVing a blast as well. Our guide for the day, Mario, had his hands full trying to keep Marc Cook (Motorcyclist Magazine) and myself from becoming permanent additions to the rear end of his K 1200RS. It was all in good fun, and we just wanted to go as fast as he was willing to take us. We won't mention the girl on the R6 who smoked you, Mario (oops, I just did). Rolling back into our five-star hotel wasn't too difficult that night. First off, there were fashion models in the bar doing a photo shoot as we all met for our daily post-ride beers. After a dip in the hot tub (not with the fashion models - I just got married), we were forced to stuff a seven-course meal down our throats. Day three was a long day - a total of 360 kilometers - which, again, is more impressive when you consider the sinuous roads. This, as it turns The top of our first major pass of the trip, the Tlmmelsjoch. That's 8279 feet to you and me. n e _ S • OCTOBER 30, 2002 17