Day 9 - Day 5 of riding and a shorter day.

As a group we are all starting to wear out. None of us want to admit it but these solid long days are taking there toll. While another 70 kms of the windy type track was an option, we opted for a shorter day. Our destination was Madonna Di Campiglio, a town focuses completely on skiing in the winter and hiking and mountain biking in the summer. To get there, we need to be away by 8.30 to catch the ferry across Lake Coma at 9.20. The ride along Lake Lugano was pretty casual with great views of the lake. The road dropped of the east end of the lake and wound through a hilly part with a few hairpin turns but never really left the populated area. We rolled down the hill and basically straight on to the ferry. We just made in - the next one is in an hour. Lake Coma is known for the holiday playground of the rich and famous. George Clooney, Madonna and Ben Spies own or have owned houses on the Lake. It is a beautiful spot, very large area of water it took about 30 minutes to cross on the ferry. We could see we were out of Switzerland and into Italy. The slate tiled roofs and timber walls have been replace by red and orange terracotta tiled roofs on cream block and concrete walls. The road condition had dropped significant as well. On the up side the coffee was cheaper.

Having cross the lake we worked our way up the east side, pulling up for a morning coffee stop only to be told that they were not open yet. It was just 10 am. We moved on for what seemed too long but there was just not anywhere along the route. Eventually we came across a cafe. We were into the wine growing area where the hills were covered to vineyards proudly displaying in big signed the brands they supplied too. The cafe was the local gathering place for the old timers of the area and a bunch of blokes on motorcycles was clearly a disruption to their routine. That said, they were willing to help and with the help of Woulter (Italian is just one of the 5 languages our travel companion speaks) we were soon all sorted.

Back on the road we double back over a section of road we had covered on the first day. The Aprica Pass was a wide road and plenty of room to over take if required and generally in good condition. While we shared it with some heavy vehicles, it was good fun. From here we went on to our new pass for the day Tonale Pass. More of the same, just simply great motorcycling roads. At the top we found a cafe in the ski village open over the summer and had a ham and roll for lunch (there were many different types of ham, cheese and breads to choose from) while to we, Robyn, Anna and I that is, grouped around the phone playing ABC Grandstand on line and listened to the seconded half on the State of Origin, to hear Queensland win.

From here is was a simple trip in to our motel for the night. As is the habit, we fueled the bikes this time at a Respol garage. These guys sponsor the Honda MotoGP team so I thought it was cool to fill up at their outlet. We arrived at our hotel about 3pm. Robyn and Anna and I took advantage of the early finish to walk part way in to the town and take a gondola up to one of the nearby peaks for a look over the valley. We were back by 5.30 and still managed to get an hours sleep in before dinner at 7.30. That was what the doctor ordered.