Grödner Joch and Staller Sattel

#15passestour Day 4: Grödner Joch / Staller Sattel / Felbertauern Tunnel While enjoying dinner at a restaurant called Brunosepp, in the center of Merano, I had a decision to make. Stay in a Hotel for the next few days and watch TV or visit my parents in Salzburg, Austria. The weather forecast was showing rain for the entire next three days beginning tomorrow afternoon. Sure one can ride through rain with the right equipment but I wouldn't recommend doing that when you try to ride mountain passes. Weather changes can get pretty gnarly quick in those heights and lead to icy road conditions or even snow in the middle of the summer. I came to the conclusion to use these weather conditions for some family time and visit my parents in Austria. So, how to get from Merano to Saalfelden before afternoon but still fulfill the goal and ride mountain passes? First, accept you cannot stick to the plan and have to give up on FIVE passes planned in the Dolomites. Sounds easier than done BUT it's another excuse to come back another time :) The compromise I found was to take the highway to Bolzano at first , to make up for some time I will later on spend on mountain roads, take the SS12 until St. Peter valley, which takes you along SS242, right to the first pass of the day, the Grödner Joch. This is where I was blessed with the most impressive view of this trip. Right after taking the SS243 at a town called Plan de' Gralba I made myself stop for a few minutes and admire the mountain ridge that was building up right in front of my eyes. Check my picture and simply Google Brunecker tower and Torri del Sella and you'll get a glimpse of what I was blessed with to admire. Shut the jaw, swung the leg over the Dyna and just a few wrist flicks later I arrived at the Grödner Joch. As of now I came accustomed to the standard protocol at every pass. Make a quick stop to buy one more sticker I try to collect at every pass I ride, take the obligatory selfie in front of the street sign with the passes name on it, scout the very near vicinity if there is something worth to explore aaaannndd back on the bike burning rubber. Next stop, the border pass Staller Sattel. I just kept riding the SS244 north up until I turned right at SS49 San Lorenzo and took another left close to Niederrasen. This is where you will find a blue/green street sign, next to a logging company, showing you if the pass is open and one more specialty that makes riding it an absolute must. It shows you the time when your side is allowed to transit the pass. (ITA-AUT every 30th to 45th minute of the hour, AUT-ITA every 0 to 15th minute of the hour) Yes, only one side at a time is allowed to use the road. This means if you make it to the top of the line, which should be an easy task given the fact that you ride a motorcycle, you can rip to the top of the pass without hesitating due to approaching traffic. Just braaap! At the top back to the routine, no stickers to buy, get the selfie and enjoy the view of the lakes on both sides of the pass, Antholzer lake in Italy and Obersee in Austria. Two things stayed memorable for me at the Staller Sattel. A conversation with an austrian biker from Lienz, just 55min away, who was sent by his wife to buy some milk and decided to take a 140km detour and the fact that it started raining while we were having a conversation on how he will explain his absence to his dear wife. Dang, the rain caught up on me. Once for all the weather forecast was right and between here and my home town were still 122km and the Großglockner, the highest mountain of Austria. Who cares. Rip it and let's gooo! Taking the L25 will let you pass by the Staller Alm and awkwardly named towns like Rinderschinken (that's ham in German). Once you turn north and you are past Matrei you enter into a valley who's only exit is the Felbertauern tunnel. A 5.3km long straight and boring tube built in 1967 which connects Tirol an Salzburg and my best chance to not ride the Großglockner and arrive dry at my parents. But remember the name Felbertauern tunnel. We will be back here on day 5 of the #15passestour with something memorable happening. Did ride through the fuggy tunnel, did not fall asleep and I am not drenched in rain. So far wIn, win, win. Trying to escape the approaching rain I blasted down to Mittersill. A town hosting an annual biker festival called "Club of Newchurch". I highly recommend going there if you are in town around the end of June. Zell am See was next and I swear to God this is a true story, after 287km, 4.5 hours of riding and two mountain passes, just less than 1km away from arriving at my parents, a downpour hit me. Three times I did ride with my motorcycle to Saalfelden. Three times I arrived totally soaked. This either tells you that the weather here is rahter shi*** or I am just too lazy to put on my rain gear after all :) But no harm no foul. Based on the decision I made a day ago at a pizza restaurant in Merano with an Aperol Spritz in my hand I now made it safe and sound to my parents and can enjoy three days of family time instead of sitting alone in a hotel room watching Netflix.