My fellow riders, I applied for, and it looks like I will be accepted to become a MSF Rider Coach for my military community here in Germany. The Rider Coach training is at Camp Darby, Italy (near Pisa) from 13-25 March. I want to ride my bike down on 11 or 12 March. My question is, what can I expect on the roads going through the Alps and specifically, the Brenner pass? Fairly clear roads, or some Ice and snow? I can put my bike on an Auto Train, but I would rather ride it.
Let's watch the weather situation some more weeks. But March 12th, well, thats in about 4 weeks and currently winter has that area pretty tight in it's freezing hands... from the current point of view I'd indeed suggest to book the train, although I'm sure you're not too weak! Check out this link. Klick on the camera right above the A13. This is the Brennerautobahn - Live Cam. Should give you a good enough impression about the situation there.
Brenner is the main connection between Central Germany and Italy. So expect roads in fairly good conditions, i.e. well salted if needed.
Hey, very nice Job! :) I live in Austria and use my bike the whole year but mainly in Vienna during winter-time. But it happened to me several times that I went on the Autobahn during late or early winter and snow got me. Even in late april in the east of Austria... I strongly advise, not to go! It is suicidal and I was scared to death every time and wished not being such a maniac... Why? If it's snowing heavy You won't see anything, snow will stick to Your helmet and You will have to clean it every few meters with Your left hand. You say no prob? If snow sticks to the road You need both hands for driving... And if it's really snowing road maintenance has no chance at all to keep the roads clear of snow. They even make the prob bigger for You, read the following. You can't go as fast as cars or especially trucks go. You say no prob? Nobody in Austria is expecting a bike on the Autobahn this time of winter. Your bike is not as visible as a car, the danger of being hit from behind is very, very high. Overtaking cars and trucks will throw tons of snow on You, You won't see anything for a few seconds and you can't clean the helmet during this because in such a situation You really need both hands for keeping it steady, especially if strong winds are blowing from the side. And on Brenner strong winds are frequent... The mixture of salt, ice and snow is deadly for keeping the bike on the road... Especially if a snow-plug was shortly there before! Think about it and don't do it... I'm riding on and off roads, winter and summer, was bike-travelling through south-america and india but the worst case is heavy snow on alpine highways. Every time it happened to me i was very lucky to get out without accident. And keep in mind: weather forecast in the alps is always a guess-game. Situations can change within minutes. But if You chose to go i wish You good luck!
Hey, brudda Hawk! congrats for becoming an MSF coach! AFAIK the Brenner is the lowest alpine pass, and as it is Autobahn, it will be kept snowfree except for 2-3 hours when the snowing just started. A salt-wet road is far from comfortable, but it shouldn't be a problem as long as you're on the Autobahn. I don't have to tell you though that it can be damn cold. I crossed the Brenner september '05, we had only +3C and the snowline started maybe 2-300 meters above the pass. In the end, it depends on the weather situation. An early spring can make a great trip with a few shivers in the alps. A late winter can make it very uncomfortable. Better look into your options with the train, just to be safe.
hya cryptomane, although I don't ride in Vienna in Winter, I started my season last year on March 10 and was on the Autobahn from then on. No problems at all. Just a lot of gravel on the small roads until late April. Ride safe, visit the European ADV raid, and fill out yer profile Cheers, Remi
Hi! The Brenner might be possible on a bike in early March, but be aware that there'll still be snow and possible ice on the road. You may want to check this webcam on the pass: http://wipptal.net/rose/webcam/ and also local weather service. The Brenner is fairly low altitude, but so far this winter's long, cold and snowy so be very careful, especially with the thawing snow in the shade!
Thanks, same 2 u! Will fill it out soon... But have u ever been in a situation like i described before? I' m riding the A1 frequently (also during Winter) because originally I'm from the Waldviertel. But there has never been such a problem like I described...Go to Wechsel (A2) frequently and You will be in such a sit. for sure...Especially by night very funny... And I thought it can occur on brenner also even I don't know the passing altitude over there...
Thanks for the feedback everybody. Assuming the weather is still too bad to cross the Brenner on a bike, what would be the best way for me to get my RT from Germany to Italy? I have never used the "Auto Train", does it go all the way to Italy, or at least south of the Alps and the weather.
nothing more simple than that. go to the website, choose your departure station and see where you can get from there. for instance: departure from Neu Isenburg (Frankfurt) brings you directly to Bozen or Verona. departure from Munich brings you directly to Rimini or Ancona. try the website... it's simple.
hi hawk; how was the skiing? i checked on www.dbautozug.de/; the problem is that cartrains from München only go to Rimini and Naples, and those are only in summer. They do have the option to go to Bozen, but only from Berlin and Hamburg There's a train coming from Berlin on the 10th. I'm not sure if you can hop on along the way as they're usually loading in the bikes first. Better call the Bahn and ask
Hi Flood. The skiing was great!! We were in Oberstdorf...very beautiful. I strapped on a snow board for the first time...OUCH...I am in some pain this morning. I think I will stick to 2 skis. I was looking at the Bahn site too. What is funny, is the train station in Nurenberg is right behind the BMW dealer where I take my bike, and I have seen signs for the AutoZug every time I go past there, and I have seen Auto Zug trains being loaded there. I will have to get my wife to call and ask about it.
Well I just got some pics that were taken a couple of weeks ago in the Rovereto area that lies on the A22 that heads south from the Brenner through Bolzano. Well we thought we had snow in Canada. If you can't make it through there, take the French Autoroutes through Mulhouse, Lyons, Aix-en-Provence to Nice and ride the coast into Italy. Its a bit boring till you get to the Mediterranean, but you'll at least get there...unless there is something I don't know about the weather in that region.
