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Dolomites

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If you have never visited North Italy, especially along the Swiss and Austrian borders, then you haven’t really lived a complete life yet. One of the most picturesque places on Earth, and some damn fine riding, the Dolomites and the larger Alps ranges should be on every motorcyclist’s bucket lists.

Don’t take my word for it though, let the above video from MV Agusta do some of the talking, as CIV Supersport Champion Davide Stirpe flogs the MV Agusta Brutale 1000 Serie Oro around some of Italy’s most famous passes and locales.

Our first day in earnest sees our group leaving our Radisson hotel in Munich, walking across the street to the massive München BMW dealership, grabbing our respective bikes – a fleet of F800R, F800GT, R1200R, R1200RS, R1200GS, and S1000XR motorcycles – and heading out on the autobahn, towards Austria.

Since our group is full of early risers, we got things moving ahead of schedule. For some, this meant extra time to meet our fellow riders; though for one member of the group, it meant a little extra time to shake off the cobwebs with a pre-ride beer – an occurrence that unfortunately became more of a ritual.

Joining me on our trek through the better parts of Europe is a dynamic group of individuals: there are a bunch of NY/NJ guys from N2 Track Days, an Apple engineer with an affinity for Triumphs, a designer with the gift of gab, and a former World Champion motorcycle racer.

The show is orchestrated by Cat MacLeod, a tall Scotsman with bleached white hair that ends in a ponytail, and his team of European tour guides and logistic personnel who are eager to help us navigate some of the best roads in the world, as well as the nightlife that surrounds them.

With nearly 500km of riding to report for Day 1, we better stop stalling and get to it, eh?

Wrapping up the 2013 Wrooom launch event that Ducati Corse co-hosts with Scuderia Ferrari, the Bologna Brand debuted a new one-off bike: the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Dolomites Peak Edition — a homage to the mountain range where Ducati Corse holds its MotoGP unveiling event each year.

Taking the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Edition that we loved so much last year, the Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Dolomites Peak Edition adds a silver mountain range graphic to the otherwise beautiful red, white, and black racing scheme. Just something special for the conclusion to the Wrooom media event, we are sort of glad that this Multistrada isn’t going to hit dealership floors, but still thought we would share. More photos after the jump.