A very European jaunt

Been very hot here with days of riding in 35C temps. Saw this on sky news site despite uk rain, we are in for more hot travels. Italy is thought to be experiencing its hottest weekend of the summer so far, with the mercury hitting 38C (100F) in Rome yesterday.A strong heatwave coming from Africa and nicknamed 'Charon' by local forecasters is running over Italy with temperatures set to rise up to 40C (104F) in the coming days.
 
Been very hot here with days of riding in 35C temps. Saw this on sky news site despite uk rain, we are in for more hot travels. Italy is thought to be experiencing its hottest weekend of the summer so far, with the mercury hitting 38C (100F) in Rome yesterday.A strong heatwave coming from Africa and nicknamed 'Charon' by local forecasters is running over Italy with temperatures set to rise up to 40C (104F) in the coming days.

Was in Rome on the 27th, 43C at the forum :eek: :eek:
 
Got ourfirstbit of rain today just around Brescia. Now at the hotel in lake iseo, sun out and boiling again. Great ride up from Tabiano this morning. No traffic, good surfaces and no motorway. Really pretty country. Tempted by the run down properties all over as a project...
Ps, arrived a day early at hotel. Clearly too many dates to remember! And I did write it all down. Ill blame the Mrs...
 
The beach braai. Admittedly it needed more cold beers!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9387976268/" title="P7186277_resized.JPG by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3773/9387976268_4c17d09138_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="P7186277_resized.JPG"></a>

The bush bar behind the dunes in the corsican desert as they call it.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9387985396/" title="Bar by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3678/9387985396_7f7707f69f_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Bar"></a>

The loveliest view
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9387980624/" title="Beach by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2834/9387980624_0c03e6e90c_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Beach"></a>
 
Ok, enough photos for a while. Ill have to update you so the next set makes sense! Well picked up the Mrs in Pisa and we spent 2 days chilling there, then we decided to forego sailing and rather stay on the beach. So we decided to keep the travelling to a respectable distance and settled for a few days in Fischerailla, nearest town Lerici. Nearest big town, Le spezia. We stayed at a great hotel with a view over the bay. Really quaint old seaside area but very narrow roads and navigating the twisted small regional roads 2 up and loaded was a nervy experience. No bother but you have to keep your wits with the different cambers, sudden stops and crazy Italian drivers. Hotel Cristallo was great and family run. It had good food and easy access, secure parking and decent air con. Also a balcony to watch the sunset. Some pics of LericI, Pisa and travelling to it will follow. After Pisa we opted to go halfway to lake iseo for a short break before a week in the lakes. We stayed inTabiano which is a subsidiary thermal bath town, if you like, of Salsa Maggiore. Strange thing is I rode the route napoleon, then went to Corsica, and now have been to the thermal spa his wife bought at its inception, so rather more of a Napoleonic trip for me. Secondly on reflection, I camped at a lake, above a river in Peone, sailed across the med, stayed by the sea, went to the thermal baths and am now at a lake. I guess inadvertently I like to be near water. Oh well, not bad. As of today we are in Lake Iseo and had a fantastic run up from Tabiano with very light traffic apart from brescia and great views of this country. All off the motorway as that is only for making time. We have seen 1 GB reg car and only walked past 1 couple in Parma yesterday who were English. Nice now and again to feel like a real tourist. Asmuch as I love the food here, I have to say I am missing my braai, or even just a greasy burger and chips after 2 weeks away! On the way from Fiascherialla to Tabiano we road the routes recommended on the michelin map road S62 and really loved it. Good views, tarmac but do not expect to make too much progress. Zoe rode her first alpine pass and I must say the exnlarged footstand did drag a few times on a few bends. More to do with us loaded up, my bike being the lowered suspension odel and cornering camber! She prefers it slow and gentle to alpine style. Great road over and. Long and twisty ride. Some places need resurfacing as the odd shapes and cracks are right in your line and makes cornering interesting. Bumpy ride for pillion.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9395993692/" title="Top of the tower by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5537/9395993692_a7408d76ec_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Top of the tower"></a>
 
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9393275047/" title="Good food and company by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5476/9393275047_1bea9b02fb_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Good food and company"></a>

And maybe the Italians have found a novel way to integrate motorcycling and beauty....
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9396033594/" title="A new competition by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7287/9396033594_62d3e41f8f_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="A new competition"></a>

Thermal baths for a day, basically a set of interlinked baths with different shower head or jet attachments and using water to stimulate muscles, circulation and improve well being. Not bad actually. Awesome, if underused building nowadays.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9396027908/" title="Thermal baths by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2835/9396027908_b882f4a8b0_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Thermal baths"></a>
 
Secure parking outside the marina I. St Jean cap ferrat
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9395841570/" title="Secure parking for a week by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3712/9395841570_79788e13c6_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Secure parking for a week"></a>

Pretending to read the Italian papers ar a coffee shop
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9393233835/" title="Reading the Italian papers.... by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5483/9393233835_6d60057f52_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="Reading the Italian papers...."></a>
Couldnt resist a rocky pose with the gown they want you to use at the thermalbatsh. Ricky Balboa...rocky s little sicekick
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9396060070/" title="Ricky Bilboa by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7298/9396060070_deacc1c872_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="Ricky Bilboa"></a>
 
The weather forthe last few days has been really good, really hot!
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/98888959@N08/9396046954/" title="This is what I call weather! by adventuredon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2822/9396046954_7e24743f32_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="This is what I call weather!"></a>
 
Okay time for an update now that I am back on the road, so to speak. Just had a great break at lake Iseo. We stayed at hotel rotelli and although a bit hard to find anc up some steep and narrow sideroads a lovely place to stay. It was towards near Sulzanna. We hired bikes anx did a bit of cycling, hirex a speed boat and relaxed in the middle of the lake and lay about reading. Also did a few rides. First was up and over Croce Domini through Bienno. Very twisty andnarrow and must say Swmbo was a tad nervous. Cant really blame her after we fell off before we even started! Took a wrong turn down a narrow side street in Bienno. Tried to do one of my usual slow u turns, 2 up but not loaded! Have to say that the road was off camber and pretty tight and sloping more than a little. Should have thought about it more really, but... Anyhow started the turn and next thing ann old lady ina blue banger comes from nowhere. Nearly took us out, so I must have turned away, anyhow, overbalanced and down we went at around 5 miles an hour. Cylinder guards scrathced, handguard roughed up but other than that all okay, just shaken. I at least now know I can pick my own bike up. No one saw either, phew.Anyhow, up and over we went to lake d idro. Another tight and twisty descent and by this time Zoe had lost the will to be a pillion. I think the shock finally set in for her and she was really scared. Anyhow, we overcame it and had a decent ride back along the s237, s57, s79 and then down the 48. A great route with loads of bikers out. On any other day it would have been a good quick ru. With sweepers rather than pins, but I took it very slow. Needless to say we relaxed the next day. My ankle was a bit stiff but mors on that later. It was only 180 miles round but it took a long day in the saddle and temps are still very high here in Italy. On Sunday I took a ride on my own out towards passo tonale, then went up above Lovere, on the sp53, then the sp56 up to Bratto. Then onwards and up the Vivione pass to http://translate.google.it/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passo_del_Vivione&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpasso%2Bdel%2Bvivione%26client%3Dtablet-android-samsung%26source%3Dandroid-browser-suggest%26hl%3Den-GB .lots of bikes ag the top, very twisty and narrow in places when you get higher. Much narrower thqn any other pass I have ridden so far. Really learning lots about control, steering and keeping revs up when in correct gear! The descent is a lot faster, still tight but I found a Ducati To follow for a few bends then he left me fo dirt! Left hand tight turns are definitley easier for me, the right hand ones turning back on themselves are in need of more work.
 
Ok, so the ankle..as I said its been stiff, so yesterday we were leaving Iseo for a night in Caravagio, enroute to Milan airport. In the morning I could hardly walk or putpressure on it at all. I was really struggling. Zoe carried all the luggage down even. Changing gears was a real hassle, a definite 3 part movement, any decent rugby ref would have sent me off! I went to the chemist on arrival yesterday and had to use my heel to pull up on the gears it was that bad. She gave me a gel and overnight I kept applying it. Very little sleep and a very swollen ankle. Thinking sprain or break.. This morning, I went through all my options, as in leave the bike, come back another time to carry on after flying home, getting a ukgser to come ride it home and I fly, or just soldiering on. Anyhow, back to the chemist, they were so worried they got me a chair soon as they saw me. They took me in the back, bathed and soaked it in salts, and wanted me to go to hospital. Not really an option was my thinking as they would either strap it and tell me to rest, put in plZter and me in on crutches or ? Either way I would be stuck with no way of getting the bike back. So I asked them to strap it, pass me some painkillers and soldier on. As you can now imagin3, mounting the bike, or moving it backwrads from parking was getting hard with no lateral or vertical movement without extreme pain. Anyhow, 3 sachet of pain killers later and a foot shoved in tight boot and we were off to the airport. Changing gears has since become easier and I can now walk albeit witha little hobble. This evening I am at camping magic lake on the shores of lake como. The ankle is much better, strange thing the body huh. I will continue and see a doctor in uk, but from looking at options to fly this morning to being able to sit without pain tonight is a massive mystery to me. And I am usually the last one thattakes the easy option or calls off sick! Tomorrows route is re planned and will see the julier pass, oberalp and into Andermatt. Then the Sustens IF I CAN REMEBER RIGHTLY. so far the bike has been very reliable, mpg is at 53.3 overall and I have now covered around 2500 miles. The throttle cruise control rubbers have perished and popped off (it was already slipping a little bit even with the rubber underneath). So it has the cable tie option installed now. The only other hassle is my aux power to charge the phone has lost the will (not the bmw socket) and I will sort that out when back home, but also my garmin sat nav will only charge up to half the battery life, so planning off the bike is limited. That will also need a replacement. Anyhow, enough now, but looking corward to seeing more roads tomorrow, albeit withh limited gear changes!
 
The Last Post

Ok, so leaving Como and camping Magic Lake was easy. The pitch she rented me made tarmac look comfortable but it was a safe place and they do order pizza for you if you ask. Cappuccinos weren’t bad either at 1 euro 30 each. There were some thunderstorms and lightning overnight but as I set off up the road it was clearing p nicely, or so I thought. I left via the SS340d and was soon moving through some really lovely country roads, well surfaced and a fast ride towards Chiavenna.
 

Attachments

  • P7296422.jpg
    P7296422.jpg
    112 KB · Views: 315
  • P7316456.jpg
    P7316456.jpg
    96.4 KB · Views: 314
  • P8046498.jpg
    P8046498.jpg
    118 KB · Views: 341
  • P8016469.jpg
    P8016469.jpg
    78.3 KB · Views: 296
  • P7206309.jpg
    P7206309.jpg
    95.8 KB · Views: 348
I decided to go up the SS37 to Silvaplanna then head up on route 3 over the Maloja pass and the Julier Pass. Just as I approached the Swiss Border it began to rain, and rain it did. Visibility was reduced and the water was quite heavy on the roads. I must say the first few hairpins going up the Maloja took me by surprise and then I though sod it, I am going to use both lanes to make my corner and exit on my side of the road. Seemed to work. Needless to say the Engadine Valley and lake area was a bit deserted. It must be a stunning place to holiday or ride through on a hot day. Little traffic, good surface but heavy rain and fog that kept coming in and then disappearing. Just as you think it’s a nice straight, headlights appear around a hairpin! I stopped at the lake to put on more base layers as I was now getting cold and water was starting to get through my jacket. Lunch was a quick snack under a tree and then I pushed onwards towards Andermatt. Coming over the Oberalp is awesome/splendid/marvelous and very surreal. I was quite surprised to see people fishing at the top in the little lake.
 

Attachments

  • P8046505.jpg
    P8046505.jpg
    116.1 KB · Views: 340
  • P8046492.jpg
    P8046492.jpg
    106.4 KB · Views: 337
  • P8086517.jpg
    P8086517.jpg
    118.2 KB · Views: 338
  • P7296434.jpg
    P7296434.jpg
    39.5 KB · Views: 314
  • P8076512.jpg
    P8076512.jpg
    93.5 KB · Views: 317
The ride down to Andermatt was nice as now the road and fog had cleared somewhat. I got down at 17:30 and was planning on camping in the Lautebrunnen Valley but with so much water, wet through by now and an ankle that was tired of gear changes I booked into the Haus Bonnetti pension. 70CHF including breakfast and safe under cover parking. Job done. It was so late and I was just not in the mood for walking around looking for a restaurant I made delicious bolognaise pasta and sauce in the room! Felt a bit like a migrant worker or transient immigrant..(Well I imagine that’s how they are…lol).
 

Attachments

  • P8086521.jpg
    P8086521.jpg
    97.5 KB · Views: 315
  • P8086522.jpg
    P8086522.jpg
    97.7 KB · Views: 303
  • P8086523.jpg
    P8086523.jpg
    65.4 KB · Views: 313
  • P8086526.jpg
    P8086526.jpg
    54 KB · Views: 314
  • P8086529.jpg
    P8086529.jpg
    98.1 KB · Views: 315
Friday, I had a short run from Andermatt over the Furka and Grimsel to get to the Lauterbrunnen Valley and the infamous Staubbach Falls. Furka was awesome and still snow at the top but the Grimsel will have to wait for me to get back, as I saw so little of it the rain and visibility was treacherous. Apparently there are 2 lakes up there? Loved the down ride from the Furka though, really easy to open up and see ahead. I camped in the well run and very efficient Camping Jungfrau campsite. As you enter a man comes up on a bicycle and in a broad northern accent asks you how long and how many you are. He then finds you a spot, writes out a ticket and tells you to set up. Once set up, you take the ticket to the reception and pay. Organised. You don’t even have to dismount. A bit crowded and around £20 for 1 night, but the scene is brilliant, right below the falls. In the evening I met Swiss Mike and his other half for a few swifties. Mike joined me at the campsite where we had a good natter and watched the folklore band entertainment. Lots of yodeling, drumming and singing. Some flag tossing and a large selection of farmers shaking huge cowbells. Noise, I tell you, pure noise!
 

Attachments

  • 2013-08-09 20.26.56.jpg
    2013-08-09 20.26.56.jpg
    50.6 KB · Views: 314
  • 20130809_104641.jpg
    20130809_104641.jpg
    33.9 KB · Views: 312
  • P8086540.jpg
    P8086540.jpg
    55.3 KB · Views: 315
  • 20130809_120017.jpg
    20130809_120017.jpg
    14.7 KB · Views: 306
  • 20130809_164827.jpg
    20130809_164827.jpg
    64.8 KB · Views: 310
Saturday saw me change my route again as I thought I had a bit too much to do in the last few days and decided to head for Mulhouse. I must say it was a brilliant ride all way around. First along the north side of the Thunersee lake and then over the Schallenburg Pass. Loads of bikes up there and an old Moto Guzzi. I decided rather to sit in a pasture and look out over the vista with my cheese and bread than sit in the restaurant. Wow, what a pretty country. I took all small roads and avoided tolls and motorways all the way. There were some really surprised farmers to see me popping out of some of the roads near their houses. I loved the alpine houses and meadows. On some of the houses they have a little cartoon like character attached with a name. I must assume it’s the little kids’ name that lives there. A cute personal and open touch announcing which kid lives there. All day the roads were awesome and highly recommend today’s route. Also went through the Passwang valley. There was a GS with German plates ahead of me and we kept chasing each other for about an hour as we must have had similar routes planned. I did feel that after all the hassle of planning a route, if you were ever unsure of the route, soon as you saw a few bikers on the same route, you’d pretty much know you were doing okay. I found a lovely municipal camp site outside Mulhouse for £9.85 (go figure the .85 cents).
 

Attachments

  • P8086542.jpg
    P8086542.jpg
    93.2 KB · Views: 313
  • P8086538.jpg
    P8086538.jpg
    116.3 KB · Views: 315
  • 2013-08-10 12.31.33.jpg
    2013-08-10 12.31.33.jpg
    58.5 KB · Views: 318
  • 2013-08-10 14.06.22.jpg
    2013-08-10 14.06.22.jpg
    49 KB · Views: 315
  • 20130809_103503.jpg
    20130809_103503.jpg
    47.8 KB · Views: 316
Sunday
An early night and then Sunday would see me head up towards Verdun and make progress towards Bastogne. The roads towards Epinal and the N75 are actually very nice. As I got closer towards Verdun-Sur-Meuse there were some belters with long sweeping bends, great visibility through corners and the open road,. I think the roads were D908, D904, D903, D907. Absolutely fantastic roads and progress is easy. I think this was a very memorable stretch for me towards Verdun. Again though after stopping at the monument and looking around the roads were again fabulous. Went through some very rural little roads as my sat nav was at this time set to route the shortest between two points, not the fastest. I hit the wrong option while riding and didn’t realize so it would take me behind the houses, over rough surfaces and around some beautiful lakes (D905, D66, cut through from D18 across the D17 towards Cons La Grandville). Garmin doesn’t have a route number! Then after Verdun again the roads were great. I had by this time lost all power for my tablet, phone and the adapter I brought with was left behind at Lake Como so I don’t have many pictures of the places over these last few days. Kind of funny that on the way to Bastogne, I got to thinking that in this day and age, we are so used to capturing everything we do on digital media that when was the last time you went somewhere interesting and didn’t take a photo. Would you visits a famous landmark and not take a picture to show friends/post on space book etc….just a passing thought. I camped in Montmedi in another municipal campsite. Nice and quiet. More Dutch tourists here and quite a few cyclists. I had of course made another error in thinking I would be able to get food or shopping in Montmedi (the last 5 days of the trip had no accommodation or places pre-booked and no real idea of how far along I’d get so I had to just sort of make it up on the fly.) So Sunday nights dinner was chicken Vienna sausages that were left over from Friday, mixed in with Beef and tomato so and the remaining pasta I had. Tasted great with added chili and no ill effects. I was hungry in the morning though! Error number umpteen by now was me deciding that I would get a map en route that covered from Lausanne/Thunersee northwards. I never found one/ bought one and I notice by looking at my Garmin tracks that I did ride a loop on myself quite a bit to reach the campsite. I know at the time I sort of sensed I was doing it, but a long day in the saddle, a small screen and hot and sweaty you kind of just go with the flow. I will definitely say get maps for every area as they are so much easier to look through and plan on than just using the Sat Nav. No harm done but a lesson for future. (even if it more money..).
And so to the last day. At this stage I have been away from the UK for 30 days. I am tired of setting up the tent, looking for food stops along the way and am quite keen to get home and unwind…I loved the roads and scenery but I think I realized I am not an all round the world traveler as I miss my house. Maybe if I didn’t have a house it’d be easier to keep travelling. Or maybe stay longer and do less on the way? Anyhow, so I headed off to Bastogne and actually had very little time there but I did go look at the tank (again, no images but I were there…honest! lol). The route Combatants is nice and the surrounding areas and forests are a pleasure to ride through. Now not having a map and our EU ubiquitous boundaries meant that at times I had no idea whether I was in France or Belgium when riding to Calais. I have to admit for some reason I got hopelessly confused around Bastogne. When leaving I plugged imn route and was off, but I kept taking the wrong exit and having to rejoin the road, then taking the exit too late and having to rejoin my route. I think in all I took about 6 wrong turns (on dual carriageways so U turn etc was not an option). Well that was a productive waste of 30 minutes! Anyhow, I soon had it worked out and actually thinking about the route trip and the roads, I have not paid a toll since returning from Levanto on about day 5. I rode the whole way from Pisa to Calais with the sat Nav set to avoid motorways and tolls, so I am chuffed to think I saw a whole lot of cool sites. Would be great to ride with a cameraman following and they can do the picture thingy. Oh yes, Henry Cole (World’s greatest Motorcycle Rides on travel channel. - And Ewan and Charlie did that…).
 

Attachments

  • 2013-08-11 18.55.43.jpg
    2013-08-11 18.55.43.jpg
    53.5 KB · Views: 314
  • 20130809_104701.jpg
    20130809_104701.jpg
    52.7 KB · Views: 314
  • 20130809_104650.jpg
    20130809_104650.jpg
    43.4 KB · Views: 312
I made the ferry with 45 minutes to spare and no issues on the bike at all, except I did notice my footrest pin was about a cm out of its socket and found a circlip missing. No, that was 1 spare thing I didn’t put in but some insulation tape sorted that out. No biggie, but I must say that when I did my 24k service, I serviced and cleaned and lubricated the stands and foot pegs as part of me being thorough, so at least I knew exactly how/what was missing etc. No biggie, but you get the drift. Familiarity and all that with the bike gained through doing stuff.
Countries visited: France, Corsica, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium
Best open roads with sweeping bends :France
Best bread easily available: Switzerland
Most bikers seen on the roads enjoying the passes: Italy
Most commonly seen bike: GS (except in Italy where it was beaten by Ducati)
Best looking women: Italy by miles –man o man, if I wasn’t married I’d move there!
Worst drivers: Italy by miles – idiots the lot of them
Best drivers: French
Hardest place to get pharmacy help: its Italy and strange opening hours
Cheapest camp sites: France
Most expensive campsites: Switzerland
Best views: Switzerland
Most likely to stop and ask if you need help: Switzerland
Best roads to cover distance (scenery, progress and signposted) France
Worst place to get petrol: Italy
Easiest place to get petrol: France
Best Pizza: Italy
Best roadside food: Belgium
#best forest roads: Belgium
Best “Great Escape” scenery: Switzerland Oberalp area
Easiest place to park: Italy – literally anywhere you want!
Most nutters on scooters: Italy (even the hot chicks!  lol)
Easiest place to get lost: Italy
Most speed cameras: UK, followed by Italy (overhead ones too and some others in an orange box next to the road)
Fastest drivers: Italy (10 mph over the speed limit seems to be the minimum speed you to need to drive at or get tailgated and pushed to the side!)

So, back home and unpacked, sold the Vignette already, photos will be posted in due course.
3593 Miles
31 Days
Average 53.3mpg
Average speed 33.6
Oil used: 300 ml
Maps Used: Michelin 561 Italia Nord Ovest 1:400 000 (would have been better using a larger scale map) and Michelin 527 Provence –Alps-Cote d’ Azur 1: 200 000
France
Cost: a Bloody lot! Oh and the ankle is not broken but doctor suggested ligament damage both sides. Physio and rest it is…Well I hope this report helps in some way, I had a great time and saw loads of Europe. Goys lots more badges of honour – wife calls them stickers.
So long all and rode safe. If anyone wants the routes, PM me and I can e mail them. Too big to post or zip up here and not really bothered right now to split and faff with them.)
 

Attachments

  • P7266365.jpg
    P7266365.jpg
    57.9 KB · Views: 318


Back
Top Bottom