Italy and the western islands of the Mediterranean Sea

It’s an unusual enough start to a European road trip where you crate your bike and ship it away ahead of you but that was the case with us this year.
Many folk would shun the idea of shipping their bike within Europe, it’s usually the preserve of those who are heading for the US or South America but we found ourselves with only three weeks holiday and an itinerary that we didn’t want to compromise on.

The plan is to take a few days to ride from Milan to Napoli, board a ferry to Sicily and have a few days there then ferry on to Sardinia for another three days before taking a short ferry hop to Corsica for another three days after which we would sail to Nice and ride up home through France, England and Wales to Ireland.

In the Ireland section of UKGSer someone mentioned Bike on Board a shipping service from Dublin to various locations across Europe http://www.bike-on-board.ie/index.php so I contacted them to discuss my requirements and to get a quote.

By the time I took into consideration ferries from Ireland to the UK and on to the continent, hotels, fuel and food there wasn’t much difference between all that and the cost of shipping and flights, just under £100 in the end, but we decided that it was worth it and that’s how we would go.

I work for a transport company so it was easy for me to have the crate for the bike collected in Dublin and brought the 65 miles up to Newry for loading. Normally the customer takes the bike to Bike on Board in Dublin for crating, but this way was much easier for me. So on Wednesday 12th of June the bike was loaded up and ready to go. (Please excuse the quality of some of the pictures taken by phone.)



The crate was a great job altogether. It arrived collapsed down and it was a simple matter to raise the front section from flat which then drops down into slots to form a solid front panel. The rear section is folded out flat behind the crate so that the bike can be loaded and is then lifted into place behind the bike.







The bike was delivered to Dublin on the Thursday and then loaded onto another truck for the journey to Milan, where it was due to arrive on Monday or Tuesday the 17th or 18th in plenty of time for our arrival on Monday 24th.

keep it coming!

I'm in

And so we arrived in Milan courtesy of Aer Lingus on the Monday morning and left the terminal straight away to get a taxi to the freight depot where the bike was waiting ready to go. All our gear was already loaded on the bike so all we had with us was hand luggage which made the whole thing very quick. An hour and a half later we had the bike de-crated and were on our way south and into the first problem of the trip.

I had bought a 2820 Streetpilot a month or so before the trip and had loaded several waypoints and routes onto it for the trip, but I only discovered when I switched it on in Italy that I hadn’t checked to see if the European maps were loaded onto it. They weren’t. Fuck. Pretty pissed off with myself we headed off for Bologna and our hotel for the night where I fecked about for a long time trying to get something sorted to no avail. Over dinner Mandy reminded me that I had driven trucks all over Europe for ten years before GPS was available so what was the problem? She, of course was right so that was that, the 2820 was relegated to the pannier for the rest of the trip.

Dinner was good though.



And I was feeling a good deal happier.

Yep, me to, I'm In Aiden

Tuesday morning saw us in good form and ready for our first real day on the road. After the very early start on Monday leaving home at five am to catch the flight from Dublin and a busy day after we arrived in Milan we had only travelled around two hours south to Bologna. Our plan was to ride the hills through the Futa Pass and take in Florence and some of Tuscany today so after a leisurely breakfast we prepared for the off.



As we reached the top of the Raticosa Pass we stopped for a break.



And spotted a Ducati test bike there. I chatted to the rider for a wee while and he told me that it was an upgrade to the Monster and that he was working on suspension geometry and settings.



Nice views up there looking back towards Bologna.



From Raticosa Pass we rode the Futa, all within 25 miles of the Mugello race track. The roads were quiet and we had a lovely ride in warm sunshine. Arriving into Florence near lunchtime was maybe not the best idea with heaving traffic and over 30C of heat. We had a ride around the city centre, but not being city loving people we kept on moving towards Siena. Quite by accident we stumbled on the American Florence Military Cemetary, which like all these wartime memorials is a sobering place to visit.







Hungry now, we kept our eyes open for somewhere to have lunch, eventually stopping at a trattoria outside a little village, where this old Fiat truck was taking a rest.





I had a penne ragu with a rabbit sauce



whilst Mandy enjoyed tagliatelle pommodoro.



A leisurely ride through the Tuscan countryside took us to our hotel about 10 miles from Siena, a 17th century mansion where we sent a relaxing early evening by the pool before dinner.

Well as I'm off to Corsica in a few weeks (and will probably come back through Italy) ... I'm in too.

After a light breakfast we hit the road again. Whilst we had a rough idea of where we’d be tonight, we had no fixed plan, but the idea today was to see Siena and Lake Trasimeno then head on south.



Old walled part of Siena city ahead.



As we rode along we spotted a little town perched high on a hillside and decided to take a look. As you ride up into Cortona this is the view looking back.



Vehicular traffic is very restricted in Cortona so we parked the bike and walked into the town centre. Narrow streets open out into a piazza.







We took a seat in the shade and decided that it was time for a spot of lunch.



Fed and watered we made our way back down into the fierce heat of the lower ground. Lake Trasimena was a bit disappointing for me as it was either forested or built-up along it’s edge. You’d get the odd tantalising view as you rode along, but never really more than that. It’s one thing to see it on a map and imagine what it will be like and quite another to be there for real although, having said that, it’s probably lovely when viewed from a boat.

Narni was to be our stopping point tonight, a very nice four star hotel with all the usual facilities. About five miles out from the hotel dark clouds that we had been watching for the past hour erupted into a thunder and lightning storm with torrential rain. Luckily we didn’t get too wet but Mandy’s plan of a relaxing evening by the pool was completely shot. Luckily the restaurant was very very good which went some way to rescuing the evening.

Oh what might have been......



There’s nothing quite like a large pizza and a bottle of wine to make a girl happy.



Some of you may well have noticed that the daily mileage is not very high. This tour is one that we both always wanted to do so there was no point at all in rushing it. We wanted unhurried starts in the mornings and off the bike again early in the evening. It was a holiday, not an endurance ride.

Sienna is beautiful. I could sit in the Piazza sipping coffee all day ...

Today is our last day in Italy and we are setting our sights on Napoli and a ferry tonight to Palermo. Terra Umbra Hotel http://www.terraumbra.it/en/index/ is highly recommended to anyone else travelling this way. €59 for a double room in a four star hotel is not too bad.
Our route today, again avoiding motorways will take us via Rieti, Avezzano and Sora then to the coast and down into Napoli.

Lovely roads down through Umbria



With lots of little villages clinging to the hillsides



Self portrait



Riding through the mountains was delightfully cool but as we dropped down to the coast the temperatures rose dramatically again. As we neared Napoli though there was a lot of rubbish strewn alongside the road making the place look dreadful and the standard of driving dropped drastically too. Drivers would overtake another car coming against you and literally force you to move over to the verge to give them enough room. You really do have to keep a good eye on the feckers.

At Pozzuoli we got our first view of the Bay of Naples.





On towards Napoli



And into this tunnel in the city centre which drops you down near the docks



Scoot central



After booking on, we park beside the ship ready for loading later.





I’m not a sun worshipper so prefer to remain in the shadows where possible.



It’s a busy port Napoli.

Cruise liner. These feckers are pretty big







The tying of the bike left something to be desired.







Sunset leaving Napoli in our wake



Sicily tomorrow.

Our ship arrived into a bustling Palermo early on Friday morning. After the usual interminable wait to disembark we were very hot and bothered so we took a quick ride through the city and out onto the open road.

We decided that today would be a rest day of sorts. Mandy fancied a day lazing by the pool sunbathing and we had some washing and drying of clothes to get done. With all that in mind we set of on amble cross country towards San Leone on the south coast of Sicily.

After dinner that night we went on a complimentary drive around some of the local ancient temples. Please excuse the pics as my phone camera doesn’t work well in the dark.

After our day of resting we planned to go to see more of Sicily and especially Mt Etna.

Riding up the mountain



The higher you go the better the views get





At the ski station at the top of the southern side of Mt Etna. There is an abundance of Euro tat available to purchase up here you’ll be relieved to learn.



Apparently the ski lift was totally wiped away during the last major eruption a few years ago. Etna is an active volcano with minor earthquakes happening as recently as 2nd August.

We spotted this monstrosity on our way back down off the mountain when we stopped for lunch. I can only think one thing about this bike. Why?







On our way back to the hotel we struck out for Gela and stayed as close as we could to the coast the whole way back to our hotel. A lovely late afternoon ride.

Sunday was to be a short days ride to Trapani where we would catch an evening ferry to Cagliari in Sardinia so we didn’t check out of the hotel until almost noon and then set off along the coast.

Late afternoon saw us in Trapani so we spent our time looking around the harbour and had an early evening dinner before returning to the quayside to board our ferry where we met a group of Italian riders and a New Zealander who were taking that ship too.



Most of these Mediterranean ferries are pretty big.





Our last look at Sicily before we set sail for Sardinia.

It’s Monday morning again and we have already one week under our wheels. But now we are on a new island to us, Sardinia.
First impressions are quite favourable.





Our route then took us through the hills before dropping back down to the coast for a look around Sant’Antioco island which turned out to be rather featureless. As we rode on towards Carbonia we saw signs for an ancient settlement at Monte Sinai so went up for a look. The site is still being worked but the views were worth the trek.





A separate section of the hill was the burial ground and there were many underground chambers.



And local wildlife taking the sun



Next stop was our hotel at Iglesias where we would spent tonight and tomorrow night.

Great stuff Aidan, brilliant photos - really enjoying it, and bringing back good memories

Giles said:

Sienna is beautiful. I could sit in the Piazza sipping coffee all day ...

Click to expand...

+1 for sipping coffee on the piazza in Siena, I was there for the Palio a few years ago - amazing

Great stuff Aidan, looks like yous had a brill time

We decided that Tuesday would be a local day, spent exploring the area around Iglesias but not racking up too many miles. Not that we had exactly been piling them up heretofore.



We found a cave near Dumasnovas the Grotta Di San Giovanni and pulled up at the southern entrance.



I love caves and was straight into it whilst Mandy waited outside in the sunshine. It was a lovely cool 15C or so inside, a good 20 degrees warmer than out.



After a walk of 800 metres or so I exited the cave at the northern side. It used to be possible for cars to drive through the cave but that is now prohibited. There were quite a few people walking and cycling through and if it had been quieter I would have chanced riding the GS up and back.





A spirited ride through the hills took us to some lovely beaches











Which I immediately made look untidy



Then discovered a little town with an unfortunate name





And a cracking coast road back towards our hotel in Iglesias.

Great report and pics, just love the name of that village.

Can you imagine, someone asks you where you come from and the answer 'Buggerru' must earn a couple of smacks

Excellent stuff, Aidan, keep in coming

Great report & pics Aidan, keep it coming
Thinking of Sardinia and a return to Corsica for next year