Team Ballistic - Romania '05

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

Food and beer were superb in the Gasthof and I was sort of getting the idea that Klaus would know where the nearest BMW dealer was (I’m quick like that) and so asked him, as the rear pads on the bike were looking a tad slim.
He told me, showed me on the map and said he would ring them in the morning for me. Also he added, conspiratorially, if we came tomorrow night, when the Gasthof was supposed to be shut (Ruhetag as it’s known) at 7 he was having a special biker night with a meal for 13E. If we came at 10 past 7 we would not get in. He presented me with a local bike magazine, featuring a picture taken in the bar of one of the ”ladies with not enough clothes”, the poor lass, clad only in thigh-length leather boots performing some kind of charity dance…….

www.touring-relaxing.de I’m sure Klaus would also let car drivers stay too.

Day 17 Monday again.

We ate breakfast and saw Paul off on his way. Wife, work or whatever meant he needed to get home.
Brian and I set off for Biberach and brake pads.
We found Autohaus Holzenthaler without much of a problem. I bought some pads and fitted them in front of the shop.

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

3 other GSers looked on, locals judging by the umbrellas?

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

With pads fitted and a good peruse of the shop we set off.
We rode south in on/off rain, first up the slopes of “Kandal”:

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

At the top it was totally foggy. I’ve been before in better weather, but this time you could make out only the white dividing lines of a large carpark and the dark silhouette of the café.
We pressed on to ride the Schauinsland Road, luckily the roads dry out. This one’s new to me and Brian tells me they use it for sprints and hill-climbs. The road itself is closed for motorcycles “Saturday, Sunday and holidays” because of it’s attraction. It’s a superb road, smooth and flowing, rising and falling, twisting and shrieking…….Shrieking? I am riding briskly on a twisty downhill section, but in my mirrors appears a set of car headlights. Must be a serious piece of kit I decide and wave it past on a 40 metre straight. It is a VW Touran MPV….diesel……but it accelerates at the next curve without lifting and dives into the corner from the wrong side of the road. The tyres howl in protest again…..and I decide to slow down and check out the scenery….and don’t see the Touran again, but I can smell it’s toasting tyres and hot engine all the way down.
In p*ssing down rain we refuel in Neidereschach and a fellow German GSer leads us to the Touratech factory:

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

Agh! Bliss!. Truly an Alladin’s Cave for adventure wanabees?
I resist the Titanium mug at approx £16, but am sorely tempted buy a set of aluminium Zega panniers for a trifling 1,000+ Euros.

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

Eventually the rain eases and after what must’ve been a couple of hours drooling, we head back to base.

Klaus’s special biker evening is fortunately devoid of the “clothes deficient ladies” and is attended by the Dutch couple from our Pension and 4 other Dutch lads. The meal consists of carrot soup to start, which was way better than it sounds, followed by pork medallions in mushroom sauce, carrots, cauliflower-cheese and potato croquettes. All the while Klaus fussed round refilling beer and wine glasses.
After the meal Klaus sits with us and chats away. Most of it escapes me as it’s in German/Dutch, but the gist seems to be that Klaus has worked all over the place, including Birmingham and seems to have a web of contacts that can do things the tourist board can’t and other things cheaper than anyone else.
Good man. He slips us a patch and badge under the table. As a favour I’ve posted his details on the GSer forum “Accomodation” section.

Day 18 Tuesday

The Black Forest sucks in all available moisture and Tuesday dawns misty and spitting with rain. It is the same all the way north until we join the autobahn short of Karlsruhe.

We stick to the autobahn almost all the way to the Nurburgring.

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

Cars shriek and howl round the track, which is not open to the public until after six and then closes again at seven. We have a drink and buy some stickers. We watch the cars for a bit. They must be testing tyres or something as the cars are all different makes?
We head west into Belgium and stop in La Roche, stopping at a clean but fading hotel:

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

Naturally we are on the top floor. After a quick scrub we head out on the town, quaffing Grimbergen blonde and brun outside a riverside café in postcard-like surroundings.

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

It turns a tad cooler and we round the corner to a pizza place – at least it’s not McDonald’s?
We have a few more beers and a couple of pizzas.
Note: Brian “de-frothing” his Leffe Brun.

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

On the way back to the hotel we are drawn into a bar on the corner and meet “Dave Davis” Yes indeed, good golly! Who claims to be the brother of Ray Davis of Kinks fame. The fella looks about 200 and is wearing a Stetson and fringed waistcoat to match his jeans and cowboy boots. He is very proud of writing “Lola” which he gifted to Ray, who was here last week in his Rolls Royce. Dave has a Rolls Royce too, he said, so we didn’t feel too guilty when he got the beers in.
Strange chap: Had a bad back from riding horses all goddam day. I know the feeling pal, but we ride 100 horses……

Day 19 Wednesday

Left La Roche in mist, heading north-west for Bruges. There’s a couple of superb beer oases and “De Hobbit” and it’s all you can eat rib deal to tempt us. At the motorway services after we refuel Skinny shows a “headlamp fail” on the dash’. I’d noticed, whilst riding what I thought was a loose clip in the depths of the fairing and by prodding in this general location the headlamp came back on.
Once in Bruges we struggled to get to De Hobbit, as the narrow streets kept blocking the satellite signals to Brian’s GPS and we must’ve done 3 laps before we finally pulled up outside the door, only to find they were shut ‘til Monday.
Plan B: We would stay at the Palace in Poperinge, yet another den of all things beer.
We begin to head out of Bruges but are thwarted by a bridge:

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

We wait a good 15 minutes as half a dozen ships and barges pass by. When we go to set off Brian’s bike shows the “headlamp fail” warning. We stop, but the bulb has blown! How spooky is that?
The skies are grey and the rain spits as we approach Poperinge.
We book in at the Palace, but the bar and restaurant are shut, as it is their “closed day”. Luckily there are beer vendors a-plenty in the market square and we sit, watching the world and his/her bicycle go by, drinking Hommel beer, Jupiler and a “Duchess”.

We toddle to a large Chinese restaurant that we’ve been to before: The Crystal Palace. There are maybe 4 other customers apart from us all night. We have a superb banquet for 2 and a few more beers.
After that, to crown the night we decide to go to “Poussecafe” – Yep! The Pussy-café, for a night-cap. Yep! You guessed it: It is shut! Okay! Bed it is then.

221 miles.

In the night I hear the tell-tale whine of mosquitoes and on a loo visit give my self a cursory spray of repellent. Brian appears to be bathing in the stuff and the room reeks of Deet. (3 days later, at home almost a dozen bites manifest themselves and swell to an inch in diameter)

Day 20 Thursday

England sounds grim: We receive texts about fuel shortages and wonder what brought that on. We head for Calais pausing for Brian to throw out his spare sock and fill his top-case with wine:

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

As we leave Pidou it starts to rain. It rains to Calais and onto the ferry.

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

It is raining when we get off the ferry.
It is raining, just north of Peterborough when I stop to put my fleece on and refuel…
…and it is raining and +8.5C when I get home at six o’clock that evening.
Bandicat almost dragged me off the bike and wouldn’t let me out of his sight for 3 days.
Pile of bills on the coffee table.
Bummocks! It’s good to be back.

Start mileage: 8,171
Finish mileage: 13,553
Miles travelled: 5,382

It took some writing, not to mention doing, but if I can you can.

:beer:

Mr K · Oct 4, 2005

A "Bandicat" is a semi-feral cat which may adopt humans if it suits it.
A "Skinny 12" is my pet name for my R1200GS.

Bless you for your patience.

:beer:

MrIFan · Oct 4, 2005

Excelent write up Chris.
You'll soon get used to the roads in Romania, in fact next time you may even find some of the really bad ones

As to the real Dracula's Castle you where there! well at least below it, and you have posted a picture of the hills on which it stands.
Poienari Castle, the one time home of Vlad Tepes is in the hills above the Dam on Lake Vidraru on the southern side of the Trans Fag. You'll need to be fit to get there though, the only access is on foot up some 1400 steps

Hope you left some Murflater for me and Gavin.

See you there next year

Dahoum · Oct 4, 2005

Cracking write up and pics Chris, finished at 03.30

- thanks

dirtydog · Oct 4, 2005

What's all this then, GS12's off road? Must have been done in Photoshop

Dahoum · Oct 4, 2005

dirtydog said:
What's all this then, GS12's off road? Must have been done in Photoshop

Nah - done in bike gear :dabone

Deleted account W · Oct 4, 2005

Top write up

, were you the chaps who came to the Stags back in July?

gavinbell · Oct 4, 2005

yep....came down to train for the trip!!

Team Ballistic - Romania '05

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