That's my boy!
Hatcho's Solo deTour of Europe
- Thread starter Hatcho
- Start date
About to indulge in my fourth beer of the evening. It's quite likely that trip updates will be thin on the ground 
. Good news is that I've booked in for a second night so I'll get typing tomorrow and bring you up to date. Suffice to say today was beyond awesome: Got chatting bikes with a total stranger for about an hour, ate my best meal to date, rode countless twisties, admired stunning visas and think I discovered the cause of the gear shifting problem. Life is good, very good. 
. Good news is that I've booked in for a second night so I'll get typing tomorrow and bring you up to date. Suffice to say today was beyond awesome: Got chatting bikes with a total stranger for about an hour, ate my best meal to date, rode countless twisties, admired stunning visas and think I discovered the cause of the gear shifting problem. Life is good, very good.
Here's a taster...
What's a "stunning visa"........a goldcard?? 
Xiaomi M14U
Xiaomi M14U
What's a "stunning visa"........a goldcard??
I think it is called an Irish Passport in some places
Something I can only dream of ...
Kinda like a cunning stunt...but even better looking! Well spotted young Paduwan!What's a "stunning visa"........a goldcard??
Xiaomi M14U
Day 2 Eyrs to Splugen
Stelvio day! Woo hoo! I kmow lots of people prefer other passes but Stelvio is kinda special IMO. Maybe I like tons of traffic and tacky shops. Anyways after a lovely breakfast at the most excellent Roadhotel Vinschgau I set off up the hill. We'd been here in 2018 but that didn't dull the excitement of returning.
I was lucky enough to fall in behind two lads from Slovenia who were a similar skill level to myself. They kindly did all the hard work assessing the hairpins and I just bimbled along behind them at a decent pace. I thanked them when we parked up as it would be rude not to. Plenty of folks were eyeballing the Irish flags and plates on the bike - obviously more rare than the many Italian/Swiss and Baltic plates in evidence. Purchased the obligatory sticker and fridge magnet, then up to the lookout spot to enjoy the camper van chaos.
Grinning buffoon photos:
Stelvio day! Woo hoo! I kmow lots of people prefer other passes but Stelvio is kinda special IMO. Maybe I like tons of traffic and tacky shops
. Anyways after a lovely breakfast at the most excellent Roadhotel Vinschgau I set off up the hill. We'd been here in 2018 but that didn't dull the excitement of returning. I was lucky enough to fall in behind two lads from Slovenia who were a similar skill level to myself. They kindly did all the hard work assessing the hairpins and I just bimbled along behind them at a decent pace. I thanked them when we parked up as it would be rude not to. Plenty of folks were eyeballing the Irish flags and plates on the bike - obviously more rare than the many Italian/Swiss and Baltic plates in evidence. Purchased the obligatory sticker and fridge magnet, then up to the lookout spot to enjoy the camper van chaos.
Grinning buffoon photos:
I next headed down Stelvio towards Bormio but turned onto the SS301 towards Livigno. It started to rain a bit and like a typical biker I continued on despite having a waterproof jacket in the top box. Twas chilly too, only about 12°C. Eventually I gave in and pulled over at a shop and café spot. Once I donned the jacket the rain stopped and the clouds moved on. Always the way! Decided to grab a coffee and play around with camera mounts a bit.
Flowers for my dahling!
Great spot for a coffee
The road to Livigno is savage and Livigno itself is very pretty. I continued south on the Via Forcola, then the Forcola di Livigno and crossed into Switzerland. My heckles were up with all the stories about speeding fines and toll charges etc.. Now I was heading for the Bernina Pass and it was a truly stunning spot. Got chatting to two Germans and they confirmed toll stickers were required for motorways only. So one of my concerns was abated.
Continuing on I rode through St. Moritz along the Silvaplanersee, the Silsersee, over the Passo del Maloja and onto Chiavenna. Next it was north on the SS36. The day was getting very hot by now with the bike showing 34°C. Added to that were long sections of 60kph zones. The weariness was starting to set in...
Decided to grab a coffee and play around with camera mounts a bit. Flowers for my dahling!
Great spot for a coffee
The road to Livigno is savage and Livigno itself is very pretty. I continued south on the Via Forcola, then the Forcola di Livigno and crossed into Switzerland. My heckles were up with all the stories about speeding fines and toll charges etc.. Now I was heading for the Bernina Pass and it was a truly stunning spot. Got chatting to two Germans and they confirmed toll stickers were required for motorways only. So one of my concerns was abated.
Continuing on I rode through St. Moritz along the Silvaplanersee, the Silsersee, over the Passo del Maloja and onto Chiavenna. Next it was north on the SS36. The day was getting very hot by now with the bike showing 34°C. Added to that were long sections of 60kph zones. The weariness was starting to set in...
So, time to pull over for a break. This isn't an endurance test, this is my holiday. With the lid and jacket off things felt better. I spotted a place in the shade where I could chill out.
Some time in the shade answer wee bite to eat and drink had me in better form. The heat can really impact your form, especially when having to really concentrate on the road. After the choco au pain stolen at brekkie (old habits die hard) and some fruit juice I was back in form
. I also booked my room for the night which was only 40 mins away.
Happy days....
But when I arrived at said hotel, they were booked out and nothing available even if though I had a confirmation email. Computer system glitch apparently. They gave me a free coffee while I rebooked up the road so off I went to my hotel by the lake. And it didn't disappoint...
Some time in the shade answer wee bite to eat and drink had me in better form. The heat can really impact your form, especially when having to really concentrate on the road. After the choco au pain stolen at brekkie (old habits die hard) and some fruit juice I was back in form
. I also booked my room for the night which was only 40 mins away. Happy days....
But when I arrived at said hotel, they were booked out and nothing available even if though I had a confirmation email. Computer system glitch apparently. They gave me a free coffee while I rebooked up the road so off I went to my hotel by the lake. And it didn't disappoint...
Attachments
My spot for the night was Hotel Seeblick in Sufers, which roughly translates to Seaview I think. We were far from the sea, but in their defence there was a pretty decent lake, the Sufnersee right out front. Check in was simple despite having booked only 10 minutes before, and I was soon in my room clambering out of my gear. It had been a long day - on the road around 8am or so and it was now about 7pm. Not all of that had been moving time, but the heat of the day had taken its toll. I reminded myself not to moan, I was merely suffering the consequences of touring Europe on a motorbike, something many folks would love to do. So STFU and cherish every moment, even the tougher bits. A quick shower, change into civvies and I was ready for a beer and some nom noms. Cue obligatory food pic . I was too tired to experiment with food and broaden my palette so burger and chips seemed the right choice.
My room was huge and I'm pretty sure the decor inspired the Mad Men film sets, but it was clean, cool, and comfy. Happy days.
The view out the window was to the rear of the hotel, so no 'sea view' for me but still, it didn't disappoint...
With the window open I could hear the church bell ring on the hour. I'm not religious in any way, but I've developed the habit of taking pause when I encounter such moments. Nine times out of ten it's memories of my mum that roll on in. She was (and still is) my guiding light and is responsible for many of the good things I've achieved in life. I often ask myself what would she do when a decision is to be made or a response is to be given.
Jaysus, getting a bit deep here - you came for a trip report, not a walk down Hatcho's memory lane! So, more pics please!
Always a good sign (literally):
Pic of the hotel, and see the wider garage door on the left?
That's where Betsy was tucked up for the night... Champion!
. I was too tired to experiment with food and broaden my palette so burger and chips seemed the right choice. My room was huge and I'm pretty sure the decor inspired the Mad Men film sets, but it was clean, cool, and comfy. Happy days.
The view out the window was to the rear of the hotel, so no 'sea view' for me but still, it didn't disappoint...
With the window open I could hear the church bell ring on the hour. I'm not religious in any way, but I've developed the habit of taking pause when I encounter such moments. Nine times out of ten it's memories of my mum that roll on in. She was (and still is) my guiding light and is responsible for many of the good things I've achieved in life. I often ask myself what would she do when a decision is to be made or a response is to be given.
Jaysus, getting a bit deep here - you came for a trip report, not a walk down Hatcho's memory lane!
So, more pics please! Always a good sign (literally):
Pic of the hotel, and see the wider garage door on the left?
That's where Betsy was tucked up for the night... Champion!
Attachments
Great stuff. All of it
Probably the first or 2nd thread I click on each day
Probably the first or 2nd thread I click on each day
Great detailed report, good pics....keep em coming Hatcho. Are you happy you've sorted the gear change niggle.....ride safeGreat stuff. All of it
Probably the first or 2nd thread I click on each day
Today (Tuesday) I finally did something about it. Before leaving the Seeblick hotel I noticed the bolt which connects the gear lever to the actuator bar was partially unthreaded. So I nipped it up by hand as best I could. Was still having some occasional issues but hopefully that's the cause of the dodgy shifting. I stopped into a garage today and a mechanic kindly loaned me a few spanners so I could nip things up and also adjust the lever position. Tomorrow's spin will show if things have improved, at least a little.
Ah cheers! Hopefully it'll be of some use to a future traveller. And I get great enjoyment rereading these reports well after the trip is over.Great stuff. All of it
Probably the first or 2nd thread I click on each day
Day 3 Sufers to Goms
After a decent sleep in my spacious 50's room I felt a lot better and up for some great biking. And boy, did the day deliver!. After a nice brekkie - I'm more a bowl of cereal guy rather than a croissant with ham and cheese chap - I packed up my stuff and headed down to the bike. One little upgrade I've made to my packing regime is that the last bag to go onto the bike is the civvies bag. This means I can pop everything else (aka all the shite I bring) onto the bike before having to gear up. Where it's hot and there might be stairs involved (i.e. everywhere) , this makes for a much more pleasant bike loading experience. No doubt I'm the last one to figure this out and you've all been doing it this way for years! 
With the bike parked in the hotel garage it was a good opportunity to investigate the flaky gearshifting. The threaded bar connecting the gear pedal to the actuator was partially unthreaded from the pedal. I didn't have a suitably small spanner to hand so I hand tightened it best I could. At least the pedal wouldn't be dangling just by the pivot later in the day.
Today's route took me back through Splügen and out the other side towards the San Bernadino Pass. I passed through some very pretty villages and had to grab some photos:
Cool looking barn and statue!
In my day I brought them home in a car after a night out, and there was only ever one! #jealous
So they do have a sense of humour!
Both the WiFi and phone signal is a bit pants where I am now, so will post more later on today.
After a decent sleep in my spacious 50's room I felt a lot better and up for some great biking. And boy, did the day deliver!
. After a nice brekkie - I'm more a bowl of cereal guy rather than a croissant with ham and cheese chap - I packed up my stuff and headed down to the bike. One little upgrade I've made to my packing regime is that the last bag to go onto the bike is the civvies bag. This means I can pop everything else (aka all the shite I bring) onto the bike before having to gear up. Where it's hot and there might be stairs involved (i.e. everywhere) , this makes for a much more pleasant bike loading experience. No doubt I'm the last one to figure this out and you've all been doing it this way for years! With the bike parked in the hotel garage it was a good opportunity to investigate the flaky gearshifting. The threaded bar connecting the gear pedal to the actuator was partially unthreaded from the pedal. I didn't have a suitably small spanner to hand so I hand tightened it best I could. At least the pedal wouldn't be dangling just by the pivot later in the day.
Today's route took me back through Splügen and out the other side towards the San Bernadino Pass. I passed through some very pretty villages and had to grab some photos:
Cool looking barn and statue!
In my day I brought them home in a car after a night out, and there was only ever one! #jealous
So they do have a sense of humour!
Both the WiFi and phone signal is a bit pants where I am now, so will post more later on today.
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You mean you don’t even have a 10mm spanner in your mandatory GSER toolkit?! lolToday (Tuesday) I finally did something about it. Before leaving the Seeblick hotel I noticed the bolt which connects the gear lever to the actuator bar was partially unthreaded. So I nipped it up by hand as best I could. Was still having some occasional issues but hopefully that's the cause of the dodgy shifting. I stopped into a garage today and a mechanic kindly loaned me a few spanners so I could nip things up and also adjust the lever position. Tomorrow's spin will show if things have improved, at least a little.
Best not mention if you you didn’t even bring a toolkit with.
It should be next to your puncture kit.
In my defense I have a puncture repair kit, battery pump, jump starter pack, and a selection of torx bits with me.You mean you don’t even have a 10mm spanner in your mandatory GSER toolkit?! lol
Best not mention if you you didn’t even bring a toolkit with.
It should be next to your puncture kit.
I also brought two spanners to retighten wobbly mirrors, but they were too big for my needs. Oh, and now I own a genuine Swiss pliers too.
Motohansa Motorrad toolkit is the daddy of them all. Maybe ask Mrs Hatcho for Christmas.In my defense I have a puncture repair kit, battery pump, jump starter pack, and a selection of torx bits with me.
PS. Have you had steak fondue yet?
Maybe a 2 seater
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