2 minutes too late 
I missed a Haynes 1150 manual
by 2 minutes on Tuesday
I missed a Haynes 1150 manual
by 2 minutes on Tuesday
Late September Wander 2014 Malta, Austria and the Adriatic coast PROVISIONAL ONLY
- Thread starter Wapping
- Start date
Aw feck it....
Runners and riders, updated:
Wapping
dxtans and Mrs dxtans
paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman, who can tell?)
Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
Kev B
iand46
Pablo1
Slimpickings
That's it. List closed. Finito. No more. Go away. La la la la, can't hear you.
Runners and riders, updated:
Wapping
dxtans and Mrs dxtans
paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman, who can tell?)
Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
Kev B
iand46
Pablo1
Slimpickings
That's it. List closed. Finito. No more. Go away. La la la la, can't hear you.
yea 
Thank you very much
I may have a 1200 GSA by then
Thank you very much
I may have a 1200 GSA by then
I can always change my mind
I don't care what bikes bods ride. I don't have a GS and am unlikely to in 2014 or anytime much thereafter.
Anyway, happy that you are happy
Locked.
Only because it's a long way away.
Only because it's a long way away.
I am meeting up with John from the Gasthof Hochalmspitze, this Sunday, to see if we can work out some basic plans.
More news as and when.
More news as and when.
Updated runners and riders....
Runners and riders, updated:
Wapping
paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman)
Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
Kev B
iand46
Pablo1
Slimpickings
Runners and riders, updated:
Wapping
paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman)
Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
Kev B
iand46
Pablo1
Slimpickings
Update, bods in bod out...
Updated list.
Iand46, has asked to step down from the list, which I have agreed to. As he's a good bloke and makes me laugh, I will add him to a preferred slot on the reserve list. If, as I hope they will, things change for him, he'll have first refusal of a place.
Going in strict rotation of people who have contacted me:
Iand46's place is taken by Johnnie Boxer
I will add in timeandtide
Updated list. Nobody is committing anything at the moment, it's just to get some sort of order whilst we work out the various bits and bobs.
1. Wapping
2. paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman)
3. Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
4. Kev B
5. Pablo1
6. Slimpickings
7. Johnny Boxer
8. Timeandtide
I think eight bikes is enough to be getting on with whilst I ponder routes, rooms, dates etc. etc.
Reserve: iand46
Updated list.
Iand46, has asked to step down from the list, which I have agreed to. As he's a good bloke and makes me laugh, I will add him to a preferred slot on the reserve list. If, as I hope they will, things change for him, he'll have first refusal of a place.
Going in strict rotation of people who have contacted me:
Iand46's place is taken by Johnnie Boxer
I will add in timeandtide
Updated list. Nobody is committing anything at the moment, it's just to get some sort of order whilst we work out the various bits and bobs.
1. Wapping
2. paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman)
3. Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
4. Kev B
5. Pablo1
6. Slimpickings
7. Johnny Boxer
8. Timeandtide
I think eight bikes is enough to be getting on with whilst I ponder routes, rooms, dates etc. etc.
Reserve: iand46
I met up with John (The Grey One) and Ros, today at at the Adventure Bike Shop in Sudbury and now have the makings of a definite plan.
More very shortly....
Richard
More very shortly....
Richard
If you need a route down / back reccy let me know .. Going to Holchalmspitze via Garmisch in July 
Hi Richard,
Good to meet earlier. If there is any room for me and Mrs Monty we are very interested in coming along.
Cheers,
Matt
Good to meet earlier. If there is any room for me and Mrs Monty we are very interested in coming along.
Cheers,
Matt
OUTLINE PLAN
Thursday 18 September - Train over to France in the late afternoon, staying overnight in St Omer
Friday 19, Saturday 20 to mid / late afternoon Sunday 21 - Ride from Calais to John's hotel in Malta, Austria (Two overnight stops, three days' riding)
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=ma...+an+der+Drau,+Kärnten,+Austria&gl=uk&t=m&z=10
Monday 22, Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24 - Stay at John's hotel, riding the roads (see below) etc. etc. (Four nights stay)
Thursday 25 - Ride to into Slovenia with John and Ros, arriving in Rovinj, for a three night stay
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Ro...inj,+Istria+County+županija,+Croatia&t=m&z=12
Friday 26, Saturday 27 ride around in Slovenia
Sunday 28, depart Rovinj
Here there is a possible choice of two options:
(1) Ride back to Malta and stay overnight, Sunday.
Then return to Calais over three / four or five days, arriving Calais sometime between the early evening of Wednesday 01 October and late evening Friday 03 October. The reason to maybe take longer is to maybe take in a bit of the Dolomites / Black Forest / Vosges / Morvan on the return run. Alternatively, we could look at something different.
(2) John has an idea of maybe leaving Rovinj on the Sunday / Monday, then riding down the coast of Croatia to catch a ferry (I guess from Zadar or Split) to Ancona, Italy.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=an...486&gl=uk&hnear=Ancona,+Marche,+Italy&t=m&z=7
Then ride back up to Malta.
Let's say that might take a week, arriving somewhere in southern Austria / northern Italy perhaps Saturday 04 October
Then it's three days home, or two if we get our skates on, lob in some motorway or whatever. Let's guess on being at Calais, Tuesday 07 October, for an early evening train home. That's not far short of three weeks!
===
Thoughts…
The dates down to Malta, through to departing from Rovinj are near enough known. I can't do too much about the return dates, as I need John's help with timings etc.
Either way, each plan (or some variant thereof) has its merits.
John is thinking about doing a trial run of the Croatian coast / Ancona ferry jaunt in April, which may throw up some ideas, too.
It's a decent schlep down to Slovenia; so to maximise the effort of getting there, I would certainly favour adding in the extra loop south etc. but it probably adds to the time away.
I appreciate that time away from home / cost is always a consideration. Similarly, the thought of maybe some long miles, particularly if we bash down to Malta and back again in anything under two days… It's a bit under 800 miles Calais to the Malta hotel, going reasonably direct.
I am reasonably happy to work out some alternatives if bods just wanted to come down to Malta, then go home. Or, alternatively, go on to Rovinj and then return. There is always the possibility of the Moto-train down, too. The only thing I would ask is that people who are not travelling with me make their own hotel bookings etc. That makes it so much easier to change if anyone has a problem.
John and Ros will be looking after the Malta, Rovinj, Malta (Croatia / Italy) legs. In essence, we would be joining them on what is their holiday; so it will be on a costs incurred basis, just like going with your mates.
As we are sort of gatecrashing John's holiday, it's only reasonable that we stay at his hotel in Malta, definitely on the way down. The way back might depend on which version we go on.
There is certainly some good riding to be had in John's neck of the wood, so our stay with him will be a double or treble win. We get somewhere to stay, he gets some bookings, we all get to Slovenia and maybe beyond.
It really could be quite good.
====
Can those who have expressed an interest please let me know (via this thread) which option they prefer. I can then let John know the room bookings and / or how many would be interested in (a) The slovenia bit and (b) The Slovenia AND Italy bit. That way he can get some idea of what he is letting himself in for.
If you could all have a think about it over the next week, that would be great. John can then get the rooms blocked out and I can set about working out some outward and return stops. Knowing the numbers of bods and bikes would be very helpful. I know it's long way off, but finding hotels is sometimes a bit of a bind. Pencilling in a town, only to find that the hotel is fully booked up, often requires loads of re-thinking. The longer I have to muck about, the better.
Overnight hotels? Will be dictated more by where we stay / the number of rooms I need to find than anything else. Probably larger 'middle of the road' Ibis or Logis type establishments. I will try to find them in towns, somewhere within spitting distance of civilisation. Having a fix on the numbers of bods involved will help a lot.
I am happy to take up to TEN bikes (9 plus me) - Pillions are great, too. We do not have to all ride the same routes all day everyday, if nobody wants to.
Richard
Thursday 18 September - Train over to France in the late afternoon, staying overnight in St Omer
Friday 19, Saturday 20 to mid / late afternoon Sunday 21 - Ride from Calais to John's hotel in Malta, Austria (Two overnight stops, three days' riding)
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=ma...+an+der+Drau,+Kärnten,+Austria&gl=uk&t=m&z=10
Monday 22, Tuesday 23, Wednesday 24 - Stay at John's hotel, riding the roads (see below) etc. etc. (Four nights stay)
Thursday 25 - Ride to into Slovenia with John and Ros, arriving in Rovinj, for a three night stay
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Ro...inj,+Istria+County+županija,+Croatia&t=m&z=12
Friday 26, Saturday 27 ride around in Slovenia
Sunday 28, depart Rovinj
Here there is a possible choice of two options:
(1) Ride back to Malta and stay overnight, Sunday.
Then return to Calais over three / four or five days, arriving Calais sometime between the early evening of Wednesday 01 October and late evening Friday 03 October. The reason to maybe take longer is to maybe take in a bit of the Dolomites / Black Forest / Vosges / Morvan on the return run. Alternatively, we could look at something different.
(2) John has an idea of maybe leaving Rovinj on the Sunday / Monday, then riding down the coast of Croatia to catch a ferry (I guess from Zadar or Split) to Ancona, Italy.
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=an...486&gl=uk&hnear=Ancona,+Marche,+Italy&t=m&z=7
Then ride back up to Malta.
Let's say that might take a week, arriving somewhere in southern Austria / northern Italy perhaps Saturday 04 October
Then it's three days home, or two if we get our skates on, lob in some motorway or whatever. Let's guess on being at Calais, Tuesday 07 October, for an early evening train home. That's not far short of three weeks!
===
Thoughts…
The dates down to Malta, through to departing from Rovinj are near enough known. I can't do too much about the return dates, as I need John's help with timings etc.
Either way, each plan (or some variant thereof) has its merits.
John is thinking about doing a trial run of the Croatian coast / Ancona ferry jaunt in April, which may throw up some ideas, too.
It's a decent schlep down to Slovenia; so to maximise the effort of getting there, I would certainly favour adding in the extra loop south etc. but it probably adds to the time away.
I appreciate that time away from home / cost is always a consideration. Similarly, the thought of maybe some long miles, particularly if we bash down to Malta and back again in anything under two days… It's a bit under 800 miles Calais to the Malta hotel, going reasonably direct.
I am reasonably happy to work out some alternatives if bods just wanted to come down to Malta, then go home. Or, alternatively, go on to Rovinj and then return. There is always the possibility of the Moto-train down, too. The only thing I would ask is that people who are not travelling with me make their own hotel bookings etc. That makes it so much easier to change if anyone has a problem.
John and Ros will be looking after the Malta, Rovinj, Malta (Croatia / Italy) legs. In essence, we would be joining them on what is their holiday; so it will be on a costs incurred basis, just like going with your mates.
As we are sort of gatecrashing John's holiday, it's only reasonable that we stay at his hotel in Malta, definitely on the way down. The way back might depend on which version we go on.
There is certainly some good riding to be had in John's neck of the wood, so our stay with him will be a double or treble win. We get somewhere to stay, he gets some bookings, we all get to Slovenia and maybe beyond.
It really could be quite good.
====
Can those who have expressed an interest please let me know (via this thread) which option they prefer. I can then let John know the room bookings and / or how many would be interested in (a) The slovenia bit and (b) The Slovenia AND Italy bit. That way he can get some idea of what he is letting himself in for.
If you could all have a think about it over the next week, that would be great. John can then get the rooms blocked out and I can set about working out some outward and return stops. Knowing the numbers of bods and bikes would be very helpful. I know it's long way off, but finding hotels is sometimes a bit of a bind. Pencilling in a town, only to find that the hotel is fully booked up, often requires loads of re-thinking. The longer I have to muck about, the better.
Overnight hotels? Will be dictated more by where we stay / the number of rooms I need to find than anything else. Probably larger 'middle of the road' Ibis or Logis type establishments. I will try to find them in towns, somewhere within spitting distance of civilisation. Having a fix on the numbers of bods involved will help a lot.
I am happy to take up to TEN bikes (9 plus me) - Pillions are great, too. We do not have to all ride the same routes all day everyday, if nobody wants to.
Richard
Hi Matt (and Mrs Matt) consider yourself in.
If you need a route down / back reccy let me know .. Going to Holchalmspitze via Garmisch in July
Hi Bryn, that would be very kind of you.
I would like to see them, please. It's always interesting to see what people do, particularly if the hit on something by luck (or through planning) that works well.
It's broadly speaking a diagonal line from Calais to Malta:
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?sadd...lais&gl=uk&dirflg=ht&doflg=ptm&mra=ls&t=m&z=6
But variations are definately possible. For instance, I fancy coming back via the Black Forest…. or down via Luxembourg…. Northern Italy for a bit of the Dolomites is good, too. It's a question of time and cost, as ever.
Look forward to seeing what you have in mind and hearing about how it all went.
Richard
Updated list. Nobody is committing anything at the moment, it's just to get some sort of order whilst we work out the various bits and bobs.
1. Wapping
2. paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman)
3. Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
4. Kev B
5. Pablo1
6. Slimpickings
7. Johnny Boxer
8. Timeandtide
9. Monty (and Mrs Monty)
10…… Going begging
1. Wapping
2. paintman (and maybe Mrs paintman)
3. Coolcarbon & Mrs Coolcarbon
4. Kev B
5. Pablo1
6. Slimpickings
7. Johnny Boxer
8. Timeandtide
9. Monty (and Mrs Monty)
10…… Going begging
I'd like to reserve number 10 if its still available.
Dave
Dave
Looking at an overnight south of Stuttgart..which makes for a long first day if we do it in one hit from leicester, so an early start to get over the channel is in order
Once down to Garmisch its either the fernpass or across towards Berctesgaden. Yet to work it all out ( although. Berctesgaden may be a place for you to consider only 95 miles from Malta...
Looking at an overnight south of Stuttgart..which makes for a long first day if we do it in one hit from leicester, so an early start to get over the channel is in order
Once down to Garmisch its either the fernpass or across towards Berctesgaden. Yet to work it all out ( although. Berctesgaden may be a place for you to consider only 95 miles from Malta...
When I headed down that way a few months back with Mrs Monty, stayed in Mittenwald not too far from Garmisch. Lovely little town with loads of eateries etc, and it wasn't Garmisch.
A pleasant day ride from that area over the Grossglockner to Malta.
Matt
Happy with all/any of the options Richard....
We've picked Garmisch for two nights when Motorrad Days is on..... something to keep us occupied . We stayed in Oberammergau last time..... if you were in to religious icons that's the place ...
Hotel was excellent though
Hotel was excellent though
