Day 1
I left home on Thursday the 25th June at 01.30am
wondering if I might be delayed at the tunnel due to the ferry workers protests
in Calais the previous day. In the end there were no hold ups and I arrived in
France at about 05.50am local time.
My first days ride was a route across France &
Switzerland to northern Italy of 834 miles. The hotel I had booked was just
southeast of Bologna in a small village called Castel San Pietro Terme. I had
planned the route with all the required fuel stops but gave up on these as I
was getting much better mileage than expected. Not sure if this was due to the
constant speed of 130k (80mph) that I was riding on the auto routes or the
cruise control on the bike anyway I was happy.
This was the first
time that I had ridden in Switzerland and was impressed how scenic it was,
beautiful lakes and mountains. And tunnels lots & lots of tunnels (they did
tend to spoil the views). There was on tunnel that was about 16k long, I think
it was somewhere near the Swiss/ Italian border. Shortly after I rode in I
could feel the temperature rising, so I pressed the temp sensor button on the
bike to find the temp had risen 5 degrees to 25C. As I continued through I
could still feel the temperature rising, 27C. In the end about just over half
way through it reached a whopping 36c degrees. I thought if this carried on I
would be cooked by the time I reached the far end. There was not a lot of
traffic running through the tunnel, but I think the heat build-up must have
been caused by exhaust gasses especially from the big trucks. As you can really
feel it as you ride pass them. It was much warmer the Italian side of the
tunnel.
I eventually arrived at my first nights stop the Hotel La
Torretta, had a slight problem identifying the hotel as the sign looked like it
said Hotel La Corretta, then realized that it was just the way they had written
the T on the sign, I was pretty tired and hot. Parked up got my bag off the
bike and put the padlock and chain round the front wheel and went and signed
in.
I had just about finished checking in and was about to go to
my room when a lady came up to me and asked in broken English that the hotel
owner wondered if I would like to put my bike in his private garage for the
night? I graciously accepted and said I would be back down after I had a
shower. The young man on reception said that would be OK and would show me where
to go when ready, The shower was much needed and I had it almost cold, a theme
that was to carry on for most of the trip. When I was ready I went down stairs
to move the bike, the chap on reception told me where to go with hand
directions which was just to the back of the hotel. Again very little English
here, guess I was off the tourist route. As I rode down the ramp into the
basement garage he opened the doors and parked inside there was another
beautiful black Goldwing GL1800. It turned out the young receptionist's father
owned the hotel and was a Goldwing fan.
I then went onto the restaurant patio and ordered what I
thought was Chicken soup for starters, It wasn’t what I expected. Little packets
of pasta in a clear broth, very tasty through. Followed by a nice healthy
salad, then a fruit sundae with ice cream and whipped cream (isn’t that what
they call a balanced diet?) off to bed for an early start tomorrow.
Day 2
Left about 07.30am for the ride down to the Port of Bari. I
had been warned by two people how aggressive the Italian drivers can be. I
found them to be very predictable, If they wanted to overtake you even if you
are riding at the speed limit of 80mph they just sit at about 1.5 meters behind
you, until you move over. I did brake test one driver but it didn’t make any
difference. There was one incident when paying a toll where as you can imagine
on a bike it takes a little longer. Pull up at toll, take gloves off, find
ticket, insert ticket, and toot from impatient car driver behind. Get out note
to pay toll, pick up change from chute, put change in pocket, and start putting
on gloves. Another longer toot from car driver behind, show him I am putting on
my gloves. Another toot, now getting annoyed and thought about getting off the
bike and explaining that I will not be long. But then decided it would be a bit
pointless as he probably would not understand a word I was saying. I think he
would have understood though.
The rest of the ride that day was fairly uneventful, I was
thinking I would be nice to have a touring holiday to the south eastern area of
Italy, but to be honest I thought the roads were a bit boring. 2 to 3 miles of
dead straight flat road, a slight curve then, 2 to 3 miles of dead straight
flat road with a curve at the end, you get the picture. I blame the Romans.
There was one moment that broke the boredom. I came across a fire engine with a
Landrover firefighting vehicle trundling along probably at their top speed of
60mph. on a section of 2 to 3 miles of
dead straight flat road. My dilemma was should I over take them as I was doing
80mph, not a hesitation. A few more
sections of 2 to 3 miles of dead straight flat road with a slight curve at the
end. I spotted a plum of blue smoke, with a police car sitting at the side of
the road with his blue lights on. The vegetation on the center reservation was
well alight and sending a cloud of blue smoke across my side if the road. Again
should I pass him? As the car in front of me done just that without a hint of
slowing down. I did just the same, I thought this is just like to see it on
formula one when there is an accident. Highlight of the day over.
Arrived at Bari to catch the overnight ferry to Igoumenitsa
in Greece. Well Bari is not what you would expect an International ferry port
to look like, I will leave it at that. When I eventually made it to the correct
terminal building, I checked in and had about a 2 hour wait to board the ferry.
This is the sight that greeted me.
My ferry was in much better condition
They really pack the trucks on.
I had booked a reclining seat in sleeping lounge (much
cheaper than a cabin) hoping to get some sleep. This turned out to be a false
hope, mainly due to a large group of young Americans that also booked recliner
seats but had different ideas about what to do half the night. We arrived in
Igoumenitsa early morning.
Day 3
Left Igoumenitsa at approx. 05.30am for the short 200 mile
ride to Thessaloniki, the port is very similar to Bari, I will say no more. But
the road leaving is fantastic, the Greeks must have spent millions? A motorway
of two lanes in both directions that looked fairly new. As the countryside in
the first 2/3rds of the journey is very hilly. There are a lot of tunnels and
viaducts with great views. The weather here was not as hot as Italy. And it was
a little cloudy but I decided not to put any waterproofs on! A short while
later after exiting a tunnel, I noticed that the road was wet and there was a
little spray being thrown up by the traffic in front of me. That’s OK I can
ride through that with the screen & fairing protection the Goldwing offers
me. As I went into the next tunnel there were another couple on bikes stopped
at the side of the road putting on waterproofs. When I emerged from that tunnel
it was raining a little harder and a lot more spray was coming up. As I have to
remove my boots to get my waterproof over trousers on. I decided that I would
stop in one of the safety lay-by's that they have in the tunnels so I can keep my
feet dry. I had just completed putting on my waterproofs when a motorway patrol
van with all his yellow lights flashing pulled into the lay-by.
Now I am not sure if you are allowed to stop on their
motorways let alone in the tunnels, so I decided to act like an ignorant
tourist. The passenger casually strolled up to me as he rolled a fag, and asked
if I had broken down. I explained that I was just putting on my waterproofs.
Ahh because it is raining he asked? I nod in agreement. That’s OK he said and
casualty strolls back to his van lighting his cigarette. I get on my bike and
ride off before he can change his mind. Now this tunnel turned out to be quite
a long one. And when I eventually emerged out the end, it was into brilliant
hot sunshine and bone dry roads. I rode the rest of the way in waterproofs.
I arrived at the RTE Madirno Hotel at 10.50am and got
checked in, with no sign of Coxy or JB as I knew they were also riding down
through the Balkans. After getting the bike parked in a secure underground
garage only 100 meters from the hotel for the sum of 6 euros a day. I had
another cold shower, its hot riding in waterproofs when the sun is out!!! Then after having a very pleasant Greek salad
with coffee for lunch. I had found out what to ask for if you wanted a Latté
this time. The first time I asked in Italy I got a glass of hot milk, again it
wasn’t what I expected.
I went to reception and found out the wifi pass word and
settled down to see if I could track down where the other two were, on Coxy
spotwalla, as I knew they were riding together. It turned out they were at the Macedonian
border with Greece and shortly after texting them I got a reply from Coxy
saying they would meet me at the Zoo at the allotted time of 4pm.
I left the hotel at 3pm, giving myself plenty of time to
find my way through the city to the Zoo which wasn’t that far away on the
outskirts. I had a stroll around the area outside the Zoo which is situated on
a hill overlooking the city and bay.
The only thing that spoils the moment was the rubbish that was laying around.
Anyway after treating myself to several bottles of water
and an ice cream, (did I mention it was hot.) Coxy and JB arrived at 3.40pm
treated them to a cold bottle of water and after a short chat took the required
picture at 4pm outside the zoo entrance with the flag. At one point we needed a
volunteer to take the picture of all three of us. So Coxy decides to try and
stop a passing Greek motorist. Now bearing in mind that the guy was on a bend
in the road and had no idea what a mad Yorkshire man was saying or doing in the
road. I thought he was polite and done quite well to avoid him. In the end we
got the guy who had been flogging me water and ice cream for the last
hour.
Pictures of flag
Then all of a sudden Wilf appears out of JB’s pannier. So he hitched a ride home with me.
Official photos & patches given out, it was the short
ride back to the garage to get the bikes parked. Then stroll round to the hotel
to get them booked in and showered. There was a decent café next to the hotel
so we agreed to meet in twenty minutes for a bite to eat and a few beers. After
a good meal and 2 beers each we asked for the bill 23 euros each and that included
a good tip, very reasonable.
As the others were leaving at 7am they decided to have an
early night 8.30pm local time 6.30pm UK. There was nothing else to do so I
decided to join them (we all had our own room by the way, JB was even in a
different hotel just over the road so don’t get any ideas)
We were just about to go into the hotel when loads of police
turned up and set up a road block at the junction of the main road that our
hotels were on the corner of. It did not seem threating in any way and everyone
around seemed very calm, so it was off to my room on the 8th floor
overlooking the junction. A short while later a small group of protesters came
chanting down the road.
Time for bed.
Day 4
I did not have to be back to the ferry port of Igoumenitsa
until 11.30pm so this morning was first chance to have a bit of a late start.
After breakfast I went for a stroll along the main shopping road. It was still
very warm, after about ½ a mile I came to a construction site where they had
dug up about a 100 yard section of one side of the road. When I looked down the
hole which had a retractable cover and lights fitted. I was amazed to see about
25ft down the remains of the ancient Greek city that was built thousands of
years ago. I took some pictures but I am not sure if they will work as it was a little dark down the hole.
Pictures of remains.
I strolled on a little further and came to a small park with
benches under some trees giving some shade. There were some stray dogs laying
around and they were all very large, they were not bothering anyone. And people
just ignored them. Then suddenly a small car pulled up by the side of the park.
And two of the dogs leapt up and ran over barking furiously at the owner. He
tried to get out of his car but the dogs would not let him. Other members of
the public just carried on strolling by, who the dogs completely ignored. The
chap in the car even drove another 50 yards up the road, but the dogs just
followed him. He eventually drove off.
It was now time to head back to the hotel as the checkout
time for the hotel and car park was 12 noon.
As I had almost 12 hours to make my way back to the ferry
port. So I decided about ½ way back that I would get and check for non-toll
routes through the hills. I stopped to pay the toll for the section that I had
just ridden. When I felt some very heavy drops of rain hit me. I looked up and
there was a fairly small but very dark black cloud just to one side and above
me. After what had happened on the way to Thessaloniki, I decided not to bother
to put my water proofs on. I rode off and almost immediately the rain stopped
justifying my decision. About 10 minutes later as I rode through a tunnel as I
came up to the entrance it was just a sheet of white, I rode into a torrential
down pour of biblical proportions. Within seconds I could feel the water
trickling down my chest into my crutch area. I rode on. No longer than 2 or 3
minutes later I came out the rain in brilliant sunshine, I carried on for a
further 20 minutes drying rapidly in the heat & wind. When I spotted on the
satnav that the small village I was approaching had a couple of
restaurants. I decided this would be a
good time to have a bit of lunch and check out different routes. After having probably
the best and cheapest Greek salad so far with a monster slab of Feta cheese. As
I sat there enjoying the sunshine and a good meal I could hear the rumbling of
a thunderstorm in the distance with the odd flash of lightning, I wondered if I
had made a mistake in stopping and the rain was going to catch me up.
I set off in the dry
and turned off the motorway onto a small bendy road that looked to be heading
in the right direction. After about 10 minutes riding I came round a bend and
there in front of me about a mile away, was a huge black cloud and sheets of
rain. I checked the direction the road I was on and it was heading straight for
it, so it was turn round and back to the motorway.
I arrived at Igoumenitsa with a 7 ½ hour wait. Had a bit of
trouble finding my way to the correct ferry terminal as they have built a new
one, and the road that the satnav kept trying to direct me down was closed due
to being all dug up for resurfacing and new pavements.(it needed it!!!)
It was still very hot outside and the terminal building was
air conditioned, so it was time to settle down in a bar/café for the long wait.
I was not the only one making use of the air-conditioning.
Again there were a few stray dogs about all large. Must be survival of the
largest?
Later in the
evening when it had cooled down a little, I decided to go for a short walk
about around the local area. There wasn’t much to see and it was still hot, so
I stopped in a bar that was empty apart from the barman/owner, to buy a 1lt
bottle of cold water. When I came to pay the 1 euro price, I found I had no
change and only a 10 euro note. The owner said he had no change so just gave me
the water. I said I would probably by something else later and pay him then. As
I was sitting there I realised that I was on the road that was closed, but
there were quite a few cars and bikes driving down it in both directions. It
seems that I was the only one who took and notice of the barrier and no entry
road closed signs. I went to pay the owner for the water. He still had no
change so said not to worry. I saw he had a 5 euro note, I gave him my 10 euro
and told him to give me just that. He was a little reticent about taking 5
euros but I explained I wanted him to have it for trusting me and for being so
generous.
Eventually the time came to make my way to the gate for boarding the ferry. When I got to the ramp there was a young Italian couple, who had spent the last 10 days touring round Greece on a 600cc Ducati.The chap only spoke a little English but his girlfriend was very fluent and translated. It took me a while to get him to understand that I had ridden from England to only spend one night in Greece and then ride home. But when he did he showed his respect. (Not bad for an old geezer).
We chatted on the ship
which arrived 1 hour late, and agreed to meet in the morning as it was now time
to try and get some sleep. As per the trip coming over it was far too noisy in
the lounge, so I gave up to find a spot where I could get to sleep. I found the
Iron butt hotel on one of the landings on the stairs up to the sundeck. On the
landing just above me there was another couple of bodies fast asleep. As this
was an overnight trip I guessed that not many people would be visiting the
sundeck. I did manage to get a couple of uncomfortable hours sleep.
Day 5
When I woke up it was daylight. I crept up
stairs past the other couple, to have a look outside. Only to find that the
other bodies on the landing, was the young Italians. It was still very early in
the morning with no land in sight. So I went back to the lounge to my seat
where I could at least be comfortable. Later I meet up with the Italian couple
and they asked why I was not going to ride the Amalfi coast as I was so close.
I had already looked into doing this and it would have just taken me too late
to get to my hotel in Brescia northern Italy that night as the ferry only
arrived in Bari at 10.30am already an hour late. They did convince me to ride
across Italy to Naples as the roads were much more scenic. I road with them
knowing that when we got close to Naples I should see Mt Vesuvius, after one or
two false alarms I spotted it, another one to cross off the bucket list. Just
north of Naples we stopped for coffee and it was time to say our good byes.
They took my picture standing by my bike, and I took theirs. I did suggest that
they stood by my bike as it would make a better picture, being Italian and a
Ducati rider he disagreed and preferred his Ducati.
We swapped phone numbers and agreed to meet up if
either of us were in Italy or England. They were a lovely couple and very
friendly I do hope we meet again.
It was time
to press on up the A1 motorway that was a very fast road 130k. But not fast
enough for some drivers who continued to tail gate even if you were at the limit
and overtaking slower traffic. Eventually made it to the hotel at I think it
was 10pm. I was too late for the hotel restaurant to get anything to eat and
did not want to get back on the bike to go and look for anything. The
receptionist took pity on me and found me a couple of what I can only described
as Croissants with a custard flavoured
filling, two bananas, and a couple of packs of what looked like dry toast, it
was delicious. I slept well that night.
Day 6
The ride
today was from Brescia to Verdun in France, I had not paid for the road tax
through Switzerland on the way to Greece. So I thought about diverting through
Austria. But after checking it out on the satnav, again I would just get to my
hotel to late as it was a Ibis Budget and check in closed at a certain time
after which you needed a pass number to gain entry which at this point I did
not have. So I decided to chance the most direct route through Switzerland. I
got to the boarder at Chiasso just north of Como, only to be stopped and made to
pay the 45 euro road tax that motorcycle pay for the year. Apparently their
road tax runs from January to January so I still have six months of valid tax
if I want to go back. At first I thought this was a bit steep. But when I
thought about it, I must have paid about 70 to 80 euros in road tolls just
riding up and down Italy. And would have to pay the same again if I went back
and used the toll roads. Switzerland worked out at 22.5 euros each way, and I
can still go back for free. It was also the most stunningly beautiful part of
the ride. There was a massive space in my spot tracker at this point as the
batteries had run out as soon as I left
Brescia and I did not notice that it had stopped until I was in one of
the darker tunnels near Lucerne.
Here are some pictures of
Switzerland.
I
wanted to get a picture of an Alpine stream and when i got to a rest
area that had one running along side it this was the best that I could
do as it was fenced off. (and this was on maximum zoom)
Once I was in
France the Satnav detoured me off the auto routes at Selestat towards Nancy on
non-toll roads. This made a pleasant change and a chance to see the real
countryside. I arrived at the hotel which looked very new and on a site just
outside Verdun that was still under development and got booked in. Went to my
room had another cold shower. After a bit of a rest it was time to go and find
something to eat. There was a pub with a veranda just 100yards up the hill that
looked fairly busy so off I went. My first priority was a drink so I asked if
they had any local beers apparently 1664 is local there and they had another. I
asked if they had any dark beers. The waitress said they could add a flavoured
orange drink to the beer to make it dark. I had a little taste and it was OK.
I was shown to a table on the veranda
overlooking Verdun. Where I had a very pleasant meal.
This was probably a
family orientated pub as there was a group of small children playing with free
balloons they had been given when they arrived. One balloon came my way so I
knocked it back to the child. Unfortunately it went over the veranda fence and
as the dad tried to retrieve it. It popped on a thistle. I apologized
and became the immediate centre of attraction for the children as I spoke
English.
Well after my
second pint of orange flavoured beer I felt very light headed and just a little
wobbly as I stood up to pay the bill and wander back down to the hotel. It was
then that I checked the flavoured and found it was 18% proof.
I slept well that night !!!
Day 7
Woke up and
found a message from Eurotunnel advising me that the police were keeping a
dedicated route open for Eurotunnel customers, and not to queue up with the
freight traffic. As the French ferry workers were still causing problems. I had
plenty of time to get to Calais so I decided to have a little look at the
centre of Verdun.
I arrived in
Calais with about 2 hours to spare just in case there were problems, and
immediately came across a long line of Lorries waiting to get on the freight
trains. I was waved on by the police to continue. This is how it continued for
about 8 or 9 miles straight into the check-in area with very little traffic. I
was booked on the 4.40pm train but was offered an earlier train at 2.40pm which
I accepted (train H). I rode on to the point where you split to the train or
the waiting area. The train that was currently being call was train J. The lady
asked me what train I was booked onto. I told her train H, she said you may as
well go on this one and waived me through.
It was very very hot waiting on the platform
for all the cars to load but I was very grateful to be able to get on an
earlier train. In fact it was one of the quickest times I have ever managed to
board a train on Eurotunnel.
Popped in to
see a relative in St Marys Bay and a couple of cold drinks gratefully received,
then the short ride home.
Checked my
front brake pads yesterday and found they were worn down almost to the metal, I
guess that riding approximately 8000 miles in just over a month will do that.
Thanks for reading this.
Steve (wingliider)
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