Primo giro d'Italia

[Beamerboy]

Great write up and Photos, done some of those passes myself, the Dolomites are amazing. I was in awe when I first saw them.
Off to the Spain this year
Rob

[Boxermed69]

Good effort Josef. Must've taken ages. Most enjoyable, thanks.

Mike

[Mitch1100]

Fabulous, thanks for sharing!

[Topcat]

Glad you resisted the 'chassic' leaning tower photo, although others were hard at it

Thank you for your time to put all that together, very much enjoyed it.

Dave

[popsky]

Glad you resisted the 'chassic' leaning tower photo, although others were hard at it

Thank you for your time to put all that together, very much enjoyed it.

Dave

You didn't click one of the photos Dave, there's one there if you want it lol

[Topcat]

Ha, wheres that one then, must have missed it

[boxerscott]

Really enjoyed that! Thanks for reminding me why we enjoy a Euro tour.

Chris

[dave the german]

Fantastic write up - I done Timmelsjoch last year - you're right about the Italian side!!! The bike museum is a ski museum in Winter

[tanneman]

Ha, wheres that one then, must have missed it

Whilst others were trying to keep it upright some bugger was giving them reason to

[tanneman]

Quarta parte

It is time to finnish this ride report.

After a late night in Grenoble eating al fresco we could feel colder air moving in. The weather forecast looked dire and we had a lot of miles to
cover to our next overnight stop. The alternative was to take the motorway rather than spending a miserable time getting wet on D roads. So the
motorway it was. Very dull as you can imagine but the bonus was we routed around the weather and had a mostly dry ride al be it a bit quickish.
It is very easy to find the Hotel Kyriad in Troyes, right next door to the Conforama and petrol station. The hotel is a new build and the decor
is light and modern. Even has a underground secure car park round the back. Perfect spot. A trip into the town for the afternoon for a bit of
look see. By chance we bumped into a couple we met on the motorway filling station. Troyes promises to be a good place for a more cultured
approach to sight seeing and we enjoyed the time we spend in the old part of town. Lots of leaning buildings. We will be back.










We had our fill at one of the restuarants and got back to the hotel just as the heavens opened. The weatherforecast promised much of the same
the next day. I guess it will be motorway again. A bit of an anticlimax for the last day in France. We elected not to have breakfast at the hotel
but instead stopped at a shop nearby for some traditional French ingredients for a midmorning snack. It was raining. We managed to ride out of
the path of the rain clouds. At St Quinten we turned off for a detour. I had to pay my respect to the men of the 1st SA Infantry Brigade who fell
at Delville Wood. This is a stopover every time we visit France. It is so peacefull and well kept. No South African Graves there. The men who
perished in the battle were blown to pieces and little could be recovered for burial. The whole of the place is a burial ground.



From Longuval it is a short hop to another one of our favourite stops along the route. A little patesserie in Arras. Located in the Place des
Heroes it has ample parking for cars and bikes. Except this time. Ignoring the detour signs I rode through the market (the market was packing up
but still required some nifty maneuvering) to park outside the shop. The owner was a bit upset but relaxed as soon as we told her we are there to
visit her shop. Seemingly eager now to serve us coffee and cake. Plus a takeaway to enjoy at home and a few snacks for when we are on the train.

Fine

[tanneman]

Epilogo

We were looking forward to this trip. It is was to be the longest we have spend on the bike together touring. A massive thanks to Simon Weir from
Ride Magazine who emailed suggestions for a route. Thanks Simon. The planning had to be done in such a way so we had ample time for stops but
still made good progress. One way of keeping the costs down was to buy our food for the day from a supermarket and have a picnic along the road
somewhere with a view or shade halfway through the morning. I had a camelback that I carried so we could drink on the fly and that proved to be
invaluable. Only thing is that I got tired with it on so we swapped and it worked much better with the missus carrying it. The days alternated
between long and short days. The first day in the Alps was too long. I could feel the enjoyment being sapped by the endless hairpins on the Italian
side on our way to Vipiteno. Also, if a road looks nice and twisty on a map in Italy then it is twisty but not nice after endless blind bends.
Coming back from the trip I would have impressed any RoSPA examiner . Italian cities are an acquired taste. Fly there, do the tourist thing and fly back. The traffic and driving standards is not worth it. The Alps is a must. A motorcycle was designed to ride up and down those passes. Do it
and then go back for more. The missus and me had a bit of a scratch on the way back but all was forgiven. It is important that you get along with
whoever goes with you on a trip of any length. As for Italian tolls, miss a ticket at a toll gate and at the next one you will be issued with a
fine/payment notice for the lenght of the toll road. However you can certify where you joined the toll road and only pay that bit when you are
back in blighty. Don't take the piss though as they do check. We prebooked our stayovers and chose what looked like a reasonable price. Don't be
fooled though. Our room in Vianden was small and faced a busy road so at 4am the trucks were rumbling past. If you plan to book near a city of
any prominence then book it well in advance. I lingered on a place in Genoa and ended up with an adequate but soulless room outside of Genoa. Or maybe it was just how I felt after a not so enjoyable ride with endless blind bends at 30mph or less. The shorter the day in the mountains the better and the more you have the chance to soak in the views.

Since this trip the GSA has rarely moved. It has made any ride in the UK mediocore. I want more of the mountains and empty roads. You have been warned.

Thank you very much for reading this and enjoy your trips. I enjoy reading about it and dreaming of going where you have been.

Addio

[boxerscott]

Mate, top class blog Thanks for taking the time and effort to share it.

Chris

[Topcat]

Ha, wheres that one then, must have missed it

Whilst others were trying to keep it upright some bugger was giving them reason to

Like it

[madthemad]

That was an excellent write up, I was travelling with as I read it, great.