The Stats

OK, some stats for you.

Ginny and I covered 4,049 miles / 6,516 kilometres, door to door. During those miles, Ginny ticked off, 29, 30, 31, 32 & 33,000 miles, arriving back in Sittingbourne on 33,010.

Ginny consumed 79.25 gallons / 332.5 litres, with an average consumption of 55.97 miles per gallon / 12.31 miles per litre. Total cost of fuel used, was £467.45.

I consumed 5/6 schnitzel dinners and an average of marginally over 2 beers per night, cost unrecorded.

We rode through/stayed in, 14 countries, staying in 23 hotels. The cost is probably best kept under wraps. All I would say is, a month long tour doesn't come cheap but is still very much cheaper than paying a professional company to organise something for you.

We only needed our waterproofs on one occasion (shame on you Hungary), though maybe we should have had them on for our dismal sightseeing day in Berlin! 😒

The hottest temperature we saw was 39 degrees, the lowest (I saw on the Gavia Pass), was 9 degrees.

And finally, for those interested, I can confirm we visited, at least, 7 McDs, possibly more. That stat comes from those that were marked on the route, as McDs coffee stops, we may have stopped at some, unplanned. 

That's all for now.

I'll try and get some photos added over the next week or so, so this isn't the last post on this blog. Sorry 😉

Day 30 - Reims to Home

Our final day was a dull and grey one, for the most part and not particularly warm. Probably the coolest day we'd had, outside of the mountains. Besides booking us on an earlier train, the night before, I agreed I'd get up earlier too, so we could get on the road earlier. We wanted to give us as much leeway as possible, as we had 2 stops, as well as fuel stops to make and wanted to buy some beers. I ditched my trainers to make way for some tinnies! Grizzly also wanted time to buy tobacco products at duty free, for the family back home. So, we probably left an hour earlier, with 193 miles to cover.

Our first stop, was only about 10 miles away, at the old Reims-Gueux motor racing circuit. It ceased being used back in 1972 and most has disappeared but the stands and pits, plus some other buildings, are still intact and are looked after by a volunteer group, Friends of Gueux Circuit. We parked off the main road, on what would have been pit lane and took some photos.

Ginny, not quite ready to race!

The Old Jaguar Pit

The plaque between the Jaguar names, commemorates the winning of the Reims 12 hour race on 4th July 1954, by a D-Type Jaguar. That was the maiden victory for the D-Type. D-Types also took second and third in the race! A jolly good show! I think it is possible to go inside some of the other buildings but we were way too early and wouldn't have had time anyway. Still the pits and stands are impressive, stuck out amongst the fields.

Some 60 miles up the road, we stopped for fuel. At that point someone decided they needed the toilet. We popped back up the road, only a few hundred metres, to McDs. Maybe we were too early, they don't seem to open until 10am, or this was the least popular restaurant on the planet. We pressed on. Our next planned stop was a McDs anyway, so that was where we stopped, for coffee and chips, after the previously aborted task had been completed.

With an eye on the clock, we needed to keep on the move. We still had another stop to make and it would be touch and go, if we had enough time to do everything before we needed to check-in.

The next stop, was a special treat for Grizzly. He's mad keen on murals and this place has loads of them, painted on the outer walls of the cemetery. We probably spent another 15-20 minutes there but were soon back on the road.

Mural depicting Bleriot reaching Dover

We had a slight issue with the next route, well more in the decision which to use. We both had enough fuel to reach Blighty. The next route, however, included another fuel stop. Given the higher price in France, we decided to skip that route and head directly to the tunnel. That route was longer but faster. It did mean though, that we had to find a supermarket en-route, if I was to get any beers. 

I didn't throw away my trainers for nothing, so when I saw an Auchan supermarket a little further up the road, in we went. I picked up 4 cans of strong beers and Grizzly grabbed a couple of bottles of Heineken for when he got to the Travelodge later.

The last part of the route took us onto the motorway, so we made good time and arrived at the check-in booths just under 2 hours before our scheduled train. We were offered one an hour earlier, which we accepted but it did mean we'd be pushed for time, for Grizzly to get his duty free baccy. Time pushed on even more over the next 20 or so minutes.

We sailed through French border control. Passport, check photo, stamp, Merci! Done in 10 seconds flat. Then the fun began. We were directed to one of the 3 long queues for UK border control. We must have sat in that queue for 20 minutes, then, when I finally got the the booth, the girl gets up and buggers off, to be replaced by a bloke, who tells me I have to wait, as the system needs to reboot at a shift change! FFS! As if they aren't bloody slow enough. All they have to do is place the passport in a scanner, look at your face and hand it back. How come then it takes them so much longer than the French? Anyone who complains about the French messing us about because of Brexit, needs to see this debacle for themselves. It ain't the French!!

The benefit, if you can take a positive of this delay was, that we pretty much rode straight through onto the train, Grizzly being the last on. 

There were 2 other bikers, adventure bikers both with KTMs. One had massive metal panniers, offside larger than the other and 2 bags strapped on top of them, a massive one, on the offside. Now, some of you may see where this is leading. Once the train got going and the bikes bounced around a bit, one highly unbalanced KTM decided to have a lie down! First time I've ever seen a bike fall over. The two guys and Grizzly helped right it, whilst I supervised. 😉 It stayed upright after that but the suspension looked very bouncy even so. If only he'd balanced the load. There was no damage, so no harm done.

Off at Folkestone, we rode in convoy for the last time, so I could show Grizzly where to fill up. Fill up complete, we had the usual end of tour man hug and I led him back to the motorway, where I left him.

I was home about 16:15. Catherine came out to greet me and we had our first hug in a month. Then her friend came round. they had some tea and went out, leaving me to unpack. That done, I slumped in front of the TV to catch up with some of my bike racing programmes that had recorded whilst I was away. There's a lot of them!

And that my friends, concluded my tour. I have covered over 4,000 miles over the passed month, I'm not sure exactly and Ginny clocked over the 33,000, as I said she would, the day we left. There will be some stats following on, as usual but for now, That's All Folks!

 

Day 29 - Strasbourg to Reims

Our penultimate day, like almost all of those before it, started dry. And like most of those before it, it would remain that way, Starting temperature was about 19 degrees. It would finish, ten higher!

First stop was a petrol stop. I had more trouble with the tomtom/headset connection, so had to navigate there without audio. I went wrong at least once!

We had a brief drink stop in a little village, then pressed on. Our only POI stop should have been next, but Grizzly spotted a McDs and decided he needed coffee and chips, so in we went. I usually have an iced tea but this time chose a cold cafe latte.  

Mmm, lots of cream!

Back on the road we were going great guns, We were able maintain a good pace all day, as the roads were pretty clear. I do like riding through France. Our POI stop was at the Ossuaire de Douaumont. Here is a monument to those who died during the Battle of Verdun. There are 16,000 gravestones in nice neat white rows in the graveyard, whilst in the Ossuary itself, there are the remains of 130,000 unknown soldiers. Yes, 130,000! 

Just some of the 16,000 graves

The building comprises a 133 metre cloister, a chapel and a 46 metre high tower. In the cloister are engraved the names of over 4,000 of the Verdun dead. Underneath the cloister, are the vaults where the remains of the unknown are kept. There are small windows that one can look through, to see the collection of skulls, thigh bones, etc. It's a sad sight.

The Ossuary 

We had a short film before we toured the cloister, showing what it was like in the trenches and imparting general information about the battle and the consequences, not just in terms of loss of life but also in terms of the destruction of towns in the area. I think there were at least half a dozen villages that were totally obliterated by the bombardment. 

Grizzly wasn't up for climbing the tower, though there were seats at every level, so he could have made it up I reckon, so I went on my own. There's a huge bell at the top and a viewing area, which gives an excellent view out over what was once a desolate battle field.

View out over the graves

The bell tolls at 12 & 6

With our visit concluded, we were on the road again. As we left the site, though the woodland, it struck me, that none of the trees in what was quite dense woodland, can be much more than 105 years old! It's hard to comprehend, none of them being around.

We ticked off the 40 miles to the hotel with another great ride. My only worry was we were riding into the sun and once again I had forgotten to apply sun cream, so my nose would be bright red again! We arrived about 6pm. It had been a long day in the saddle but and enjoyable one, even including an 'adventure' where Tomtom led us up a road that ended in a patch of grass behind a church! Grizzly was buzzing when we arrived, he'd really enjoyed the ride. Maybe because one long stretch was dead straight, so he didn't have to take any corners! 😉

With the hotel in the middle of nothing again, we were lucky that they have a restaurant, so our end of tour dinner was secure.

Wildlife watch -  today has been a good day for wildlife. Besides the usual birds of prey, we saw another couple of storks in a field. However, we had some 4 legged wildlife to report today. Firstly, a hare hopped across the road in front of me, then we saw 3 deer in a field and both Grizzly and I saw foxes. Oh yes, nearly forgot, when I was going up the tower, two of the tiny windows had occupants.

The bird flew off when I peered in

Busy Bees

Tomorrow, we will be back in Blighty. Grizzly was worried about how late he'd get to Leigh Delamere, so I've managed to change our crossing, bringing it forward by an hour. It means we'll have to be leaving Reims pretty smartish in the morning, especially if we want to stop en-route for some beers from a supermarket.

Until tomorrow then.

 

Day 28 - Strasbourg Sightseeing

I bought us a 2/3 person daily ticket through the CTS Strasbourg Transport app. It needed to be validated using NFC, something I've never used before, so it was with some trepidation that we walked to the Tram stop. Would it work or not?

We got to the tram stop, found the scanner, and I presented my phone. Error! I tried again. Error! WTF? The tram was just pulling into the platform, I tried a third time. Bingo, the reader turned green and so did the ticket on my phone. We quickly jumped aboard.

We alighted at the stop nearest the Cathedral, our first port of call. 

Strasbourg Cathedral

On the way to the Cathedral, we came across a square where they had a beautiful carousel, from 1900. More surprising though, was the red pillar box! I've no idea why it is there. It could do with a lick of paint though.

Double decker carousel, c.1900

E II R, God Bless Her

Inside the Cathedral they have an astronomical clock, which you need to buy a ticket for, to guarantee being at the show, at 11:30. My info had said to buy from 09:30, outside the door it said 10:00. I managed to buy them at 09:50!

We had a wander around inside, snapping some of the stained glass windows. I love them. The content is hardly of interest, I just love the colours, especially if the light gets behind them.

There was a massive organ too, no, not Grizzly, though he can be sometimes, so I took a picture of that too.

The Organ

 I found the clock in one corner and was there as it struck the quarter hour. A little chap stepped forward, dinged a bell and then moved around. Another chap was then waiting for his turn.

The Astronomical Clock

We had 90 minutes to kill before the clock show, so we made our way over to Petite France, the next item on the day's agenda. It's a lovely area full of old half timbered buildings and lots of bridges over numerous pieces of water, not unlike Venice. again the cameras were out.

Petite France

 Next stop, the Barrage Vauban. Once a fortification, it is now just a dam, that visitors can walk over or through.

The Barrage Vauban

By the time we'd done these sights, it was time to head back to the Cathedral for the clock show. It's not just a case of watching the clock do its stuff, there is a 30 minute film show that explains the history and the workings of the clock. The film is really great and shows the guy who built the current clock, Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué, was an absolute genius. The things he built the clock to do is just amazing. After the film, a chap explains what the clock will do, and then you wait. We didn't get the full repetoire, I guess that depends on the time and day but what we did get was quite entertaining, if a little slow. A cockerel, a relic from the first clock, there have been 3, crows 3 times. It is the oldest automaton in the world, originating in the first clock in the 14th century.

With the show over, our final sightseeing escapade was, a boat trip. I'd bought open tickets, so you can just turn up and choose what time boat you want to go on. We made our way down to the river for the 13:30 boat. The tour around the old and newer parts of the city, takes about 70 minutes and includes 2 locks and a trip out to the European Parliament building. The boat had a glass roof, so pictures didn't come out that well but I have included one of the special dock, at the Parliament building, where some people did get off. There's a locked gate that the crew have to unlock/lock for anyone getting off.

Euro Parliament Dock

Back on dry land, we called it a day and got the tram back 'home'. Later, we got the tram 2 stops down the line to a restaurant serving giros plates, which was a whole lot better than McDs last night.

Wildlife watch - A few ducks, some swans and cygnets and fish. 

Some ducks

Tomorrow we are on the road again, destination Reims, well the outskirts, There'll be a stop on the way but I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

Bon Nuit

Day 27 - Basel/Weil am Rhein to Strasbourg

After the storms of last night, the day started dry and about 18 degrees. Within minutes of getting our legs over, we were crossing the Rhine and entering France. We hadn't gone very far when we came to a roundabout, on the other side of which, was a Sherman Tank and located near the entrance of the village of Rosenau. I just had to investigate. The tank is there as a memorial to Lieutenant Jean de Loisy. It's rare to see such a memorial dedicated to one guy. Obviously a special kind of hero. I took a pic, then we continued on our way.

A big tank in front of a real one!

Our journey continued at a leisurely pace, through lots of nice coutryside and villages, before we reached Mullhouse. After Mulhouse, things started to get interesting and quite a bit colder! I hadn't realised we would be heading up into the Vosges mountain range. In fact, I couldn't even have told you where they were, so it was a bit of a surprise. They are no different from any other mountain range we've climbed this tour, that is, getting to the top involves lots of twisty roads. As with most we've been on, these were very popular with bikers. We were overtaken by many. I'm at an age now where I just let them get on with it, waving them past. I can do without them up my arse when I'm concentrating on my lines through the bends. Nevertheless, we were both enjoying ourselves. Having reached the summit of some col or other, I thought we'd be coming back down. A look at the map at our stop though showed we were travelling their length. Our stop for coffee came at the Col de la Schlucht. The approach to and the road away were swamped with cars and motorhomes. I woindered if this was in prep for the Tour de France. Sure enough, we passed a sign saying the road would be closed on 22nd July. That's next Saturday and these people are already grabbing their spaces to spectate from! Crazy French!   

We had a coffee at the Col, to warm us as much as abything, as the temperature had dropped to 12 degrees. Given we were riding along the range, we both decided to put a warm layer under our jackets. That did the trick. 

Eventually we came down from the mountains, where at another roundabout, we came across a replica aircraft, from the pioneering age of aviation. There wasn't a chance to stop for a photo, so I've borrowed one from the internet.

A pioneering aircraft

It wasn't long after this we stopped to remove the warmer layers we'd put on. The temperature by now was a very pleasant 25 degrees. That's so much more comfortable than we've had of late.

Before long we were pulling up at our hotel, a tad early but we were still able to check in. There's no dinner option, so I popped out to reccy the area. There's very little in the way of eateries, so basically the choice boiled down to McDs or BK. McDs won, because it is closer. If we can't find anywhere else, tomorrow will be BK!

My reccy showed me that the tram I had planned to catch tomorrow, isn't running for some reason, from either the nearest two stops, so we'll either have to jump on the replacement bus or walk a bit further to a stop on a different line.

Whislt out and about I couldn't help noticing  the heavy ethic population. Nor could I miss the broken windows in quite a number of the buildings. I wondered if this was part of the recent riots. A quick google showed it was an area affected by riots. I'm somewhat relieved we weren't here a couple of weeks back, that being the case.

Tomorrow we'll be doing a bit of sightseeing in the city and obviously I'll be reporting back on that tomorrow evening.

Wildlife Watch -  not been too much to report recently. It's all just birds I'm afraid. Yesterday it was mainly Kites, today it was some storks, in a field with a couple of herons. We've still not seen a squirrel since Berlin, Day 4.

Till tomorrow then.

Bon Nuit

 

Day 26 - Rankweil to Basel

Another dry and warm day. By close of business, when we arrived at our hotel in Basel/Weil am Rhein, it would have touched 34 degrees. 

The first part of the journey was fabulaous once again. The Swiss mountain scenery has jumped to first place on the tour for Grizzly. It is really nice, when the sun is out. Rainy or snowy, I'm not so sure. Within half an hour of leaving the hotel, we had passed into and out again, of Liechtenstein. We were in it for just 4.5 miles! As I said, blink and you'll miss it.

The Liechtenstein Border post, as was

We made a coffee stop but surprisingly our coffahaolic didn't have one. I topped up on water and we set of once more. Satnavs were playing up. For some reason they didn't know we were in the petrol station, so as soon as we turned out, we were told to do a U-turn. OK but I got out into the traffice a bit before Grizzly, turned left to u-turn, at which point he sailed passed. We both removed the next waypoint. I was then back on the original track, Grizzly on a new one, following Garmin. Next stop Lucerne.

I arrived, to see Grizzly already there, again! He'd only just arrived, so not a lot in the two routes. It sounds like his slight detour took a bit off my route but for the main we followed the same roads.

Lucerne was baking hot, 31 degrees, so our first mission was to find McDs for coffee/cold drink and aircon. Suitably refreshed and cooled down, we ventured out to do a bit of sightseeing, which basically meant the two 14th century wooden bridges, across the River Reuss, flowing out of Lake Lucerne. Across one, down the bank to the other, across that and back up the other bank. Then back to the bikes. Sounds really quick when you read it but with searing heat, walking about in bike gear, it was energy sapping and took a fair while.

The Chapel Bridge

Chapel Bridge 

Interesting artwork on a building

Jesuitenkirche

Back on the road, we were enjoying ourselves until the inevitable happened and we got separated again. This time though, Garmin didn't take Grizzly another way AND I stopped before my next turn to see if he would appear. Luckily he did, so we were together again.

Our third stop was for fuel in Basel, then our fourth, just a mile or so away at the three country point. This is where, somewhere in the middle of the River Rhine, the borders of France, Germany and Switzerland meet. They have a big silver monument to mark the fact, not in the river, obviously! 

Dreiländereck

At this point, we were in Switzerland. When we left to go to our hotel a couple of miles away, we crossed into Germany. That's where we are spending the night. Almost immediately tomorrow, we will cross into France.

Today we have crossed entirely, though two countries, the last 2 countries of the tour, 14 in all, for me in any case.

There's not much around the hotel, apart from Aldi and Lidl, so there was no option but to eat in the hotel. They do a very nice XXL schnitzel though and at a good price, so that wasn't a hardship. One thing to mention, the hotel has a lot of art work on the walls, including in the rooms. We have an African football player portrait and the young lady below! 😮

Schneewittchen 2

Since we got to the hotel, there have been two storms and heavy rain. Grizzly assures me though, that tomorrow will be dry again. He's even gone so far as to say I shan't need waterproofs before I get home. We shall see. He has form for his predictions. 😉

Tomorrow's destination is Strasbourg, France, where we will spend 2 nights.

We'll catch up then.

 

Day 25 - Bormio to Rankweil

Once again it was dry, if a little bit chilly first thing. A good breakfast set us up for our first ever attempt at the Stelvio Pass. First though, we fuelled up, next door to the hotel. It was bloody expensive, €1.92 per litre but needs must. In truth, I didn't need any, with Ginny's range, I could have skipped it but just didn't think.

The road out of Bormio and up to Stelvio is pretty twisty, with some very tight hairpin bends but the road was fairly quiet and the surface smoothe, so we made our way up to the top without too many issues. It might have been a bit different if it had been a Saturday. More vehicles would mean it would be difficult to swing onto the opposite side of the road, which is pretty much the only way to get round the tight right hand hairpins.

On the way up the Stelvio Pass

At the top, we pulled over, took a walk around and took some snaps. Grizzly bought a pin badge, to prove he'd been there, whilst I took a look at a war memorial, commemorating those who died up in the mountains, defending not much but rock and snow during WWII.

The classic Stelvio view, the way down, East.

The pass is at 2,760 metres, or if you prefer, 9,055 feet, above sea level. I could feel the air was thinner and my breathing was definitely quickened. Never felt that before.

Grizzly wasn't looking forward to the down part of the pass, he can be a moany old sod sometimes, but he made it down safely nonetheless, unlike one chap who I came upon. He'd tipped the bike over on a right hander and another biker was helping him pick his bike up. I doubt there would have been much damage but any is gutting and embarassing in equal measure.

We made a coffee stop shortly after, then after some superb riding through the Tyrol (the scenery is fantastic), we made another coffee stop. By now the sun was blazing away and it was 26 degrees, so a nice sit in the shade was welcomed.

Whislt at the cafe, there was a bizarre incident. A guy and his wife had come in and had a beer and some chips. Nothing out of the ordinary. We were just chatting away, when the guy comes running out of the cafe, across the road and jumps into his car, like he's nicked something or doing a runner without paying. He spins the car round and toots his wife to come. Meanwhile, the cafe owner comes out and has a conversation with the woman. She gets in the car and it speeds off up the road. When I came to pay, I asked the lady what had happened and she explained the chap wanted a small beer, which in Germany is 200ml. In Austria, it is 300ml and that, apparently, was his problem. As I said, bizarre.

Next on the agenda for us, was the Silvretta High Mountain Pass. It's a toll road of 23km in length and a little over 2,000 metres up. It's quite expensive, €14.50 per bike but it is a day pass, so you could stay as long, or come and go, as much as you please. Clearly we were just passing through. There are a couple of reservoirs and people were fishing in them, so somewhere to stop and admire the views, as well as refreshments.

Silvretta Stausee

The way to the reservoir wasn't to steep or twisty. I guess we were already high up. The descent on the other hand was steep and twisty, and littered with cows and their droppings. I came around one bend to find a cow in the road. It climbed up the bank to get out of my way. At another point they were all congregated on the inside of a hairpin bend, just watching the vehicles go by, almost like you would at a race circuit. Grizzly thought that was worse than Stelvio but again the road was perfectly smoothe.

I have loved riding through the rural areas this tour, You see so many interesting things that you wouldn't see if on a motorway, like 2 people sitting on top of a massive pile of tree trunks, for example, little kids waving at you, strange statues in villages, tiny cobbled streets through villages, all sorts of things, so different to home. 

We weren't far from our fuel stop, when we got separated again. I'm not sure how he manages it but he dropped back sufficietly far to not see me make a turn, then Garmin takes over. I went the planned rural route, he on a motorway, which I'd planned to avoid. Upshot, he was waiting at the fuel stop. I knew he would be, as soon as I saw him go sailing past the end of the road I'd just turned into. Anyway, so long as we get there, I guess that's the main thing, I just get so frustrated, because of the amount of effort I put in to matching Tomtom and Gramin routes, for all that to go out of the window. I have no idea why.

Fuel was about a mile from the hotel, which is right by the train station. It's amazing to me, because the station is open to the street. No barriers, no fences, nothing. We walked onto the platform and took some pics of the trains as they pulled in. It's not just Austria either, we've seen this open rail system almost everywhere we've been, so different to back home.

A double decker City Shuttle

We ate just around the corner and as we're in Austria, it had to be schnitzel. Up on the hillside above the restaurant, is the Rankweil Basilika.

Basilika Rankweil

Tomorrow we shall be taking a very short trip through a very small country, Liechtenstein and then into Switzerland, where we'll spend the night. Some of you may recall this tour was originally called the Blink And You'll Miss It Tour, that was because we shall be in Liechtenstein for not more than about 7 miles!

That's it for now, more tomorrow.

Day 24 - Sirmione to Bormio

So last night we had thunder and lightning, strong winds and heavy rain. This morning, it was dry and not as hot as recent mornings. The end of the day would be somewhat different.

We're into the last week of the tour now, heading North/Northwest for the next few days, with a mountain range or two to cross. Time on tour seems to fly by and we always lose track of what day of the week it is. It's Day 24 today, that's what matters, so we'd have to look at the phone to know what day it is!

The day started OK. I'd sorted out the connection problems with helmet and Tomtom last night, so everything was good. Today's ride would take us up the western side of Lake Garda, before heading up into the Dolomite Mountains. Well, that was the plan, anyway.

We'd been bowling along nicely, then we hit the back of a traffic jam. We managed to work our way to the cause, our exit from a roundabout blocked by local police. It was chaos! Cars were going onto the roundabout, only to find their exit was blocked once it was too late. We had the same problem but went right round and worked our way into the queue going into the town centre. I checked the map on Tomtom and could see there was an alternative way but most of the cars were going that way anyway, so I filtered through them. I thought Grizzly was with me, he wasn't. The next time I saw him was when I arrived at the hotel. Failing to stick to my tail, always has consequences and this time Grizzly's wonderful Garmin couldn't help him out. Somehow he managed to go round the same traffic queue 3 times, before taking an alternative route. Meanwhile, I was on the original route and at our first stop.

Lake Garda, 2/3 the way up

I got a voicemail from Grizzly, to say he was going a different way and would meet me at our 3rd scheduled stop. Next for me was the fuel stop. When I got there, I was told the card system wasn't working, so it was cash only. I had €15 in my wallet, so that's what went in.

From the fuel stop on I was climbing into the mountains. There were some really nice roads, varying in twistiness and some impressive views of the mountains. I came round one bend though, to see a small landslide had covered half the road, not my side, but it was still trickling some earth down, as I went by! Best not to hang around.

The Dolomite Mountains

I was enjoying not having to keep checking behind me and being able to ride the roads at my own pace. As I climbed into the mountains the temperature gradually dropped. I can't remember the last time I saw that low, about 17 degrees. I reached the 3rd scheduled stop. Grizzly had messaged to say carry on to the hotel. He said his eta was 14:40. Mine showed 15:15, so I knew he wasn't taking the same roads as me. Just as well.

The pass over the mountains started out really nice, a smoothe wide road but then turned into something completely different. It narrowed to half its width, with passing places, and the surface wasn't half as good. Throw into the mix, a liberal sprinkling of very, and I mean VERY tight hairpin bends and the fun stopped. As I continued to climb, I entered the clouds, so that meant I and the road surface were now damp. Then throw in a sheer drop of hundreds and hundreds of feet, with no barriers and the ride became scary too. By the time I got to the summit, I had come out of the cloud, was now at the snow level and the temperature was only 9 degrees.

The Summit, Scary Pass or Passo del Gavia

Going down wasn't much better. The hairpins are easier but obviously you are on the brakes the whole time. I survived to tell the tale, once again though. 😁

As I got within about 7 miles of the hotel, it started to rain. There was no way I was stopping for waterproofs though, so I toughed it out. I wasn't too wet when I got to the hotel, my jacket mainly. My jeans were pretty much untouched,

Checked in, I told Grizzly about the Passo del Gavia and he was relieved that circumstances or fate had meant he missed that route. He would have hated it. Can't say I enjoyed the experience. It's not something I'd like to repeat, that's for sure, wet or dry.

Being in the mountains means you do get a nice view from your hotel window.

From our room balcony

We ate just up the road, a 3 course tourist menu, with a couple of local beers. Tomorrow we hit one of the most famous passes in Europe, Stelvio Pass, the highest tarmac pass in the Eastern Alps. Hopefully it won't be as scary as Gavia! We'll end the day in Austria.

Ginny hit another milestone today.

32,000 miles and over 3,000 for the tour so far

Ciao till tomorrow.

Day 23 - Marghera to Sirmione

 Another warm one to start, though it was a bit grey. Start wasn't great. Within a few metres I'd already taken a wrong turning. Tomtom was just too slow to show the right turn, so I sailed straight on. It wouldn't be the last of the day, I think there were six in all.

Once out of the city, the roads opened out and quietened down a fair bit, so we were able to enjoy the ride and the countryside, even getting in a few overtakes, before our fuel stop. This was our first in Italy and a tad pricier, around €0.35 more per litre than Slovenia..

Next stop, was in Verona. I had planned a quick stop to visit Casa di Guilietta and the Arena, First though, we would need to find a parking place. I had some marked out but everywhere was jammed packed, until we came to one street with 4 motorcycle bays, all empty. Result. By now the temperature was north of 30 degrees, so we were glad to be off the bikes. Still, it's not much fun wandering around in those temperatures in bike gear. We found the Casa, took a photo to prove it but declined to join the queue and pay €6 to go in. I'm not even sure that gets you a chance to stand on the balcony either, maybe just into the courtyard for a photo of it. So, no Grizzerly, Oh Grizzerly, Where for art thou Grizzerly? I say that enough bloody times during the day anyway but more like, Where the f*ck art thou Grizzly? 😂

Casa di Guilietta, from the street

We moved on to the Arena, another relic of a Roman sporting venue. Today they use it for lots of events but especially, it seems, for Opera. Outside in the square, were sets from the various Opera. Some very large roses, from the Barber of Seville, for example.

Verona Arena

Fontana di Piazza Brà

Both things ticked off the list, we made our way back to the bikes and tried to get out of the city. It can be difficult in any case but my headset decided, or maybe Tomtom decided, not to connect, so I had to negotiate us out with just visuals. No surpise then there were some wrong turns. Frustrating. It's not that far from Verona to Sirmione, so I managed without audio and was able to get us to the hotel without further mishap.

We popped down the road for a Grizzly coffee/cake 'stop', then I went for a walk along the shore of Lake Garda, whilst he went back for a nap.

Lake Garda

There's a pizzeria over the road from the hotel, so we nipped over there for dinner, it being both handy for us and for Lorenzo, our Italian chum, to find us when he turned up. 

Lorenzo, lives about 20 minutes away and drove over to see us and take a beer or three with us. I don't advocate drinking and driving but that's his decision. I think it'll be safer in his Fiat Panda, than on his Beemer.

We'd just finished our pizzas when Lorenzo arrived, so we went down the road to a bar. Last time we met Lorenzo, last summer, he was out of work and pretty depressed. Now, he has a good job, good salary and you could tell he was a lot happier and content. We had a good conversation with him, and he talked about possibly coming to the UK and to Ireland, so we may see him in our neck of the woods.

Lorenzo and Woody, Cheers!

We only have one night in Sirmione. Tomorrow we head north into the Alps, ending the day in Bormio. With a bit of luck it won;t be 30+ degrees but equally, we hope it's not raining.

Wildlife Watch - not been much to report lately. We did see some egrets and some swans on our way to Venice. Today though, I managed to snap a couple of lizards as I walked the banks of Lake Garda.

Eddie and his mate

Ciao for now.