+ Week The European Chronicles

[kickstandsup]

While my wife was here, we visited many of the little towns around the lake by Moto and by Ferry; frankly, the ferries were much more fun.

There was a car show in Bellano

We took a ride to the Mediterranean to meet up with my friends from Switzerland...Italy's Autostrada has tolls, but still pretty quick.

Back in Varenna, we strolled down to a restaurant we passed several times, but had not yet tried, just up from the train station with an outdoor area high above the lake: Ristorante La Veranda Dei Pescatori. In addition to a great view, they offer a shuttle service back up the hill to Perledo in a cute little 3-wheeler that we thought might be a fun cap to my wife's stay.

See the little white car in the background? A Fiat 500, that's a Harley next to it, and to the right, out of the picture, is a restored Vespa. Clearly, there's a petrolhead about...


We chat with Davide about a ride back to Perledo, and I ask who owns the Harley: he does. An immediate conversation about motorcycles ensues. Davide wants to buy another Harley in the US, ride around for about a month, then ship it back. I provide him Stefan's Heidelberg information, and it turns out that Davide's wife is from Heidelberg. He's also the owner of the Fiat 500, and the Vespa, both of which he restored, the 500 twice. He immediately says, "We will take the Cinquecento up the hill and get a coffee!" Hell, yeah!

 

[kickstandsup]

The Turn for Home

Arrivederci!

It happens even 5,500 miles and an ocean away - that pull toward home when you know a trip is almost over.

Waiting for the ferry to Menaggio

Spits of rain when I left; as I climb to Lugano in Switzerland it starts to rain in earnest, and would continue until the north side of San Bernardino. Chilly too, upper 40s - low 50s at elevation.

3.6 kilometers across the lake, and the ferry hits a top speed of 18 km/hour. You needed to know that.

This was a highway route to Heidelberg, about 385 miles (620 kilometers). Tunnels too, which I have to say, given the weather, were kinda nice. The weather turned for the better north of San Bernardino, partly cloudy and upper 60s to low 70s most of the way. Perfect.

Very light traffic, and the unlimited autobahn sections again put mileage in the rearview quickly.

Roll into Stefan's late afternoon.

Mmmmmmm...

Mia gets a bath and a full tank of gas with stabilizer; oil change tomorrow.

Oh, and my wife just missed the train strike by leaving Saturday!

Some quick stats:

3,330 miles
5,359 kilometers
52 mpg

Tomorrow I'll change Mia's oil, pack everything for storage and sort out the insurance process with Stefan. A shuttle to Frankfurt on Wednesday for the flight home.

Best
Retirement
Ride
Ev-ah!!

Ciao!

Until next year...cue the ominous music...

 

[klaviator]

What an Awesome trip!!! The scenery and roads looked fantastic. Many of your pics could have been made into a postcard.

Riding the Alps is on my bucket list.

 

[FLrider]

WOW! Great trip and thanks for bringing back some nice memories from when I was a kid growing up there..... 😁

 

[kickstandsup]

Thanks, 2019 was "Year One."

Bucket list for sure; there's nothing like it. And Stefan makes keeping a bike there "turn key" and surprisingly affordable.

 

[kickstandsup]

One Month Out

Meet Ginger

You see, it wasn't just the wine talking on that rainy afternoon in Leysin, Switzerland. 3,300 miles thru the Alps along with 1,200 miles thru Scotland back in 2014 on two different F800GTs convinced me that a lighter touring bike is what I want. I've put a combined 100,000 miles on two well equipped BMW R1200GSs, so I've got a valid comparison I think.

This was our rental in Scotland, and the first taste of the F800GT:

The GS is a great bike, but it seems to get heavier each year. Perhaps it is a "circle of life" thing; we start on light bikes, maybe we end on them too. Plus, our needs have changed a bit. While my wife is still working the next 3 years, all of her vacation time will be dedicated to Europe and visiting family. Thus, we won't be doing the extended US 2-up bike trips that was the GS's raison d'être. The F800GT is certainly comfortable enough for her on weekend rides or short getaways. Equipped properly, it is even more comfortable for me because she's so light.

We considered a new Ducati Multistrada, which we both enjoyed in Tuscany, but it was difficult to justify 23k on a new bike for what will be sporadic 2-up US touring duty over the next few years. Plus, I'm still not convinced that I want a Ducati to tour on; there's been some turmoil at my local dealer and, at this point, I'm more comfortable with the support and service BMW and Iron Horse provide.

So began the quest to find another F800GT. Ginger was locally owned and serviced at Iron Horse, with only 25k on the clock, and the 24k service already done. All 3 bags, and best of all: a top-line Wilbers shock still new in the box awaiting installation and built for my weight.

Let the farkeling begin!

The Hammer went to a good home...

Of course, as soon as I got back, I was already planning for next year...the Route des Grande Alpes...

BUT....

 

[kickstandsup]

Before I get to what's next, let's do a little frolic and detour in the rear view mirror to place Europe in perspective...

Back in 2005, newly divorced, turning 50, and working my ass off, I had a "WTF" moment about riding in Europe. Managed to convince my best friend and riding buddy that we NEEDED to do this, and booked an Edelweiss Alps tour. Boom.

Like many, I had fantasized and romanticized European riding, although I had never been to Europe. WTF was I waiting for; I perused the Edelweiss catalog, settled on their Alps Touring Center trip because it fit into my schedule and debated in my head what bike to reserve.

Went to a local BMW dealer and "test sat" a K1200S and said "this will do." I was a sport bike guy and the K12S seemed like a good idea at the time. More on that later.

I also started looking at the Edelweiss routes, all loops b/c you stay at the same hotel, no repacking every day. They seemed so "short," maybe 200 miles each day, and I'm thinking: "I'm not paying all this money to do the miles I usually do in a morning. I'll try the first day, then head out on my own." Arrogant Ignorance on my part, again more on that later...you have to learn sometime...

We flew into Munich and ended up at a hotel outside of Innsbruck.

This was also my first exposure to the Alpine "Wellness Hotel" experience, which is, in a word, awesome.

The Motos waiting much more patiently than the riders. That's my grey K12S.

The first evening dinner and briefing chaired by our tour guide, Christian. An incredibly nice guy and skilled rider...he's raced the Isle of Man a couple of times and has competed in the Austrian Trials Championship.

A relatively small group, 2 couples riding 2-up, couple of guys from Canada, and us. Turns out, all good riders and fun to be with.

It was very, very, very hard to sleep that first night.

 

[kickstandsup]

The next morning, not really rested but very, very ready, Christian lays out the route over breakfast.

All maps, all the time. I'm diligently following along, taking notes for myself. Everyone wants to go...


And we do...coffee stop adjacent to a lake.

While we're riding, I've been trying to follow the route. I say "trying" because after about the 4th turn, I'm lost...not lost on the road because I'm still following Christian, but lost on the route because I can't understand why we've made the turns we've made. I'd taken the time t write up a route sheet for myself, like I did back home, route numbers and direction, you know "Rt 28S, Rt 52W, Rt 101N" etc. That wasn't working at all.

I ask Christian, "Why did we take the third Rt Whatever turn and not one of the first two?" "You just must know," in clipped Austrian. Seriously, the navigation directions are really "town" oriented, not "route number" or "compass direction" oriented. So my route sheet was completely worthless. Signs like this abound at every turn:

If you're looking for "Rt Whatever" you'll rarely find it. If I'm going to head out on my own, I'll need a different strategy. If...

We're heading toward King Ludwig's 2 castles and the group votes to do more riding rather than tour them...Yes! We do a ride by and stop for a few photos.

Lunch stop.

 

[FLrider]

The signpost reads like a who’s who for winter sport. In the 60’s Cortina and Ortisei were laid back sleepy places. I can’t imagine what it must be today…..

 

[kickstandsup]

"Here, you must try the strudel."

Another lake...

And then eventually back to the hotel...after bombing down some dirt road into the parking lot.

The end of my very first day ever of riding in Europe. Wow. Just Wow. We did about 200 miles and I was exhausted. Spent. Wiped. But vibrating with enthusiasm. Could not believe how much fun this was, how beautiful the scenery, and how it was a riders' paradise. Just Wow.

Honestly, it felt like a drug, I needed my next hit. Shower, sauna, whirlpool, drinks, dinner, drinks, stories, lies, some sleep.

Tomorrow did not come soon enough.

 

[MaNDan-Fgo]

Excellent RR and photos. Thanks for taking us with.

 

[kickstandsup]

A few more first day impressions...

Everybody in the group can ride. Christian can really ride, and clearly knows the area/roads like the back of his hand. We take turns riding behind him and his strategy is clear: he gradually picks up the pace until the rider following says "No More!" Pace is not an issue.

The roads are tight...all day, all the time, and that's tiring. 200 miles is plenty.

Navigation, as I mentioned, is "different." You have to know the towns along your route, so you can know to go "direction Ortisei." You might not be going to Ortisei, but you need to know that where you're headed is in that direction.

I kicked my inner control freak to the kerb and decided to stay with the group. Following Christian was excellent, there's no way I'd do better on my own in the limited time I'd be there. Stick with the plan. Relax. Enjoy.

The K12S is nice, lots and lots of power, fairly comfortable. The Duolever front end is more than a bit vague, compliant, but not a lot of feel. On these small roads, it never gets to stretch its legs...first gear is looooooong.

Day Two begins...

First coffee...

Starting to get a bit wet.

 

[kickstandsup]

We went over the pass to the Reschensee...an artificial lake that drowned an entire town.

A coffee in this walled town...don't remember the name.

A bustling piazza.

And, of course, Stelvio...

Hairpin 27...

A little wet at the top.

 

[kickstandsup]

Over the next few days we did a bunch of passes, and I wasn't really thinking about documenting the ride, so I'm frankly not sure about some of the photo locations other than "The Alps."

One thing I learned about was "filtering," every Moto filters to the front at a stop, no issues, completely expected. On twisty 2-lanes, cars will slide over to the right to give you room to pass...again, all expected. Makes for quick, easy, fun progress.

Coffee stop...

 

[Chickenstrip]

I for one am very disappointed in you, Mr. KSU, for not jotting down every road and turn!

 

[kickstandsup]

I for one am very disappointed in you, Mr. KSU, for not jotting down every road and turn!

With 20/20 hindsight, so am I.

Now, all I use is my phone's camera, so with google photos I get a location as well. An enormous help in recreating where you've been, and requires no effort whatsoever.

Which is really good for me because I'm incredibly lazy...

 

[kickstandsup]

Some interesting evening chatter...

I was eager to hear about Christian's Isle of Man racing experience. At that point in time, I had done the CLASS and California Superbike Schools, a few other track days and had spent some time racing Formula Fords in the Skip Barber program. But the Isle of Man...that would scare the bejeezus out of me.

I asked Christian how he memorized such a long course. His answer: "You must remember the places that will kill you."

A man of few words, but good advice.

The bartender at the hotel, Tanja, IIRC, told some stories about how she and her sister fled the war in the former Yugoslavia. Harrowing is the only word that comes to mind, made even more real by the current tragedy in Ukraine. A lovely woman.

We also rode into the Dolomites.

Christian, and the guys from Canada, were all on the brand new redesigned R1200GS. They all spoke very highly of it, and the conversation above went something like this:

Christian: "You must try the GS."
Me: "I dunno, it's big, it's ugly, I'm not really into dirt, more a sport bike guy."
Christian: "You must try the GS."
Me: "You just want to ride the K bike, don't you?"
Christian: "You must try the GS."

So I did, for half a day. Came away very impressed; a much better tool for the job at hand than the K12S. It was like a big friendly dog.

There's always a party at the top...

And then we ran into this:

 

[kickstandsup]

If you don't know, that's a Pagani Zonda, a couple million euro of carbon fibre, titanium, aluminum, leather and AMG V-12 exotica. They were filming a commercial, running it up and down the pass with a video chase van. Glorious music.

I didn't know it at the time, but in 2018, I'd get to tour the Pagani factory...

Some two wheeled exotica as well.

Trying out the GS

Back on the K12S

And back to the hotel...

At the last dinner, I asked Christian, "What ride and location do you recommend?" "You must do Tuscany."

And so I would...but not next, and not until 2018.

For me, this was the perfect introduction to riding Europe, it really was a great experience. I wanted more.

Life intervened a bit...about 4 months after I got back from this trip, I got a job offer I couldn't refuse that took me to Tucson, after living my entire life in the NY metro area. I interviewed for that position entirely by video, which was not a "thing" in 2005, got offered the job about noon on a Friday and given until Monday to decide.

I'd never been to Tucson.

Another WTF moment, said yes, flew in a few weeks later to house hunt. As I'm driving from the airport, I'm thinking, "this was an enormous mistake."

 

[EGR]

Great photos. Lots familiar. Thanks.

Every place I’ve hired a bike, Scotland, Norway, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, the agents all have great stories about US riders arriving scoffing at 200 mile days…

 

[kickstandsup]

Great photos. Lots familiar. Thanks.

Every place I’ve hired a bike, Scotland, Norway, Spain, Italy, Slovenia, the agents all have great stories about US riders arriving scoffing at 200 mile days…

Soooooooo true! I mean, you CAN do big miles if you stay on the motorways, but why would you want to...