For years I’ve enjoyed reading Ride Reports on this forum and always intended to write mine but, as sometimes happens, I never have. However, during the festive break, I was looking through my book of previous trips to mainland Europe and they were all beginning to blend into one so much that I couldn’t clearly recall which year I went to which specific places!
Of course if I had written ride reports after each one it would have been easy.
So, I’ll start with 2018 (tours 1 and 2) and try and work my way back to 2015 when I got my GSA TC TB.
Tour 2018 -1 Ride Report
It’s late May and it’s time to head over to Mugello for the MotoGP races.
The worst part of my journey is always the long, slow slog through England (sorry to all the English but it’s true - 630 miles to the channel tunnel from home).
Day 1 – Sat. 26th – 737 miles
Surprisingly, I got to the tunnel without too much anguish and, as usual, waited at the side of the platform for most of the cars to board the train and then I did too. As I always do I park my bike on the sidestand with the sidestand facing the front of the train; this always generates a disagreement with the onboard staff. They say their policy is for the sidestand to be towards the rear of the train and I always state that the train is more likely to brake hard rather than accelerate hard and so my method is safer to prevent the bike falling over (I’ve saved a Spanish bike from doing just that before). Eventually, they concede and my bike stays parked the way I want it to.
Off the other side and ride a few miles before turning right onto the A26 peage heading south. I decide to stop at Saint Quentin as it’s been a long enough day and, once off the peage, I ask my Nav V to show me hotel options. I, mistakenly, pick the nearest one which is up a hill at the back of an industrial area but is enclosed with a high security fence / gate arrangement. I go in and it’s fairly cheap, €46, (for a reason) but they only have a food dispensing machine and there are no restaurants close enough for me. So, a Snickers bar and a can of coke later and I’ve had my dinner!
Day 2 – Sun. 27th – 550 miles
As usual, I’m up early and ready to roll (c. 07:00). Fire up the bike and head for the security gate where I dismount to punch in my secret “open please” code but nothing happens. I try it again, twice, and still nothing happens. Great! I go back into the “hostel” type place but, of course, there’s no staff about at that time of day. Back out to the bike and I notice a person gate in the security fence and it doesn’t need a code to open it so I go through it and punch in my code from the outside – and the gate opens. Quickly I mount my steed and exit before it can shut on me. That was lucky!
I spent a nice relaxing day cruising down the peage at 80mph heading for Reims, Metz, Karlsruhe, Imst and then Soelden (which is just to the north of the Timmelsjoch pass). I stayed in Soelden in 2016 when I was heading to the Austrian MotoGP races and there was a pub there (Black & Orange) that I wanted to frequent but, in 2016, it was closed on Mondays. Guess which day I was there? Correct, a Monday. This year I arranged to there on a different day so I could sample their dunkel beers and enjoy some rock music. That was the plan.
I rolled into Soelden, crossed one of the bridges (that go over the snow melt river) and picked a hotel where I saw a woman sitting outside on its deck. I parked my bike across the road and walked over to ask if she had a spare room for the night. The hotel was closed but suggested one down the road. I walked down to it and it had a sign (on A4 white paper) stuck to door telling me it was closed for c. 3 weeks. Back on the bike and cruise, slowly, through the town only to see the same white paper on all the hotel doors (including the pub I wanted to frequent).
Apparently, I’d arrived at the town’s annual break period between winter and summer visitors – I now know when not to try and stay there in the future.
It was time to stop for the night and up the hill from here is the north side of the Timmelsjoch pass so I needed to stop soon. I started riding up the hill and came across a small hamlet which, luckily, had an open hotel / bar / restaurant with a room available for me! And they sold Weiss beer on draught; that’s me sorted then for the night.
Of course if I had written ride reports after each one it would have been easy.
So, I’ll start with 2018 (tours 1 and 2) and try and work my way back to 2015 when I got my GSA TC TB.
Tour 2018 -1 Ride Report
It’s late May and it’s time to head over to Mugello for the MotoGP races.
The worst part of my journey is always the long, slow slog through England (sorry to all the English but it’s true - 630 miles to the channel tunnel from home).
Day 1 – Sat. 26th – 737 miles
Surprisingly, I got to the tunnel without too much anguish and, as usual, waited at the side of the platform for most of the cars to board the train and then I did too. As I always do I park my bike on the sidestand with the sidestand facing the front of the train; this always generates a disagreement with the onboard staff. They say their policy is for the sidestand to be towards the rear of the train and I always state that the train is more likely to brake hard rather than accelerate hard and so my method is safer to prevent the bike falling over (I’ve saved a Spanish bike from doing just that before). Eventually, they concede and my bike stays parked the way I want it to.
Off the other side and ride a few miles before turning right onto the A26 peage heading south. I decide to stop at Saint Quentin as it’s been a long enough day and, once off the peage, I ask my Nav V to show me hotel options. I, mistakenly, pick the nearest one which is up a hill at the back of an industrial area but is enclosed with a high security fence / gate arrangement. I go in and it’s fairly cheap, €46, (for a reason) but they only have a food dispensing machine and there are no restaurants close enough for me. So, a Snickers bar and a can of coke later and I’ve had my dinner!
Day 2 – Sun. 27th – 550 miles
As usual, I’m up early and ready to roll (c. 07:00). Fire up the bike and head for the security gate where I dismount to punch in my secret “open please” code but nothing happens. I try it again, twice, and still nothing happens. Great! I go back into the “hostel” type place but, of course, there’s no staff about at that time of day. Back out to the bike and I notice a person gate in the security fence and it doesn’t need a code to open it so I go through it and punch in my code from the outside – and the gate opens. Quickly I mount my steed and exit before it can shut on me. That was lucky!
I spent a nice relaxing day cruising down the peage at 80mph heading for Reims, Metz, Karlsruhe, Imst and then Soelden (which is just to the north of the Timmelsjoch pass). I stayed in Soelden in 2016 when I was heading to the Austrian MotoGP races and there was a pub there (Black & Orange) that I wanted to frequent but, in 2016, it was closed on Mondays. Guess which day I was there? Correct, a Monday. This year I arranged to there on a different day so I could sample their dunkel beers and enjoy some rock music. That was the plan.
I rolled into Soelden, crossed one of the bridges (that go over the snow melt river) and picked a hotel where I saw a woman sitting outside on its deck. I parked my bike across the road and walked over to ask if she had a spare room for the night. The hotel was closed but suggested one down the road. I walked down to it and it had a sign (on A4 white paper) stuck to door telling me it was closed for c. 3 weeks. Back on the bike and cruise, slowly, through the town only to see the same white paper on all the hotel doors (including the pub I wanted to frequent).
Apparently, I’d arrived at the town’s annual break period between winter and summer visitors – I now know when not to try and stay there in the future.
It was time to stop for the night and up the hill from here is the north side of the Timmelsjoch pass so I needed to stop soon. I started riding up the hill and came across a small hamlet which, luckily, had an open hotel / bar / restaurant with a room available for me! And they sold Weiss beer on draught; that’s me sorted then for the night.