2000 Déjà-vu - The Beginning

1999 saw Ian, Guzzisue and myself doing our own things. My friends went travelling around Scotland while I stayed at home. It was business as usual in 2000 when we embarked on our next journey overseas.

The eve of any holiday Guzzisue always has problems sleeping, personally speaking I think she’s just a big kid, so we were up and on the road for 6:30 and arriving at Dover for 11:30 and managing to get on an earlier ferry. There were several bikes already waiting to board when we arrived that were heading for Assen and the race meeting.

We had an excellent quiet drive on the payage getting our nostrils full of different smells, once a strong smell of onion and another of sugar beet that Ian claimed smelt like marmite.

Just before Reims we were slowed down a little as there had been an minor accident between two British cars, one with a caravan. This was on a long tight right hand bend where the road filtered on to another. No one was injured but I think it may have put an end to their holidays.

Once again we stopped at the Prunella Hotel in Verdun for the evening and departed at 9:00 the following morning. Near Saarbrucken we passed an American circus that was camped up in a field and this was one of two memorable things that happened today, the other being overtaken by a Lotus on the autobahn, we were doing 85-90mph and this roared past us at about 150mph! We managed to dodge the rain showers all day until Kempton, which is just north of Fussen, so we stopped there again.

Guzzisue bought this chocolate bar in Fussen and it is one of those occasions when a word can mean something different in another language.

Round Britain Rally

Round Britain Rally Fever has hit our household!
Ian had the list of this years landmarks come through the other day, so we have been busy putting them into order so that he can plan rides out from any rallies that the three of us may do, or just a days ride out if Guzzisue is busy with one of her projects.
There is going to be an official start on Good Friday at 11:00 at landmark No 1 on the list. I will not be able to show any pictures of this years event until after the rally finishes in October for fear of getting Ian disqualified. From time to time I may mention how we are doing with a bigger report to follow later in the year.
With a total of 100 landmarks throughout mainland Britain there is plenty for us to tackle. This is our fourth year of entry and every year Ian has surpassed his previous years total so here's hoping the trend continues.
I can feel my song coming on already...

Biker Ted's Award

A very belated thank you to Becky at http://bikerchickzblog.blogspot.com/ for honouring me with this award in Feburary. I was most surprised with this as my blog had only been up and running since early January. Here’s hoping I can keep on posting things of interest and maybe help some people to go and investigate different places and events.

In the time honoured fashion I will forward this award to the following sites I have been visiting.

WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier This site is being run by the grandson of William Lamin who was a soldier in WWI and his letters are being posted as they would have been received ninty years ago. It gives an incredible insite as to how things were in that period. This is even more poignant as he lived in Ilkeston, a small town about fifteen miles away from us and he also worked in a lace factory, as once did Ian for nearly fifteen years.

http://on2wheels-gawo.blogspot.com/ We cannot read Norwegian but Gawo posts some very good scenic shots from around his country. It reminds us of the time that we have spent over there and occasionally we can say “We’ve been there!”. One day we will return but we have two big birthdays coming up in 2009 and 2010 so I’m not sure wat is being planned at the moment.

http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot.com This site deals with all things connected to life on two wheels, be it from the past or artwork or musical instruments!

Sorry gussisue I think that I would be biased if I put forward http://travelfibreandthread.blogspot.com/ for this award.

Wind In My Fur

I don’t think that I’m alone in saying that when I am out either by myself or with Ian and Guzzisue I tend to start making my own songs up. Here is one I did the other day. All apologies to Mars Bonfire and Steppenwolf for this but the tune to Born To Be Wild just got stuck in my head and this was the outcome!

I called it Wind In My Fur.

Got my motor runnin’

Riding on the pavement

Lookin’ out for dog shit

And for holes in the cement

Yeah I’m gonna make it happen

Gonna ride right outta this place

I’ve got my tank full of gas now

Quitting the old rat race

I like screaming two strokes

Four strokes roaring thunder

Racin’ with the wind

Keeps fillin’ my head with wonder

Yeah I’m gonna make it happen

Gonna ride right outta this place

I’ve got my tank full of gas now

Quitting the old rat race

Like a true nature’s child

I was born to be wild

I can climb so high

I never wanna die

Wind in my fur

Wind in my fur

Sand Racing Time

This Sunday sees the last sandracing at Mablethorpe for the season and weather permitting Ian, Guzzisue and myself will be there again. It will be our last trip over to the East Coast until October when the 2008-9 season kicks in, unless there is a landmark for this years Round Britain Rally, which we will find out about very soon as this will start on Easter Sunday.
Until then here are a few pictures from the meeting that we attended on January 27th this year.

1998 Guzzi Goes Home - The Last Few Days

Have I mentioned the rain at all this holiday? Well today on the way up to Heidelberg it rained so hard that Ian had to pull over onto the hard shoulder of the autobahn. He had been going at 90 miles per hour and couild not see anything, even at this speed he was being overtaken!

We eventually arrived at our destination and found the tourist information centre just before their closing time and booked a hotel near to the main pedestrian area.

There was a small courtyard to park the Guzzi in and as we pulled up the owner was telling her husband to move his car so that we could ride in. The hotel looked like it could have been a factory in the past with rooms up and down several floors.

In a past life Guzzisue had been to Heidelberg several times raving about its virtues, however she was a little dismayed to see that several of the trams had graffiti on them.

For the passing tourist there is a funicular railway that climbs out of the old town to the castle and TV tower and lookout, a textile museum and zoo to name a few places of interest.

We decided to have a wind down day and did very little except window shop. Ian was in his element as there is a very large record shop and he spent a couple of hours there wishing he had a way to get half the shop’s stock home!

Having spent two nights in Heidelberg we were back on the road and reached Béthune, France, about 60 miles from Calais where we stayed for the evening before getting the 10 o’clock ferry next morning for home.

After arriving back in England we headed straight up to Italia Moto in Lincoln and explained how we lost the rear lens. Phil the owner proceeded to take one off from a bike in the showroom and to this day we still have not paid for this. One day Phil, one day.

Things we decided from this holiday include:

• Thanks to Altberg who make the best waterproof motorcycle boots we’ve found.
• We decided never to take the tent on a foreign trip again
• Venice cannot be seen in a day!
• Always be flexable as events can change anytime.
• Carry spare gloves in an easily accessable place.
• When staying at a chain hotel pick up their booklet as you never know when it will be useful.

1998 Guzzi Goes Home - Innsbruck

First the bad news. We had got to the point in our holiday when the thoughts of heading home hit us. The good news is that we can still stop off in two more places.

Innsbruck in Austria was our first stop. I cannot remember much about which way we started off but we did use the Brenner Pass to reach Innsbruck itself.

Just outside the city we had stopped to decide on our plan of attack when a Greek came over to us to enquire about the mountain passes and were they open. We had seen a few snowflakes but nothing to worry about. He seemed happy with this and went on his way.

One thing Ian and Guzzisue do when they decide to stop somewhere for a couple of days is to go to the nearest tourist information centre and book a hotel. By doing this they can find one in their price range and make sure there is somewhere to park the Guzzi.

The Hotel Royal was thus booked and was situated near to the old town above a cinema. Ian had to go round part of the city twice as he rode straight past it. It was difficult to see the main door I must admit.

Once out of the riding gear it was time for a quick look round before the rain caught up with us again and led to an early night.

Next day it was a dash between showers as we tried to play at tourists as we went up the StadtturmTower which was built in 1440. This gave us a view of Innsbruck’s rooftops and mountains. We would also have had a bird’s eye view of the building with a golden roof if it was not having some work done to it, however was a tarpaulin covering it that had been painted to look like the building itself.

Back on ground level we went into the Dom zu St. Jakob. Although none of us are religious it does not stop us from being interested in the arcititure of churches. Inside was very ornate and bright. If churches back home in England were like this I wonder if Christianity in any form would be stronger today.

A walk away from the town centre took us all the way to the Bergisel Stadion which was built for the Winter Olympics in 1964 and used again in 1976. There is a great view over the city from up here and in summer the bottom acts as a concert venue with 40,000 seats!

As usual on the way back to the hotel my friends were being nosey and spotted two bikes lurking in back gardens.

Tomorrow onwards to Germany.

1998 Guzzi Goes Home - Venice In A Day?

From where we were staying it was possible to purcase tickets to Venice from the local newsagents. All tickets for public transport have to be bought in advance and punched in a machine once aboard the vehicle. This was a double which meant that we first took a bus ride to a port and from there sailed over Laguna Véneta to St Mark’s Square.

On setting foot at the edge of St Mark’s Square, Ian decided to buy a “Venice in a day” guide. His idea was to see as much of Venice as he could, however, after half an hour of stopping at every corner to study the map his patience was wearing thin as so the guide ended up in his pocket for the rest of the day!

Once away from the tourist trail he began to enjoy exploring the back streets away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist trail. Turning a corner we came across a small courtyard with a café and a group of musicians playing, then a man with a sack truck came into sight singing away. He had a very strong voice that echoed off the buildings and that is the thing I enjoyed best about the day.

We did manage to fight our way across the Rialto Bridge as this was one big tourist trap and we also saw the Bridge of Sighs that runs between the palace and prison.

Around St Mark’s Square things are very expensive but once away from the main trails, as with any city, prices become lower. We also declined a gondola ride as this worked out at £60 for an hour! However we saw what must have been a honeymooning couple complete with a singer and a musician in one. The man looked pleased as punch but I’m not too sure about his partner. Have a look at their photo and make up your own mind. Perhaps My Way in Italian was not a good choice of song.

All three of us agreed that Venice could not be seen in a day and that we would have to return soon.

1998 Guzzi Goes Home - R & R (Repair & Rain)

Travelling south next day we left the mountains behind us and went round the suburbs of Treviso before following the signs for Venice. Ian saw a road sign for a tourist information centre so he pulled in and we asked about a campsite near Venice itself. The lady in the centre advised us to head for Lido di Jésolo as there are some sites in that region.

Unfortunately the information centre was on a duel carriageway so we had to go all the way to the bus station in Venice before we could get any further. Ian then proceeded to travel in circles close to Marco Polo Airport for half an hour before getting on the correct road once again.

Eventually we reached Jésolo Pineta and booked ourselves in to the Villaggio Turistico Adriatico for a few days camping. It was siesta time when we arrived so we could not ride the Guzzi onto the site, but Ian could push it round if he wanted! The offer was declined and we walked around to the swimming pool ares where there was a bar and sat in the shade with a beer instead.

After siesta time the tent was pitched and othen off to the camp shop where a tube of superglue was bought and then back to the bar and Ian had another beer while gluing the rear light lens back together to the puzzlement of other people.

Guzzisue found the laundry area and washed some clothes, however there was no tumble dryer and over our stay the clothes were put out to dry after the morning rain and put back into the tent before the rain came back in the evening, every day! This was because the rain would go inland, reach the Dolomites and bounce back to us later in the day.

The next day was spent exploring the local area. Jésolo Pineta is a small fishing area where the nets are on rigging and placed into the water and then lifted back out. The catch is then sold in the adjacent market.

Walking the opposite way Ian and Guzziesue spent sometime in an amusement arcade enjoying one of their pastimes – pinball. They also spotted these two vechiles hiding in the corners.

This was a laid back day before the onslaught of Venice the next day.

1998 Guzzi Goes Home - Guzzi Gets Home

We awoke to sunshine! After breakfast the Guzzi was loaded in double quick time and refulled. Fussen is right on the German – Austrian boarder so we stopped to change some Deutchmarcs into Schillings and get the road tax. This only cost a few Schillings but there is a heavy fine if caught on the wrong road without it. There are many different places where it can be bought from, including garages and shops.

Slow progress was made through Austria as we had to keep looking at the map to see where we were going to next. At one time Ian went in the wrong direction and ended up going through a tunnel that was long and full of exhaust fumes. When we got out Ian had to pull over for a few minutes to get his breath back and while he was doing this a policeman stopped by and checked to see if we had a tax disc!

Back on track we reached the Timmelsjoch Pass and stopped for a photo. We were to use this pass several times over the next few years. The Pass is a toll road that is closed over the winter period. While on this road we reached the Italian boarder and stopped for another photo shoot.

Slowly we made our way down to Bolzano Bozen where short of fuel we had to wait for the siesta to finish in order to get some Lira from the bank. Guzzisue went and got the money but she had to pass through a metal detector before gaining access to the bank.

On the road again Ian got slightly lost as the road signs were not to clear. He even tried asking a policeman to point us in the right direction, to no avail. We eventually get on the right track again and head off down to Predazzo, where we stop for a drink.

Refreshed we carry on when disaster strikes! Ian rides over a pot hole and the bag on the rear carrier bounces up, then down and shears off the rear light lens. Guzzisue sees this happen in the mirror, so Ian pulls over and she goes running down the road to pick up the pieces. Luck is on our side and one half of the lens so complete so Ian removes one of the rear bulbs and uses a piece of insulation tape to keep part of the lens in place, puts a clear plastic bag over the complete unit to keep out any water and keeps it in place with a cable tie.

San Martino di Castrozza is reached late afternoon and we decide to stay there for the evening.