Bimota Forum

zombie · Joined: 10 Feb 2009 Posts: 272 Location: UK

Great pictures. Mantra is looking remarkably fresh too!!

bimotanige · Joined: 12 Jul 2010 Posts: 582 Location: yorkshire

glad its going well, just back from the IOM. Vdue ran great -see Vdue post. Catch you when you are back Very Happy

2bims · Joined: 03 Apr 2010 Posts: 7292

Great to see your progress and piccies also, even the Mrs has become a fan of your regular updates, so much so we've just returned from a few days in "Sunny Wales" not quite Viva Italia, but a fun time anyhow, didn't take the DB2, as only had room for a spare change of underwear with that one, so lent the Mrs the Kwack Big Bird and I took the "tango"
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Hope to catch up when you get back, are you doing "slide shows" with free pizza and Peroni, Nastro Azzurro of course

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

[quote="zombie"]Great pictures. Mantra is looking remarkably fresh too!![/quote

Thanks!

Had a lazy day yesterday so I sacrificed a tee shirt and washed the bike. Checked the chain too (still present) and the oil - it has used 1 litre in 4000 miles - topped it up with some of Castrols finest from the local moto shop. The shop owner pronounced my bike to be a "bella moto". A man of taste, obviously!

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

Day 12 goodbye Livorno, Hello Rome

I disembarked from the ferry at 22:45. It was a hot, balmy night, so I decided to ride a couple of miles away from Livorno on the autostrada before turning off for the coast road and the search for a room for the night. The search ended at the hotel Rex, several miles from Livorno's port. The room was over-budget at 65 euros, and I had to share it with a colony of ants, but otherwise it was OK.
FACT:- deodorant is not an effective ant-killer - just leaves them going about their business smelling nice and sweating less. Aftershave, on the other hand, is a very effective way to kill ants. My room had a strong odour of aftershave by morning.
Showered and changed, I noted that the terrace bar was still open so decided to take a few beers before bed. However, at 6 euros for a bottle of Becks, I had just the one. And made it last.
Next morning, I opened the shutters to find it was raining. I took a late breakfast and loitered around the hotel reception hoping it would abate. it didn't, so I packed, loaded the bike, donned my rainsuit and headed south on the coast road to Rome.

terrace of the hotel Rex in the rain

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

The rain stopped and the roads had dried by the time I reached Cecina, so I took a coffee break and removed my rainsuit. Won't be needing that again. Onwards to Piombino, and the island of Elba. There was nothing that appealed to me about Elba, so I stood on the headland of Piombino and took a picture of instead.

then back on the coast road to the outskirts of Rome. Stopping for fuel, I punched "via Cassia 1826" into Tom and less than an hour later, I was at the gates of the Casa Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore, a convent / hotel run by nuns from the order of "the daughters of our lady of the sacred heart". yes - really - such a place does exist! And great it is too - private, secure parking, large garden, spacious en-suite room with balcony and a religous gift shop in the foyer. Breakfast was taken in a dormitory-style room in the basement, evening meals at Harrisons "authentic Irish pub" across the road. The owners of which were 2 Italian-speaking Germans Question

First full day started with a visit to the local lavenderia to do some essential lavaggio

then a fairly straight-forward run along the via Cassia to the
grande raccordo anulare (ring road) and onto via Tronafale all the way to the centre of Rome.

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

Rome - in and around

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

lunch on the piazza Venezia - if you want directions / information, ask your local Bangladeshi stall holder.

lunch box

Rome or bust...............

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

next, a visit to città o del vaticano

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

Casa Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore

departed after breakfast and picked up the GRA to uscita Fiumicino, then along the E80, past the airport (or in my case, due to a wrong turning, through the airport) and back onto the coast at lido di Ostia. The coastal road from here (SS601) runs alongside the beach to

And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while.
And the Anzio bridgehead
Was held for the price
Of a few hundred ordinary lives.

(excerpt from "When the Tigers broke free" by Pink Floyd)

Pompey · Joined: 31 Jul 2008 Posts: 2311 Location: Marlborough

Thats because Rogers dad died there ...
_________________
Pomps
Bimota's Db2, Db5 ,Ducati's 851' 92, 888' 93, Honda blade' 93, Triumph speed triple' 07, kawasaki zxr 750 k1

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

Royal Fusiliers, company C?

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

Anzio now

and onwards to the bay of Naples and my first sighting of monte Vesuvio

GeeKay · Joined: 29 May 2009 Posts: 1767 Location: West Yorkshire

using Tom to direct me to my hotel for the next 2 nights, I settled in to my room at Il Fauno b&b then took a steady ride to Vesuvius. On the way up, I chanced upon these 2 guys testing their racing kart on the quiet approach road.

would I like a go? yes please!

the climb from the car park closed at 17:00, and I arrived at 17:45, so I turned around and headed back to Pompei.

lava flow

macabre rock art......