Bimota Forum

[GeeKay]

from Randazzo, the SS120 takes me to Linguaglossa and onwards to Monte Etna. But which - nord or sud ? I chose nord and followed the signs, ever climbing.
First lava flow, lower slopes.



petrified forest



petrified of this



the road ends at 1810 metres at piano Provenzana and your journey to near the summit costs 40 euros for a 90 minute ride in one of these 4wd buses, accompanied by a multi-lingual park ranger / vulcanologist.



best fed scrounger on Etna

[GeeKay]

the bus journey is quite extraordinary, weaving it's way along an impossibly narrow "road" to the observatory at 2800 metres, the highest point that we tourists are allowed to travel to.





Bimota Ricambi, Etna (Nord).



on 27 October 2002, 25 craters on the northern slope, spread over a distance of 2kms, erupted and sent a lava flow 5kms down to piano Provenzana, wiping it out and with it the tourist industry of nearby Linguaglossa. There was no loss of life.





and the last vestiges of floral life, 2200 metres above sea level.



on the bus journey back to base camp, I reflected on the fact that the salami and cheese sandwich I had shared with my friend the scrounger was repeating on me and I had a mild bout of indigestion. I was bloody relieved that Etna had a settled stomach that day...........

[GeeKay]

back on two wheels, I descended back to sea level and rejoined the coast, and the SS114 coastal road, at Fiumefreddo di Sicilia. From here I skirted the coast to Messina then onwards to Torre Faro and Sparta, right on the north-eastern tip of the island.





Continuing along the coast, I made it to Milazzo to check out the ferry port for my forthcoming trip to the Aeolian islands, then hopped onto the autostrada back to Patti. The gelato limone I had on the promenade of Patti Marina was most welcome that evening.
Another dawn, another day, and I can think of no better place to wake up in than my room at agriturismo Monte Alto.
A short 30 minute ride gets me to Milazzo in time for the 09:40 hydrofoil to Lipari, and hour away across the Aeolian sea. First port of call is Porto di Levante on the island of Vulcano, which looks like a giant bikini top floating in the sea due to it's two extinct volcanoes joined by a spit of land.



From here, it's a detour to Alicudi, said to be the most beautiful and unspoilt of the Aeolian archipeligo.
And so to Lipari, where I would take a 2 hour stop-over en-route to Stromboli. I really wish my 2 hours had been 2 weeks - what a lovely little island this is. For the first time in my journey, I actually "felt" that I was on an island. Lipari has a laid-back bustle (if there is such a thing) and charm that is so endearing. I found myself wandering the back streets, taking lemon soda in one of the many street-side cafes and sitting by the harbour listening to the gently lapping waves and watching local lads diving off the jetty for money thrown in by tourists. And me.

Lipari - in and around

[GeeKay]

as I waited in a harbour-side cafe for my hydrofoil connection to Stromboli, great excitement (for Lipari) broke out when the car ferry docked and the Circo Acquatico tried to roll into town. The rather large lorries and trailers didn't appear to have enough room to disembark the ferry. If the double-parked cars harbourside had moved, it would have been an easy exercise. But this is Italy. The local carabinieri arrived and leant casually on the quayside, adjusting their oh-so-cool aviator sunglasses and sharing a smoke with the harbour workers. The captain of the ferry came to see what all the fuss was about, and why his ferry wasn't un-loading. He joined the police and dock side workers for a cigarette, then they all trooped off to the cafe next to where I was seated.
Next to arrive, representatives of the Guardia Costeria. They appeared to think the problem laid with the female driver of the truck, but she apparantly refused to dismount the cab, so more cigarettes were lit.
Finally, owners of two of the (illegally) parked cars arrived and after consultation with the assembled masses, moved their cars. The truck, now guided by the harbourside workers, rolled off the ferry and promptly hit a parked van.
Only in Italy.
On the end of the island, high above the port, is a crucifix. As I left Lipari, I vowed to return and climb to stand beside that crucifix.

[GeeKay]

And so to Stromboli, my third volcano of this tour. Stromboli is everything I imagine a volcano to be - conical, active - the volcano is the island. I avoided the touts on the quayside (room for rent - boat trip around the island - hike to the summit) and found a very nice restaurant over-looking the harbour. I ate a very nice meal. On an active volcano. Whilst the tourists circled the island in boats, I wandered the beach and back streets. I had 4 hours to kill until the hydrofoil for Lipari and Milazzo arrived.

Stromboli - in and around

[GeeKay]

Still to finish updating Stromboli - got sidetracked going to see Rossano and Pirro's Bimota collection, then went to Lecce to view Roberto and Antonio's Bimota collection then to superkart circuit La Conca to watch a stage of the 45th Rally del Salento, which ended today. Team Peugeot Italia won (the racing lions) and are busy celebrating in the restaurant in the hotel where I am staying.
If you look closely at the first picture of Lipari, you will notice a sign with "Diana Brown" emblazoned on it. One of my constant travelling companions on this journey is a book titled "Vroom by the Sea" written by Peter Moore. It is an account of his travels through Sardinia, Sicily and the south-western coast of Italy. His transport was a 200cc Vespa scooter, so he travelled a lot slower than I am doing, but because he had no time limit, he could stay longer, explore deeply and absorb more than I have. He stayed at Diana Browns b&b whilst on Lipari.

[who]

I'm enjoying the holiday!

[GeeKay]

Strombolini



volcanic beach - no sandcastles

[GeeKay]

Next day was taken slowly - I had my haircut, frequented the internet cafe in piazza Venetia and took lunch in a hotel restaurant across the piazza from the cafe. In the evening, I took a ride along the coast and sat in a secluded spot watching and listening to the sea lapping the nearby beach and rocky outcrop. Back into Marina di Patti for a lemon icecream then back to my hotel for my evening meal. I spent an hour watching the sunset over the Aeolian islands and retired to bed.
Next day I said farewell to the enigmatic Carlo, owner of hotel Monte Alto, local entrepreneur and all-round nice guy and rode to Messina. From here, I caught a ferry back to Villa San Giovanni then picked up the coast road to Reggio Calabria. The road to Reggio Calabria is all urbanised - no open road, very few coastal views and slow going. In the heat of the early morning, I was boiling. Through Reg Cab the road opened up and I could generate sufficient pace to cool down. The coast itself is un-inspiring, the SS106 running near to the beach most of the way to just before Crotone, where it runs inland and upwards before descending to the coast again near Ciro. Storm clouds loomed on the horizon as I neared Badolato, so I stopped at a roadside cafe and took lunch. The lightning was particularly impressive, with a deep rumbling thunder soundtrack. The storm passed Badolato without a drop of rain falling. Smugly, I finished my lunch and back on the road, ran into an almighty rainstorm 20kms up the road.
The heel of Italy is one great big, unfinished, building site. Everywhere there are the concrete structures of villas or apartment blocks, all with "for sale" signs attached. Euro millions, perhaps?
I made Taranto by early evening, and booked a room in the Sud Hotel, in the pretty resort of Marina di Pulsano.

view from balcony

[GeeKay]

Continuing along the coast road, I eventually made it to here,,,,,



no - not that Gallipoli, the other, Italian one.....

the coast along here was pretty unspectacular, although there were some new resorts being built. Must have their own, private beaches as the public ones aren´t very appealing.





and onwards to the very tip of the "heel" of Italy, the very pretty resort of Capo Santa Maria di Leuca

the coastline improves the closer to CSMdiL you get, with a distinctly Arabian / Moorish influence ever-present.





natural harbour



natural ruin

[GeeKay]

Lands End, Italy.







flying the flag.......



For the first time on my journey, I was now on the eastern coastline. And the first stretch, from Capo S Maria di Leuca to San Cataldo, certainly didn't disappoint. It was everything I had hoped the over-hyped Amalfi coast would be - flowing coastal road, great scenery, lovely little villages, ruins.....
If you want ruins, you can overdose on them on this stretch of coast, it´s littered with them. And all have free access if you are prepared to walk.











plenty of ruined watchtowers all along the south-west and south-east coasts.

[GeeKay]

Back to Ortranto for lunch, then 10kms inland to my next hotel, Agri Hotel dei Panzanari, owned by the brothers DÁmuri. My contact was Rossano.
Meet Rossano




I settled into my room, took coffee and had a chat with Rossano, then at his instruction, rode to the circuit La Conca where a special stage of the 45th Rally del Salento was being held. La Conca is an international-size karting circuit, tight and twisty and great for rally cars.



a rally car



after watching the rally for a couple of hours, I rode back to the village of Muro Leccese, 1 km from the hotel.

In and around.....

[GeeKay]

next morning it was Pino DÀmuri who took me to see their impressive collection of 28 Bimota´s.
Meet Pino



and part of their stunning collection



OOH!! SB8R, just like mine



and back at the hotel, the Tesi racer, YB5 and DB6



in the afternoon, I took a ride to nearby Lecce to meet Bimota enthusiasts extraordinaire Roberto and Antonio. To say that I don´t speak much Italian and they very little English, we had a great conversation about bikes using sign language and a lot of pointing. It was truly remarkable. They are both grade A nutters, in the nicest sense. Even taking coffee in a nearby cafe, we were still "conversing" in our own peculiar fashion. They appeared very apprehensive of me taking photo´s, so I didn´t. But they did insist I take a photo of this bike and research it later on the net. Never heard of it before. Have you?



Having visited 3 private Bimota collections in Italy, I have been very priviledged to view over 100 assorted Bimota´s, along with the other bikes in the collections. There are many more Bimota collections in Italy, but I feel honoured to have been invited to see the ones I did.

Next day, it was time to move on again. I left hotel Panzanari after an early breakfast and a chance photo with one of the resident rally team´s trucks.

[GeeKay]

I travelled inland on the SS16 to Lecce, then onwards to the coast at Brindisi. Püglia is not known as "the breadbasket of Italy" for nothing.
Mile after mile after mile of olive tree plantations is all you see, until
north of Bari where they concede territory to the vast wheatfields that continue on towards Barletta. From Zapponeta to Manfredonia, I ride with vast salt plains to my left and the coast to my right, on a flat, narrow spit of land that looks to be very prone to flooding. Which it is, but controlled flooding via huge irrigation waterways that flood and drain the landscape, leaving behind the salt that is then harvested. Manfredonia, named after an Austrian Duke {Manfred, not Onia} stands at the foot of the imposing
Promontorio del Gargano which you see rising before you as near the city.



My plan was to ride the coast road to the most popular resort, Vieste, take lunch, then jump on the SS89 to take me back to the A14 autostrada and north along the Adriatic coast. I´m pleased to say my plan worked well - the coast road to Vieste climbs into the mountains and affords stunning views along the coastline then drops down to sea-level and pretty little villages by the sea.









Vieste - the old town clings to the sea-side of the rock





the "new" town to the inland side



leaving Vieste

[GeeKay]

I had 2 reasons for using the autostrada A14 - the first is that it runs along a pretty un-inspiring coastline all the way to Rimini yet affords a good view of the coast as it runs higher than the coastline, allowing views of passing towns and villages not seen at street level. And secondly, it´s Sunday. On Sunday, any Italian not gainfully employed servicing the needs of the sun-worshipping locals, is a sun-worshipping local. The towns, villages and "open" roads in-between are clogged with cars, making reasonable progress near impossible.
I made Cattolica by early evening and booked into a hotel on the main drag. Showered and changed, I jumped on the bike and rode the short distance to Misano Adriatico to visit Max.
Meet Max



Max owns the Roxy Bar in Misano Adriatico. I met Max last year, when I was in Rimini for the 2010 WSB round. He directed me to the ticket office and I made a point of frequenting his bar as he always had bike racing on the tv and sold the best lemon ice cream I have ever tasted.
Next day, I joined the SS16 out of Rimini to Ravenna.

NOTE:- if you ever fancy touring Italy, but without the hassle, visit

http://www.italiainminiatura.com/

just outside Rimini. You can see more of Italy in a day than I managed in 30.
The SS16 becomes clogged with heavy traffic just shy of Ravenna, from where the SS309 takes me towards Venice. I haven't seen the coast since leaving Cattolica, and won't see it again until I reach Venice.
Venice comes as a nice surprise. All I had read about it pointed to it being a monumental let-down - dirty, smelly, clogged with tourists and over-priced. My over-riding view of Venice is that it needs tourists to make it work. Not just to make it pay, but to work as a place. The bustle as you walk along the canals (which didn't smell) adds a sense of "belonging" - I felt a part of the city and this consigned me to stay a lot longer than I had anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised to pay the same for an icecream in Venice as I had in Cattolica the previous day.
I sat at the side of the Grand canal and watched the boats plying their trade, the tourists (the gee-ing Americans and giggling Japanese were much in evidence) studying their maps, shooting videos and trying not to lose their guides.
Venice - in and around.