Bimota Forum

[GeeKay]

righty - traced the illusive "cafe du internet" in Bastia at last, so here's an update, hopefully with pictures attached

Day 1 - Hello Europe, goodbye Tom

Off the ferry early Thursday am in Europoort, Rotterdam, punched "Luxembourg" into the Tom Tom sat nav and hit the A15 running.
Tom did a great job guiding me through the network of motorways that leave Rotterdam, guiding me successfully to the Belgian border, where he/it took umbridge and promptly died. Stopped at the next services to find the internal battery was flat - this despite being plugged in to a 12 volt cig lighter attachment I fitted for this purpose. Luggage off, lift seat, change fuse, no joy - out with the trusty 1998 Michelin atlas of Europe and some hastily scribbled directions and on my way to Antwerp. Passed Brussels, Namur and Saarbrucken, looking for autobahn junction for Karlsruh which, due to roadworks, was closed. Headed towards Mannheim before consulting atlas again and found an alternative route - backtrack up the autobahn and turn off onto the 271 for Bad Durkheim then on to Landau/Edenkoben/Karlsruh. Unbeknown to me, the 271 is known locally as "Weinstrasse" which would account for every square inch of land being devoted to the vine. Around 20:00 I passed through a pretty village - Ungsheim - and saw a hotel on the main street which looked OK so turned around and booked a room for the night.
Meet mine host, Hans.

[GeeKay]

Hans is the perfect host - he booked me a table at the restaurant across the road



suggested a menu and speaks really good English. Over breakfast next morning, he told me how he had previously worked in Bradford, fitting industrial ovens into a bakery, and that he had been to "the most famous fish and chip shop in England" in Ilkley - I think he meant Guiseley, but was close enough!
He then returned to his native Switzerland where he had a TV repair shop before selling up and buying the hotel 12 years ago. High season is Sept - Oct when the local wine harvest and subsequent festival occur. His hotel is already full-booked, but he very kindly offered me a room at his home if I wanted to visit. What a top bloke

A few random pics of Ungsheim

the hotel garden



main street, Ungsheim



the restaurant patio



the hotel

[bimotanige]

well did you order one???? Glad its going well - TT for me tomorrow, looks like the Vdue will be in action for it again. Shame there are only a couple of us that ride them anywhere!!! Safe riding

[GeeKay]

Day 2 - Hello Switzerland, goodbye clock.

After breakfast, shared with Hans and his wife, I packed the bike and set off for Switzerland and, ultimately, an overnight stop in Liechtenstein. Ever helpful Hans supplied the route "for bikers - you enjoy" ! and off I went. Surrounded by vineyards all along the Weinstrasse, the scenery changed after leaving Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, the fields now turned over to the growing of crops of vegetables. I got lost in Speyer, which proved rather fortunate as I may not have happened across the Speyer Museum. Too tight to pay the entry fee (12 euros) I rode around the perimeter instead and took a few pictures for free.







just like life-sized Airfix kits on their stands and yes, that is a full-size Jumbo jet

I entered Bruchsal through it's old gateway



then continued onwards through Pforzheim



to Rottweill, Tuttlingen and Stockach.
At the "t" junction in Stockach, neither direction indicated the route to Konstanz. So I went left. And the road to Konstanz went right.........
Fortunately, I spotted a Ducati bike showroom, and needing a "comfort" break, pulled in and had a wander around. They had a toilet, which I could use, a coffee machine that dispensed free coffee and some very helpful staff who pointed me in the right direction.
Meet Auer Ducati/BMW, Stockach.



suitably relieved and refreshed, I left Stockach heading for Konstanz. I arrived on the shore of a very big lake, which I later discovered was the
Bodensee and followed the directions to Konstanz. Crossing into Switzerland, I got lost (again!) and crossed back and forth into Germany and Switzerland before a very kind douane officer pointed me in the direction of Romanshorn. Just leaving Romanshorn, it started to rain - lightly at first - then increasingly heavier until it became a downpour. I abandoned my plan to reach Liechtenstein and headed for St Gallas to look for a room for the night. I found one in Morschwil, a small gasthaus that had rooms and a restaurant. Showered, I took a meal in the restaurant (ordered fillet of beef, got served salami and mushrooms - easy mistake to make) , quoffed a few glasses of wine (ordered white but expected to be served red) and retired for the night. Despite the assurances of the staff that the bike was perfectly safe in the car park, some thieving scrote took a fancy to my clock and relieved me of it.

[GeeKay]

Day 3 Hello Italy - goodbye Switzerland.

I awoke at 06:30 to find it had stopped raining. Breakfast, I was informed, would be served from 06:30 onwards. The restaurant doors opened at 08:15. Worse still, I couldn't get out of the hotel, as the main doors were also locked! So, after a later than planned breakfast, I loaded the bike and settled my bill. Rather handily, they forgot to charge me for my meal and wine from the night before - I would normally point out their error and pay up - but the amount compensated for the cost of my missing clock - so I stayed quiet and made a hasty departure!
the Gasthaus of horrors



Less than 5 miles down the road it started raining again. The surrounding skyline showed no sign of abatement, so I stopped, dismounted and donned my waterproof suit.



and 10 miles later............



I left the rainsuit on as I was heading for the Alps and it would only get colder and wetter, despite this temporary lull. How wrong could I be..............

[GeeKay]

and so, I made it to here



the capital of which (Vaduz) has this rather beautiful building at it's centre



and nothing else.
I left Liechtenstein heading for Maienfeld,Zizers and Chur to pick up the 19 road which would take me to the Oberalppasse. Off with the rainsuit and onwards to the Alps!
the summit





then down the other side for lunch in Andermatt - curried carrot soup anyone?



and so to Gotthard - tunnel or pass? car or bike? pass it is, then

the summit



ice sculpture



down in the valley below is the town of Airolo, next call.



all downhill from here.........



then cross into Italy and a steady run to Lake Lugarno



past Lake Como and on to my hotel for the night, the Axolute Comfort in Cantu. For 50 euros a night, breakfast included, this was the bargain of the trip so far - my bathroom was bigger than any of the previous bedrooms I had used!

[GeeKay]

[GeeKay]

Day 4 - Hello Piero, goodbye V-Due

showered, breakfasted (?) and loaded, I made the short trip to meet Bimota collector extrodinaire, Piero, at his office in Meda, a suburb of Milan. Tom, now fully re-charged, guided me successfully to within 3 doors of Piero's office.
Meet Piero.



and some of his impressive collection of Bimota's



I got a personal guided tour of his factory / workshops, chatted bikes over an expresso in the cafe across the road, talked more bikes and borrowed the tools necessary to adjust my rather slack chain. Piero is a perfect gentleman and host - I feel honoured that he allowed me not only to see his superb collection of bikes, but to take the time to extracate those of interest to both me and himself to allow me to photograph them.
Ciao! Piero.



Took the road to Milano centro storico to get a look at the worlds largest duomo only to find that some national/international cycling tour was due in town at 16:00 and a lot of roads had been closed to accomodate it's arrival. So I punched destination Genova, avoiding toll routes, into Tom and set off down the autostrada. All was going well until I went to move Tom back into my line of vision within the tank-mounted map pocket and inadvertently switched it off!
Of course, the next junction was signposted Genova, so I took it, and paid the toll. Quite literally - it was the toll road to Genova!
Miles of boring, flat and featureless autostrada slipped beneath the wheels. Sitting at a steady 75 - 80 mph, I was passed by umpteen bikes and hoards of big German saloon cars cruising at probably double my speed. I started to take notice of some of the bikes that passed me:- the 999 Ducati, two-up, rider and pillion dressed in t-shirts and shorts the Multistrada, the engine of which is a direct descendant of the one in my bike and the ST4, in yellow, again 2-up with a rather hefty female pillion on board. It sat rather low at the back.
Then came the bends.
The sweeping curves started to tighten. I caught and passed the ST4 and tagged onto the back of the Multistrada:- we covered the last 30 miles or so swapping the lead several times, carving past cars and lorries and generally having a great time. When the autostrada split, he took the Livorno ramp, I the one for Genova. When he noticed, he turned and waved - I liked that. It had been the most exhilerating ride so far.
I passed Genova on the autostrada and took the turning for Cogoleto and the hotel Puntabella at Varraze.
Meet the Italian Riviera

[GeeKay]

I had arrived at the hotel early in the afternoon, so having dismounted the luggage, showered and changed, I rode back along the Riviera towards Savonna. It was the first time, since the trip started, that I got to ride the bike without luggage attached. I felt free, in a strange kind of way:- un-encumbered by rucksack, tailpack and tank top map pocket. I had no timetable, no deadline to make, and no destination planned. On the way back, I stopped at a roadside cafe and took a late lunch.
Meet my lunch guest, Liz.



After the meal, I rode to Cogoleto to look for an internet cafe. It was now early evening, 24 degrees in the sun and totally agreeable to wandering the small, mostly sheltered street market. At one stall, selling salami's and cheeses, I was asked a question in Italian by the stallholder. I replied that I was ingleisi and no comprende. He called to a lady at another stall, who introduced herself in a distinctly southern-England voice.
Meet Umberto and his wife, Nunzia.



Nunzia is British-born, of Italian parents, and lived in St Albans. She married Umberto and moved to Cantu - yes, the same Cantu where I stayed the previous night - and they made their living selling home produced cheeses, salamis and lard, which they sold to various hotels in Milan and the surrounding districts. Every month-end, they make the 6 hours round trip to Cogoleto to hold a stall at the market. We left Umberto to run the stall and chatted for maybe 30 minutes - she wanted to know about my journey, and I about life in Italy. She said it was very rare to meet and talk to English people in Cogoleto - I said that for their sakes, I hope that it stays that way.
I really do like Cogoleto - it is quiet, unassuming, devoid of tourist tat and relatively unspoilt. I settled in to a promenade-front bar, people watching until sunset.

[GeeKay]

Day 5 Hello Liguria - goodbye tablet

After a hearty continental breakfast, I jumped onto the autostrada and headed south, to Pisa. Although not on the coast, it is close enough to warrant a detour.
Confession - I really have no interest in the past. Old buildings are just that - old buildings - usually in various states of decay and/or ruin. Some have impressive facades, others have impressive interiors, but hold no sway with me. I live for now, and the future. Technology is "where it's at" for me.
So I arrived at Pisa totally prepared to be under-whelmed by it all. A welcome lemonade at a cafe nearby set the mood - I got free crisps, but had my wallet lightened by 5.40 euros! I guess the crisps weren't free, after all
Then I followed the tourist hoardes through the arched gateway and - I have rarely been so astounded as I was at the sight that greeted me.



it truly is a beautiful sight to behold. As a complex, it has everything:- open space, intriguing architecture, stunning frescos - if you have seen it yourself, you will understand. Avoiding the obligatory "posing for the picture of me holding up/knocking down the leaning tower" artistes, I found myself engrossed by the beauty of the bassilica. It is a truly memorable sight.





did you know that the bassilica also leans (by a more modest 5 degrees)?
and that the tower is actually dog-legged, where various architects tried to cure it's lean? Neither did I, but the Rough Guide to Italy does!
I left Pisa and headed down the coast to Livorno, which has no appeal whatsoever. The reason for my visit will, hopefully, become evident later in my journey. Then back, via Pisa, and onto the SS1/SP1 road that winds through the mountains all the way back to Genova.
First, I picked up the coast at Viareggio, where you could stay in the very pretty hotel Principe



then rode through mile after mile of tourist resorts - each just rolls into the next, with only a roadsign indicating that you are in another place. From there, the road cuts inland and up and over the mountains. Stopped for lunch in Ricco'del Golfo de Spezia, where Roberto made me this rather fine salami based pizza (not available in your local supermarket).
Meet Roberto's pizza (he was camera-shy)



and this is the gents in Robertos cafe.........



then on to the Cinque Terre - only 2 of the 5 villages can be reached by road. This is one of them - Monterosso al Mare.



sadly the village itself wasn't worth visiting - it's sold-out to tourism big style and much the worse for it. I regretted making the effort to get there.
Back on the road - the Ligurian coastline is very pretty



a quick detour into Portofino, playground of the mega-rich



and the poor



from here I rode back to Genova to locate the terminal where I would embark on the ferry to Corsica the next day.
two fine cruisers.........



and that is where I am now, having spent the past 4 hours in an internet cafe in Bastia typing this update. I leave for Sardinia tomorrow - hopefully I will be able to update you on my time in Corsica.
Ah yes- the tablet! More technical innovation I encompassed for this trip. On returning to the hotel, I switched it on to update this post - nothing. Thinking the internal battery was flat, I plugged in the mains adaptor - still nothing. It has died -it is an ex-tablet -and of no further use to me.

au revoir

[mvf4312]

yes i do have a kettle and a coffee maker so ur spoilt for choice. oh been to the house fish are fine fed mr p and even the little one is swimming about still so all good this end. i need a bracket making for my tv stand got any ideas where i can get one???.

[zombie]

Great tour Geekay. Loving those photos of Italy and its amazing you met Piero Canale and got such a good welcome.

Compliments to the Mantra and it's maintainer !

Looking forward to further instalments.

[GeeKay]

thanks Zombie! - glad you are enjoying it.
quick update minus pics for now (no media slots again )
caught the noon ferry from Bonifacio (Corsica) to St Theresa (Sardinia) and eventually reached the Hotel Sa Mumari in Ulassai. There is a rather splendid grotto here which I will explore later. Ulassai comprises of 1 hotel, 1 pizzareia, 1 bank and 1 general purpose store. I'll be having a pizza supper then.............

[zombie]

Hopefully all licensed .......well maybe not the bank lol .... go steady on those chiantis (or make a later start !! ) benvenuto Zombie.

[GeeKay]

the best laid plans............
booked on the 11:00am ferry from Olbia to Livorno, as the 7hr crossing would put me on mainland Italy around 18:00, leaving plenty of time to find a hotel for the night. Left Ulassai at 07:00 for the 2hr run up to Olbia (you have to check in 90 mins prior to departure) only to be told the 11:00am sailing had been cancelled It would now depart at 15:30, getting me into Livorno at 22:30 at the earliest. I left the ferry at 22:45 and took the coast road towards Rome, figuring there would be a hotel nearby. Which there is - the hotel Rex, just outside Livorno. Slightly over budget at 65 euros a night with breakfast, but a more than welcome sight. As I sit typing this update (as usual, no media slots, so no piccies yet), it's raining very heavily outside, so I am in no rush to leave the hotel. My next destination is Rome, 3 hours down the road from here, so I have a fairly relaxed schedule for today.
Sardinia? it's a bikers paradise. In the mountainous mid-region, where I was located, every road was a riot of hairpin bends, steep ascents / descents, great road surfaces, stunning vistas and very little traffic. I travelled one stretch of the old 389 route and only saw 2 cars, one bike and a camper van in 60kms! Unusally for me, I also visited the ancient ruins at Nora, the Nuraghi village at Su Nuraxi and the temple of Antas.
must go - got a date with some nuns.............