On the Road Again!

This run was slightly different to that of 1993. I was going to meet my friend and fellow SOC member Steve Hazlehurst. Steve had attended the Czech Invader Rally near Brno the weekend before. My plan was to get to Köln to meet the DB Autozug to Salzburg. I'd meet Steve there and we were booked into the YH. The bike was packed with my Swagman panniers and the Givi topbox. The ride to Köln was easy enough and I had lunch near the Dom before finding the station near the exhibition grounds. There were other bikes there going to Villach.  Mostly HD on their way to some treffen of their own in Slovenia I think. Just before the train was due to arrive there was a massive storm. The train was "lost" and we sheltered where we could.  As it thundered and the lightning crashed around us I tried to take a selfie.  Not as easy as you might think with an SLR in those long days before digital cameras were invented. SLR Selfie - uses self timer! Actually, I did have one with me.  Th...

Between breakfast and of setting foot outside to load the panniers onto the bike it had rained. Sheepskins soaked through so it was waterproofs on (and off all day). Despite it being August we had had very few dry days! Once on the main 100 road from Lienz to Italy it was hard going with trucks, motorhomes and bloody caravans and the last two along with tourist coaches set the tone for the day. We did manage some passes I hadn't done before like the Valparola, Falzarego and Costalunga before we cut our day short at 1630, and according to Doris there were still two hours (at least!) to go to the Stelvio and our eventual overnight in Switzerland. From the Pordoi pass it poured down making the 20 plus hairpins down to Canazei slippery and hard work given the tailgating and pillocks pulling out giving you hardly any chance or many options. After 134.4 miles we called it a day and stopped in Nova Levante at the Engel "Wellness Hotel" .  We had n...