Leaving in cold temperatures for a mostly motorway ride to Santander was not the greatest. The glove liners went in at the first opportunity and others put on extra layers. At Bilbao we ran into rain for the first time on the trip and the trucks on the motorway made it all the more unpleasant. I had a wake-up call when I missed staying off one of those raised white arrows on the motorway surface in the wet and the bike did a back-end 'wiggle' even though I was neither accelerating or braking. I knew I shouldn't have been on it, but just didn't see it in the poor light and reflection from the rain. While telling Jean about through the helmet intercom, I then promptly went over another, with not quite the same severe effect, to be told "So you do it again"! Yep, 2 mistakes in quick succession, but a really good lesson, well learned.
However, we did all get to Santander early for the ferry and were able to embark some time before it set off. This allowed some relaxation in advance of what was to be a miserable crossing of the Bay of Biscay, where the crashing of ship into the waves and the bangs and rattles that resulted gave everyone a very broken night.
The disembarcation was very slow and riding through Plymouth was likewise, so it was an hour and a half before we got going on the M5, only to encounter serious side winds for the whole journey home. We had a stop at Wayne's, where John's wife Sue was waiting to pick him up by car, and enjoyed a very welcome bacon and sausage butty, compliments of Julie. Very appreciated indeed!
The last leg home didn't cloud the enjoyment of the whole trip, the weather being incredibly kind to enable us to enjoy the riding and the scenery. The company was very good and we had a lot of laughs. Robert, our leader, said he hoped Jean hadn't found them too purile and childish. She said that was why she enjoyed the group so much, as she had the trip. The pillion touring seat I had fitted to the new bike worked a treat - 2,650 miles and without the discomfort of the 900 mile Howitzer trip in May on my old bike's standard seat for Jean.
It was great to bump into other HOGs by chance at various petrol stations across France on the way out, some of them several times, and then see them again at the Rally.
There remains for me an admiration for Harley-Davidson, whose marketing skills have brought about so much brand loyalty as to cause many thousands of people to ride their machines to one place, buy and wear copious amounts of their branded clothing, and cement people of widely varying walks of life together in a unique camaraderie. As the saying goes "If I have to explain, you won't understand"!
A brilliant trip and the bike performed very well.
Tuesday 7 October 2008
European Rally Trip - Spain
Shortly after leaving Vielha, John had an electrical problem with his bike. After consultation with HOG Assistance, they sent a recovery wagon to pick him up and Wayne decided to go with him. We carried on, with agreement I hasten to add, travelling down a fantastic gorge with high sides alongside a river. Twisting narrow roads and tunnels meant concentration had to be tip top. After that, we continued on this wonderful highway until it suddenly ran out onto what must have been the roughest bit of road on the whole trip. It went on for some miles and everyone was feeling the strain, and the cold wind, until we found a hamlet with a stop for coffee. Later, a lunch stop in Fiscal found us alongside a small river and a relaxing break was well received. Then it was off again
The landscape changed a bit, becoming more arid and plainlike, although we enjoyed a stop by a large reservoir on the last section to our Parador at Otile. The temperature was dropping and it was becoming very windy when we made it to the Parador, in the centre of the town square.
John's bike (new shortly before mine) was found to have a major problem that could not be fixed there and then, so he doubled up with Waye to ride the 200 miles to catch up with us at Otile, most of it in the dark. They were pretty shattered when they made it late in the evening. We had to make an early start for the ferry next day. His bike will be repaired and then shipped home.
European Rally Trip - France/Spain
Sticking to more minor roads, we skirted the northern part of the Pyrenees on the French side, working hard on the twisting and bumpy roads, but enjoying some stunning views and scenery. At one stop, we were passed by a small group of Harley going the way, in the middle of nowhere, clearly enjoying the same things as us.
Eventually, we crossed the border into Spain and suddenly enjoyed a wide highway built just for a Harley - smooth surface with winding bends and mountains all around - perfect! Our first Parador in Spain was at Vielha and a grand one it was too, standing above the town. As was often the case, the hard day's working riding meant that everyone was tired to greater or lesser extent. Jean went to sleep in the bath and later enjoyed a bag of nuts, and I only had soup with the others for dinner!
European Rally Trip - Italy/France
The homeward bound journey started promptly Sunday morning. The roads were pretty quiet except for the crowds of other Harleys doing the same thing. At one stage, we got mixed up with quite a large Italian group and were glad of our practice of having a high visibility vest attached to our luggage to help pick us out at a distance on the motorway! After the motorway to make progress, we passed through Genova and onto the Italian and then the French Riviera to our first stop near Grasse outside Nice. The next day we carried on along the coast to our second stop near Sete, and two of our group felt obliged to buy spades, which they attached to their luggage for the rest of the trip, while stopping for an ice cream along the way at a coastal resort.
European Rally Trip - Rally 2
As always, there were characters at the Rally. In the rush to take the photograph, I missed including his Harley-Davidson clogs! Some chaps from Provincewide, Antrim NI, were seen chatting up lasses from one of the Swiss Chapters.
The Custom Bike show had a few interesting machines to drool over, but the numbers were not as great as I had expected.
European Rally Trip - The Rally Itself
Our hotel was lakeside and had a view of the Sirmione peninsula where the Rally was being held. The peninsula protrudes several kilometres into Lake Garda and provided part of the route for the Parade on the final day. However, it was a ride from the hotel, although Jean did walk back one day in an hour.
Registration and entry was a bit chaotic on the first day, with slow movement until complete while sitting over a hot engine in warm temperatures. The first two days seemed quite thinly attended, but on the final day all the Italian Chapters were out in force and it was busy. The Rally side and organisation was a bit of a disappointment to us all, the site being rather fragmented and diluting some of the spectacle of such an event.
However, we convened and had another team picture. Jean showed interest in a Softail Cross Bones in the Exhibition area, which she found quite a good 'fit'! Interest in riding showing?
The Parade was quite something and Jean came with me along with a few other Chapter members. There were thousands of bikes and it doubled back on itself on the peninsula and again in town. This provided lots of rider rapport in addition to the interaction with the crowds lining the streets. the Police closed off side roads and gave priority to us at roundabouts and this made the thing flow so well, compared to the one in Killarney, where the Police had to stop it for a while to let traffic through the centre of the town. It lasted about and hour and a half and was well worth it.
Perhaps there were over 10,000 at the Rally. It is hard to judge, because so many were on pavements and outside hotels and restaurants around the town and places adjacent to the Rally site at any one time. The next one is due to be in Latvia for the first time, but there is cool interest because of the location in my local Chapter.
European Rally Trip - Italy/Switzerland
Believing that we had lots of time in hand to reach our Rally hotel before the end of the day, John led us on a fantastic tour around a couple of the lakes, taking us back into Switzerland for part of the journey.
Stopping first at Stresa, we spent some time at the waterside soaking up the view of Lake Maggiore and its islands before completing a circuit of it and crossing over to Lake Como. Jean struck a pose with each of Craig and Jackie. We rode beside Lake Como for a short distance before taking a ferry across it to Bellagio to save time. Craig's wife Sue was flying out to Brescia and he was already realising that he was going to be late to meet her at the airport, so left the group to try to catch up time, but was still 2 hours late, a fact that was made quite clear to him on arrival!
The motorway around Milan was quite a contrast to the beautiful scenery we had just enjoyed - miserable with heavy rush hour traffic, all driving like maniacs, and I got separated in an outside lane when the rest had pulled in to a services for a stop. John had waited by the entry slip road and we saw him, just, to know where they had gone. We pulled in at the next services, refuelled, waited a tad in the exit slip lane, then concluded that they had probably stopped for a coffee as well so headed off on our own. Fortunately, my Tom Tom took me the rest of the way as we were unable to regroup, and it wasn't that far anyway. However, the journey before this miserable bit was wonderful.
Finally, despite the separation on the last leg, we found our hotel on the side of lake Garda and went to a restaurant next door for a well earned meal and a few drinks. It was Jackie's birthday, so I was persuaded to tickle the ivories despite not having touched any for months - perhaps the wine helped?
We had now also caught up with others from the Chapter, who had come by different routes.
European Rally Trip - Switzerland
After a short ride in the morning, we cross the border into Switzerland and found the Harley dealer in Lausanne. Ian was alarmed to hear the diagnosis that it was not the front shock seal that had gone, but that he had a broken fork and he had pretty much ridden across France with it so. The risk from doing so was high and we were all thankful that it did not lead to a mishap. Thankfully, the dealer had one to fit and we wasted a couple of hours in the town enjoying some breakfast and buying bits in the dealership while we waited. Phil utilised the blanket provided to keep outside diners warm, using his throat muff, to do his Al Qaeda leadership impression. It was terrific service from the dealer and very fairly priced too. Another team photo opportunity was taken. Around lunchtime we were on our way around Lake Geneva via Montreux to the Italian border and our first stop in Italy at Armeno, a tiny place on a hill that we didn't find until just as it was getting dark. En route we traversed the Simplon Pass and some remarkable snow-capped mountains, views and twisty bends to negotiate. The changes of elevation bring about commensurate changes in temperature and can lead to adjustments of clothing and gloves.
European Rally Trip - France
Jean struck a pose before departure from our first stop. The temperature was quite low, but it was dry and to become quite warm and sunny.
Having missed Vimy Ridge during our Hoggin' the Howitzer trip in May, plus being so close, we decided to call by here on the way to our second stop in France. It included a visit to the trenches, so little distance between the two sides, where many thousands lost their lives in the battles for it, finally taken by the Canadians. The Canadian Memorial nearby had been restored since I had visited it in 2001 and it did look splendid, standing high above the surrounding area.
We enjoyed a mixture of motorway and more minor road riding, stopping regularly for bites or comfort breaks as well as stretching the legs.
Ian was concerned about his front break when we reached our next stop near Chalons, and thought that the seal on a shock absorber had failed. Being Sunday, we elected to leave it until the next day and find the nearest Harley dealer in Troyes. Unfortunately, that was closed as were all the Harley dealers in France on Monday, according to HOG Assistance, so he elected to carry on avoiding use of the front brake. Usually 80% of braking is on the front on a motorcycle, so this was quite a compromise but it was his decision, the significance of which he found out more about later.
Continuing brought some terrific scenery in the southeast of France, until we arrived at a stop just above Lake Geneva late in the afternoon, where a team photo was taken and a fantastic view of the lake was enjoyed. We then continued down the twisting road into Divonne Les Bains for our third stop of the outward journey.
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