Adventures of blacktiger. To eastern Europe.

[blacktiger]

25SEP11 to 17OCT11 TIGER800XC

25th September Home to Bad Kissingen.
Chilly, foggy morning.

3 bikes on the shuttle & got loaded in amongst the cars, had a nice chat. Train 40 minutes  late leaving. Sunny in Calais & about 15C. Hit the Autoroutes right across Belgium to the Eiffel mountains. Took off my PacJac at the first petrol stop just before Brussels because the temperature had risen to 20C.  Soon into Germany. Soon got fed up with the incessant speed restrictions for everything from a bad road surface (bring it on!) to wheel chair users!! Too many 70kph speeds but at least when it is 100kph out of town the Germans do drive at 100. None of the 45mph dawdlers we get in the UK.
Countryside quite pretty but it's mostly wooded hills. Some evidence of past volcanic activity in the shape of the hills.
Bike is running well but the weight of the panniers is upsetting the stability a bit. Couldn't really get into riding smoothly because of that.  Some nice twisty roads though. It just seems that as soon as the road gets going with a 100kph limit along comes another 70 limit to spoil the fun.
Got to Bad Kissingen about 18:15 and found that 1st selected hotel was shut up, closed down. Also the second one was open(??) but deserted so, luckily, there were a few others along the same street. Got a room in Hotel "Korner am Park" for €49 incl. Breakfast.  Had a walk into town. Very clean, very neat, very German. It is a Spa town with water coming out of every orifice. Tastes weird. Horrible in fact but is supposed to be good for you! Found a cheap place to eat which was OK for a tenner. Back to the hotel for a beer and found it buzzing. Must be good food but I've missed out. Never mind, they had some really nice Schwarzbier. Monchshof Schwarzbier...hint of liquorice, nice and malty.
ODO 503.3 miles, Ave speed 54.2mph, riding time 9H16m.
P.S. receptionist said breakfast will start at 7am but I'm typing this at 7:20 and the place is deserted. Hopes of an early start dashed. 9.1C showing on the "Icewarner" this morning but it looks bright and clear.


26th Bad Kissingen to Prague.
Another chilly, foggy morning. Was told last night that breakfast was from 7am but the place is still deserted. So I went back upstairs and got everything packed and updated my report on the computer. Went down again at 07:50 and it was all there like magic. Normal buffet style with meats and cheeses. I packed an extra one for lunch.
9.1C when I got going at 08:30. Took until 10 for the sun to start breaking through. Temps did rise to 20+C by 11 so I stopped to take off the Pacjac only for it to plummet back down to 13.%C at the CZ border. Flippin' 'eck! That feels cold.  
The road to Prague in CZ was a main road and so was pretty fast. Got into Prague around 14:00 to find that the hotel wasn't where I'd put the waypoint. Don't know why my waypoint was wrong because, after chasing around the city for a while I brought up "nearest" hotels on the Garmin and there it was, in the right place?? Must investigate why. Checked in later than expected at 15:00. Shower and out for the touristy bits.
Karlov Most (Charles Bridge),

 Wenceslas Square,
 
which isn't square. Then after a Kozel Dark beer

and some people watching it was off the find food. The Trilobit

had been recommended on Trip Advisor website so I went there. Got in before the main evening rush and the food and beer were good. Had a Pilsner Master and a Kozel Dark. The beers here have a huge % on the front of the bottles but it bears no relation to that actual strength.
ODO 245.1 miles, Ave 46.1mph, time 5H19m. Fuel costing CZK34.xx/litre.

[blacktiger]

27th Prague to Banska Stiavnica
Egg and bacon for breakfast this morning. Good old Best Western.
Chilly start again but today it's clear and a bit warmer at 13C showing so I went without the Pacjac. It was just bearable. The high pressure system looks like it's going to be staying put for a while so whilst the clear skies are welcome, the views are all hazy.
East of Prague is pretty flat with lots of arable farming. Went to the "Church of Bones in Kurtna Hora(??). Weird is the word.


Countryside started getting lumpy towards Brno and the roads improved with it. The road leading in to Brno was especially good. Not fast but it was nicely undulating and had great views in all directions.

Novo Mesto N.V. heralded the start of the bigger hills, maybe mountains. At this stage I saw 57mpg on the trip computer. Best I've ever seen. Into SK and the fuel is €1.45 for 95 grade.
Another nice road leading into Banksa Stiavnica. Had another biker (CB500, very long hair out the back of the helmet. Think it might have been a girl) for company for a while but wasn't going quick enough for my enjoyment so overtook and went off.  Road closed leading to where my waypoint for the hotel was placed but, again, turned out to be wrong. Hotel Salamanda. €40+4 breakfast +5 parking.
Sitting outside a bar with a Zlaty Bazant Tmavy,

"original SK beer" it says on the bottle, the town is pretty dead. I had two because I liked it. The Pizza place down the road sprang to life about 7pm so I went in there for eats.  Had a Steiger beer with the Pizza which was huge. Noticed a couple speaking English so said hi. They are form Sydney. They were just going round to a brew pub 30m away. So I joined them after I finished the Pizza. I would have missed this pub so thanks to then. ERB Leziak Tmavy.

Nice. Tmavy means dark.
Been having a comfort problems with the new Suomy D20. It's been pressing into my ears and making the arms of my glasses press in and hurt a little. Not unbearable but will have to have a look.
ODO 305 miles, Ave 41.2, Time 7H23m, Fuel @ €1.45

[blacktiger]

28th Banska Stiavnica to Nowy Sacz.
8am breakfast and bacon & eggs again although it wasn't a help yourself.
Helmet news :- I discovered that the bits pressing into my ears are removable being held in by Velcro. So I took them out and it's all comfy again. And, it doesn't seem any noisier.
Temp was showing at 15C when I wheeled the bike out. I went up to the top of town to see what's there and to photo the brewpub. To get onto my route I did some back alleys and found a nice overlook of the town. The route out of Banska followed a river downhill and through a forest and the temps soon dropped to 9.9C!! The road was so good I didn't want to stop. Altitudes today were upwards of 600m which kept the temps around the high teens at best.
The route was all good with good views of the nice scenery. Into the Tatra Mountains now with some really nice shapes. A bit cloudy in places and evidence of some rain with puddles at the side of the road in places. More closed roads with one needing some improvisation. I saw some "grey" roads on the Garmin and chose a route to get round the works. This led me out of a town on a narrow tarmac road which turned into dirt which turned rutted, washed out and steep.

I love this bike. It danced up there without any problems at all. I did about 3 miles of dirt to get back to tar and onto the route again.

There was one nice road that followed a narrow gauge railway for quite a few miles. It served a posh looking resort up in the hills and was used because I saw an engineering train by a Xing. Nice views to the south on this road. Tall mountains to the north.

Got to Nowy Sacz around 15:30 and into the Hotel Panorama. 170ZT+20 for breakfast (£34+4). 20ZT for parking too. Showered and plugged in the computer but it wouldn't start normally. So, started in safe mode with networking and dealt with my e-mails.
Out for a look round town. Big square but not a lot of choice for eating and drinking. One bar had enough light to read and write but they had no English or dark beer so succumbed to a  Tyskie fizz. Went back to hotel for eats and they had some Zywiec Porter.

Oh! Suits you sir! Quite thick, syrupy and cloying and has a definite Liquorice flavour. 9.8%abv. One was enough.
So back upstairs to finish this write up and upload some photos. Noticed the low battery light flashing so plugged it in and it started OK this time but now the bloody thing won't connect.  Frustrating technology.
ODO 240.2 miles, Ave 40.5, Time 5H55m petrol in PL @ 5.25ZT = £1.05/lt.

[blacktiger]

29th, Nowy Sacz to Baia Mare.
7.9C this morning. Another clear day apart from some Sirus cloud.
Set off at 07:55 with the aim of getting through SK & H on one tank of fuel. The road towards the SK border follows a river and the temp dropped even further to 7.2C so it was on with the heated grips. After about 60 miles the road crossed the river and I was back in SK. NE SK is like the Massif Central in France but not so burnt with more farming and orchards. Very nice but soon lost the lumpy bits of the Carpathians as I went SE and they went due east.
Into H and the bike's computer is showing 57m/UKg. Gentle with the throttle to save fuel. Not impressed with Hungary. Very run down everywhere with bad roads but a least they are flat and straight so I'm cruising with 60 mph showing and letting the suspension soak up the lumps.
Fuel in H @ 395Flo = £1.20/litre @330/£. Fuel in RO @ 5.50Lei = £1.10 @ 5/£.
So, I made it to RO with 22 miles left showing on the trip having covered 218.5 miles on the tank. A genuine 61mpg. Into RO & can see hills again but get to Baia Mare before getting back into them.
Hotel Carpati @ 220Lei incl. breakfast .
Made contact with Marius but he said he's got to take his brother to the airport tonight. Went for a stroll around town and had something to eat. Sitting there, checked my phone and had missed a call from a local biker who'd been given my number by Marius. SO we arranged to meet for a beer

or three. Had a great evening meeting the local bikers in the Photo Pub and then they took me to another pub (don't know where) and got fairly drunk. Good bunch of lads as they wouldn't let me pay for any beer all evening.  Back to the hotel at 01:30.
Have to say that Baia Mare does have a good number of rally good looking girls.
Nice sunset tonight.

ODO 271.1 Ave 40.8 Time 6H38m



30th, Baia Mare to Peatre Neamt.
Late start today due to the sore head.  Started bright but soon clouded over and stayed cold. Never got much above 15C.
Road were diabolical! Holes and lumps everywhere so much that it shook the bike apart. One of the screen thumb adjusters disappeared completely. All the others were loose when I noticed it. The Dn18 was particularly bad. Fist it was a continuous town for miles and miles. Then it turned nasty with bloody great pot holes. At one stage I came upon a gang filling in the holes with what seemed like mud!
Scenery was quite nice but didn't get to see much because of having to concentrate so much on the roads.



Peatre Neamt looked like a right dump. Didn't like the look of the feel of the place. Fortunately I'd spotted a cluster of Pensions and Restaurants a couple of miles back so went back there and first found an Auto spares place to get a nut & bolt for the screen. Then next door was a 2 star Pension for £12/night. Ate quite well for another £12 down the road.
ODO 233.1

[blacktiger]

October 1st. Peatre Neamt to Fagaras.
All the clouds of yesterday have disappeared this morning so another bright sunny one. Expecting more bad roads today but am glad to be wrong. Even the secondary's were good. Nice route today with good scenery.
Visited Sighisoara, the birth town of Vlad Tepes (the impaler)(Vlad Dracul)(Dracula).

Nice little place but full of tourists! Ha!


Got to Brasov

about 15:30 The place was alive with a big festival for something or other, so decided to press on to Bran and see the castle. I tried to go the twisty route and the Garmin routed me out of Brasov up a goat track. I love this bike because any normal road bike would have had to turn back. Not the Tiger. It climbed up there spitting stones at the chasing hounds. Trouble was that about 2/3rds of the way to Rasnov the road was shut for another festival. All the way back to Brasov. Got fuel and went to Bran the boring way but that town was also in the throes of a festival. I sneaked a photo of the castle

by stopping where I wasn't allowed and got the hell out of Dodge.
It was only 16:30 at this stage so I pressed on along tomorrows route. Quite a few Pensions en-route but I figured that Fagaras was reachable.

Pension Flora was signposted off the high street. The little old lady looked a bit surprised to see someone wanting a room but she accepted me and for 100Lei (£20) the night.
The town's a bit dead but the bloke at the Pension had pointed me to the Calypso Restaurant. I was the only diner. Ursus Black to drink and a meal for £4. The bill came to 29Lei! £6. I gave them another quid as a tip.
Send texts to keep friends and Keith updated.
ODO285.3 Ave 37.1 Time 7H40m



2nd Fagaras to Ramnicu Valcea
Unexpected breakfast this morning. The old dear offered me an omelette & coffee. Inclusive in the 100Lei price.
Another bright start to the day but 12.7C @ 9am. Put Pacjac on because I was expecting it to get very cold over the Transfagarasan pass. Wasn't long before I got to the turning for the Dn7c.

Going up from the north side the road just winds up through forest with no views at all. So I enjoyed the road.

After a while the trees start to thin out and you can see the road further up and occasionally the view back down to the valley floor. There was a bit of cloud covering the very top. The bit of road shown on Top Gear and the most photographed is on the north side.

The road surface was unpredictable, bumpy and had a nice diesel slick in parts so no peg scraping for me.
There's a tunnel cutting through the top of the mountain so I made a video of the Tiger on full chat through that. The route down is less dramatic but still nice.

I stopped at some stalls and bought my Transfagarasan fridge magnet and tried a stalk of BBQed corn on the cob. Bloody chewy. Should have had the boiled one.
Got to Ramnicu Valcea at about 13:30 and checked into the Hotel Maria in the back streets a bit bit with secure parking.  The Dell laptop started normally at first, then crashed. So I restarted in safe mode with networking and got internet connection so I started up lading photos and checking forums etc. Did some washing whilst the photos were uploading.
Went for a stroll and eats at 18:30. Casa Valceana. Food OK but they forgot the veg order. Only Leffe Brune to drink.

ODO 121.7 Ave. 33.2 Time 3H39m

[blacktiger]

3rd Transalpina pass.
Some cloud this morning but it soon dissipated to leave another bright clear day. Becoming a habit this weather. Great.
It was about 70kms to the start of the pass road the Dn67c and from the start it was all new tarmac.

The boys from Baia Mare were right. This road is amazing. There's a new "best road in the world". No pictures on the way up because I turned the camera to video mode.





Then, DISASTER! I stopped for a piss right over on the north side of the pass and discovered my pannier was open and my snacks, my Pacjac and my tyre pump had all escaped somewhere. Bugger. I don't care about the other two but the Pacjac is my wind proof/waterproof on this trip and without it I'll freeze and/or get soaked.
So I immediately set off back the way I'd come, slowly to see if I could spot any of them in the road. No such luck. Bugger again. I made my way ASAP to the hotel, quick shower and out to the shopping mall to see if I could buy anything. Luckily there was an outdoor shop and they had various styles by "Killtec" (never heard of them either) which were waterproof to 8m water column and totally wind proof. Reduced to 225Lei (£45). Sold.
That dilemma solved I got onto the internet and uploaded photos and caught up on various forums.
Absolutely stuffed myself this evening. I'd thought I'd got the hang of ordering food where you order a main and then some veg on top. So i did that and got two bloody great plates of food delivered.

I ate it all with some Silva, strong dark beer to wash it all down.

ODO 295 miles.



4th, Ramnicu Valcea to Sunny Beach.
Yet another clear blue morning but the temps were at 8C so it was on with the new coat and heated grips. Some enexpected dirt first thing with the Zumo route me taking down a dirt track alongside the main road. As I made my way across the valley the temp dropped to 6.4C and as I climbed out I glanced back to see the last view of the Carpathian range. They'd been good fun. I was soon winging my way along the E70 for over 60 miles with the landscape changing to flat and boring all the way to the BG border which is the Danube river.
Crossing that, I'm now in another new country for me and the boring landscape continues until I was about half way to Varna where some lumps started to appear. Much better towards the coast.
I stopped at a Geological curiosity about 10 miles from Varna. There are Limestone pillars that are unique in the world apparently. Several theories as to how they formed. Made a nice stop.
 
Then it was into and through Varna and onto the coast road which was good fun in places and has some decent views of the Black sea....

And then Sunny Beach appeared....

Found the Glarus hotel which was quite posh and the receptionist seemed to turn her nose up at a dirty biker turning up. More used to the package trade I guess. Got booked in and the first thing I did was get my swimmers on and go for a swim in that Black sea.

Quite cold but not too bad. Back in for shower and head into town. It was quite dead but nice because I could move about unhindered and find a restaurant without queuing. Did that but it was rubbish. Bad choice and it made me ill. When I got back the hotel staff got me to move the bike indoors for security. Felt sick all night and didn't sleep at all.
ODO 300 miles.

[Yankee Dog]

Stop Stop. All that beer is making me thirsty and my day has just begun. I do love some dark beer.

Great report. Lets see some more.

Yankee Dog

[blacktiger]

5th, Sunny Beach to Sofia
Another bright day but I'm still feeling rough and weak though not sick. Filled up on the way out of town and set off along the allotted route which was nice and twisty but I didn't have any enthusiasm for it so I cut straight for Sofia. Niki, Nii on ADV, had agreed to meet me and guide me into Sofia. We met at an OMV petrol station and he gallantly battled in his car through the rush hour into the middle of town to a hostel right in the centre. I didn't fancy a dorm so they had an apartment a little way away which I took thinking it was solely for my use and that I'd get a good nights kip.
Well, after an evening in the centre with Niki and his girlfriend, I went back to the apartment and sat on the bog to finish getting rid of what had upset me. There I was with the bog door wide open when a girl walks past! WTF? Turns out that the apartment had several sub rooms with shared living quarters. Well now my mind was in turmoil and had another poor night's sleep.
ODO 300 miles.



6th, Sofia to Ohrid.
So I dragged myself out of bed at 08:20, packed up and carried my panniers back to the Hostel for breakfast. Then packed the bike and set off to go up to the hill overlooking the city. Mapsource was crap and kept turning me up unmade roads and footpaths with steps. So I just joined what looked like the most well used road going up hill and followed that. As I got higher I could see the city disappearing into the morning smog so I caught a couple of photos through a gap in the trees and called it a day on that.

The next road I aimed for should have taken me very close to Bulgaria's highest peak, Musala, but I got about 15kms up and there was a barrier across the road and a nice man in uniform said "no entry mate" or words to that effect. So it was all the way back and onto the main road to Blagoevgrad and west to the Macedonian border. Some nice views along the way.....

The Border Police checked everything twice and I was into the first, and only, non EU country of the trip. Looked at the time and place and decided that I could get to Ohrid so did that. Macedonia is quite scenic with lots of peaks and troughs with manmade lakes in them.

Mountains of white marble around Prilep. The roads are OK and I was singing along at around 100kph ~ 65mph on the straight bits. At these speeds the bike's returning over 60mpUKg.
Got to Ohrid around 18:30 and the first hotel I tried was full but they had an association with another just down the road called Vila Niko and it was €65 for two nights incl. breakfast and I must pay cash now.
Ohrid....

[blacktiger]

7th, Ohrid, day out to Debar and Mavrovo Natl. Park.
Great night's kip. The bed and pillows are just right. Hooray! Awake at 07:15, got up and went for breakfast, then a walk along the lake shore. Very nice place. Saw what looked like a Kingfisher.
By 09:30 it had warmed up enough to get out on the bike. It seems that Mapsource and the actual roads don't tally in places. I was all over the place. Eventually I got onto the right road north. Went past another man made lake. Very pretty....

And then Debar came into view across the lake....

So then I routed to a wiggly road on my GPS screen. More lakes..

And into the Natl. Park...

Stopped by this monument for a sandwich

Then just up the road got stopped by the Police for a document check. All good. And so to the wiggly road which turned out to be a dirt road. Probably the old road before they ploughed the tarmac one through. You can just see the road turning below and the little village that it goes to in the distance. A great dirt road that zig zagged down the hillside before flattening and straightening out and heading for the village along the valley floor.

No other photos of the track because I turned the camera to video mode.
So when I emerged from the north side of the village I turned back south expecting to take the road back to Debar. That road turned off the main road and into a one dog town and promptly disappeared! Where the GPS showed a left hand hairpin, in front of me was a field. Nothing. Nada! So, back to the main road. Further on I spotted a little dotted line that would/should take me back to the dirt track I did earlier. Well, that took me a few attempts to get onto the right track. More videos to come.
So that nice climb back up the hill completed I was merrily winging my way towards Debar when I turned a corner to see this....

That's pissing down in them hills and I'm heading right into it. And, I didn't bring any waterproofs. Bugger! I still had about 40 miles to do back to Ohrid, so yes, I did get soaked but there was a nice rainbow....

And the same view across the lake to Debar looked a bit different....

The roads dried out about 20 miles out and Ohrid hadn't had any rain at all. But, since I was damp, I took the opportunity to wash my riding trousers which were quite dreadfull.
Walked into town for eats and found the B.A.D. restaurant which wasn't bad at all. In fact I had the best feast I'd had since leaving home...

ODO = about 200 miles.

[blacktiger]

8th, Day off the bike.
Blew up a hell of a gale last night. Looks like the waves have been breaking over the shore front. The weather's changed for the worse. Cloudy and cold. So I just strolled up to Czar Samuel's fortress, passing some other sights on the way

 and took some shots over town..


View across the lake to Albania..

More rain on the way

So I head back down and milled around town drinking beer and coffee and people watching.

ODO Zero.

[blacktiger]

9th, Ohrid to Olympic Beach, Greece.
Raining this morning and 6.8C showing on the "Icewarner". Didn't go for breakfast because I still felt full from yesterday. So it was on with a wolly and all the waterproofs and got going at 08:20. The route followed the lake shore south and then climbs away and over a pass. Well, I didn't realise just how high that pass was. At 1300m (4000ft) the rain turned to sleet. At 1500m (4600ft) the sleet turned to snow. Bloody hell! Icewarner now showing 1.7C!!
Stopped at the top

and shot a video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPBngB40Ia8
And so into Greece and the scenery is all good

There seem to be mountains in every shot. Is that the sun trying to get through?


As things had started to dry out I stopped for a coffee and a bun in a small village. The young geezer spoke good English so we had a good chat whilst I thawed out.
My route cut across country and I didn't know what to expect but got some dirt anyway.


I love this bike. Doesn't matter what is thrown its way, it just gets on with it and copes.

Mount Olympus had its head in the clouds

So on into Olympic Beach and was pointed towards Hotel Ioanna at €40 excl breakfast. It had good internet access though so I made good use of that and Skyped my brother. Also managed to upload the snow video (above)
Also spotted that Zandisero had made a few suggestions on my planning thread so I incorporated some of the ones that were close to my routes. Thanks mate.
Out for dinner and it's pissing down again. Not much in town at all but I found a nice little sea food place and stuffed "Mixed fish" and a Greek salad. Kaiser Pils to wash it down.
ODO187 miles.

[blacktiger]

10th, Olympic Beach to Lamia.
Pissing down this morning and has been all night as far as I can make out. Out of bed at 08:20 and on the road at 08:50 fully kitted for a full day in the rain. So I started on the allotted route and was slip, sliding my way into the foothills of the real lumpy bits when I saw cars coming the other way with snow on them. Not again? So I decided to abandon Meteroa Monateries and got Zumo to route direct to Lamia and, maybe, beyond.
Anyway, got the best view yet of Mt. Olympus form the west side....

Still had its head in the clouds but was looking bright. And snowy on top.
Well it seems that the Zumo classes the E78, 2 lane road as an Autoroute because it avoided that and took me down all these nice roads which would have been really nice in the dry but they are slippery when wet and I had quite a few "whoa!" moments.

I was thinking that maybe the tyre pressures could be low as I hadn't checked them since leaving home and considering the lumps and bumps we'd been over........ well, I spotted a garage with free air so stopped. They were both about 5psi down. So pumped up and ready for some bend swinging? Nope! Didn't make the slightest difference.
So got to Lamia and it seemed to be rush hour, again. Why is it every time I turn up in a town everyone comes out to see me? And block all the roads with traffic! So round and round I went in all the little back street one way here, no entry there type streets. Well, I turned a corner and there was the Hotel America. Stopped outside and before I could dismount the bloke had come out to greet me. Booked in. It was basic but I was cold and damp and fed up.
Showered and changed and headed out into town which had died whilst I was in the shower! No-one around. Strange. Anyway, I found a coffee shop and had a couple whilst writing my journal. Paid for that and wandered around some more. Police use 650 Stroms here. Found another cafe and had a beer this time. Seems the town is full of students of late teen early twenties age group. I tell you, things can't be too bad in Greece because these youths can still afford their styling gel! And boy, were there ever some laughable "styles". OK I'm too old to appreciate it.
Was getting hungry now & so spent quite a while hunting the streets for a restaurant but there was nothing really recognisable. I settled on a place that had what looked like a complete cooked dog on a skewer in the window. Plus some other stuff. 350 grams of chicken and a salad. Kaiser beer. Although it was tasty I though €15 was a couple too much.
ODO 169.7



11th. Lamia to Sparta.
Overcast but dry this morning. Put wooly and windproof top on but left off the leggings. Got going at about 8am and soon got out of Lamia. The first port of call today was the Sparta Memorial at Thermopyles which commemorates the "300" Sparta warriors who defended Greece against the Persian millions.

The good thing about doing this out of season is that there's no-one else about.



So it was up into the hills and some dry roads and nice views


And more evidence of snow on the upper hills

And so I went past Athens to try to get a photo over the city from a view point in the hills to the north. Well, that plan was scuppered because those hills were all military so I could get up there. So I made my way along the outer edges on the suburbs which were sort of part way up the hills and got my shot from a layby by a church. That's the Parthenon on top of that hill.

 There was rubbish piled high everywhere and queues for fuel. It seems that Athens is on strike.
Back to the route and was heading for Nafplio and its castle in the sea when I spotted a sign for ancient Mykenai(Myceni sp). So I turned off to have a look. I expected quite a big place but it was like a small hill fort type place.

So on to Nafplio and rode onto the harbour without anyone batting an eye lid.


On way out I spotted a beach that seemed to want some tyre marks on it.


More nice views

Bit dry considering all the rain we'd had


Monastery perched on a cliff


More nice roads


So then after taking that last shot I spotted this

More bloody rain! So with the dark clouds gathering


I raced onward towards Sparta and got lucky. I passed behind this


And only got wet boots from the wet roads. Booked into the Hotel Sparta Inn. Showered and out just before the light disappeared for a photo of the local Hero, Leonides

A look down the main street

ODO 314.6

[blacktiger]

12th. Sparta to megalipoli via the southern tip of Greece.
Well, what a surprise. Clear blue sky.

So down for breakfast and pack a sarnie for lunch. On the road by about 09:40. My route took me down the east side of the Mani peninsular to the southernmost tip of Greece and it was absolutely beautiful.  The road twists and turns in and out of coves with great views right across to the parallel Krithina peninsular.  



Almost as far south as I can get

Can't get any farther south in Greece by bike

The western side of the peninsular had more resorts but today there was some cloud forming off the mountains making it a bit chilly

So on up the coast road skirting Kalamata and into the hills to the site of ancient Messini. Not to be confused with Myceni of yesterday. Much bigger and more to see for free.




On the move again and Megalipoli was far off. Great name for a place but it was a bit of a dump. The Hotel Arcadia was like something from the 60s but discovered that I could get free internet from the cafe next door.
 Food was another half chicken and salad. Kaiser beer to wash it down. All the youths seem intent on making as much noise as they can with screeching tyres, loud exhausts and booming stereos. Bastards.
ODO 188.9 miles.



13th, Meaglipoli to Ingoumenitsa and the ferry to Italy.
Came to at 08:00, paid hotel a rip off €40 and was going by 08:45. When I had stopped last night I had 40 miles range left showing on the bike's trip computer. All the petrol stations in town were priced at €1.74, so I decided to get going and find some elsewhere. Couldn't be any more expensive, could it? Well, anyway, leaving the power stations of Magalipoli

the route wound itself up into the hills, higher and higher and 40 miles range went to 30, 20, 10, then, with 7 miles left, I got to the town, Andritsaina, at the top of it all and thought "I'm in the shit here". So I looked at the Zumo for the next fuel and it showed 0.6 miles or 12.6 miles! WTF! Yes it was there, just round the corner but it too was priced at €1.74. Oh well, it was worth a try.
So with a full, expensive tank of fuel, I decided to see if I could free wheel down the other side to see if I could have made it to the other one at 12.6 miles away. A bit of freewheeling and the range calculations went to this...

That next fuel was actually at 14.7 miles so I might just have made it on fumes but you don't take the chance, do you?
Went to visit the original Olympic site but it was really busy and I just thought "do I really want to traipse around some old stones in my bike gear, getting hot and sweaty?" Or, do I ride some more in the cool hills? The riding won, so I snatched a photo of the stadium

And went off to ride some more.
The first part of route today was beautiful. That part of Greece south of Patra has to be the most visually attractive part.





All too soon I approached the bridge at Patra


And the route continued by following the west coast up to Ingoumenitsa.



Got to the ferry terminal and booked in and got my tickets and room key etc. Went off to get myself something to eat and waste 4 hours until the ferry arrives.
Waiting on the dock, the first boat was, I thought mine but was the one for Ancona. I thought it was the same boat which called at Bari and then went on to Ancona. No, mine was later, and late!

So, instead of getting boarded and underway at 23:59 we didn't get on board until 00:30.
ODO 339.5 miles.

[blacktiger]

14th Bari to Terni.
So I after initially getting off to sleep on a calm start to the crossing, I awoke at 5am with the boat heaving and rocking, wondering if the bike's tied down well enough. I dozed off and on for another 3 hours and got up at 08:00 Italian time and went to the lounge for a coffee. This is the sight that greeted me....

Well, I thought I might as well just whizz north on the Autostrada if the weather is that bad. But when we eventually docked it wasn't too bad. Dry and looked like brightening. I got out of the docks and straight into the madness of Italian town driving. Filled up with fuel at €1.67 and fought my way out of Bari and on to my route which should lead me up the spine of Italy. Well, once again Mapsource didn't tally with what's on the ground and took me on a wild goose chase through the Olive groves to a left turn onto a main road. But, the junction was right turn only. Brilliant. So I turned round and found my own way through the back roads onto the main road further up. The weather turned rainy again so I routed back onto the Autostrada up to Pescara where, again it looked like brightening up.
So off and into the hills where I came across this memorial. Couldn't make out what it was really about but it had Fangio's name on a broken plaque.


As you can see the weather had cleared and I pressed on towards L'Aquilla where I had planned to stop for the night. Got there at 16:15 so decided to continue and thought that Terni was possible. The route took me around a Natl. Park which had a big black cloud hanging over it.

And threw some nice wiggly roads at me


The roads were now quite grippy and I was enjoying the ride through the higher bits of this part of Italy...


But it was freezing with that cloud coming down over the mountain!! Temps down to 4.5C at one point.
I got into Terni and routed to an Hotel on Mapsource that didn't exist! The next one was a Best Western and it did exist but it was a 4*. Oh well, it's only money. I freezing cold and need a warm shower and a beer.
ODO 409.4 miles.



16th, Terni to Gap.
Slept like a log last night. Got up at 07:00 and went for breakfast and packed a sarnie for lunch. 12C to start with but the wind had got up to gale force from the north east and bloody freezing.
This part of Italy is ancient volcanic and quite pretty and the roads are nice but there's too much traffic to really enjoy them.
Lake Bolsena

is a bit like Crater lake in the US. Big and round and sat in an old volcanic Caldera.
Italian version of Devil's Tower...
 
Once I reached Lucca, I got onto the Autostrada to take me round the coast past Genova and up to Cuneo. That part of the Italian coast is all twists and turns on the ordinary roads and so would take literally all day. So the Autostrada is the only way to get around. The Autostarad is actually quite entertaining itself because it twists and turns in and out of each cove and in and out of tunnels and across viaducts. Those winds also threw some terrible gusts at me between the tunnels. At one point I was almost off my wheels. Not cheap these Autostradas. €26.40 for about 120 miles.
I got to the outskirts of Cuneo at 15:15 and stopped to eat that sarnie I'd packed. I looked at the map and thought that Gap was achievable. Routed it on the Zumo and it gave an ETA of 17:30. So off up the Colle Della Maddalena which looked a bit iffy to start with but the views soon came through the gloom....
 
And, of course, no mountain pass would be right without hairpins...
 
More views...

Got to Gap and looked at the Ibis hotel but the parking was a bit exposed so I routed to the Hotel Napolian but the bloke in charge wasn't there until later but there was another hotel right next door. The Hotel le Globe. Well they had a room for €26 but it was like something from the 1950s. Well, when I say that, that was the last time it had been updated or decorated. Still there it was and they promised some live Blues later. I went off to a Pizza place just down the road. It was huge (the Pizza, that is) and I couldn't finish it.
Walked into town a bit and found a place called the Highlander. Their range of beer was immense with Trappiste brews etc. Pelforth Brune was followed by a rather strange beer from Belgium. Ploeger-somethingorother. To do with ploughing. It was almost off but then had a fizzy, cherry after taste. They also had a 3 piece Folk type band going. So after a few beers there I went back to the hotel and, instead of Blues, I found them all watching France has got talent! NOT! A swift beer then off to bed.
ODO 419 miles.

[blacktiger]

16th Gap to Auxerre.
Woke at 08:00, got up and got dressed ready to go. Heated jacket liner on today because it was going to be cold early on. Bought 3 pain de chocolates just down the road. Then off into the 7C heat! Beautiful sunny morning though and was soon wiggling my way through the mountains and looking back down at Gap....

Routed over an interesting pass that I'd never ridden before, the Col de Pennes and you know? Some people go to exotic places to ride roads like this...

But here it is in France.
Some mist in the valleys...

As the pass dropped down the western side...

Then it was goodbye to the Alps and hello to the river Rhone and on past St. Etienne and up towards Roanne. I stopped for fuel and routed to a little town in the middle of the back of beyond that I'd been through a few times called Luzy. The roads all around there are really fun to ride and give the edges of the tyre a good work out. About 20 miles from Luzy I stopped to take a photo of an endless view...
 
When I went to create a waypoint of the Zumo with the photo number as its name, the Zumo froze up. Wouldn't do anything. I rode on for a bit to see if it would wake up but no. I stopped to take the battery out which would shut it down but could I find the little Allen key? Nope! So there I am lost in the middle of France without a map or GPS. So, as I said, I have been through this area before a few times but my knowledge of it is not "back of the hand" stuff. I knew a few names of places and roughly where they are. So it was Luzy to Chateau-Chinon to Avallon to Auxerre. Actually, looking at it on the computer now it doesn't look half bad and the roads were real fun so no photos I'm afraid.
Got to Auxerre around 18:00 and wanted to be on the north side so routed around the edges and found Les Hotel Clairions, 2 star, big place quite posh for a 2 star and €61.00. Free Wi-fi so getting this update done.
ODO 256.6 +111 miles because of the frozen Zumo = 367.6.