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HOG
2002 - Venice, Italy
The plan for the
2002 ride to Italy was to go to Jesolo - that's where HOG's early
announcements said the meeting would be - shame it was actually at the
next resort some 8 miles away. But hey, just it's all a load of old
hog-wash anyway!
The
Hotel Vina del Mar Pineta is chosen via the www and booked by email - only
after canvassing and rejecting several others, including one which
replies....
 "As
far as the garage is concerned we haven’t got a garage. We have our
parking in hotel and there is someone who takes care of the motorcycles,
night and day. We understand your apprehension for the motorcycles and
this is the best that we can do for you and for your motorcycles" -
Protection by the Mafia, no doubt!
Day
1
Over 400 miles covered all
just slightly ahead of or behind the rain that catches many riders (some
all the way down to Italy)
Day
2
Starts with heavy rain, strong
wind, biting cold. We stop for lunch, wet through, icy cold - black
moods and not prepared to go on, each of us in a personal Hell. The
sun comes out. we eat, we ride - the world is a beautiful place again.
The
exclusive place we always stop off at for tea on
lake
Geneva, whenever we're passing that way!
Day
3
The Simplon pass takes us to
over 2,000 meters and above the snowline then down into the Italian sun
and fast twisty roads and we stay at Bellagio on lake Como - Heaven.
Day
4
More fabulous Italian roads.
First, God made motorcycles (probably in the shape of a Ducati 916) then
he made Italy for bikers to enjoy it. Oh, then he made Italian
traffic cops in Verona - but that's another story.
Day
5
Rain
Day
6
Rain (So we all go to Venice -
what a lovely place, especially filled with thousands of orange Harley
jacketed bikers in gondolas!)
Day
7
Rain (but that evening we are
invited to the Motoclub
Pompone by Alessandro and his wife - what a great evening and you just
have to meet Maurizio.
Day
8
The sun shines! We ride. That evening we go to an Internet Bar and
get the www.meto.gov.uk weather
forecast and decide to go North (not West) - just as well as others that
took the latter route ended up very wet
Day
9
The sun shines, we
return the girls to the airport, bound for home and we ride on - first
stop Asolo and on through great Italian roads into the lower mountains.
Day
10
Sunshine, 2 mountain passes
each above 2,000 meters and in one day we do 4 countries and a
Principality (Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein)
Day
11
Yet more sunshine so off to
Freiburg and on to France
Day
12
Sunshine and a 450 mile run
home - we fire engines at 09:00 and are home in the UK at 19:00
Over
Simplon and into the Italian sunshine
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Lake Como at sunset
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The Bellagio ferry
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Our hotel in Lido de
Jesolo, complete with umbrella farm
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My bike chats with a
rather brassy neighbour
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Custom Chrome bike
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Venice
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Bikers ride in
Gondola in Venice in the rain
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Motoclub Pompone
[Chez Mauritzio]
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Asolo - worth a
1,000 mile ride just to stop for coffee
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One of the many
passes over 2,000 meters
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Men sightseeing
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