Dolomites / Dolomieten - Italie - 2004

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Dolomites / Dolomieten - Italie - 2004

Bericht door MarcB » vr mei 26, 2006 11:13 am

Dolomites 09.07.2004

It was literally a holiday of mountains and valleys! Friday 9 July Frank, Patrick, Cor and I left from Den Bosch, The Netherlands, to Germany, where we could stay the night at a friend of Frank’s. The ride went well despite the rain. Fortunately, the “Schwarzwaldhochstrasse” was dry. This is a very good area to let the rubber burn. We had a very good dinner at a local restaurant. Unfortunately, our host only had three beds and we were with four. As a result, I had the experience of my live, sleeping together with Cor in a waterbed...!

The next day we had heavy showers of rain. Gore-Tex is a good protection, but it also becomes very wet. And, once wet, you will become cold, very cold. In Italy, the weather was much better. We even got sunshine and met some Ferrari’s who thought that they were faster than our Birds. Well, they were...

After arrival in Hotel Des Alpes, we got a warm welcome of Briska, our beautiful host. After diner, we had some (several?) drinks with the other bikers and Jan Valk, the organizer of the tour. Jan is a real storyteller, an amazing guy!

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The next day, snow. Lots of snow!

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Fortunately, in the afternoon the sun started to shine and we went for the tour.

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It is a very strange experience, 18 degrees in the valley and 4 degrees on the top, with lots of snow.

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The next day Patrick crashed with his bike, which ended up very seriously. Everybody was deeply impressed of what has happened. It shows how vulnerably you are on a motor bike. The day after the accident, no one felt very comfortable.

On Wednesday, the tour went into the direction of Bolzano. It was a very nice and quiet ride. But as we didn’t met anyone else from the group (we were in total with 45 others), we decided to start early the next day. While making some pictures, Rob (GL1800), Lambert (Blackbird with side-car, Willie (K1200RS) and another BMW driver flew by. I always thought that I have some driving skills but these guys are really amazing. Especially, if you know that Lambert is 63 years old and Willie only 72 years!

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On Friday, we went to the Wurzjoch, a very beautiful area. I made several videos after taping the camera on the tank. The recordings look very good. You shouldn’t watch too long or you will get seasick.
In the afternoon, Cor and I agreed to visit Patrick in the Hospital in Bolzano. It was very hot in Bolzano, more than 30 degrees. During the ride we ate something but this something appeared to be not very fresh anymore. So, something came out…..

Back to the hotel, I ran into the next problem. My Bird appeared not like it anymore. Whatever I tried, it didn’t want to start. After disconnecting the battery for half an hour, it worked again. Nevertheless I decided to contact my dealer in the Netherlands because we had to return the next day. According to my dealer, the problems were caused due to moisture in the remote control of the alarm. Disconnecting the battery for a while should be the remedy. Well, it wasn’t! Saturday morning all went well on the way back, even my stomach. In Austria I had to fill the Bird up, and still all went well, but alas, in the South of Germany it was really finished! There we were, Cor and I, in the middle of nowhere on a stopping place, with a dead Bird. What a misery! We called the Dutch ANWB which sent for the ADAC. This wasn’t getting on either! They wanted to take the bike with them and I had to wait till Monday before they could have a look! How glad I was that Sjoerd with his trailer had to be somewhere behind us, and that I had his number of his mobile. The only problem was that Sjoerd has a grey registration number so I couldn’t travel with him. Cor offered me to jump at the back of his bike, and this for 800 km... ow! Lucky coincidence that Lambert (Blackbird with side-car) just halted on the same spot where Sjoerd and Petra were having a meal. In short, the emergency services were on their way towards us.

Anyhow, 2 hours later the Bird was on the trailer and I took place in the side-car of Lambert. What an experience, formidable! Willy mentioned already, if Lambert is overtaking a truck, just withdraw your head in time, otherwise you will get a serious headache, ahem, there he had a point!

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The rest of the way home caused no problems, although we had a severe heavy weather, about 70 km before Cologne. The rain was falling down in immeasurable quantities, combined with considerable lightning. I didn’t believe this had any effect on Lambert or Willie, and I was comfortable stacked away in my intimate side-car, however with wet feet, because there was no outlet-pipe, whatsoever, hahaha!

All in all we had a splendid holiday. Unfortunately also with a gigantic disappointment (the almost fatal accident of Patrick), but hopefully everything is ending well. Also my Bird is back in the Netherlands, I only have to pick it up, well, that’s to say, I live near ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which is in the south of the Netherlands, and I will have to go to Leeuwarden, in the far north of the country, but this is an other story!

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The Dolomites are a real must, and I hope to be there again next year.

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