2013 Italy trip

[Rynglieder]

It's naturally quiet on a bike forum at this time of year so I thought I would share my trip of a few years ago with you in case it is of interest.

OK, it's not on a GTR (I didn't have one then) but it is still about touring on a 1400cc bike. So, as originally posted on the GSX owners forum......




Stourbridge [UK] – St Quentin [F] 349 miles

07:00 on Saturday morning and we are loaded up and heading out toward the Chanel Tunnel. My wife Carole is riding pillion and I am hoping I can get her a drier few days than we had had during our week around the Picos De Europa a couple of years ago

On previous trips I have used the ferry to Dunkirk but as we are heading in a more southerly direction I have decided to give the tunnel a try as it claims to be quicker. The journey down to Folkestone is uneventful until we get to the slip road off the M20, where everything grinds to a halt and we eventually crawl up to display signs advising of 90 minute delays for check in. Once we are finally on board one of the shuttles the trip under the channel is quick enough, although there is nothing to amuse or entertain you after you have read all of the safety notices. First experience of the tunnel; slightly more expensive, no quicker overall.

The hotel I have chosen for our first night is in Saint Quentin; I wanted something no more than a couple of hours from Calais. We pick up the A26 and head on down. It is my first time on a foreign toll road and I had this fear of holding up great queues of traffic whilst I took gloves off to get wallet / tickets and sticking the glove back on etc. at the toll booths. We worked it so that Carole took care of all of that so I could ride straight on, but the reality is that the traffic is so light on the motorways that we could probably have taken five minutes to do the deal without anyone pulling up behind us.

A few kilometres before Saint Quentin we pull in to one of the frequent lay-bys so that I can take a look at a map and try and memorise where I am going. A usual I have no Sat-Nav, just a (misplaced?) confidence in my own sense of direction and a few A4 pages printed from Google Maps.

At this point a couple of fellow Brits pull up on a Ducati Multistrada. We get chatting and it turns out that they are not only staying in the same town but in the same Hotel as us. We are invited to follow them in and so we arrive at our first lodgings of the trip (Thanks Andy and Wendy).

A quick change out of the bike gear and we wander into town in search of a beer for the evening. Saint Quentin is pleasant enough and has a good few Art Deco style buildings for which it is famed but we found it very quiet for a Saturday night, it did not have the "buzz" I was expecting. A last bottle of "Leffe" from the hotel bar sees us done for the night.

2.1 Waiting for "Le Shuttle"
2.2 Saint Quentin centre
2.3 Art Deco style in Saint Quentin

[Rynglieder]

St Quentin [F] – Pont à Mousson [F] 175 miles

We have about three quarters of our journey to do on the motorways today but the last section into Pont à Mousson looks as if it could be an enjoyable bit of biking. Unfortunately the weather turns against us fairly quickly and much of the motorway run is through rain. By the time we are on the countryside roads my jacket has leaked through the sleeves again. We pass through villages with time and temperature displays on the high streets showing it is only 10c; surely it should be better than this at the end of May? Near Thiaucourt-Regnieville we pass some impressive gates with an old military vehicle outside. Although the rain has knocked-off for a bit we are still wet and it is tempting to just push on to our next hotel. However I decide to stop for a look round. We have already just run through several attractive villages and there seems no point in just passing everything by. It turns out to be the American forces cemetery and we take time to wander the pathways and reflect on our recent history. Over 4000 identical crosses certainly make you realise that being a bit damp is no tragedy.

We arrive safely outside our hotel (straight to the door without SatNav!). I blew my budget a bit on this one, the Hotel Abbeye des Premontres, as I liked its aspect and riverside location. The receptionist says we can park in the courtyard at the back but we are directed through a bit of a building site and the "road" is all potholes, sand and gravel so it gets a bit "Ewan and Charlie" for a moment. Our room is not a disappointment; modern, huge and better still it has controllable electric heating. We stick the wet gear in front of the convectors and turn everything up to 11 in Spinal Tap fashion. Off for a walk around town and beer whilst everything dries out ....

Pont a Mousson is a typical river bridge town situated between the cities of Metz and Nancy with a historic centre and industrial surroundings. Our walk takes us along the Moselle river bank and back into town past the giant Saint Gobain foundry and finishes in a Fritterie and a bar.

3.1 St Meheil Cemetary
3.2  Hotel Abbaye Des Premontres
3.3 Pont à Mousson

[O.C.]

I'm enjoying your report and superb pictures       

[PRD]

Great stuff!

[pross]

Great stuff!

Very nice and detailed report 👍👍

[Rynglieder]

Pont a Mousson [F] – Münstertal [D] 142 miles

The sun is out! We skip breakfast at the hotel as we do not eat much in the morning and it would not justify the €11 per head price tag. Not too long on toll motorways today, we just need to get down past Nancy and swing around out toward Colmar. This is quite a nice section of motorway as it goes, decent elevation changes, curves and views over the city.

Once free of the motorway there are some nice biking roads. The landscape is changing and the French architecture is giving way to the Germanic with large chalet style houses sitting among the wooded hillsides. Before long we are at the side of the Rhein and park up for a cigarette, map check and a look around. I spend some time reading tourist information boards describing the fortified town of Neuf Breisach. Damn, I would love take a look around there, but there's no time in this trip.

We cross the Rhein bridge, enter Germany and travel past the town of town of Bad Krozningen into the Black Forrest and the start of the Münster valley.  I am feeling quite pleased with myself as we are straight to the door of our hotel (Alte Klostermühle) again. We have arrived in good time and have a good chunk of the afternoon left. Our hotel is opposite an active abbey (Kloster St. Trudpert) and as the church is open to visitors we take a look around the highly decorated interior.

After our "pilgrimage" we back-track down the valley to the town of Staufen that had earlier caught our eye as we passed it. We have a pleasant evening wandering around this typical Black Forest town, full of life with customers sat outside the wine cellars, drinking to the accompaniment of local music.  Just a coffee for me though as I am riding, but I close the day with a cold one signed out of the hotel fridge.

4.1 Vosges Haut-Rhin
4.2 The Rhein at Breisach
4.3 Kloster St Trurdpert
4.4 Staufen, Black Forest

[Rynglieder]

Münstertal [D] – Lavena Ponte Tresa 209 miles

Today I have to make a route choice. I have time to either head for the Swiss border through the Black forest or use the Saint Gotthard Pass over the Alps rather than the tunnel. In the end I decide to go for the Pass so head out of Münstertal for the A5 toward Basel. The sun is out again and not too hot and I am enjoying being in Germany again even if it is only for a few hours.

We stop off at the last service area on the Autobahn where I buy a vignette (tax disc) for the princely sum of €35 that will allow us access to the Swiss motorways. We follow the A2 motorway through Switzerland, enjoying the Alpine scenery and the fact that in their stretches of roadworks there seems to be one active workman per road cone, much better than the British ratio.

As we approach the Gotthard area we see the signs telling us the pass is shut, so it is going to be the tunnel after all. The tunnel is a bit of a monster, about 10 miles long and it just gets hotter and hotter as you cruise through. It gets a bit tedious after a bit though and you just have to concentrate on your distance separation.

What a difference the length of a tunnel makes! When we emerge on the other side the weather is very different; overcast but not actually wet. The architecture and language has changed again as well, although we are still in Switzerland everything has shifted from a German to an Italian feel.  We stay with the A2 until we reach the Lugarno area where I exit to follow the shore of Lake Lugano into Lavena Ponte Tresa, straight to the door of the hotel again. My inbuilt navigation is holding up so far.

Although there has been a lot of motorway riding it has been a good day on the bike.

5.1 Hotel Alte Klosermühle
5.2 Through the mountains
5.3 Badge of Honour
5.4 Riding the A2 through Switzerland
5.5 After the Gotthard pass

[O.C.]

Firstly well done for touring on that beautiful bike, one that wouldn't perhaps be chosen/associated with touring

Secondly, thanks for your report and excellent pictures the quality of which makes me feel better and look forward even more to some sunny summer weather        

[Nitty Gritty]

Great write up. Nice Pics.

[Rynglieder]

Lavena Ponte Tresa – Florence 238 miles

I had paid the extra €10 for a room with a lake view at the Grotto Bagat but when I open the curtains this morning all I could see is rain. I was not particularly looking forward to this day when planning the trip as it was just a big motorway drag down to Florence, the addition of rain was not going to enhance the day in any way. After breakfast we reluctantly started loading the bike up and getting the rain covers onto the luggage. As I had a last cigarette under the hotel canopy the rain gradually eased and then stopped. 

Although the roads were wet there was nothing more coming out of the sky so I decide to start the day with a run around the edge of the lake before picking up the A2 again. From there on it was a straightforward 130kph run down to Florence through the odd shower. The Autostrada did get a bit more interesting nearer to our destination with curves, viaducts and tunnels through the Tuscan hills.

Finally into Florence and now I did wish I had a SatNav.  After picking my way through to the right district I really struggled to find a route through the one way streets to the Hotel Croccini. It is frustrating when you can see where you want to go, but can't get there. In the end I confess I intentionally gave it a quick squirt the wrong way down a small side street.

Parking was available in the hotel courtyard but at an additional cost so the bike was disc-locked and parked in the street outside.  At least our room had a small terrace overlooking the rear garden which we were not expecting. A quick shower and change into dry clothes and we were off for what was left of the afternoon and evening sight-seeing in Florence

6.1 Hotel Grotto Bagat – raining again!
6.2 Lake Lugano
6.3 Hotel Croccini
6.4 Ponte Vecchio, Florence
6.5 Duomo, Florence

[Rynglieder]

Firstly well done for touring on that beautiful bike, one that wouldn't perhaps be chosen/associated with touring

Secondly, thanks for your report and excellent pictures the quality of which makes me feel better and look forward even more to some sunny summer weather        

Thanks OC.

The GSX is surprisingly capable and has served me well on its six trips into Europe. It lacks any form of protection from the weather and the chain takes a little looking after, but is comfortable, hauls well and is quick enough. Its advantage over the GTR is that when I reach my mid-point break and take any touring luggage off it is nimble enough to play on a bit or squeeze around a town centre.

Te GTR is my touring bike now but I am not ready to let the GSX go just yet.

[O.C.]

no, thank you for providing a superb interesting report with lovely pictures       

[Rynglieder]

Florence – Rome 172 miles

Up and out of Florence for another Autostrada drag down to Rome. Not a particularly memorable run, just toll motorway from city to city. On entering Rome we hit the same problems that we had in Florence. Traffic is intense and signposting is poor. The signs for each district seem to be on the junction rather than before it and lane switching is downright dangerous with all of the scooters flying around with no lane discipline or regard for traffic lights. Eventually I stumble on the Vatican and once I have also found the River Tiber I have a couple of reference points to work with. Having found the road that contains our hotel I am forced into another dodgy manoeuvre before the one way system drags us away from it again.
We have booked a "studio" type apartment in "Residence Prati"for two nights. It has a living area, bathroom, sleeping area and a kitchenette should we chose to cook something for ourselves. The manager allows us to park the bike up in their service area so it is effectively garaged and secure for our stay in Rome.

Out of the bike gear again and we spend the afternoon and evening around the Vatican and the west side of the river. By this time the Vatican is closed to the public although I am not too fussed about seeing inside. After all, that Michelangelo who did the Sistine Chapel never bothered to come round and look at my lounge after the missus papered it.

The following day the bike gets a rest as we knock off the main tourist sights on foot. We are out walking from 09:00 – 21:00 and having had a really good day head for bed shattered. Still, it's time to move on and see somewhere else, I'm looking forward to being back on the bike again tomorrow......

7.1   Vatican at night
7.2   A bridge over the Tiber
7.3   The Coliseum
7.4   Trevi Fountain
7.5   The Forum

[Rynglieder]

Rome – Follonica 139 miles

.......... I'm not looking forward to being on the bike today. It's raining. Really raining and to emphasise it, nature is chucking in the odd rumble of thunder. We have the usual problems getting the right road out of Rome, poor or non-existent sign posting, the puddles in the road are so deep the water is over the top of my foot. . Eventually we break free and head out West to pick up the SS1 toll road that will follow the coast northwards to our next stop. The closer we get to the sea the better the weather becomes and we end up with a decent days riding up to our next stop, Follonica.

Now, I have never been on a Mediterranean package holiday so I don't know what I am talking about. However Follonica is just how I imagine such a resort to be. Modern multi-storey hotels, an esplanade with palm trees, private beaches and not much soul. There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't feel any more inclined to go for such a holiday than I did before. I am happier in the middle of Europe on my bike.

The Hotel Ausouia is OK, a nice room at a reasonable price.  The day is finished off at a bar near the hotel, where I recklessly ordered a "grande" beer (which turned out much bigger than a grande coffee).

8.1 Residence Prati
8.2 Follonica
8.3 Hotel Ausonia
8.4 Grande beer

[O.C.]

Again....superb,  and thanks for brightening up a snowy day here at home .....I especially like the architecture photos, the Coliseum is spectacular