Albanian Riviera

Posted by Vince on June 24, 2015
Posted in: Albania.

We had an early start today – it wasn’t deliberately intentional, but the road noise had started to intensify outside, and so we were up at 05:15am, and packed-loaded and on our way by 06:15am. Christoff and Christian had recommended the Logara Pass on the coast south of Vlore, enroute to the beaches of Himare, so we headed west to Durres so we could pick up the scenic SH8 and follow the coast south.

Karen was keen to get an early start to try and avoid some of the head-on drivers that we’d encountered yesterday, and by-and-large we had the roads to ourselves, even though we did get squeezed out by a big truck who didn’t just merge into our lane – he just took it over. With that said I’d had a 50/50 feeling that he’d drive over the top of us so I was anticipating the move, and so we just eased back and gave him the road he wanted. Might is right over here, and trucks rule the road.

The local police were out in force early with their magic sticks (so called by Doug K (of HU fame) because the police wave their sticks at you and money magically appears), but they ignored us and we ignored them.

The road we were on changed numerous times from a pot-hole roller coaster to a smooth highway, with rural sections and rough sections and city-centre sections and little village sections all melded in together.

We stopped just short of Fiar for fuel and a coffee, but it was only 07;15am and the cafe attached to the servo was closed, so after refilling we pushed on. Albania has about one servo for every man, woman and child in the country, and if you run out of fuel its only a short walk to the nearest servo. We rarely could not see a servo either up ahead or in our mirrors.

Passing through Fiar Karen spotted a cafe so we pulled over and had a nice croissant each, and a coffee (grape juice for Karen). Fiar is a large city, and the road system and uses were quite chaotic, with cars and pedestrians shooting out from all directions. We made our way slowly out of the city and down to Vlore, which again was a chaotic jumble of streets and traffic and people.

Just south of Vlore the buildings fell away, replaced by trees and mountains as we entered the Jogora Pass. The climb up was steep and bumpy, with potholes in the road making the hairpin bends a challenge. Once we’d crested the pass however the southern side was smooth and scenic, as it overlooked the sea. We descended the pass and followed the coastal road, passing locals selling honey and oils at their roadside stalls, and slipping through sleepy villages perched on the cliffs overlooking the sea.

We kept on the main road as it skirted the back of Himare, slowed down by a funeral procession ahead of us, and once we’d passed that we continued south for a few km til we came to a small bay, with a few hotels and restaurants looking out over the water. It was almost midday so we parked up and grabbed some spaghetti for lunch, with a Tirana beer (for me) to wash it down, and some cold and unpalatable red wine for Karen. The restaurant has a hotel above it that overlooks the beach, and for 30 euros we’ve checked in, unpacked, and we’re ready to go for a swim and relax for a while – a well deserved treat after our big off-road adventure yesterday and our early start today.

Tomorrow’s plan is to ride the 50km south to Sarande, before heading inland towards the border crossing into Greece, so maybe 120km in total before we get to the border, and then we’ll ride on until we’re ready to stop. As Karen said this morning – “We’ve got a tent so we can camp wherever we need to!”

Off Road Entry to Albania

Posted by Karen on June 23, 2015
Posted in: Albania, Montenegro.

We had an interesting breakfast at our hotel in Andrijevica …my scrambled eggs ended up as an empty omelet…. where our new friend and owner of the hotel, Slobor, gave us his personal service and oversaw his staff to ensure our every need was met….he really treated us like Royalty. He even came to see us off as we loaded up the bike and set off for the border with Albania. Even with his limited English and our non existent language skills we formed a great bond.

We headed South East to Gusinje, where we got a little bit confused as the GPS was not picking up the roads correctly and we took a wrong turn….but instructions from a helpful local (again with no language skills but lots of pointing to place names on Vince’s map) we were soon on our way. The Border Police from Montengero were charming and even offered to take our photo at the border with our bike, and one even posed with me as well. The Albanian Border Police were less social, but we had our stamps in our passports and our green card returned without too much delay. Less than a Km from the checkpoint the bitumen disappeared into gravel! We had been told roads in Albania were not that great….luckily this only lasted a few hundred metres and we breathed a sigh of relief….they were just tricking us! Little did we know what was to come!

Back on the bitumen we quickly reached the junction to Vermosh and the scenic road to Shkoder (our interim destination). We took the turning for Shkoder and quickly found ourselves on an unsealed, rocky forest track carved in the side of a mountain and leading to the village of Lepushe. It was a bit hair raising for me on the back of the bike, which just ate up the road much to Vince’s delight. We stopped in Lepushe for a cool drink and I went to the toilet ….only to discover it was quite interesting……it’s really not my day today!

Back on the bike we continued down the rocky road, where it quickly deteriorated into the road from HELL!……. Vince was excellent in his efforts to negotiate the steep inclines and descents with our sure footed precision machine, through what can only be described as mountain rock track (the photos make it look much tamer that it was!)….with large and small boulders as well as areas of almost tiny ballbearings!!!! Well, all Adventure Riders will tell you it’s not a matter of IF but at matter of WHEN……the ANIMAL went down with us on board – first time ever! Luckily neither of us was hurt as we were travelling very slowly, and she sustained no damage either. I managed to slide out from under her (my legs well protected by the crash bars and panniers) and then Vince could get off. I was wondering how we were going to get this heavily laden bike up again when suddenly from around the corner sprung, Marchin (sic), a highly energetic Polish rider who was around the corner and heard us go down. Between he and Vince the ANIMAL was soon upright and ready for action! With limited English we established that Marchin was also headed for Shkoder and was experiencing the same shock over the condition of the “scenic road” indicated on our maps….so we agreed to ride together and help each other out. I chose to lighten the load a bit and walk through the ballbearing section (truth be told I was shaken up from the fall and needed some time out to keep my shit together and not burst into tears).

Back on the bike we continued until we reached an area where there had been attempts at roadwork, and it went up a steep gradient with soft soil. Vince’s footing slipped in the soft soil and the ANIMAL went down a second time, but again neither was hurt. Vince then decided to walk the heavily laden ANIMAL up…..it took the three of us to get her up to the top through the soft dirt, rocks and rubble….(my biceps from pulling her from the front are killing me today 24.6.15)…. But we got her up! Vince thought it funny to keep telling me this will be what it will be like in the Himalayas in India……..and it took me all my time to keep it together…..this is the scariest day I have ever had on the bike …..I just wanted out of there…..I even double checked I had the emergency number for global rescue in case we needed evacuation….that’s how dangerous I considered it and how scared I felt ….. but I knew it was impossible to turn back we had to press on …so I just had to put on my big girl Bridget Jones Knickers and get on with it! “Drink a glass of harden up Princess and get over it!” Of course for Vince it was a day in the park…..he was as cool as a cucumber…..although he did admit afterwards that his heart was at his mouth at times. He told me afterwards he was proud of me, I did great and I appeared very calm……but I can assure you that was only on the surface!!!! Vince was very pleased with how the ANIMAL performed, especially 2up and fully loaded. He said she did better than he could have done on his DR650.

We got held up at further roadworks where we had to wait for a truck and two catepillar drillers/loaders to move off the single lane track for us to pass. Marchin, always the gentleman, gave me a LION bar….it was delicious. We continued on our way and Vince had to backtrack at one point to check on our new companion who had disappeared behind us, but he was just making a necessary pit stop! We finally reached some bitumen, after 30km of rocky crap taking close to 3 hours…..we bade farewell to our new friend and he gave me a kiss on my hand goodbye. We have affectionately nicknamed him “Tigger”….as he was so animated and energetic….at one point as he remounted his VStrom 650 …..by literally jumping onto it! He was a great help to us…..the Universe sends you what you need when you need it ….and we needed him today! Top Bloke!

Vince and I stopped at the top of the mountain pass to look back on the sealed section of road…..I could have kissed it! We headed South towards Shkoder, dodging all of the oncoming cars and buses driving on our side of the road as they manically overtake each other with no room…..often we found ourselves three abreast on what should be a dual carriageway…..we are learning fast…..the rule is the bigger you are the more road you get!!!!! Totally crazy drivers here……my stress level was through the roof…..Vince commented on how calm I was……I said “It’s not calm….it’s gone beyond terror and I’m now entering a catatonic state!!!! (LOL).

We were shocked at the number and frequency of petrol stations, car wreckers and Car LAVAZH (wash) throughout this part of Albania……it’s all about the car…..agriculture sits side by side with progress as you have to watch out for cows, goats and sheep…..as well as crazy traffic! We found a hotel and restaurant (as part of one of the petrol stations) and decided to call it quits for the day…..we got to stay for 20 – 27 Euro (2800 Lek)….Albania is very cheap! It was basic, but clean and we were both exhausted! I did notice that all of the staff and patrons at the hotel and attached cafe/restaurant were young men – I haven’t seen a lady in public in Albania as yet.

Vince’s Notes: the GS really impressed me today. I’m not a particularly good off-road rider and today I was I punching well above my weight, but the GS is so manageable and tractable it forgave most of my mistakes and just powered through the conditions. The one slip we had was at low speed – probably just walking pace, and on a steep descent with loose rocks I locked up the rear wheel as its suspension unloaded coming up and over a large rock and it then tried to overtake the front wheel, spinning us into the ground. The bike laid itself nicely down on the ground. It would be fair to say that the riding conditions today were the toughest I’ve ever encountered, yet even two-up and fully loaded (so approx 500kg in total) the bike handled like a surgeon’s scalpel. At times I was telling myself that Bully and Howard could ride a GS in these conditions and so the bike could handle it and therefore it was all up to me to ride it correctly. Karen was fantastic as my pillion – she was amazing on the back, cool as a cucumber as we slithered and skated down the rocky tracks. And I have to say – I’m such a fan of the Continental TKC80’s – they really paid off today. When the going gets tough I like to know that I’ve got the best tyres fitted for the conditions – just one less thing to worry about 🙂 Not so happy with my GoPro though – I had it switched on but it didn’t record anything – subsequent testing has suggested a glitch to do with the combined video+photo setting as its locking up occasionally when saving a still image. Further investigation is required I think.

Magical Montenegro

Posted by Vince on June 22, 2015
Posted in: Montenegro.

Woke up to a sunny morning in our apartment in Kamenari overlooking the sparkling Bay of Kotor and spent a little bit of time on the ‘net and packing the bike waiting for breakfast to be prepared, and then with a fond farewell to Dragan and a couple of photos we headed towards Kotor, enroute for Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro.

Many people just whiz straight thru Montenegro – with a coastline only 240km long that’s not too hard to do, unless you get caught in the 10:00am traffic jam in Kotor. The road was packed and there was no room to slip ahead with all the oncoming traffic, even though we saw a few scooter riders try this approach, so instead we crawled into Kotor, and just as we reached the docks near the old city the road opened up and we were able to get out of town.

Rather than take the main road to Podgorica I’d plotted a bit of a scenic route, which turned into quite an adventure ride as it led us high up into the mountains overlooking the Bay of Kotor via a series of 28 hairpin bends. The road was sealed and the view spectacular, and we both enjoyed the road. Cresting the peak of the mountain range we dropped down on the northern side towards the old royal city of Cetinje, a bustling hive of activity after the sparse villages and forest roads we’d taken to arrive at this town.

From Cetinje the road became a highway, but the posted speed limit was still very low so we just idled towards Podgorica, stopping a bit out of the city to get some lunch at a roadside cafe, and some supplies from the small supermarket across the road. Once we’d restocked and remounted, I tracked down a servo so we could fully fuel up before we headed north up a scenic road I’d seen on the map, that tracked high up into NE Montenegro before curving south and meeting a border crossing into Albania. Cristoff and Christian – two riders we had met recently – were very enthused about the riding in northern Albania, so the route I’d plotted was designed to drop us right where we wanted to be when we crossed the border.

The GPS had us head through the centre of Podgorica which was a less than relaxing experience as cars were coming at us from all directions, but we got out of town safely and headed north towards Bioce, where we peeled off the main road and took the scenic route North East to Matesevo. The narrow scenic road followed a canyon for kilometres, and whilst the ride was slow it was also very enjoyable. Arriving at Matesevo we had a cooling beer at a small bar that resembled something from the Wild West, before turning east and heading to Andrijica, a waypoint on our way to the border post.

The road flowed through a scenic valley and was a pleasure to ride on. At one point, we came around a corner and a local girl was standing in the middle of the narrow road, offering up a tray containing pots of berries for sale. We bought a pot for two euro, and carried in our way. Arriving late in the afternoon at Andrijica it was obvious that we wouldn’t make the border before it closed for the evening, so we checked into an imposing soviet-era hotel in the centre of the small town – the Hotel Komovi.

Slobor (sic), the owner of the hotel, helped me park the bike in his large shed out the back of the hotel, alongside the two KLX250’s he has for himself and his son to ride. Slobor was a lovely host, and when he saw via our passports that we are Australian he was in raptures – as his married daughter lives in Perth WA with her Australian husband and one year old child, and his son has spent a few months visiting Perth. He was so rapt he phoned his son and then passed me his mobile so I could chat with his son for a while.

Slobor, Karen and I enjoyed a drink together in the beer garden outside the front of the hotel overlooking the road, though as he was finishing a course of antibiotics he only had a water, and then Karen and I went for a stroll along the Main Street, soaking up the ambiance of the old buildings and wacky architecture.

We had dinner in Hotel Komovi, and chatted with Slobor a while longer, including catching a bit on the TV about the Tara Canyon – one of Montenegro’s natural wonders and the largest canyon in Europe, before retiring to bed, exhausted but satisfied after a most excellent day.

Saborsko (Croatia) to Kotor (Montenegro) via Bosnia

Posted by Karen on June 21, 2015
Posted in: Montenegro.

We had a big ride today – about 550km, but the majority of that was mind-numbing motorway, as we needed to make up some miles after having a day off yesterday to look around the lakes in Croatia. The wind as we approached the coast has very strong – the roads have regular wind socks and wind warning signs so I presume it’s a regular thing, and were buffeted all over the place.

We had to pass through several boarder controls along the way as we travelled the coast line ….first we had to get stamped out of Croatia then stamped into Bosnia (which I was a bit nervous about)…then out of Bosnia back into Croatia …..and finally stamped out of Croatia and into Montenegro. So our passports are finally getting some stamps in them….Vince already has many, but as I changed my name after our Wedding in January, my passport is blank!

We stopped briefly in Dubrovnik (the Southern most city in Croatia) and looked out over the old walled city, but that place is huge and a bit chaotic, so we pushed on a little bit and slipped into sleepy Montenegro. I find the boarders a bit stressful, as I am the one who has to get off and sort the paperwork out and deal with the officials….but when I accidentally dropped my glove, the young German rider behind, Axel, got off his bike and brought it to me saving me having to get back off the bike again…what a gentleman! We chatted with him and his riding buddy (also German), Kandi…they, like us, were on the way to Kotor and we saw them at several other stops along the way. The GPS took us on an unscheduled but thoroughly enjoyable scenic detour along the waterfront of the first town we encountered upon entering Montenegro, and it was very interesting. It started to rain a bit, but Vince says he’d sooner ride in the rain than the wind, as at least wet roads are a bit more predictable.

It’s 8:30pm but we’re sitting outside our cheap hotel (60 Euros for a twin room with private bathroom and small living area), overlooking the Bay of Kotor. We had a lovely meal (that I didn’t have to cook!) and it’s very pleasant siting having and drink outside here as the sun sets over the hills……. check out the pic Vince took of the sun set over the bay.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Posted by Vince on June 20, 2015
Posted in: Croatia.

Yesterday I’d hoped to finish our day’s ride by arriving at a campsite located within the Plitvice Lakes National Park, but in the fading light riding on the narrow, twisty and unmarked D42 was getting progressively harder and harder and with the rain still falling I pulled off about 20km short of the lakes so we could overnight in an apartment in Saborsko.

This morning we were awoken by the church bell ringing 7am, and Karen cooked pancakes whilst I fiddled with the bike. We geared up and took the last 20km of the D42 into the lakes, a twisty ride that passed a few small villages before entering the lush forest that surrounds the lake system.

At the carpark I followed a few other riders as they snuck past a barrier, and then we offloaded our helmets and jackets before having a cheeseburger for lunch at the entrance to the park. We had to change some euros to Croatian kuna before we could buy our entrance tickets (110 kuna each, so maybe AU$20) and as we lined up a couple with two ginormous black dogs queued behind us, and they were very friendly (the people, and especially the dogs 🙂 )

The park and its lake system is amazing. Karen snapped heaps of great photos and will upload some asap, and in the meantime you can either Google Plitvice Lakes or go to the official website at www.np-plitvicka-jezera.hr

I didn’t really know what to expect, as I had only skimmed Collette Coleman’s description of the lakes in her scenic ride suggestion “Slovenian Highlands and Croatian Coast”, but a breathtaking photo of the lakes in the book had caught my eye, and in real life the lakes were even more amazing to see.

There are numerous walks around the lakes, and whilst we opted for the scenic 3-4 hour walk, I managed to take a wrong-turn which added a lot more trekking to our walk, but which allowed us to see some amazing waterfalls. The lakes are tiered and higher lakes cascade into the lower lakes via waterfalls. A network of wooden walkways and forest paths, supplemented via an electric ferry and a small bus system enables people to access the lakes.

The waters of the lakes was so crystal clear you could see right to the bottom – check out Karen’s photos. I’d read that the park has brown bears in it and there were numerous warnings, but we didn’t see any bears. We did however feel a bit like David Attenborough as we photographed some blue dragon flys flitting around some of the water plants at one of the higher lakes.

We finished our walk after about five hours and had a pleasant ride back to our apartmen, stopping to buy some honey from a young girl working a little stall out the front of her home and seeing a young red deer on the road in front of us, before it dashed into the long grass.

A great day out, and with home cooked bacon and eggs for dinner, a great evening ahead 🙂

The Good The Bad and The Ugly!

Posted by Karen on June 19, 2015
Posted in: Croatia, Slovenia.

We had a late start…waking up around 9.00am but thankfully it didn’t take us long to pack the bike which was parked right outside the front door of our ground floor apartment ( the first we had had ….usually we have many flights of stairs to deal with…so this was blissful). We headed into the “Old Town” and had a coffee and panini (8.40 Euros for the both of us!) overlooking the church of St Nicholas.

It was interesting “people watching” as many varied tour groups and school groups came to admire the unique brass door. It was a work of art in itself, depicting 6 Bishops lowering the body of Christ on ropes. Above them was what appears to be a mummified alien….very confusing….but as the narrators all delivered their information in languages other than English, I was left to decifer the door’s meaning as best I could! Will have to Google it when I get time!

We took a walk into the town and came across a Pandora shop ….so we popped in and young Anna assisted us in finding a turquoise Murano bead for my braclet to represent Slovinia. As we walked back along the river and through the Marketplace it started to pour down. We took shelter under a market umbrella where Vince had an apple and I had some cherries. It wasn’t letting up so we toughed it out and mounted the bike to be on our way.

It was around 11.00am when we left to reach the Plitvice National Park in neighbouring Croatia. We took the scenic 106 and followed that all the way to the boarder where we had to hand over our passports for inspection. The policeman went to speak to another policeman who was busy playing chess on his computer….but eventually came out of his office to question us as to why there was no entry stamp in our Australian Passport. Rather than explain the com plexities of our dual citizenship Vince chose a different tact claiming they were scanned electronically without a stamp. I confirmed this …. our passports on entry to London (Gatwick) were scanned with no stamp….all true …I justleft out the fact they were British! In any case the policemen continued flicking through our passports and mine was empty ( apart from my Pakistan Visa)…. I explained this was because I had just got married and my name was changed so it was a new passport. Our stories must have been accepted as they stamped us out of Slovinia and into Croatia!

We went South to Delnice where we refuled and discovered that half a tank cost 183 kuna ($45) …ouch! The rain did not let up the whole time ….it just varied in intensity…we were both soaked through so Vince offered for us to just get a hotel in Delnice…..Adventure Girl said “No….we’re already wet, let’s just push on”. After getting a little lost, Vince finally found route 3 and we followed that until picking up the D42 that would lead us down to the lakes ….still about another 112km away.

We had a bit of a scary moment on a quiet section of road just North of   Ogulim…….A camper van was blocking the road and people were also on the road …so Vince stopped, I heard the skidding and screaching of brakes….which I knew were not ours…..behind me…..I waited for the impending crash…..luckily it didn’t come….the “little Shit Box” (Vinces terminology) managed to stop just inches from the ANIMALS rear. Vince told me afterwards that he should also get credit as when he heard the skid he released the brake so we could roll forwards a bit. Vince was furious and displayed his displeasure to the driver behind with a wave of his fist…he was not happy! The driver got out and I nervously wondered what would happen next! Vince voiced his verbal displeasure in no uncertain terms and even if the car driver could not understand English he certainly didn’t miss the point. No apology was given but he sheepishly returned to his vehicle. (Vince would like to note that he always pulls over and waves through cars coming up to us from behind but this guy came from nowhere travelling at speed). The last we saw of him he was speeding off into the distance with his wife and kid in the car…….not very responsible!

We stopped in Ogulin at the Lidel and got some food supplies to cook as we still hoped to camp out even though the rain was still falling. We carried on towards the lakes but half an hour later it was too dark for Vince to see the road safely so we pulled off when we saw a sign to an appartment…Maria told us she had one for 4 people available but could give us a reduced rate of 55 euro instead of 65 euro….we had a look and I nearly died……OMG we have gone to heaven….it’s huge….with a private sauna and a space age shower…Vince thinks is from 50 shades of Grey….as well as a separate toilet and bathroom, a split level with two double beds and a whole kitchen, lounge and dining area….we may never leave!!!!

Three Countries and 4 Border Crossings!

Posted by Karen on June 18, 2015
Posted in: Austria, Italy, Slovenia.

After our daily continental breakfast (included free in our 75 Euro per night room) at Gasthof Zum Schupfen, we said goodbye to our host, Evelyn, and set off on a long day of riding to get from Austria to Slovenia ( around 423km and 8 hours on the bike).

We had uneventful border crossings from Austria into Italy, Italy back into Austria, Austria into Italy again and finally Italy into Slovenia. Borders were either unmanned or we were simply waved through.

We took the A13 South from Innsbruck to Bressanone in Italy, then left the motorway to pick up the E66 heading East. We stopped at Sillian back in Austria for lunch and shortly afterwards headed South East picking up the beautiful B111 – a magical road in Austria. We passed so many SPARS (supermarket)  we’ve seen more in this little corner of Austria than anywhere else. We stopped again in Arnoldstein, refused and then headed South to briefly reenter Italy before crossing over into Slovenia. The road we followed passed through Triglavski Narodni Park, we followed the D206 North through the Park with the road weaving alongside the Soca River……its magnificent turquoise coloured water was so inviting….we had never seen water so translucent and clean….amazing. It even rivalled the glacial lakes we have seen in other parts of the world.

A wonderful and unexpected surprise was the climb to Kranjska Gora taking in 24 hairpins up and 24 back down, with a nay twist and turns in between…..truly spectacular! After dropping down on the Northern side of the pass we made our way out to the E61 motorway and blasted down to Ljubljana.

We had a short wait at the studio appartment we had booked online for 40 Euro. Nina was most helpful in showing us the features including how to lock the front door which required a violent shove to close…..Vince had to do this! We had picked up some provisions in one of the early SPARS and Vince made his Thai Green Chicken Curry….but this time we had the luxury of a stovetop and sink! It was around 7.00pm when we arrived and by the time we had freshened up and cooked dinner it was past 9.00pm …so our hopes of visiting the old town had to wait until tomorrow…..we are both exhausted!

The ‘Animal’ gets its 20,000km service and new tyres in Innsbruck

Posted by Vince on June 17, 2015
Posted in: Austria.

A few weeks ago we’d arranged via email and telephone with Lukas Schraffl, BMW Motorrad Service Manager at BMW Innsbruck (Unterberger – Denzel GmbH) to bring the bike in for its 20,000km service, and for a pair of new Conti TKC80’s. Since then we’ve been cruising slowly through the alps, enjoying the twisty roads and alpine passes whilst trying to not clock up too many additional km’s on the bike as we’d reached the service interval, or wear out the tyres too much – as decent grip is essential here on the steep and windy roads. Yesterday Karen and I dropped the bike in (a day early so it was ready for Lukas’ team first thing the next day), and we got the chance to meet Lukas, and I finally replaced my much loved but extremely worn-out Dri-Rider Velocity gloves with a pair of ritzy BMW 2-in-1 gloves, courtesy of Karen’s visa card. Karen had actually tried to source some new Velocity gloves for me whilst we were still in Perth but Dri-Rider no longer manufacture them, which is a shame.

This morning we did some packing and sorting, and mid-afternoon we caught the bus into Innsbruck and posted a few more items home, and then headed out to BMW to collect the bike.

Lukas and his team had done an excellent job on the bike, and their attention to detail was fantastic. In addition to the service and new tyres (generously discounted), they had replaced the footpeg rubber on Karen’s left footpeg, picked up on the missing reflector on the front fork (RHS) and gave us some double-sided tape to reattach the reflector (it had been knocked off when the bike was in transit), replaced the missing windscreen circlip with a stronger version (and gave us a bag of spare circlips and another pin), and then they had found time to wash the bike as well !!! A sticker had also been placed over the speedo to warn about the slippery new tyres.

Lukas then assisted us with purchasing a few spares (spark plugs and rear brake pads, at a discount which is always appreciated), and showed me how to access the air-filter so that could be cleaned out with compressed air, as required. To wrap it all up – Lukas had also been kind enough to take some photos of the bike whilst it was being serviced – I’ve added them to the gallery below so you can see it being worked on.

Karen and I were very pleased with the service we received from everyone at BMW Innsbruck, and from Lukas especially, and with a few discounted parts here and there I was pleasantly surprised with the cost. I might use what we saved as a down-payment on a new i8 – the one we saw in the car showroom looked pretty neat 🙂

Now we’re back at our Gasthof Schupfen, sorting out some photos and blogs and our route for tomorrow – Innsbruck Austria to Ljubljana Slovenia, and we can’t wait to get back on the road !!!

 

 

Three Month Report Card….aka Sanity Check

Posted by Karen on June 16, 2015
Posted in: Austria.

BIKE: Running well for the 11,000 km clocked up on this trip so far… apart from loss of pin & /circlip from the windscreen twice and problems with the pillion footpeg rubber (LHS).

ACCOMMODATION: Very expensive in UK and Europe ….we have tried to go budget but with a private bathroom but still expensive. We camped in UK only 3 nights due to weather and health issues. So far we have camped about 25 nights in Europe. Campgrounds don’t always supply toilet paper and at many campsites you have to pay for showers and hot water.

FOOD: Initial difficulty in finding food! Once we bought a frypan things improved dramatically. However not speaking or reading the language we often find our meals are a surprise when they arrive ….Vince copes far better than this than Karen…who often goes hungry.

ROUTE: Has changed slightly due to down time for medical treatment (8 days) and three weeks fill in waiting on bike service and new tyres in Innsbruck.

HEALTH: Initally six weeks of colds and chest infections for both of us. Karen (chemotherapy reaction/burns unit) for 8 days treatment. Since then….all good!

GIFTS or ASSISTANCE: Discount on Electic Vests from BMW Guildford, a gas lighter from relatives in Greenock, Tyre Fitting in Bath, Map of Switzerland from a fellow camper in Tasch, Swiss Camp cooking fork from a fellow camper in Umbrail, and a discount on gloves and free circlips and windscreen bolt from BMW Innsbruck.

THINGS LOST: Vince – 1 dry bag (Chamonix). Karen – 1 earring (Dozengham) and 1 spare camera battery – unknown who is responsible for this one!

‘FUCK ME’ MOMENTS WHILST RIDING: Only once really, when some idiot in a car pulled out from behind a truck that had just braked to a stop in front of it, and as we were oncoming we were heading straight into a head-on crash on a wet road with no where to pull off to. Thank goodness for ABS because without that we would have split the car in half. Another time we got a green light at some road works and advanced down the road but were then delayed quickly by a road-work vehicle, and then once that pulled out of the way we met traffic coming up from the other direction so that was a bit squeezy on the one-lane track – but we managed to fit through better than the cars behind us 🙂

POLICE INTERACTIONS: Nil.

ROAD RULES BROKEN: Vince has lost count. Sometimes the GPS has guided him the wrong way down one-way streets and if he’s not quick enough to pick up the road signs we end up with a scenic tour the wrong way around. We’ve dodged under barriers (twice), and Karen tells Vince that he sneaked through a red light early one morning, but in his defence the road was empty and the lights hadn’t detected the bike. Oh and in Ireland he got the impression that at temporary traffic light signs as used at roadworks its normal to go on the red light as one day we counted five cars in front of me go through on a red light so he tagged along with them, and then he realised maybe that wasn’t the right thing to do 🙂

TASK ASSIGNMENTS:
Vince
– Riding
– Navigation
Karen
– Everything else, including but not limited to:
– Finances
– Logistics
– Accommodation
– Linguistics
– Public Relations
– Equipment
– Procurement
– Entertainment

Innsbruck has everything :)

Posted by Karen on June 15, 2015
Posted in: Austria.

Up in time to catch the nice continental breakfast at Gastoff Shupfen – our quaint little hotel, and then we raced out the door to catch the passing 4140 bus before it sped down the hill and into Innsbruck Main Station, passing the Wilton Basilica and Wilton Church on the city outskirts. Tickets cost 5.80 Euro for the pair of us one way.

We set off armed with a free tourist city map to find Maximillion’s Golden Roof and the Swarovski Crystal Factory…. located in the Old Town. We also had a list of practical things to track down…..laundromatt, camera shop (replacement extra battery for my camera), post office (we need to send more stuff home), food supplies (the hotel kitchen is closed on Mondays), Hajib (for me for visa photos), passport photo places (we need some for Iran and India visas), Pandora Shop (charms for Switzerland, Italy and Austria) and a bank (Iran doesn’t have teller machines or take credit cards from foreign banks).

We were surprised that not only did we manage to tick off our list, but we added some extra opportunistic wish list things…..extra MSR tent pegs and guy ropes, a backup gaslighter, a spatula, a kitchen knife with scabbard. At the SPAR we were in absolute heaven….Vince found most of the ingredients to make his famous Thai Green Curry Chicken for tonight’s dinner, we even found dry ginger (unheard of everywhere we have been in Europe) so we bought some cheap scotch to drink with it….yahoooooo!

We had lunch on the run …Vince had a Hot Chiky – chicken and vegetables in a pita bread with a hot sauce. I was a bit more cautious and settled for a Pretzel Place and had a cheese and spinach roll …where at least we could sit down to eat and drink.

We had trouble locating a scarf or shawl long enough for me to use as a makeshift Hajib, but we eventually settled on a 13 Euro sarong from a Hippy Bong Shop (much to Vince’s amusement!)…It is black with blue Celtic Knots….very fitting for his “Celtic Warrior Princess” (a name he has started calling me since my hair now resembles Side Show Bob….it’s wild!!!!!)

Back at our hotel we fired up our trusty “Dragonfly” in the Beir Garten and cooked dinner. We then came back upstairs so Vince could listen to songs from the Sound of Music downloaded from Youtube….yesterday he made me sing “DO-RE-MI” over our Senas as we crossed the boarder into Austria…..it all makes sense now!