Where did you ride today?

CYYJ said:
I took the ferry from Calabria to Sicily. It's a short ferry ride, about 15 minutes... the ferry operates continuously, kind of like a subway. No reservations, no tie-downs, just show up, hand over your money, and ride on board.

I've been riding in Italy since the beginning of the month - I started up in Zurich, Switzerland and headed south. Italy is an interesting country. Up in the north - Lombardy, Milan, Tyrol - it's quite civilized, almost like being in Europe. As one proceeds south, it gets a bit more primitive. By the time you get to the bottom, it's very much the Third World. It is, however, nice and warm in the south - temperatures around 80°F every day, which is a lot better than at home in Toronto.

Traffic here is very stressful. As a friend of mine once said, "In Germany, red lights are an obligation. In France, they are a recommendation. In Italy, they are a decoration."

No-one in the south pays any attention to speed limits, stop signs, priority to the right, or any other kind of traffic rules. It took me a while to figure this out. Yesterday, I was zipping along doing 120 km/h (75 MPH) in a 50 km/h (30 MPH) zone when I was passed by a police car, who waved and smiled at me when he went by.

I plan to spend the next two weeks riding around Sicily. There are a lot of old buildings here, some over 2,000 years old. Apparently there is a volcano here as well, but I have not seen it yet. Tourist season is over, so maybe they turned it off until next summer.

Michael

Ferry Calabria to Sicily
Sicily Ferry.jpg
Click to expand...
I would think it a bonus if you don't see Etna Michael, last I heard it was due anytime, but yes Greta may have switched it off.
Keep enjoying it.
Upt'North.
 
CYYJ said:
I took the ferry from Calabria to Sicily. It's a short ferry ride, about 15 minutes... the ferry operates continuously, kind of like a subway. No reservations, no tie-downs, just show up, hand over your money, and ride on board.

I've been riding in Italy since the beginning of the month - I started up in Zurich, Switzerland and headed south. Italy is an interesting country. Up in the north - Lombardy, Milan, Tyrol - it's quite civilized, almost like being in Europe. As one proceeds south, it gets a bit more primitive. By the time you get to the bottom, it's very much the Third World. It is, however, nice and warm in the south - temperatures around 80°F every day, which is a lot better than at home in Toronto.

Traffic here is very stressful. As a friend of mine once said, "In Germany, red lights are an obligation. In France, they are a recommendation. In Italy, they are a decoration."

No-one in the south pays any attention to speed limits, stop signs, priority to the right, or any other kind of traffic rules. It took me a while to figure this out. Yesterday, I was zipping along doing 120 km/h (75 MPH) in a 50 km/h (30 MPH) zone when I was passed by a police car, who waved and smiled at me when he went by.

I plan to spend the next two weeks riding around Sicily. There are a lot of old buildings here, some over 2,000 years old. Apparently there is a volcano here as well, but I have not seen it yet. Tourist season is over, so maybe they turned it off until next summer.

Michael

Ferry Calabria to Sicily
Sicily Ferry.jpg
Click to expand...
As an aside Michael how much is the ferry to Sicilia.
 
Upt' North said:
...Greta may have switched it [the volcano] off.
Click to expand...
I have very conflicted thoughts about Greta Thunberg. On the one hand, I admire her intelligence & eloquence, and respect her sincerity. I think I also root for her because I too have Asperger's, and I appreciate how that can result in a fixation & sometimes excessive perseverance on a subject of interest.

On the other hand, though, I don't think it is realistic or possible for all of us to give up & switch off a lifestyle that is very dependent on energy use, and I worry about how she will get back to Sweden (and hopefully be able to resume her childhood) without compromising her 'no carbon emission' values.

I wish the kid well in the future, and I expect that she will do well in her adult life. I hope she is treated kindly during her current visit to Canada.

Michael
 
CYYJ said:
€15 for the motorcycle & rider (no extra charge for a passenger), which works out to exactly €1 a minute for the trip.

Michael
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Sounds like a bit of an Italian bargain. And there aren't many. Although the Dolomites are a bargain not to be missed, Tuscany too. See you've got me thinking now.
P. S. You're up late.
Thanks Michael.
Upt'North.
 
Upt' North said:
Sounds like a bit of an Italian bargain.
Click to expand...
So far (I've been riding in Italy since the beginning of October), I have found that accommodation is surprisingly inexpensive - averaging about €50 a night for a good 3-star hotel - but food is more expensive than I thought it would be (averaging about €30 for a 3-course meal with a bottle of water, no alcohol).

Here in the south, the majority of hotels have simply closed up for the season, and a lot of restaurants are also closed. It's hard to tell if the restaurants have gone bust or are just seasonally closed. I can tell from hotel reviews on TripAdvisor or Booking.com that the hotels have closed up for the season.

There are very few tourists around. I haven't seen a single Dutch car hauling a trailer (that's a first for me), and have seen less than a half a dozen motorcycles with out of country plates. I am very surprised that there is so little tourist activity, because the weather here is really nice, up in the 80s (F) every day, no rain since I arrived, and none forecast for the remainder of the month.

Michael
 
CYYJ said:
So far (I've been riding in Italy since the beginning of October), I have found that accommodation is surprisingly inexpensive - averaging about €50 a night for a good 3-star hotel - but food is more expensive than I thought it would be (averaging about €30 for a 3-course meal with a bottle of water, no alcohol).

Here in the south, the majority of hotels have simply closed up for the season, and a lot of restaurants are also closed. It's hard to tell if the restaurants have gone bust or are just seasonally closed. I can tell from hotel reviews on TripAdvisor or Booking.com that the hotels have closed up for the season.

There are very few tourists around. I haven't seen a single Dutch car hauling a trailer (that's a first for me), and have seen less than a half a dozen motorcycles with out of country plates. I am very surprised that there is so little tourist activity, because the weather here is really nice, up in the 80s (F) every day, no rain since I arrived, and none forecast for the remainder of the month.

Michael
Click to expand...
Strangely Michael there are loads of Dutch at the moment here in Northumberland and the weather is borderline shite. And even stranger there was a shed load in Wester Ross, Scotland last week when the weather was really shite. They mustn't like the sun.
Upt'North.
 
Great ride today through Lebanon County PA. Heated grips and Olympia jacket made the rain seem like nothing. My ST1100 Turned 53k on the ride. Great bike in it's middle age...
 
After sitting at home yesterday watching the rain and wind with temps in the 40's, skies cleared today with temps in the 60's. I took the opportunity to check out the new front tire and fork rebuild on a trip to Hico, TX and points west. Traffic was light, wind minimal, and blue skies stretching to forever. Dined on a delicious steak sandwich from the Koffee Kup in Hico at my favorite roadside picnic area just west of Glen Rose. Came home with a huge grin and 230+ miles on the 97.
 

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What started as a short 2 hour spin in the countryside ended up being a 5 hour express run. The problem was that at my planned turnaround point (Kaiaua) there is a great view across the water of the Coromandel Peninsular, home of epic riding roads and beautiful scenery. To top it off the weather was a balmy 20C, the sun was shining and the trees and grass were in their springtime splendour (I assume the birds were also chirping but had earplugs in...). What to do, what to do...???

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I still thought I might keep the ride a bit short and just go to Coromandel town and back, but there was a round-the-peninsular cycle race happening, so turning and following the traffic that that was creating sounded like a bad idea, so a full lap of the peninsular was called for. The photo above is at a magical location called Kuaotunu but to be honest I could have stopped anywhere and taken a photo that would make you all envious. The roads were in great shape, the PR4s gripped like glue and a few more microns were shaved off the pegs. Got home and had a barbecue for dinner. Sometimes it is tough to be me.
 
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Took a ride today to warm up the bike to change oil and filter...….never rule out riding but it will be greatly reduced until spring.....Russ.
 
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