Motobiker

I got thinking about vans and van owners.. and this came to mind.

Why does this amuse me so much? Time to break out the diazepam @Rob M this board needs it. You can write prescriptions for emergency PRN, can’t you? .

A skillet? Ah… I see a half moon thingy. I missed that. Apologies, I’m a bit distracted today thinking about vans. (For some wholly bizarre reason) looks delicious! As a snack (obviously)

I’m trying to work out why a plate needs a handle?

He can’t block me, I don’t have a van!!

I like that last photo on the shore of Lago di Resia, mainly because it gave me a view that I was sooo, looking forward to. which the photo only hints at, but.. zoom in:

I passed through Austria last year, in September... and although I didn't admit it at the time, I actually stayed overnight. Despite Austria at that point being on the 'naughty list'. I ate at a kebab place in Landeck and camped at a quite awful site at a place called Prutz. - it was awful because it was set up originally as for mobile homes and caravans only. so.. the ground was incredibly hard and full of gravel. almost impossible to properly erect a tent. it was also noisy due to a main route to Italy close by as well as a very loud river in full flood!! anyway, I had zero problems while there. but I didn't hang about.. I was in Italy next morning after a quick diversion into Switzerland as the road was closed. I had a fair bit of rain to contend with too.. all day, until I got to Landeck. But, of course.. cross into Italy and.... woosh. all change. From this: To this: And then.. further down that same road... But, if memory serves didn't they at one point actually close the borders? maybe it was when that happened and then obviously attitudes would change markedly. very 'germanic'. "You shouldn't be here... go away. go home!!"

Oh.. and Rob. do you remember a certain restaurant we had moolies at.. or maybe that was just you. next to a beach. down south.. a long way south. well... there is this chap named tango on this ere forum who has done something orrid. he has only gone and retired and is now living not far away from that there beach. stick him on ignore before you see some of his photos and this will help prevent you from falling to the floor, foaming at the mouth.

es complicado

Im not sure he should be allowed to join as his bike doesn't have a top box. but, as a possible plus point, he doesn't have a van. and he does occasionally get about... occasionally. without van. on his bike. with no van.

never heard of him. who?

Got my "trick or treats welcome.. please knock" sign already to put on the gate of the Jehovahs witnesses house down the road. that'll learn em.

The nice thing is that once you’re in Austria then so much is within spitting distance. A very easy days ride. The Germans love their scenic drives. So there’s the alpine route, the romantic route. The wine route and so on. The Austrians have a lot of toll routes most of which are closed to ‘traffic’ so tend to be quiet out of season. Some of the passes are the same. Unsuitable for a lot of vehicles. So aren’t used at all by “traffic” then next door you have Italy and Slovenia. Slovenia being a particular favourite of mine. Tuscany isn’t too far away either. Nor is Liguria. And Aosta. The entire region north of and around Garda is lovely too as well as the foothills down towards Venice. the other thing that can turn out to be very important. The alps often act as a barrier to weather.. so it might be awful. Wet and horrible on the north side… but just travel 40 miles south and it’s like someone opened an oven door. An endless blue sky.

If anyone is interested this is my plan, which I will be sending to the group in due course. I usually wait for winter to set in when everyone is a bit fed up as it gives them all something to look forward to.

Its usually in the description. and might be described as a TV room or games room/meeting room. They usually show photos of the main building and if there is a covered patio then that's fairly obvious. In Ireland nearly every campsite has what is called a 'campers kitchen' which was a similar kind of idea.. kitchen cum dining room for when the rain arrives. The place at Killarney we stayed at was really well set up in that regard. In fact it has to be one of the best campsites Ive ever stayed at on this side of the North Sea. Just the perfect place for a motorcycle tour. When I plan these trip s I generally sort out places to base myself at and then look at the campsites in the area and decide what looks best for us. its not a difficult task. But, this was also the main point. or at least one of them of my solo trip to the dolomites last year. I also wanted to check out the region called the "Bavarian Forest" which is over near the Czech border.. and although it was nice, it wasn't nice enough to be worth the journey getting there. I also wanted a better look at Cortina d'Ampezzo, especially the supermarket. (which wasn't very good to be honest) and so, that's why I reckon its best to base ourselves close to the border in Austria. with an Aldi a 16 minute walk. (Austrian Aldi is called Hofer) or just call in as we return from a day out. stock up on beer and ice!! The campsite at Zell is very nice too.. expensive. but that's ok just for a night or two. Its just so handy being only 15 miles from the Glockner Toll Platz. with fuel stops en route. Might even treat myself to one of their breakfasts... with a view.

Ive never seen that... ever. not with Virgin, NTL or their predecessors going right back to dial-up. and those bleeping modems.

I got rid of my home broadband and got an iPhone which I use as a hotspot for the computer. I have unlimited everything on the iPhone and this costs me £22.30 a month. Less than half what I was paying for home broadband and landline.

Just been for this years flu jab and got some fuel. No queue, no issues at all. Crisis over. Now, it’s way past my bedtime… zzzzzzzzz

I do wonder about stories like this and the British (in particular) reaction. When French bikers demonstrate and bring cities to a complete halt, then that’s fine. Bring it on! Why can’t we organise like this? but when it’s a group who want to force government to genuinely improve the poorest in societies living standards, as well as those with the least amount of power, with some direct action. Then that’s just attention seeking. Or how dare they? I think it’s a British thing. The Brit’s have never really recovered from serfdom. Doing what they are told by their “betters”. Bow. Making do with their lot. And never rock the boat. Tug forelock and thank you my lord. The French have the hang of forcing change or a reversal in policy. The brits don’t. We have the vote, a skewed system and are so grateful. bow, tug forelock.

You’re assuming that everyone can afford to do so, or that landlords will be happy to spend money on their properties to benefit their tenants.

Well, having a supermarket close by.. in this case within walking distance is very handy. I can’t be bothered with cooking. I do enough of that at home. And this is a holiday after all. So, usually we eat while out for the day a hot meal when the opportunity presents itself and then grab the makings of a cold al fresco meal as well as beers and ice for the evening. And breakfast for the next day, of course. So no need to bring pots and pans. (Shudder) I do bring a stove, kettle and cafetière, as there’s nothing better than a proper coffee first thing. Having a petrol station close by is great too. I like to brim the tank last thing so that’s one less priority next morning and we can make progress, so all this makes the campsite at Tassenbach ideal. There are other things I look for, like a covered area or room we can use for eating and drinking if it rains. Much nicer than being forced to huddle in our tents. This campsite has that too. Oh, and the other nice thing about this campsite is that I'm not going to be called a Hooligan by a load of very drunk Austrian football fans who seem to equate that word with anyone from Britain!! That is a thing that happened. Me. A hooligan!! Before we get to Tassenbach, we will try for the Grossg lockner and spend a couple of nights at a campsite at Zell am See. this is a great place, with the most stupendous view across the lake. There are live webcams on the Glockner, so we can see what the conditions are like and if ts worth spending the day up there: Right now its covered in snow, but this is what Im hoping for in June. Though there will likely be more snow.

Busy couple of days, dotting the i's and crossing the t's for next years trip down to the Dolomites. and a big change for next year, I want to avoid the Austrian school holidays and to that end have moved our usual dates from September to June. Crossing on the 25th and returning on the 10th. June might seem a long way off now, with winter around the corner but it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the time goes by. So June, just a few days after the solstice so that means long hours of daylight, a big plus for this trip. Ive nailed down a base camp to explore from and have decided that its best to stay in Austria, mostly for the cheap petrol (Italy is hideously expensive) but also. there is a Lidl/Aldi very close by.. the Aldi is 1km from the campsite which will help with the budget. cheaper food and beer. Its a campsite I have stayed at before and its rather good. arrowed below. It's just 6 miles to the border. 32 miles to Cortina d’Ampezzo. Only downside to my plan is the ride down, to maximise our time in the Alps. we'll do the ride to Austria over 2 days, A bit of a slog, but that will give us up to 9 days to play with before we start for home and Ive promised a revisit to the Black Forest and the B500 from south to north. We will also have two chances to ride the Grossglockner, hoping for a blue sky day. I would also love to get to the Mangart in Slovenia which is about a 200 mile round trip. But, we'll have to wait and see how things pan out. So, that's been my day today/yesterday...

Even without the threat of fines its very inconsiderate to ride or drive any vehicle at night with high beams on in the face of oncoming traffic. its hardly a great loss to very temporarily switch to dip if a vehicle is coming towards you. and then turn them back on once that vehicle has passed you by.