A good friend of mine, Mark, is from Australia and, after over 11 years in the UK, is planned to return to Aus, for good. He has, in the past borrowed both my Aprilia Futura and then my K1200S to join in on the Old Gits trips, enjoying them so much, he actually bought his own K1300S MotorSport.
As he well be returning to a land where great mountain roads are best described as "in short supply", and where speed enforcement is both enthusiastic and rigorous, a small group of Old Gits though we'd give him a final Euro-tour he'd remember.
The full route is defined here:
https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/5142831?mode=share but the image for the back of the trip tee shirts we had made up says it al:
So, on Friday 10th Sept, we set off on the tunnel.
stopping overnight in Bethune (bikes tucked up safely at the hotel):
before we did a 500 mile across France and into Germany on Saturday. The Autobahns were fun:
Sunday was through Austria and into Italy. The sun shining all the way.
with some serious fun being had.
Monday was Italy then into Switzerland via a number of passes including Stelvio
Mark
Roger
James
Steve
Me
Tuesday had Mark and I looking for somewhere to fit a new tyre to his bike (forward planning it wasn't!!!) before heading back into Italy
Wednesday morning in Aosta and, for the first time on the trip, it was raining, and raining quite hard. The weather slightly reduced the fun as we ran over into France then started down the Route des Grande Alpes.
However, the rain eased towards the end of the day and the final run of the day up the Col de l'izoard was done at significant pace in the company of a Lotus Exige 380 Sport.
For those that don't know, it's 1100kg, 375bhp and f**king quick! He had me on the slightly damp bends but I pulled him back on the short straights. Very childish, but great fun. We both stopped at the top of the Col and thanked each other for a good ride/drive. I'm not sure his passenger enjoyed it quite as much as he did!
That night we were witness to a fantastic lightening show with accompanying thunderous rain.
Thursday was again wet (rain and waterproofs tend reduce both the opportunities and the interest in taking pictures but I did manage to get one at the very top of the Col de Bonnette
before we headed down for the Med coast and our overnight stop. As it happens, once we'd parked the bikes ad checked into the hotel, the rain stopped and the sun came out!
Friday was a ride up the Route Napoleon. The sun was back and it was warm and dry again.
With another change to have some fun
A stop for lunch in Gap had us reminiscing over previous Old Gits trips
Saturday arrived and it was time to think about heading for home, but not before some more fun and stunning roads
Sunday morning was dry again as we did our 200 mile dash to the ferry
Then the run home
It was a superb trip, enjoyed by all but, most importantly, enjoyed by Mark.
