Feet Forward to Florence

Confidence is a wonderful thing. With it you can be fast and smooth. Without it, you can be a twitchy beginner. My confidence on Voyager 05 took a hit last year when I dropped it on a misty downhill bend in Spain. It was spring before V05 was back on the road, so the memories had faded a bit, but I was still unsure why I had locked the front wheel so disastrously. True the Avon was old and the mist had made everything wet and cold, but it should never have happened. Hence my need to regain that confidence on this year's Euro-tour.
The Plan
The destination was Tuscany. Italian sun, wine, and twisty roads beckoned. Son-in-law Mark now had a Ducati Multistrada and was keen to come too. A good destination for a Ducati, although this would be more miles than he had yet done in the UK. Altogether we were going to be eight: Steve, Tom and Pete from Whitby; brother Mike from Brussels (all on big Varaderos) ; Mark and I; Tony from Kent (VFR) and Colin on Voyager 01. I was looking forward to the impact of two Voyagers on the Europeans (one is treated as a curiosity, two and it's an invasion!). As the time neared however, it was clear that V01 was not going to make it - too much to do, too little time. Also, with Tony's father being very ill, the VFR presence was uncertain. Mike then had work commitments that would delay his start to the holiday, so numbers suddenly dwindled, but the trip was still on.
The Start
The tunnel crossing was selected for the southern contingent; but early Thursday mornings on the M25 are not fun, so we spent the first night at Tony's (who could now get away for a few days). We caught an earlier shuttle (very efficient this process, although the bikes just go in behind the cars (no special compartment here) and were on the AutoRoutes by 10.00 local time. The Whitby contingent had landed in Zeebrugge slightly earlier, but using mobiles, we were able to meet them at a service stop, so the party of six now headed south towards Dijon and our first hotel.
The Storm
I have past memories of the Dijon area. By the time you get there on a June afternoon, the summer sun has usually built up some big thunderstorms, which loom black and menacing in the distance. True to form, the first deluge caught us about 20 kms from the next Aire so we had to struggle through half of it, before hiding in a toilet. The second downpour was better timed to a petrol stop, so we availed ourselves of the facilities for slightly longer than normal. Yes you do stay very well protected on a Voyager, but I was glad to put on a rain suit at the first opportunity and nobody likes riding in a monsoon.
First Night
The first stop was at St Jean de Losne on the banks of the Saone and very pretty (Picture)except for the evening traffic over the bridge which seemed to have no regard for town speed limits. The usual excellent French food and less-than perfect rooms. It's a question of priorities!
Switzerland
Next day, the storms had subsided. A good run across the Jura into Switzerland, coffee overlooking Lac Leman and then lunch at the top of the San Bernadino pass. A group of six bikes is a bit too big for a single string and I was not in any mood to push it, so the Varderos and VFR formed one group, while Mark and I formed the other, (although it has to be said that to get there first, you first have to go the right way!)
A couple of German lady bikers on Honda 4s had got it wrong on one of the San Bernadino hairpins, ending up in a heap and forcing the following Brits to play good Samaritans. However, no harm done and we commiserated with them at the top of the pass. If you don't get the revs and gears right each time, it can happen to you too.
Italy
Coming down is trickier than going up - see confidence issues earlier - particularly after we crossed into Italy, when the road deteriorated into undirected single-track road works with sandy gravel surface. Not a fun descent. In fact as we arrived in Aosta, V05's rear brake overcooked. (fully loaded bike and all rear brake on the gravel). I was relieved it had not done it halfway down. This did however decide for me that we should not follow the others up to Cervinia, but go straight to the hotel at Cogne. This stop was Tony's turning point, but at least he had had some passes and some dry roads before returning home.
Old Ghosts
Next day for us was the long run through northern Italy. This took us past Casala Monferato and the Po valley, where V05 had suffered head gasket problems in our 2001 trip. We gave it a wave, but did not linger for fear of disturbing old ghosts. The run was hot, straight and uneventful until we came down towards Genoa. Now the traffic became heavier and more Italian: no quarter given. Long tunnels were very frequent with no safety margin anywhere. Then the brake lights ahead showed that the inevitable had happened somewhere up the road and we all ground to a halt. Hot sweaty and going nowhere. Locals were filtering, but we declined for most of the time. Steve then pointed out that his GPS suggested the LH lane, which now did seem to be moving better. Sure enough, the Mediterranean was dead ahead and the queue was in fact on the west fork, and not our easterly direction. (Through Genoa to pick up the coastal Autostrada east.)
New Demons
Although traffic was moving well now, it was manic Saturday lunchtime traffic enough to scare the lot of us. Two narrow lanes, no hard shoulder and slip roads that would shame a UK B-road. On top of that there was an unending series of tunnels and viaducts. Add to this the local two-wheel population who seemed to have a death wish by lane-splitting at 90 mph plus. Spot the child perched on the back of the sports-bike with shorts and T-shirt just like his father on the front. However, nobody died and we did eventually pass Spaezia and Pisa, cutting inland to our destination at San Gimignano.
Good Speed
Voyager had led for most of this day, at between 70 and 80mph, which Pete pronounced as a good speed. In the old overheating days, I used to get paranoid in long tunnels with no safety lane, but at least now I had confidence that we would not seriously overheat and the engine was very happy at between 3500 and 4000 revs. In fact it was really behaving well, even at high ambient.
Italian Life
Our base at San Gimignano was very pleasant, with pool, and having had long days to get there we did not plan very long rides out. We had an amenable BBQ with an ex-workmate of mine who had set up home in the remote hills above Perugia. We went to nearby hilltop towns like Volterra and of course the square in Siena where they do the Palio horse-race in July. The Crowds in Siena were bad enough, so Florence did not seem like a good idea (despite the title to this piece). Pisa we just had to see - (picture).
Voyager Support Crew
Mike duly arrived at the end of the Monday having come from Brussels at an express pace. I was then presented with a T-shirt show by the Voyager Support Crew, the back of which described all the mishaps, which had befallen V05 on the seven previous trips and all assisted by the Varadero crew. All good fun. (pictures) There is a big difference between touring on the standard bike that the local dealer services, and touring on a prototype that you have assembled yourself, no matter how good the design. I hope that is understood ! Don't get me wrong. The Varadero is a fantastic conventional motorcycle. The ultimate big-trailie (and I like big trailies) . Huge carrying capacity, oodles of power and mile-eating ability , oh and a big thirst. Big as a house and panniers wide as a barn door. The Ducati is a lovely bike too, as long as you don't want to do any maintenance yourself.
Paulo to the rescue
Mind you, I did not get away without a few niggles this time. After one morning visiting the local towers, V05 did not want to fire up; eventually showing signs of throttle pumping by sticky fingers. Similarly Mark's Ducati had some switches in never-used positions. Later I found the big cooling fan at the rear air-duct was missing. Either it fell out, or was nicked, but either way, I needed a fan in this heat. Now Tobia, who helped out at the hotel, is the 2006 saloon car champion of Italy and the Bigazzi team who had supported him was only 5 miles away. Go and see Paul said Tobia. Paulo was brilliant. He did not have a small automotive fan, but did have two computer fans, which they used for de-misting in the racecar. He fixed up these in the rear duct and we were done. I er also had to visit Paulo the next day when I had a fuel leak from the carburettor, but again he came up with a solution. If this was the worst V05 could come up with, I felt I could live with it !
Pass the water
For the way back, we had booked one night in Andermatt(CH) and one night in Gerardmer (F). The run past Florence, Bologna, Milan, Lugano was hotter still and heavy with traffic. V05's gearbox decided to chuck out some oil, which made a black ring on the rear tyre. Not a good prelude to wet misty Swiss passes (Lucomagno, Oberalp, Klausen). Downhill hairpins with a possibly oily back tyre do not assist confidence. The Klausen was done in thick wet cloud, such that the "Gefaehrliche Strecke" signs near the top emerged from the mist. I thought it best not to tell Mark what that meant until afterwards. The heavy rain returned with a vengence for the run across to Gerardmer via the Rheinfalls. I also realised on this day that the front brakes on the Voyager do not really work in torrential rain. Maybe that was what did for me in Spain. (Although now I had new discs, pads and calipers, but the same metallic combination (which was not factory standard I hasten to add)
Home run
The morning at Gerardmer saw the breaking of the fellowship, as the Whitby crew were going north to Metz, Luxemboug and Zeebrugge via Mike's place in Brussels. Mark and I were heading to Calais so that meant Toul, Reims and St Quentin. Heavy showers were scudding across France and we were caught by quite a few. At least the lower temperatures meant that the rear tyre stayed oil-free. Again an earlier shuttle meant we were home by 8.00 pm, despite M25 traffic.
GPS - the beast in the background
Since we started these Euro-trips in 2000, GPS navigation has evolved to become the de-facto standard accompaniment to touring motorcycles. I don't use one. Others do. I know that they are fantastic pieces of kit, but I simply want to know where I am on the ground and on the map, from my own observations and knowledge of the planned route. Yes I can make a mistake, but in reality, we stopped more often because of GPS blips than because of my map reading. Motorcyclists survive by observation of their environment and reaction to it. GPS does not help that observation any more than it does in a car.
There are a number of battles that happen during these trips. One is my opinion versus the GPS. Another more serious one is the battle of the GPSs. I have heard so often the phrase: but my GPS wants to go that way. This year we even had the GPS-driven group splitting up, because of different instructions from different GPS devices. Look guys, the group has a leader and he decides where to go. The rest have to follow until at least a discussion takes place. Whether the leader is GPS-assisted or brain and eyes only, the leader is the leader! The only other logical variation from this is to have smaller groups and ultimately each person doing his own route.
This one will run and run.

Thanks to the four Varaderos, Tony and Mark for another chapter in our Euro-tours,