Hollywood Hotel - In Senigallia, Italy.

30/7/12

We said our goodbyes and queued with hundreds of others to go down into the hold of the ferry and access our vehicles. After ages of stewing in our own sweat they let us out. We rode off the ferry ramp with intentions of heading for Venice, then cross country to the UK. Our plan was to ride up the coast and avoid the Autobahn. After about twenty minutes of riding in heat and traffic, on crappy roads, through industrial areas I decided the Autobahn may not be such a bad choice.

After about fifteen minutes of non stop trucks and gusting wind I decided the coast road was the better option after all, so back we went. It was very hot and it was time for a lunch break. We were both grumpy and tired and had one of our very few "disagreements". As luck would have it we stumbled into Senegallia, a lovely beach resort. Think Cottesloe Beach at home, but with more life and hundreds and hundreds of beach umbrellas. Lunch took considerably longer than usual, and we had a bottle of wine (more due to the language barrier than choice) as well. As I said, it was hot, and you have to re hydrate. At this point in time every item of clothing we have with us is very, very smelly and in dire need of a wash, and just about every battery we have needs recharging. We'd found enough excuses so, obviously, we were not going anywhere. We needed a good night's sleep and an hotel. 

Suzanne wandered off to searched for a hotel, and came back with a bargain. The Hollywood Hotel. It had air conditioning and a fridge. To be honest, at that point in time if I had to choose between a bed or an air-conditioner, I would have chosen to take the air conditioner. Suzanne made good use of the shower and washed all of our clothes. I made good use of the shower, and the bed, and had a good sleep. The next morning we found that this was a pretty cool place and decided to stay another night, and I still needed more sleep.

It's been two months since I had a hair cut and I'm starting to look like the Wild Man of Borneo, so off to get a haircut. I found a "real" barbershop. That's me, I'm in. I used my best Italian and said "Numero Due" while moving my hand around over my head and making buzzing sounds. You couldn't get that wrong could you?

The barber fired up some Jimi Hedrix on his stereo, and when he realised I was enjoying it, turned it up loud. Right now I'm feeling pretty good. 

Does the barber remind you of anyone?

I have to explain now that I wear my glasses to see distances. Sitting in the barber's chair I don't need to see, so I take them off and my reflection is blurry to me. Probably a good thing now I think about it. Looking in the mirror I though: "That looks a bit short".

My new number, two?

I'm sure it's the short hair that makes my face look fat. It couldn't be anything else. When he was done he gave me a quick ear and eyebrow trim. I hate getting old. The eyebrow trim was a bonus because they were so long they were fluttering in my eyes when I was riding with my visor up. Back to the hotel for a quick shave and I looked human again. Well, almost.

Check out the beach view from our balcony...

In the early morning there are guys with wire scoop nets cleaning the beach, putting rubbish in bags, and throwing the bags in the bucket of a front end loader. The loader then tips the bags into a truck. By the time the first beach goers arrive, the beach is pristine.

The view in the beach wasn't bad either. The new Bikini fashion is interesting. I'd call it Wedgie style.

Senigallia would make a great place to stay for a week for a relaxing beach holiday, but we've got to get to the UK. Tomorrow we ride some serious miles.

Where is Rex's Buff?

Dimi's cutie pie girlfriend, who's name escapes me at the moment (Yes, I know, that's not like me. I blame it on Alzheimer's). If anyone can help me out here I'd appreciate it. : )

"Where shall we go now? What? Some people are going to Italy on the ferry? Sounds good to me".

29/7/12

We have a small issue with a little thing that is called a Shengen Visa. It's a long story but what it means is we can only spend 90 days out of 180 days in certain European countries. It's a real pain because we need a number if days for our cruise in September so we need to head back to the UK for a few weeks. We'll arrange our visas for Ukraine, catch up with some friends, and visit Wales as well while we are there. 

We hadn't planned a return route and were thinking of continuing down through Greece, into Turkey, then back up north and across to the UK. We have very kindly been offered a vacant house on a Greek Island to stay in for a while, and also had offers of accommodation in Athens, so we didn't want to rush through Greece. When we heard a few people say they were catching a ferry to Italy then riding back to the UK it sounded pretty good. After our cruise we'll head back down Italy, catch a ferry to Greece and continue our travels. It could  be a very nice place to spend winter. I was keen on experiencing a white Christmas, but I don't think it's practical travelling by bike.

So here we go.

It took ages to say goodbye to everyone at the Horizons Unlimited camp. A lot of people were staying on for a few more days and it was very tempting to join them. It was another dose of sad goodbyes for us. This really is the worst part of travelling like this. 

We took the same route into Ioannina that we took a few days before. On the way in it took us nearly three hours. On the way out it was an hour, and it was fun. I have decided that when I am tired now, I will stop. The deadlines can wait.

After a quick drink break we hit the main road into Igoumenitsa and the ferry terminal. We were hoping to catch up with Deb on her CB600F and travel across together. We couldn't find Deb, but found Roger and Jen who were catching a ferry as well. Just as we were buying our tickets Deb rocked up. She'd been down on the beach perving at all the young, buff, Greek guys. She's a real worry. 

On the ferry you have a choice of a cabin, an aircraft type seat, or deck space. The other guys were all taking a deck space ticket. I'll point out now that the night ferry takes about twelve hours to make the trip. "It's simple Simon. Take your sleeping bag, find a quiet spot on the deck, and go to sleep" said Roger. Hmm, I'm not so sure about this, but it could be a fun night. So we bought deck space tickets.

Our ferry arrived right on sun set.

We rode on board, secured the bikes, and sailed at about 10.30pm. On deck we scored a great spot and "found" six plastic chairs. Luxury. Then we had our own little party which was helped along by the girls having a bottle of wine each and Suzanne trying to reduce the world's surplus of gin and tonic. Roger and I were very responsible and only had one beer. Honestly.

Party central. You can tell can't you?

One thing let to another and it was decided that Deb should write a note, put it in the empty wine bottle, and fling it overboard. We should have made a copy of the note as none of us remember exactly what it said, but it was personal, and Deb might get a few "contacts" out of it it if comes good. I said I can't wait to show the photos at the wedding.

Deb's note goes into the bottle.

The final touch.

Going...

Going...

Gone! Good luck Deb. We hope you get a good response.

Enough fun and frivolity. At one am we decided it was time for bed. The Poms set up on deck while the Aussies headed below to look for a more comfortable padded seat or similar. Suzanne and I didn't bring our sleeping bags or mats, we planned to sleep in our riding gear. This worked incredibly well, here's the process: 

• Find a soft piece of carpet.
• Lie down.
• Put your jacket under your head as a pillow.
• Put a sleeve over your eyes as they don't turn off the lights.
• If you're clever you do as Suzanne did and use your buff to cover your eyes and ears.
• Go to sleep.
• Wake up cold.
• Put on your jacket. 
• Use your boot as a pillow.
• Stick your head under a chair to block that damn bright light.

I thought I slept well, but a few hours later I realised that I hadn't.

Where's Rex's Buff?

Jen is a real sweetie. She fits in and gets on with the job at hand. She was also a partner in crime for the ferry party. Love ya Jen.

We finally get to Mount Tzoumerka, and the Horizons Unlimited meeting.

26, 27, and 28/7/12

How can you be so dog tired and still not sleep? Last night I felt the way you do when you've been on a boat all day and even some time after you get off, you feel like you're still moving. I was riding my bike in bed all night. Up, down, left, right. I didn't feel refreshed at all when I got up.

Our early start this morning was thwarted when we went down stairs for breakfast and found that we lost an hour entering Greece. It didn't matter as we surely must only have about thirty kilometres to go. OK, let's go and play mountain goats again. 

I'm sure there is a line in there somewhere about mucking around in fountains.

We left the hotel at about ten thirty with some very simple instructions. Turn left, follow the road, then turn right at the church. Follow the road up to the camp. We can do that. We rode down the road for about a hundred metres and there was a large Horizons Unlimited banner at the turn off. We'd ridden twelve hours the day before and stopped a hundred metres short of our destination. 

Well, a hundred metres, and three kilometres of the worst dirt road we've encountered this trip. It was pretty bad to start with, then the local council in their wisdom dumped a whole lot of fresh gravel on the road before the event to "help" the motorcyclists. Now this gravel isn't like ours, it lumpy limestone, with lots of large chunks. Pile this deep on an up hill, hairpin bend, throw in a lot of overloaded motorcycles, and you know what's going to happen. We made it to the top unscathed, more through luck than skill, and with two very close calls. Suzanne was in tears when we got to the top. She's been bloody tough this trip, so I guess it was a little unnerving. (Wait til she reads that line). I told everyone that the tears in her eyes were from the wind as I was going so fast up the track. She insists she's walking back down and won't be coming anywhere near the bike til it's back on bitumen. Quite a few people came unstuck on the way in and fell off. A few of the savvy guys cleared a lot of the loose rocks off the hairpins, but it was still a very tricky ride. Especially if you were on a road bike or inexperienced. It was a perfect way to finish our challenge. Having said that one guy rode his Vespa PX200 up there with no problems at all.

Me riding solo on the way back down the mountain, while Suzanne enjoyed the comfort (and safety) of a car ride with Dimitris.

We're finally here. Yahbloodyhooo! We crawled off the bike and were welcomed at sign in by Dimitris. Now I have to admit I have my first man crush. Dimitris is Greek, but speaks absolutely perfect, well educated, Cambridge (I think) University English. He is a pleasure to listen to and should be a movie star. I was happy to sit and listen to him talk any time. The girls all seemed to like him for some reason as well. We signed in and set up camp, then sat down for a well deserved drink. Well, we signed in and sat down for a drink, then set up camp about an hour later. Suzanne picked the best place for our tent out of the whole area. Our tent was so well shaded that we only had sun on it for about half an hour a day. It was petty hot so that was a big plus.

The driveway to our new home (for a few days). This was easy after the ride up to the camp.

Our back yard was a little crowded, but we made do.

Our home for the weekend, and my little home maker.

These spiky little buggers are everywhere, and they really are spiky.

The camp area at Mount Tzoumerkas is a refuge. This means it is a stop for hikers and climbers when they tackle the area. It's a pretty nice place but only offers basic facilities - that is, only two cold showers. Can someone please explain to me why, when it's 35 degrees, I still squeal like a school girl when I step into a cold shower. Anyway, we set up camp and settled in. Then the fun started.

Camp Tzoumerka. The scene of a lot of fun, the presentation area, the preparation area for a large amount of tasty food, and the source of all things alcoholic.

There was a camp dog. Zara was so chilled out that I suspect she has a secret stash of dope plants that she chews on.

Meet Zara.

Early on the first night Suzanne painted the Horizons Unlimited logo on Joel. It was a big hit and cameras came from everywhere with a swag of shots being taken. Thanks for being a good sport Joel.

Suzanne at work on Joel. We think Joel had a future in modelling.

The finished product. Suzanne is evaluating some new paint for a manufacturer and isn't overly happy with the result. Check out the background though.

Joel and Taz are a couple from Canada who are travelling on a pair of Kawasaki KLR250 Super Sherpas. They are a little different to us in that they are travellers who are riding motorcycles, not motorcyclists who are travelling. It's really good to get a different perspective on something you are very close to as it often opens your eyes to things you haven't seen before.

When darkness fell the presentations began. We had to wait for dark so we could see the Power Point presentations. What a great night. We had travel stories from all sorts of people from all around the world. Some of the presentations were in Greek, so one of the English speaking Greeks sat with us mono lingual people and translated. No one asked, it just happened. I'd love to tell you about each and every presentation, but it would take hours and hours. There were funny stories, entertaining stories, and a few sad stories.

During the day there were lots of things to do. There were rides to local sights. There were training schools on anything from what tools to take with you, to changing tyres, or how to ride off road. Or there was relaxing and just soaking up the atmosphere. We did a lot of relaxing.

Oh, and the food. We were so well catered for, in quality and quantity. It was exceptional.

This was one day's lunch for Suzanne and I.

If you are into motorcycles and travelling try and get along to a Horizons Unlimited meeting. They are held all over the world so the chances are there will be one near you. Suzanne and I are thinking on holding one in Perth when we get back. I suspect if we do it will have a very strong Greek flavour. We might have to hold it in Fremantle.

This went on for three nights, so information overload was the order of the meeting. Then there are the people you meet there. What a bloody fantastic bunch. We were lucky enough to get to know quite a few people well, and met some people far to briefly. We can only hope that our paths cross again and we can get to know each other better. I'd love to name names, but if I did I would only leave someone out and every single person there deserves recognition. The only person I will name is my new friend Thodoris. Thodoris worked all weekend looking after everyone with drinks and food. He was tending bar on the second night and after the presentations finished around two am we spent many hours solving the worlds problems. A bit after four am we had it pretty much sorted and called it a night. The only problem was that there was no one taking notes so all that hard work went to waste. Bummer. Thanks for the drinks, and thanks for the company, it was a true pleasure meeting you Thodoris. He was a top bloke when I was sober as well.

Yes, Thodoris, the sun was very bright in the morning.

Thank you so much Dimitris for organising a wonderful meeting. Suzanne and I had a fantastic time, and so did every other person I spoke to over the course of the weekend. I can only imagine how big it will be next year.

Some quotes from the weekend:

"There is another choice, for every one of us." Alex, about life.

"It's very uncomfortable" Joel, about travelling on a small bike.

"Two bikes looked like two dogs sniffing each other" Dimmi, KTM rider from Greece.

"Motul 2T gives you 90,000 km out of a Vespa PX200 piston." Crazy Greek guy who rode a PX200 the the meeting. I told him that in Australia we'd call him a "crazy bastard" and he looked offended and asked why. I had to explain that it was a compliment.

I'll finish of by saying something that will only mean something to people who were there.

"...is good for the eyes."

I hope our travels bring us together again somewhere guys. What a truly amazing and inspiring bunch of people. Thanks for having us and making us feel so welcome.

Random photos from the weekend:

Having a chat on line with the founders of Horizons 

Unlimited. Unfortunately they couldn't attend due to health issues.

Another well travelled BM.

Local architecture.

Bridges everywhere.

It was a relief to see this sign.

I think Suzanne was trying to find our next hotel.

The best bike to travel on, is the one you have.

Going up! 

Is that a rock?

Don't mind if I do.

Suzanne's basic supplies.

Smile.

Tyre changing lessons.

My sleeping beauty, what a trooper.

Would you put up with this for your man girls?

Exit after a bloody fantastic weekend.

Where's Rex's Buff?

I had to put Polytimi in this post. Polytimi is a very accomplished off road rider and has a BMW R800GS. Big deal you say. Yes, it is a big deal. Polytimi has owned her GS for eighteen months, and has put 48,000 km on it! Oh yes, she's tall, slim, gorgeous, and has a full time job as well. How does that make you feel guys? (And Harley riders?)

Mammoth 12 hour day on the bike in Albania, but we finally made it to Greece. 

25/7/12

We finally made an early start today. No shower, no breakfast, just on the bike and on the road. That turned out to be a very good thing. We left our hotel with a map, a sat nav, and directions. " Yes, Greeca, four hours". Four hours later we were told "Three hours to Greece", and that was at the border a long way from where we wanted to end the day. Am I riding in circles?

There aren't many photos from today as our camera batteries are both flat. Bad Simon.

We rode for hours and through little villages till we stopped for lunch at Pogradec. I found two large tortoise in the front yard of the cafe. Apparently they are quite common here. Who knew? A quick omelette breakfast / lunch and then we put another few hours under the wheels which included a great piece of road. It was sealed, but had a very rough surface with stones poking out of the top. The BM's suspension soaked up the bumps and I was having a ball. At one stage I forgot Suzanne was on the back and was riding it like an enduro special test. It was probably the most fun ride I've had this trip. We arrived in Korce and stopped for a drink. We checked the map then headed off, but couldn't find the road out of town we needed. We asked directions and were sent to where we had just come from. We were sure this wasn't the right road because it was just a very rough dirt track that looked like a driveway, so we turned around and asked a shop keeper for directions. He pointed at the same track. I pointed at my map and where we wanted to go again and he traced the main road on the map with his finger, then pointed at the track again. OK, it obviously gets better down the road. You'd think so, but no.

This really was a challenge. I warned Suzanne that he bike would be moving around all over the place and just to relax and not fight it. It will all be fine. I explained that I actually feel more comfortable on tracks like this than on the sealed stuff. It was pretty rough and in some spots I had to stop and take a good look for a line before I could ride on. Another two hours in the saddle and all of a sudden a road showed up on the sat nav. Up until now it had been totally blank. Then we could see the road on the other side of the river, then we saw a bridge. I was in love. We rounded a bend and the road became sealed as it led into the Albanian border check point. This was a remote post and was very different to the post we entered through. We were the only vehicle there. The funny thing is it took about twenty five minutes for them to stamp our passports. I guess they were bored.

A few minutes later and we saw a Greek flag. What a relief. We were one of only three vehicles there but it took about half an hour to get another stamp and for them to check the bike registration. Then we were in Greece. We'd soon be at our Horizons Unlimited camp site on Mount Tzoumerka. Or so we thought. We rode in on a beautiful, sealed, smooth, two lane wide road to Ioninna and stopped for a short break. It was about seven pm and I suggested that we pull the pin on riding today and book into a hotel. Suzanne said "No, let's get to the camp tonight. Then you can relax". OK, let's go. We checked the sat nav and map and headed off on our thirty minute ride.Two hours later we were riding up and down hairpin bend roads in the mountains. In the dark. We found a village and asked directions. Yes we were going the right way, down there turn left, then right, cross the bridge and you're there. At the next village I said "That's it, find a hotel, I'm done". So Suzanne sourced a lovely room and after a wonderful shower I crawled into bed at about eleven pm. We'd spent nearly twelve hours on the bike. Are we having fun yet? Oh yeah. It was a bloody tough day, but it was a blast.

I have some serious blisters and my hands feel like they've been hit with hammers, but I feel a strange sense of satisfaction. I think we're only about thirty kilometers from the camp now.

Where's Rex's Buff?

Meet Mila, a pocket rocket, hill climbing, hiking, sweetie.

So what will happen to us in Albania?

24/7/12

Every night we plan to get an early start the next day, but it just doesn't happen. Today We went downstairs to pay our bill, and of course there are no credit card facilities, and we had no cash. Off I go into town to find a bank. No joy. I went back to the unit and Mike the owner offered to take me into Bar in his car. At the same time he would show me the turn off for a short cut to Albania. The locals use it and apparently it saves about 50 kilometres. What concerned me about this is that I thought we were already in Bar, but Bar is a large town about five kilometres away. I'm so happy we got that wrong because where we stayed was so much nicer.

I didn't want to put Mike out so I just took my bike and rode into Bar. It took me ages to find a cash machine, and when I did it wouldn't let me have any money. : ( Another twenty minutes riding around, and asking three people finally got me to another machine that gave me some money. I made good use of it and I won't run out again for a while now I can tell you.

When I got back it was about 11 am, Suzanne had befriended the cats, and Mike had a visitor who is a keen motorcyclist who wanted to see my bike, and have a chat. We sat on the balcony sipping fruit juice and talking about bikes, with Mike translating. We finally got going just after midday. According to Google maps we had a six and a half hour ride in front of us. No problem. We topped up the bike and headed off to find our short cut turn off. It was up an incredibly steep road, a little rough, and only one lane wide, but it was pretty good. We were on our way. Tonight we'll be at the Horizons Unlimited camp site.

Suzanne's new friends enjoy breakfast. I told Mike to count them before we left and if any were missing to check Suzanne's bags.

Mike's plans for the future for his accommodation. Mike is an architect and designed the current house for his father. He plans to upgrade it in stages in the following years. I kind of like it as it is. If you're in the area consider staying here. You'll like it I'm sure.

Now Albania doesn't have the best reputation in the world. In fact it's touted as one of the most dangerous countries to visit. Thieves, rip off merchants, bad roads, Mafia, crazy drivers, corrupt Police and so on. Our idea was to be able to ride straight through Albania and into Greece in a day, if we felt we needed too. With the late start that plan was looking a little dodgy. The road was typical of all the roads we'd ridden in the last week or so, so all was good. Then the wind picked up, badly, and it started to rain. Lightly at first, then heavily. We didn't have any dramas and the next few hours went by pretty easily. Then we came across a HUGE traffic jam. A single lane of traffic stretched out in front of us for as far as we could see. Over to the left side of the road and nail it. Whenever a car came the other way the traffic would part and let me in I LOVE this. Then we found the source of the traffic jam. The Albanian border crossing. I looked at the line of cars, and I looked at the checkpoint and thought, stuff it. I rode straight up to the front of the line and pulled up in front of the front car. The guy behind me was going off, and I didn't blame him at all, but we had some ground to cover so... I'm sure he'll get over it. I did smile and wave as we left the check point.

A few images from the road...

This is how high we are on the coast, before we head into the mountains.

Yes, that's a town down there.

Local transport. These are everywhere.

Fruit and veg shop.

We got to Mamurras, had a coffee and consulted our map. There are no sat nav readings here boyo. I was a little concerned that by my calculations, and the map details, we still had about six more hours of riding in front of us. We'd already done about four. Something wasn't adding up. We put the wet liners in the jackets, climbed back on the bike and got going toward Tirana. Our break was a short one.

We stopped for a late lunch, and to check our navigation at a little cafe on the outskirts of Tirana. Here we met Suzanna. Suzanna fell in love with Suzanne and after a huge feed (we must look malnourished as we always get given a giant meal) didn't want us to go. They are now Facebook friends and I'm sure Suzanna will be in touch. As we prepared to leave Suzanna came over with Suzanne's bag containing our passports and money. Suzanne had left it in the toilet earlier. So this is terrible Albania eh? Once again every person we spoke to or asked for directions was happy and helpful. Even the Police were great when we spoke to them. I rode past one cop doing double the speed limit. It was too late to slow down so I waved to him. He just smiled and waved back. Another copper saluted us as we rode past, and it was a proper salute not a casual one.

Continuing on our merry way I realised I had ridden into a large square surrounded by what looked like government buildings. The only other vehicles there were Police and Military vehicles. I don't think we were supposed to be there. I rode up to a group of four coppers and asked for directions to Elbasan. None of them spoke English and they didn't look happy. Then I pointed at the map in our tank bag and showed them where we wanted to go. They all smiled and pointed in the direction we should go. I was confused, but happy. Nothing new there.

Hmmm, I don't think we should be here. (This was the best stretch of road that we saw in Albania).

Back on track and we hit a road with HUGE everything. Huge moutains, huge bends, huge cliffs. Just huge everything. Every time we went round a bend we were presented with another one. We were surrounded by bloody big mountains which meant we had to go up one of them, and we did.

Now we are looking down on the other mountains. Why would you build a pass across the highest mountain around?

Now we are riding in the sky, on the outside edge of the road. I didn't really like the "safety" railing much either. Nervous? Yeah, you could say that.

 It was another ear popping ride up and then down again. I checked the map and I think it's 1,300 M above sea level. I said out loud in my helmet "Please, no more" but there was more, and plenty of it. On one bend Suzanne cried "Holy f ****** s***" we were looking down onto the tops of other mountains and we were still going up. We rode up that mountain for about an hour. The road at the top of the mountain was on the very top, so there was nothing on either side of the road. Looking left or right you could see for miles and miles, and miles.

We finally made the top. The view to the north...

...and to the south.

The road down. By the time I got to the bottom my hands were toast and my wrists were aching from holding the bars and using the brakes. I even had blisters from the brake lever. This is a casual road ride?

Then of course we had to ride down again. It took us about another hour to reach Elbasan where we stopped for a break and another navigation check. Once again we worked out we had a six hour ride in front of us. Now I'm starting to lose the plot. I checked our calendar and found I had factored in an extra day and we didn't have to be at the meeting til the day after tomorrow. We had a whole extra day. Yahoo! We were sitting outside a hotel having our break and I said to Suzanne, we need a room for tonight.

Suzanne worked her magic and in a few minutes we had a very nice room, with air conditioning, a bath, and a fridge, all for thirty Euros. I was told to park my bike right outside the front door and the guy on the desk would watch it all night. After dinner which consisted in part of the very best tasting fish I have ever eaten, Suzanne made a bee line for the bath, but there was no plug. I went downstairs and tried to explain to the guy on the front desk what we needed. Very few people here speak any English, and my Albanian is non existent. He ended coming up to the room and when I showed him what we needed he just tore of some toilet paper and plugged the hole with it, put some water in, smiled, and walked out. It's funny, we're in a room with top quality fittings and marble everywhere, but we can't have a bath plug. You have to chuckle. 

So that was our first experience of Albania. My recommendation is to not listen to anything anyone tells you about different countries. Go for yourself and make your own decisions. We were nervous about travelling here but all we found were more lovely people. As for the roads, OK, they aren't up to Aussie standards, but they aren't that bad either. There are a few places in the bigger tows where the road has been damaged, but if you ride with your eyes open it's not a problem, The traffic and drivers? Well, it's different. You have to concentrate and claim your space. When a car comes up next to you just push your way in front. They'll let you. If you've ever raced a bike, just think second or third corner in a race and you'll be fine.

We hit the sack early because we decided that we would make an early start tomorrow. We only have about six hours in font of us, or do we?

PS I've just checked Google maps and our trip is supposed to be about 500Km. We rode for about seven hours and we aren't even half way. Maybe European kilometres are longer than ours.

Where's Rex's Buff?

The lovely Deborah. Honda CB600F riding legend, and really cool bird to hang out with.