Monday, September 30, 2024

The Italian Job - Day 4

The Italian Job is passing quickly - today we set out from Fiumicino near Rome for Sorrento. One bike in our group needs to be repaired, so bad luck for one couple who had to go with their bike to Rome for repairs - we did not see them until late in the evening as they missed the days riding. They will get their bike back tomorrow. We did just over 300 kms today, passing the 1,000 km milestone for the trip. No major sites to see today, as it was out intention to get to Sorrento where we will have two days to relax. 

No major sites - well, we did stop at the beautiful Gaeta beach, plus had just the best ride on the Rome-Naples motorway passing by Vesuvius and the gorgeous Bay of Naples. I loved the ride through the tunnels leading to Sorrento, not to mention the plentiful sharp turns (at which I am getting more confident). In this part of Italy it seems that scooter riders own the road - they whizzed past us on our big bikes with ease on the narrow roads here. I wanted to swap!

Due to the issue with one bike, our luggage did not arrive until after 20:00, at which stage we had had plenty of beers and started dinner.. We sat out on the terrace overlooking the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius. Just the best end to a great day’s riding. Tomorrow is a rest day, and we plan to chill out in Sorrento.

Some photos from today…

On the road near Gaeta beach.

Our view from the balcony of our room at the Hotel Jaccarino.
Mt Vesuvius on the background.


Posers!

Gaeta beach.

Roma is enjoying biking!


Sunday, September 29, 2024

The Italian Job - Day 3

Today’s destination was Fiumicino near Rome, so what was in store for us over the 275 kms covered today? Another early start before leaving Sienna - a city definitely worth visiting again. We rode through some fantastic countryside, while there were plenty of twisty roads I felt more confident on my new favourite motorcycle (Road Glide Ultra). A quick stop for petrol was followed by our first stop at the hill top town of Montalcino. It has a great castle which we visited and loved. Montalcino is known as a wine area (Tuscany), and it has an abundance of wine shops offering expensive wines and tastings. Sadly, I cannot taste anything alcoholic while riding, but it was nice to look. We stopped at a café for a cappuccino and of course a visit to the loo. In what is becoming a familiar theme here, there was just one loo for the entire café - we had to wait our turn. While women are used to queuing, men are not. Later we were at a view point where we stopped, the men could “go” in the bushes, while the women had to hold on until the next stop. As a loo with a view, it doesn’t come better than Tuscany’s beautiful hills and valleys!

We had a lovely lunch on the shore of Lago di Bolsena - very tasty pasta and salad. Later we stopped at another lake shore - this time at Lago di Bracciano. We had a nice ice cream (gelato!) in the sun, and a great chat about the day’s ride. We are staying at the Isola Sacra hotel near Fiumicino airport, and had a brilliant dinner at the nearby La Locanda - a biker themed restaurant which closed the evening off in style.

Some photos from today’s ride…

The lovely Roma.

On the shore of lake Bracciano.

Somewhere in Tuscany.

One of many wine shops in Montalcino.

On top of Montalcino castle.

A happy biker chick!


Saturday, September 28, 2024

The Italian Job - Day 2

Our first day on the road was one of the longest (427.5 km) that we will have. Our destination this evening was Sienna, but we had a few interesting stops on the way. We left Treviglio after an 08:00 briefing from our group leader Stefano. We spent the morning on the road, which was mostly motorway riding, with a few stops for coffee and loo breaks. Our aim was to get to Pisa where we arrived in time for some sight-seeing and lunch. Neither Roma nor I had seen the leaning tower of Pisa before, and it is spectacular! For some reason I thought it was a lot smaller than it is, but I was very impressed with this priceless building, as were the thousands of other people who were there too at the same time as us.

At the leaning tower of Pisa

The bike is going well - we had just one stop for petrol today. I did get cut off from the group for about 20 minutes. I had slowed down in heavy traffic and lost contact with the group. The next 20 minutes were worrying, but I eventually caught up with the group. Some of the sharp bends were taking me a bit more time to get around than my fellow riders.

Getting used to the big machine.

One of our stops was Volterra overlooking Tuscany. It was a 30 minute stop, so a little time to take in the fantastic views, and get an ice-cream. Volterra, and the roads going up and down, is very popular with bikers - we were not the only bikers on the road today.

Overlooking Tuscany from Volterra.

We arrived in Siena at about 17:30, most of us were weary after a long day in the saddle. Siena is beautiful! Lots of old buildings and walls - it was like stepping back in time. There was a carnival celebrating horse racing on, so lots of colour and music going on in this very hilly city. We had a very relaxing evening meal in the city square, and it was fun getting to know the group better. We are off to Rome tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Our group.




Friday, September 27, 2024

The Italian Job - Day 1

Today is the first day of the next travel adventure for Roma and me - a motorcycle group tour of Italy with Eagle Rider. This is a 14 day tour from Treviglio to the south of Italy and back again. Lots of interesting things are ahead of us: Pisa, Sorrento, Matera, Florence, and much more.

I will be riding a Harley-Davidson Road Glide Ultra - very similar to my own bike, but with a lot more faring, a bigger passenger seat, and a large rear box for gear. The tour will have a support van which carries our luggage, so no limitations on this which is handy. Our group consists of people from all over the world: UK, USA, Australia, Switzerland, Italy, as well as us from Ireland.

My ride - Harley-Davidson Road Glide Ultra.

Cheers from Day 1 of Italian job!

Our first evening involved a visit to the Eagle Rider location in Treviglio where we received an excellent orientation and of course our bikes. I’m delighted with my blue Glide. Very comfortable to ride, and hopefully comfortable for Roma too. Later we had a welcome dinner which was very tasty, but with far too much food that much got wasted. Nonetheless - day 1 is a good start, 14 more to go!