* September 20, 2008, morning, San Rocco a Pilli (Siena), Italy: Last night was Friday night and I could hear all the kids on their 85cc supermoto-ring-ding bikes braaaaapping by on the street. What a great day for a duck! It wasn’t so beautiful on a motorbike though, but I did around 70 miles nonetheless, in the pouring rain. I rode till my feet got squishy, then threw in the towel - quite literally. After killing as much time at the internet café as possible, I befriended some American tourists. One group was from Pennsylvania and the other group was from Seattle. It’s funny how you pick out English so easily, when you don’t hear it much. Massimillo and his cleavage-laden, coffee-barista coworker made some fine chocolate cappuccinos, then the Pennsylvania folks bought me yet another, so I was certainly wired for sound once I got out of there! Weird thing using the café’s internet: they had to photocopy everyone’s driver’s license or passport - they said due to terrorist concerns. WTF? I wonder if they’re just working on some identity theft prospects? Massimillo was surprised we didn’t have to do that in America.
I packed up and drove headstrong into the potential torrential. As I rode along, I took a few pix, but the rain was really coming down, turning my poor little Canon into crying ’uncle!’ From too much moisture. Consequently the pictures stopped, but I made mental pictures of all the castles and monasteries I passed. I even did some dirt riding more than a few times - a challenge on the big Beemer! I’ve noticed that most all the villages have bell towers and use them legitimately to keep time - very cool. After about 70 miles of wandering aimlessly (remember, I lost my maps), my left foot started getting soggy (why not the right too?), so I decided it was time to call it a day, pulled over the big Beemer and snagged a room at the Hotel Castello. It’s basic, fairly small and contains the usual suspects of hard bed, an ’almost’ twin toilet (that I almost peed in!) for 50 Euros - not bad. It has internet if I sit in the lobby the nice lady said. Since I have a bit of spare time, I’m going to ramble again on a few things:
* There has been almost no ads on the roads. Maybe it’s in the zoning for this region, but it’s nice not to have all the damn road spam distracting your eyes. There are specific signs for businesses, which are all the same size. I’m sure they have to pay the Government to do that. Also, all the different signs are similar colors: businesses are white, historic items are brown, town names are blue, etc., so it makes it a bit easier to navigate (sometimes).
* I’ll say it again, people haul ass here. I’ll be driving along at the speed limit or faster, when suddenly there are headlights in my mirror - on my tail! And I know they’re thinking, “Move over and let me by!“ It’s very surprising.
* In all the hotels I’ve been in Greece, and now Italy, the ground floor is the 0th floor, where back home the ground floor is the 1st floor.
* Euros are very energy and water conscious. Clearly this is because they have to be, but most all their lights have fluorescent, low-wattage bulbs, with motion sensors in the hallways, so they come on when you walk by. In Greece, you had to manually turn them on, and sometimes they just plain didn’t work. Most toilets have big buttons for big flushes, and little buttons for little flushes. Makes sense.
* Roundabouts work. (FYI, if you don’t know what they are, they’re the big circles at road intersections) My boss (Chris, from England) was right - they work. Just yield as you come in, go around as many times as you need (if you’re unsure which branch to take), and turn out of it, being watchful of anyone on your right. Heck, practice your NASCAR and do lap after lap! I think roundabouts are a much more efficient alternative to our dumb stop signs.
* It’s self-service gas in Italy and today was my first shot at using their automated gas stations (no attendants). It was a challenge, due to everything being in Italian. I floundered for more than five minutes until one nice passerby helped me put in 10 Euros, so I think I’ve got it now.
* Many hotels charge for internet use (yet another hidden charge you need to ask about). One hotel I checked at today charged 10 Euros an hour - bogus!
The big GS Beemer is a beast, but very stable. I just know it has to be heavier than my old GS (Barney), however it carries the tonnage low and the frame is rock solid, plus the brakes and suspension work quite well. I agree with Ricardo that the front forks have too much high-speed dampening - you notice it when you hit a rock, or sharp edge. The bike really wants to go and has very long legs - you’d think it was designed for the Audubon or something! I’ve been basically idling it along, occasionally slipping the clutch to get through a switchback. And the motor - what a masterpiece. It will pull fifth gear all the way down to 2,000 rpm. Soon enough you’re going very fast and that tight turn is approaching - also very fast, so it’s a good thing it’s graced with good anchors.
As seems to be typical, as soon as I checked into the hotel, the rains started subsiding. After unloading all the wet gear and cases into the room, I rode a mile into the nearby town and hit the market for some munchies, plus had some gelato - man, is that good. It’s basically ice cream, but different, plus they have a plethora of flavors that are different than back home. I then rode around as the sun peaked over the top of the hills and scored a few pix. I pulled into what looked to be a village hardware store and asked about getting some duct tape. They were all confused. I finally found some on a shelf and asked them what they called it - he said “Scotch tape” - go figure! I cruised through the village, noticed where all the locals were eating (a good clue), pulled in and grabbed a slice of tasty pizza. In the town square, a bunch of old men were playing a rousing game of poker. I of course snapped off a group pic, and they all spun around and looked at me surpised. I smiled and pointed at the camera and they all laughed. Another dumb tourist incident, no doubt, however I got the shot I wanted. Speaking of shots, I was checking out the tiddler, supermoto bikes (85cc Honda and Husqvarna), when all the kids came out. We had a fun time trying to communicate and I snagged their pix too - good fun, and the kids are just as crazy as back home! Cameras are a great ice breaker. The kid on the bicycle was a wheelying fool! When I took off on the GS, they all started yelling. I’m sure they were yelling either for a wheely or burnout, but I failed to deliver.
Holy smoke! I just checked into getting onto the internet here, and it’s --- (gasp) dialup! And it’s only on the hotel’s pc - a 486! (that means a very slow computer to the non geeks out there) Guess that still means no photos for now! I’ll have to backfill later. It’s coffee and breakfast time, plus the sun’s coming up on a beautiful day. I think I’ll head west to the coast, then start heading north towards France.
-Tom
I couldn't help but do a bit of exploring off the tarmac. Yes, that's water running down the tracks.
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Castle towers.
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Some go-fast 50s.
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Soccer is THE game in Europe.
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Yes, that Bayer. They have a plant here.
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More cool scoots not in the USA.
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Another Friday-night card game in a village square for the old duffers.
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The kids don't play cards on Friday night!
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