Pedro

I would spend two days without touching the bike, so woke up lazily after a nice night. Went grocery shopping to the supermarket 100 meters away, and just like that @Sofia and Barbara arrived. They had ridden from Portugal, had a meeting with friends in Salamanca, hopped on the ferry from Barcelona to Genoa, and were to join for the rest of the trip. They were riding two Honda CB750X, Sofia had given the Speed Triple a rest from this trip. We had a pizza, and went on a long walk into town. Tomorrow would be for culture, today just for looking around. The short walk turned into a long one. We were now on the other side of town's centre, and stopped at the Milan MV Agusta dealership before going back "home". I was very lucky to escape with my savings intact. They have an amazing sales woman there, proper motorcycle rider that rides a KX450 supermoto to work, and was happy to give us a tour around even though we were obviously not going to buy anything. She might have passed on a little of the enthusiasm about the brand too, to me, @Sofia doesn´t need any more enthusiam about MV Agusta! We hopped on a bus to go back home, then realized we were going the wrong way and got on a tram. Eventually made it back for showers before meeting my friend Luca, who lives 15 minutes away, for dinner. It was delicious. Next day, it was supposed to be very rainy and was to be taken to look at paintings and culture things.

The next morning I had to wait until the reception was open to check in properly and pay, and I had underestimated how long it would take me to get to Nice proper since Vence. All roads had some sort of construction and traffic was a little much, which delayed things, but at almost 10:00 I was exiting Nice. I love Nice, it would have been a pleasure to hang out around the old part of town having a coffee and people watching, but I was going to Milan via del Via del Sale, and wanted to make it there earlyish. A picture not making Nice justice: The plan was to exit Nice, ride through Monaco and into Italy, and then up to the mountains to then properly enter Italy. I didn't feel like breakfast but could not do without a morning espresso, so stopped at a very touristy viewpoint for one: It was nice to be there for 10 or 15 minutes, but then two busses unloaded a mass of tourists and it turned into this: Second but brought a very familiar noise, Spanish tourists but this time mixed with Japanese ones, and the excitement just became too much, so I carried on The road wasn't inspiring, and there was too much slow traffic, but the views are quite pretty in a James Bond / Monaco sort of way. Monaco was gridlock, I decided to avoid the center and the picture by the marina, instead you have this, with ugly building and construction crane for authenticity. Menton, east of Monaco, a little less pompous and less Bentleys, felt nicer. And just like that, I crossed into Italy, here's looking back at the border in a brief stop to set up navigation. If I had another day, it might have been nice to stay in Ventimiglia and go for a swim in the Mediterranean. Since I didn't have much time, I pointed the GS north and heading to the Col de Tenda, up to near Limone Piemonte, stopped to fuel up and buy a sandwich for the road, and cracked on. The shabby Fiat Panda 100 with part of the back bumper missing took the place of the Monaco luxury cars and announced this was now Italy. I liked it Col di Tenda and it's tunnel were closed, which considering the tone of the trip didn't come as a surprise to me, so went around also via a sort of broken tarmac / gravel road, leading up to near enough the same area, this time stopping for a break and the sandwich as I didn't want to get into off-roading without eating anything before. I don´t know what kind of cheese the Italian lady put inside my sandwich, but it was horrible. Also there was no tomato or olive oil in there, I had been duped The Alps, and my first view of them this trip. The road tires handled the quite dry dirt roads with ease, a little less confidence inspiring than the Mitas I'm used to but nice enough. I had called ahead to ask if the heavy rains they had in the previous days had made the road difficult, the dude at the reception told me I'd be ok, but now, parked next to the Beta he uses to commute to work I questioned myself if his opinion was adequate for myself. Nice snow stuff! Stopped for the red light for a bit, and tried to adjust the handlebars. Partly, the reason this bike feels more relaxed than mine on the motorway is the handlebars turned all the way back. However, for standing up I found them too back and too low, made for a very uncomfortable position after a while. Tried to adjust them but I had placed the quad lock holder slightly in front of the handlebar nuts, and since I had no tool for that I was stuck with it. No worries as it would probably be all downhill anyway. I didn't stop at the most impressive rocky bits because on account of a little over excitement I was now crossing people coming the other way. Did stop by a dude on a very cool Marlboro colored R80 HPN, by the famous rocky switchback, to warn him about the G Class which was a few minutes behind me, and he properly laughed from the top of his Michelin Desert's when he looked at the rubber equipping my GS It was very foggy on the other side of the mountain, so the views suffered, but at least it wasn't muddy. After the most spectacular part of it, it got muddy Obviously pictures don´t do it justice, but it got a little slimey as I got down and into the forrest roads. With proper soil instead of rock dust, the rains had made it a little slippery. Had a few very slow sideways moments, and had no courage to stop and take pictures of that as I felt that since that was a little uphill, I doubted I would have been able to regain motion from a standstill. Mitas Touring Force, aproved! This poor bike: After the muddy 15 or 20km, it was a pleasure to be back on a "road" Stopped at Bagnasco, to cool off, drink and eat something, and figure out a path to Milan. My boots and pants were disgusting now. 17:00, and I wasn't particularly in a hurry since I would have dinner by myself in Milan. I did half the distance in smaller but still adequate for progress roads, and then hopped on the motorway for the last 100 or so km. Made it to Milan at 20:00, and stopped right in front of the apartment where I would stay for the next three nights, right on the restaurant and bar part of town. I liked that on the same day I had come from the Mediterranean, did mountain roads, a little bit of off-road and arrived to a fancy part of a cosmopolitan city. The bike didn't stay in the street, though, as I had reserved the only place in town (within my budget) that came with a garage. I wish I had had my bike with me, it would have made the off-road bits a lot more fun. Stayed inside a classic old school Milan building, quite cool. Bike parked, all showered and laundry thrown in the machine, and off I went for a proper pizza in the Neapolitan restaurant across the street. All to myself, I wandered a little bit to check out the night scene. It's scooter and too-case central here, and I loved how the busiest bars all had tens of them parked in all directions around them. Wanted to take a picture featuring an MV Agusta parked with a helmet relaxedly left on it, but this plonker didn't move out of the way Still early, so stopped in the first place I found with a free chair outside and had a little drink while listening to young people chatting away in Italian. Felt like a @Marcel le Moose Fondler taking pictures of girls without their consent, so ended up with this I quite liked the atmosphere, but most of the people out were quite young. Stopped at another place, but took no pictures as the table in front had three gorgeous women and I thought it not adequate . Milan at night, no fucks given to parking: And, a last lonely wine glass to cool off on a warm night, before finally going to bed.

Woke up to a pleasantly cold but dry morning, put the luggage on the bike and made my way to the breakfast table, I needed a coffee and nothing else after the previous night's excesses. One of the Belgium madames was not having it and with a very stern look and a "non non non, monseur il aurait le petit croissant" put a croissant in front of me, so I had a croissant Left late, and was on the road at maybe 10. The next two hours would be some of the most bucolic simple beauty roads I have ever been on. Little traffic, perfect tarmac, blue skies replacing clouds, and green views. I left Lourdes heading east. And the Pyrenees behind me: Half an hour to 45 minutes into it, I stopped to look at a pretty castle, Chateau de Mauvezin. I didn't bother to go in as I wanted to make some progress today, while still spending the morning and some of the afternoon riding on small roads. Couldn't get more French than this. Stopped at Quillan to buy some water, and to see if there was a coffee to be had, but I think this is currently a sad town. Following the hint from @Tango in one of his ride reports, I was headed to the Gorges de Galamus, first riding on some main roads, quite wide to get there. They were quite the biker destination as several bikes were racing back and forth on the same bit of road. I took the hind and didn't pay much attention to speed limits either. Stopped to buy lunch, a peach and a few nuts, from a roadside vendor. Made some progress on a more or less open road And eventually rode through the Gorges de Galamus, the road is just lovely if just a little distance, but it was packed with hikers. Still interesting and I did enjoy it. Having approached the Mediterranean, the bad weather was definitely behind me and it was now hot. I stopped for a late lunch on the shade of a tree, had my peach and nuts, and decided on what to do next. It was now almost 16:00 and I still had some way to go before Carcassone, my stay for the next day would be in Milan. I could split it in two average journeys, or decide to do two proper days with a little bit of epic in between. I chose the second option as this was a biking holiday and I didn't feel like hanging around. Since @Tango knew I was riding near his home he had packed his things and ran away with the wife, far away where I couldn´t have a chance of meeting them, so I pointed the bike to Nice and hopped on a motorway, rode for a few hours with nothing but a stop to fuel and arrange accommodation, the 28º/29º warmth was welcomed after the previous two days weather. I made it to Vence, on the outskirts of Nice, by almost 22:00. Restaurants were closed so before I checked into one of the cheapest options in the area, I had a nice street pizza. For something made in the back of a truck, it turned out very nice. The hotel was old and seemed like a moroccan hotel of the kind that hasn't seen maintenance in 30 years, but the lady at the reception desk was lovely and had reserved me a little corner of the secure parking. Was a little tired, so after a shower I slept nicely with the window open.

You went back, bought the van and have already moved in?

Didn't pop in for his birthday, that's very rock and roll!

Made it to Ericeira yesterday, dropped the bikes and drove the last 300 home to Sofia's. Long day as we rode through a VERY smokey and uncomfortable northern Portugal, riddled with fires all around. Will catch up with work and things today, might start to work on continuing the ride report too. I've fallen behind and now there's too many pictures and things Also now seriously considering getting a stable partner to my GS.

He's keeping it nice and pristine underneath!

Oooh, a T5, will you then tour Portugal and clog all the mountain roads when stopping to look for the best Instagram #vanlife scenic location? It's the thing to do, apparently.

Now in the Pyrenees, travelling back. Bilbao tomorrow, for culture.

I might submit it anyway. But then I won’t be able to accept it

Next day, I woke up with the certainty of having a very rainy day ahead of me. I intend to ride out of the hotel already with rain suits on, since my "main wear" for this trip consist of jeans and a very summery jacket, enjoy a b-road to Pau and then hop on the motorway and cover as much ground as comfortable before stopping for dinner and sleep, this is my plan drawn in resignation to suffer rain storms in a motorway for the majority of a day. Reality didn't go like that, I did get the rain, and in fact put the luggage on the bike, and exited the hotel all waterproofed only to need to access my gloves in one of the sidecases to then remember the bike's key in my jeans. I hate these keys, since you don't need them to operate the bike they end up wherever and never at hand when you need them. After all the carfuffle I am now sweating, so come back in from the rain to take my sweater off. Most other people in that place are hikers, they agreed that rain and warmth is the worst! I ride off, taking very tiny roads, after a short while I spot this place just right for an espresso with shelter from the rain. I walk in, and stand in front of the counter while the girl is very busy talking to someone, then she's very busy answering the phone, then she runs past, completely ignoring me and the other people now in line. I step outside and take a free seat while contemplating the rain. This was the first taste of french hospitality, they're known for it but since this is Basque Country I thought it would be different: A few minutes later, waterproofs back on, and I head out. Finally the girls in line behind me are getting served, could have taken 10 espressos in that time. I head into the hills and following my phone's guidance through very small roads I start enjoying myself, so much so that when the phone goes quiet I continue from intuition. Roads are really small, very muddy and with lots of animal waste from herds of cows and sheep that are grazed here. After maybe 30 or 45 minutes the rain stops briefly and I take the picture above while finally going for my phone safely tucked inside my jacket, turns out I'm almost back where I started! No worries, I had the feeling that's what was happening, and carried on the right way. I climb a little, and stop to admire the views, nice fog! There's fog and muddy roads, those are horses in the distance down in the valley: I've never had tires as good in the rain as these. These are Mitas Touring Force, granted the name can take some improving but on wet greasy muddy tarmac, they're great. If there's no tarmac they're not so great, but that's fair enough. In the next three pictures, if you zoom in you'll see vultures. They're just standing there with their wings open, I don't know what they were doing but that was it as watched from the outside. I shouted, they flew 50 meters and did the same thing. More horses: There are a lot of tiny ponies roaming around, but I never stopped for pictures because they were too near the road and didn't seem to like my presence, and it was just raining too much and I tried to keep the inside of my gloves dry. Up high, clouds were moving fast: Filthy bike: And as quickly as that, the clouds roll in again, same spot: Now almost 2PM and I feel a little peckish, so stop to both figure out where to get something to eat and where to head after. I stop when it stops raining, and it happens to be in the middle of an amazing forrest. Really a very cool place: I give up on finding a cafe, and go to a supermarket, buy a bread and some cheese, and make a sandwich: Someone cut a tree down in the picnic area, it's growing back again: By now I'm enjoying this too much and to hell with the motorway, so decide to follow the Pyrenees a while more, stopping near Laruns to check where I'm going: Where I was heading was through the Col D'Aubisque and the Col de Soulor, very cool roads eve if it was pouring down, again I was amazed how good these tires were on a bike with softer suspension than mine, I don't think I could have had a more confidence inspiring combination. Up at the top, stopped for a coffee and to decide on accommodation for the night, in the direction of France proper but not too far away as the rain was loosing it's charm: Local cheeses in this whole area are amazing, I almost felt tempted to contaminate a whole sidecase in order to buy some. The smell would have lingered in whatever was sharing luggage space for ages I found this small place near Lourdes, about 45 minutes away, and off I went. It was a nice surprise, nobody spoke english but my broken french made up for it. I fool people into thinking I know french, this lasts 10 seconds, then the momentum carries me through the rest of the conversation One of their "guard dogs" doesn't know he's a guard dog yet, and quickly turned into a play mate, a game of fetch ensued and after a while he was broken and ready for a nap at his owners' door: They knew the way to my heart and the madame of the house told me to help myself to beer on the fridge, (or tea if I preferred ) , her husband was cooking and I was to join the two couples they had as guests and themselves for dinner. After a day of wearing rain stuff it felt good to be having a beer outside in a tshirt. The other dog wasn't a friend of mine, though: The gentleman waving in the picture below is quite a character, he is a belgium who used to race (as an amateur, I think), Sidecar Motocross, and has an old Maico 250cc at home (non sidecar). I didn't ask what color it was, though, so he might be a deviant and have a blue Maico He and his wife have been married for 58 years, which is amazing not only on the number of years but also because none of them look to be old enough, I enjoyed their company as both had a great sense of humor and were a joy to be around. I was not, though, prepared to the amount of food. I misunderstood and thought we were going to have a few tapas or a few platters of stuff, so when the guy filled the table (table, I thought was platter as in board) with all sorts of entrees I assumed that was dinner, it was enough for everyone. But no, after I was full came the soup, which was delicious, then the duck magret with a type of patatas bravas, then the cheese, and then dessert when I was about to pass out. I couldn't say no to dessert as Marie, the owners' daughter had made it. She's working as a pastry chef. I had never over eaten so much in my life. I went for a stroll and then retired to bed feeling like I was going pass out. I had heard of the French and their dinners, but had never been in one. Good thing I had work to do as that helped me digest a little while sitting up and working on the laptop. The next day would be a long one.

This is going to be a picture intensive thread, if I ever get to finish it. I planned on doing teo installments tonight but am still out in the street as it’s too nice to go to bed. It’s just the right temperature for cold drinks!

I do too! The moroccans do sardine meatballs, obviously with herbs and a couple of spices. You can’t do that with the tinned ones, but it’s really yummy.

No luck to him, i want to watch a youtube video of him squirming while striking a pose in his chinos.

I’m wandering from bar to bar in Milan. It’s so comfy outside! In a tshirt and it feels like you’re at home.

Do you get fresh sardines there, Bob? Frozen are still good, just wondering

Did you see the twat has bought a Wrangler, Saul? I do love to hate him, and he makes it easy.

Passo della Tenda is closed, I found today as I was going up that to the start of the Via del Sale. I went the long way around also via sort of gravel, but easier. Called the guy in the entry office and asked … I’ll leave it for the proper report, it’s funny

Shit, he’s turning into real Elvis. Get away before it gets depressing and he gets overworked, fat, and dies!

Today, the beginning of the weekend, I was very busy being awesome!

Tomorrow I will meet my friend Luca, who lives in Milan. Then Sofia and her friend Barbara will arrive, I plan to receive them with glass in hand! We will have an amazing dinner, lots of laughs, and the next day will walk around seeing and looking at things. Will end that day with cocktails too. There’s lots of very tall very gorgeous women here, that’s a big bonus to the place.

Not having heated grips is just not civilised, these days Wait until she tries a heated seat!

Mitas Touring Force! They got a few smiles and were fucking amazing! By amazing, I mean we survived, and I’m glad I took the downhill route Might be a spoiler to my ride report thread but I’m now drinking a dessert in a nice place in Milan so there!