The hills are alive with the sound of..........my Panzer

[jono49]

Again top drawer rideout report Chris and the pics get better and the last one was very arty farty....Sooooooo moody! keep em coming

[aj]

.

nice pics.. especially the last 3...

regards
aj

[XXtremist]

.

nice pics.. especially the last 3...

regards
aj

Thanks.

All down to the very dramatic lighting, from the combination of very dark cloud, and intense, near horizontal late sun rays.

Be worth parking a portapotty up there to catch those moments.

Chris

[aj]

.

nice pics.. especially the last 3...

regards
aj

Thanks.

All down to the very dramatic lighting, from the combination of very dark cloud, and intense, near horizontal late sun rays.

Be worth parking a portapotty up there to catch those moments.

Chris

yep... the light makes em ...get a trailer and yer on...

regards
aj

[TRIPPO]

Great travelogue as always Chris

Pictures look great pal.......even the one with the panzer in

Keep it coming eh

[T.Murphy aka Tim]

yea, yea the pics of the hills are cool but what aboiut the 6 MILF ? Where's the pics of them eh?

[Oldbull]

LOL @Tim


stunning scenery Chris I can almost taste the air... keep em coming pal

[jono49]

yea, yea the pics of the hills are cool but what aboiut the 6 MILF ? Where's the pics of them eh?

"MILFS" yea yea where's the pics of them then Chris, eh eh eh c'mon get them posted

[XXtremist]

Ah, the milfs. Wondered when one of you would wake up. Not the done thing to take photos of lovely Italian ladies in restaurants, but their beauty lives on in my mind....

By contrast, I was sole guest in a little auberge up in the hills about 25 miles N of Venice, run by a couple in their 70s. From somewhere they managed to russle up a steak, after the obligatory spagetti with hint of tomato sauce. Of course, there was no wifi or internet, which is why you didn't here from me.

Tonight, I am back in Austria, staying at the Gasthaus Hochalmspitze run by an English couple for bikers, and well known on the UKGSer forum.

Today was a real mix, from really pleasurable fast snaking ravine roads, a couple of passes with 2nd gear bends, to the tortuous single lane first gear stacks of hairpins.

Chris

[jono49]

More More.....

[The Budgie]

:clap: More More.....

Haven't you voted yourself outa the UK yet....

[aj]

Haven't you voted yourself outa the UK yet....

smuggee... there's more Scots out side Scotland than in it........

regards
aj

[barsteward]

:clap: More More.....

Haven't you voted yourself outa the UK yet....

At least Jono has a choice on how he leaves the UK and one of e'm ain't on a prison ship

[Oldbull]

Today was a real mix, from really pleasurable fast snaking ravine roads, a couple of passes with 2nd gear bends, to the tortuous single lane first gear stacks of hairpins.
Chris

Now the awesome Yamaha flagship adventure bike otherwise known as the famous TDM would have ate them hairpins for brekky ..
Very very tall first gear has the TDM

Keep them coming Chris

[jono49]

Fact!

[XXtremist]

Today did a round trip downloaded onto my BMW/Garmin from the hotel's computer. It included the famous Grossglockner pass that runs S from Zell am See. That is the way alpineroads recommends, and having done it in the opposite direction, I can see there would be more riding fun from N to S. On the N side the bends and shortish straights are fairly regular, and you would get into a good rhthm.

Even with a discount card from the hotel, it still costs 21 Euros to do on a bike. Just my luck there was still much cloud cover, just allow fleeting glimpses of the peaks. Rather like a beautiful lady draping herself in silk.

The first foto shows the receeding glacier flowing from the highest peak, Mt Grossglockner itself. At the glacier viewpoint, you are over 8000 ft up. There is a small car and motorcycle museum there, as races started a day after the pass opened in 1938.

I actually had more fun riding the minor roads afterwards. The B164 went through a 3000 ft valley bottom, with small scale farms, which were of interest to me. Since I have been over here, farmers have been scrabbling about making 2nd cut silage, some of them on very steep banks.

That road climbed then followed a small river through a ravine, with fantastic sweeping 3rd gear bends. It was so good, I turned back to do it again. Then turning back S towards the hotel, the B99 had some great top gear sweepers both on the ascent and decent. This was only spoilt by a series of roadworks, where the waiting time could be 8 to 10 minutes. I complain when the surface is old and uneven, so it's only fair to be patient while they are resurfacing.

The GS gearchange is better without the weight of the panniers.

Tomorrow, I might dip my toe in the water so to speak, and visit Slovenia for the first time.

Grossglockner peak and glacier

In case you have forgotten what I look like

View from B164

Yes, it is an old MF135

Chris

[aj]

.


an old mf135... ... good grief... haven't see one of them for decades...
second cut of the year... ffs... you've done 4 already down slad way...


fekme chris.. looks cold up there...

enjoy...

regards
aj

[jono49]

" Rather like a beautiful lady draping herself in silk"........... Pure Poetry Chris.

Oh....nice little 135

[The Budgie]

:clap: More More.....

Haven't you voted yourself outa the UK yet....

At least Jono has a choice on how he leaves the UK and one of e'm ain't on a prison ship

Yeh, most Scots left in a pine box..

[jono49]

[The Budgie]

:getthis)

You shoulda PM'd that...

[XXtremist]

I didn't say anything at the first instance, but if you want a Scottish referendum/debate, start another thread.

Chris

[XXtremist]

Always a good idea to save the best till last. Just did the Nockalmstrasse in the late evening, and had the road to myself, not counting three cows. What's more, it was free after 6 pm, although my local discount card would have covered it.

18 miles and 55 bends of sheer bliss, on a very good surface, and reaching a height of 6750 feet. So good in fact, I turned round and did it all again. No wonder it gets the gold rating on alpineroads.com .

Almost made up for the fact I got stung for another 16 Euros in tolls during the day. Took the 108 up from Lienz, thinking it was free, which it was until a tunnel about 40 miles up. Then a bit later on I was enjoying the Gerlos Pass when I came to a kiosk where they wanted another 5.50. I had done the best of it, so did not mind turning back.

As time was getting on and I wanted to get to the Nockalmstrasse, I opted to take the motorway down towards Spittal, as I had mistakenly bought a vignette crossing Austria on my third day of travel, thinking you needed it for main roads as well. So I was cruising down when a sign says that the upcoming tunnel will cost 10.50 . So I pulled off at the exit before, only to be confronted with another barrier, and a chap demanding 5.50. But I pulled off to avoid the tunnel, says I. This is for the tunnel before says the bloke. In my previous posts, I forgot to say how much prosperous Austria looks against Italy. Now I see why!!!

OK, over. It's a great country to see, but they don't half fleece bikers.

So my advice would be to only do yesterday's Grossglockner on a clear day, from N to S, with a bird ( or your missus if you have no choice ) on the back to make the most of the toll. But definately do the Nockalm.

You will have gathered from the above report that I didn't do Slovenia today. When I leave this Gasthaus in the morning, I'll head for there, and if feeling particularly brave, might even stay a night.

Didn't take a single photo today, as I was enjoying the riding, and watching all the silaging going on.

Chris

[The Budgie]

I didn't say anything at the first instance, but if you want a Scottish referendum/debate, start another thread.

Chris

Nah...no debate Chris...just a wind up. We had our Referendum a few years ago and still tug our forelocks to Betty Britain...

[jono49]

Shame about the pics today Chris, but your description of the day was enough! keep them coming!
If we ask Tim nicely he might post up a pic of him all in wrestling with an "Alpaca"

Well I voted today we'll see what the outcome is tomorrow?????????