Scotland in Summer
Those of you who live in Scotland of have visited it this year will have been treated to the latest
victims of the recession, the stay at home traveller. Hordes of people are
holidaying in the UK this year instead of their usual holiday, getting out of their face on an all
you can eat and drink holiday in Spain. Add to this the weakness of the Euro against the pound (and indeed
most currencies) and we have a state of affairs on our roads
which is approaching chaos. On a trip to Applecross a couple of weeks ago our run up the A82 was
as bad as I’ve ever had, now normally the A82 is bliss, spectacular moors then
the mountains of Glencoe before traversing the always busy Fort William and
then the run up to Invergarry past Loch Lochy and Loch Oich. On this
occasion it was a nightmare, CDB’s (caravan driving
bas*ards) everywhere, huge motorhomes
being driven by people largely inexperienced with driving vehicles bigger than
a family car, hire cars full of tourists not realising that driving at 30mph
whilst wobbling all over the road looking at the scenery is causing chaos
behind them and of course the Power Rangers, a huge majority of them English up
using our roads as a racetrack on their R1’s GSXR’s
and ZX10’s (the occasional Ducati but most of them have broken down before they
get to the Highlands) Luckily when you get off the main roads (A9 & A82)
its still quiet and deserted enough to make good progress and enjoy the ride.
Now the country needs these tourists
so that’s good for the economy but my message to you all is be
careful out there, the Sheep and the Deer aren’t the only hazard at the moment.
Get off the main routes and Scotland is still a great place to tour and enjoy yourself.
Treat every CDB, Motorhome driver and hire car driver
as an idiot and you will be right 80% of the time. Oh and watch out for the
Power Rangers out there.
International
Rally Austria 2009
Alex
Dickson and I decided a while ago that we would go to this
years International Rally in Austria but time constraints meant that we
could only attend the second part of the extravaganza which was held in
Sulzbach near Steyr. This region is roughly where the German, Czech and
Austrian borders meet and is quite stunning in its landscape.
We left on
Monday 24th of August from Alex’s house in Edinburgh, Alex flooded
his bike starting it and fouled a plug so we had our first (and only) problem
10 metres from his front door. He backfired the 200 metres to the filling
station where I changed the offending plug as he filled the Commando with fuel.
An uneventful and (unusually) dry run down the A1 with a stop for late lunch
and refuel just 10 miles from the Newcastle ferry port.
Petrol is
now cheaper in the UK than in most of Europe so worth filling up before you
cross which is a change from a few years ago. DFDS have forgotten anything
about customer service so you are as a motorcyclist almost last on the ferry
and left to your own devices to tie your own bike up with the provided tie down
straps. This I noticed caused some stress to virgin travellers and I was
disappointed none of the crew were on hand to offer
advice to these people, instead being motorcyclists everybody helps each other.
Tuesday was overcast in Ijmuiden as we docked and made our way off
the ship, again there seems to be an effort by the ships crew to keep the bikes
back so it was 10 am before we cleared customs. The run down through the Nederlands and Germany was fine, good roads and good weather,
our initial plan was to stop with friends in Frankfurt but we passed there at 3pm and decided to make the best of the
weather and head
further on. As we approached Wurzburg we were trapped in stationary
traffic on the Autobahn, these road works are now seemingly a national joke on
German Radio with major tailbacks every day. It took us at least 2 hours to
clear the jam, not good as Commando’s complain about stop start traffic in
30deg heat! We took the last exit to Wurzburg and found an excellent campsite by
the river. A shower, food and several beers soon refreshed us again. Mileage
today was 361 miles.
Wednesday
and on the road again making good progress, the overcast sky soon gave way to
bright sunshine and I found myself riding along with my jacket partially open
trying to cool down. How often do I wish I could package that moment and unwrap
it again as I freeze my balls off riding in a Scottish winter. Eventually we
passed Linz and then turned of towards Steyr and then Sulzbach, after
all the motorway miles this was heaven, the roads perfect and the scenery
straight out of the Sound of Music! I kept expecting Julie Andrews to run out
of the roadside singing.
The
directions the organisers had issued were perfect and to save myself repeating
the perfect theme throughout the story the organisation of the whole event was
perfect in every respect. Roland’s dad Willem (the main organisers) welcomed us with a
pint of cold beer, superb! We were the
last of the Scottish contingent, with everybody else having safely arrived. A
great turnout from the Edinburgh branch and good to see Gordon
Robertson now exiled in the Czech republic on his very clean Commando. David
& Anne Templeman had made their way down from Argyle and full marks to Anne
for her first Euro trip on her own bike. Later in the evening I was treated to
a look round the engineering workshop where Roland , his mother and father make
their living, some impressive CNC machinery and they were turning out the
specially engraved Gearbox inspection covers there as I watched Just under 500 miles today so after a shower
and a few beers I crashed out soundly.
To be
continued next month…………
For Sale
Norton 650SS 1962, in very good
condition. Runs very
sweetly. Single carb conversion. Present owner
having difficulty starting it due to leg problems. (I’ve started it first kick
no problems)
£3500. Call Mike on +44 (0)7754983394
Events
Not too late, we’re off to the
Begonia next Thursday, grab a berth on Thursday nights
boat from Newcastle and join the party!!
The Small Print
The views and opinions contained within this
publication are not necessarily those of the NOC or of the branch but are
probably mine as I wrote it.
No one accepts any responsibility for
anything, if you have a good time don't say I didn't warn you.
Gino Rondelli
