Our trip was fantastic and a lot of fun up until our accident. Minna and I started out from Heidelberg and met the IBMWR Europrez riders in the Black Forest. We spent the better part of a week touring around the Dolomites. Came in from Salzburg to Cortina over the Gross Glockner pass. Spectacular country and unbelievable riding. We stayed in a lodge in Arabba that catered to motorcycle riders. Kind of unique and it was first class and not at all expensive. The weather treated us well, only a couple of thunder showers. Had the rain gear out only once but didn,t really need it as it cleared up shortly after putting it on.
We rode out of the Dolomites to Trento where we visited with a BMW rider we had met in Germany. Did some local rides and got a first hand intro to the area. From there we headed south to Florence. It was our first time to Firenze and we were impressed. Spent a couple of days there but there were entirely too many tourists, even though the season had not yet gotten underway. A nice thing about a motorcycle is that you can use the streets that are closed to all autos. Gets you right downtown with parking not a big problem. Thousands of motor scooters and the drivers are nuts. The young girls seem the worst but are incredibly good riders.
We spent a couple of days riding through the Tuscany region. Good food and excellent wine. We have decided that we are going to go back and take a closer look at some of the spots we hurried through. On to Roma. Found a nice hotel not far from all of the action. Did the touristy things, St. Peters, Coliseum and all of the Roman ruins. Very impressive. I chickened out and didn,t ride the bike downtown, it was just too hectic.
We then rode through the Chianti region and stayed in the very interesting old town of Montalcino. That was our last major stop before unloading on the motorcycle near the town of Frosinone. From there on it was looking after Minna recovering from a broken leg in the local hospital until we could make our getaway. It was eight days to be exact.
The hospitals in Italy are do it yourself. They give you a bed and food and that is about it. You have to provide the amenities such as bottled water, wash bowl, TP etc.. Food, however, was very good. The Doctor was the only person I found in the hospital that could speak any English and that was very limited. Communication was the biggest problem, that and the relaxed attitude of the Italians. Minna is recovering nicely and is back to work with a small leg cast, allowing her to get around a little easier. A big relief from the Italian full leg cast.
My Visa card included medical evacuation insurance which arranged for ambulances from the hospital all the way to Yuba City, plus first class on Air France. Not bad. We even had a nurse who accompanied us all the way from the hospital to San Francisco. Told Minna that I am going to break my leg next year.
About the accident. I approached a right-hand turn at modest speed and to my surprise the whole bike, front and rear, drifted out and we went down easy. From what I could tell it was just an area of really slick pavement. It was very hot and it looked a little shiny. Fortunately there was no oncoming traffic and the K100RT suffered only minor cosmetic damage. The IBMWR fellows are great bunch. I was able to get in contact them, and three or four Italians generously offered to retrieve my bike and store it until next year or whenever we want to go over and get it. I took up an offer to keep it in Rome and that is where it is now safely stored.
We are not discouraged and we are already looking forward to next year.
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