AND THE BEAT GOES ON.................

Hey Gang!

Well it's been a vewwwy hectic week I must say. Rode the Divvie up to the Slovak border on Saturday to have a pair of new sport skins installed. The tires on her were the original Dunlop rim protectors and they were totally worn out in last years adventure. In their defence, 28,000 kms is pretty dang good I'd say. ON the flip side (no pun intended) they were never very confidence inspiring around the corners.

Balassagyarmat, where I had purchased the bike, is a very nice little Hungarian city straddling the Republic of Slovakia's border. It sits about a 2 hour tour from here in Jaszkiser (where have we heard THAT before) thru rolling hills and countryside dotted with farms, vinyards, castles and a village or town every 10 k or so. The poppies are sprouting in droves (Hungarian word for fields) and the Storks have returned from their winter vacation in the south of Africa, to their perrenial nests on familiar chimneys and poles.

Hungary is never fast, unless you want to ride the Autopia's, I dont mind puttering... in fact I'd rather. The area is very similar to riding in PEI actually. Queens county reminds me of the Northern Hungarian region known as the Matras.

The Great Hungarian Plain, the Puszta... is similar to our prairies but about one gazillionth smaller in size. Created from thousands of years of massive Glacial Ice pressing down on the earth, this region is barely a few hundred feet above sea levels.

Hungary's highest point is just East of my ride, clearly visible in the near distance.

1014 M, Kekes is a fave spot for hard charging sport bikes!

Who knows, if theres anything left of these sporty tires, I may give it a real go this time around.

New tires, new chain and sprockets were installed, however my rr brake pads are umm, errr, ahhhh, rather worn. The Diversion was imported from Italy, and all I can think of is whoever owned her originally must have lived on a mountain top! I learned this week that this country does not have a parts depot!

Shock and dismay... (Thats 90 degrees right of shock and awe?!) so I have decided that with judicious use of the rear brake I would head out tomorrow as planned (again using this word more loosely than Lindsay Lohan's love life) and somewhere in central Europe I could replace them. The Diversion series from Yamaha, especially the 600, were incredibly popular for many many years in Italy France and Spain. Finding pads enroute shouldn't pose a huge obstacle.

It is after all, and Adventure right!!

Today I will be packing my meagre possessions in my bags and trunk (amazing how simple life can be when travelling by motorbike, Wot!) pointing her nose towards the gate, and setting sail on the early (but not too early) morning tide.

My planned (chuckle) route will take me out of the country at Nagykanizsa, that last large Hungarian city, on into the very Northern tip of Croatia, before I pass thru to Slovenia. Interestingly enough these two countries are not EU, so I have to show passports, paperwork and stand on my head while doing so. Just kidding it's really a breeze...

I'll likely overnight around Maribor SLO. Depending, I may cross into Austria at this point, or continue thru slowly thru SLO to the Italian border. I am Planning (snicker) to stop in Venice for a day, if I can stand the crowds.

Venice is really best shared with a single vewwwwy special person in any case, and the thought of having to leave Piroska on the mainland overnight doesn't appeal to me a great deal. We'll see as we get closer. Besides, riding a gondola singing 'O sole mio' hugging some guys aging tourist wife that's sitting next to me, isn't my idea of a romantic evening on the Grand Canale.

I may leave Venice for a later date when I have my real sweetie along for the ride, ahh paddle.

Bologna on the other hand, requires no other sweetie than the one I am riding. Home to World Beaters, Ducati... this will make an interesting side trip. I might very well hightail it the 150k or so from the outskirts of Venice and stopover here.

From here, I will head back towards the coast passing thru Rimini, Ancona and Pescara, where I should be able to find a cheap (yet good) stopover. For those of you following on your AMA map (available at the AMA) of Europe, this is only around 300km. I have about 8-10 days to wander around Italy which may sound like much but for a country 300,000 sq kms, and the richest History in the civilized world (?) isn't. It's a shame really, we live but one life and so many of us never get to experience much of the world we live in... past or present.

I often hear in wonder ...

"How do you manage to do this Franco...? The time the money...?"

My answer is always the same.

"Time, you never know how much you have. I mean perhaps I can't ride the Baja desert when I'm 65. Money, I travel on a budget rarely staying in resorts and about the only stars I have during my sleeps, are the Universe above me. Why do I need 5 star when I have literally quadrillions?"

Many years back Ski Doo had a pretty good slogan, I hope I'm not infringing on any copyrigths here, but they said...

"JUST DOO IT"

Works for me... I'm Just Dooin' IT !

After last seasons ride that took me the the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the Acropolis in Athens, I am ready for some new sights in sunny Mediterranean Italy and France.

Stayed tuned, I will endeavour to update this BLOG (Gosh I like that word... blog blog blog blog) from the road whenever/wherever I can.

ps... for those of you that have asked/begged, and you know who you are! I've included more pictures.

Feel free to add your comments as I go, in the 'comments' section at the end of the Blog.

And remember, I'm new at this (Blog thing) so join up and enjoy the Ride...