Among various acknowledgements I have received in my rich travelling career is the invitation to be the only non Italian member to the aptly named PmB Italian motorcycle club founded by my friend Antonello. Why aptly named? Cause it stands for Pochi ma Buoni and yes, I can now confirm that guys in it are "Few but Good" indeed. That's the pros of a cool picky founder with taste.
It took no time at all to convince myself participating in the 10th anniversary tour. What more could I ask for? The whole route prearranged by the guys crossing the crème de la crème of Italy Austria and Slovenia, 20 bikers on the road with the vast majority of them being so cool, I only had to load my bike, turn the key and leave Hellas behind for some weeks.
I drive from Athens to Patra and take the ferry to Ancona. The Adriatic sea was flat and calm and I had a great sunset view from the deck that speaks for itself despite the out of focus crappy image:
Arriving at Ancona was the end of June and the end of good weather. It was raining dogs and cats so I waited in the ferry's garage to put my waterproof gear on and pray for the wet madness to end soon:
It didn't so I decided to start. After a few km the storm was over so I pull over to a filling station to get rid of my rain gear ASAP. You don't want to wear non breathable stuff anywhere around Ancona on a humid summer day for more than a second or maximum 2. Trust me.
Weather was nice for the rest of the route up to Pesaro where I would meet Steve, my mate, host and PmB comrade. When he finished work we went for a ride with a couple of other local bikers so they'd show me around. We did the route up to Cattolica on the SP44. This is an absolute must, 100% scenic route full of bends and great view to the see. Just take care cause the combination of slow cambers and ultra fast Italian bikers can be challenging. Don't forget we talk about the birthplace of the one and only Valentino Rossi. One of the guys in our group was not just fast - he was flying. At some point I was curious to have a look at the tires of his YAMAHA and the front one was so worn on the sides as if he has treated with sand paper. These guys are nuts...
We made a couple of stops at the numerous view points this route offers and chilled out of the fast riding and the challenging traffic by enjoying some local "piadinas" by the sea.
Steve and his friends where probably the coolest guys I could have around. They took me later to a great Pizza house (surprise surprise in Italy eh?) and we ended the day at a local club for a few drinks. Didn't make it too late though as we had to wake before 6:00am next morning. More than 500km to do! Fortunately we both wake on time. We ride to meet with the rest of the Pesaro PmB guys, they chat a bit about the route, it's all Italian to me anyway so I don't pay much attention and...off we go.
We hit the autostrada heading North, I riding somewhere in the middle of the group, we're about 100km away from Pesaro when...shit happened: As I overtake an 18 wheeler on my right, one of his rear tires explodes! Literally. Pieces of it start flying towards me, instinctively I duck behind my windshield when one piece hits it hard fortunately (and surprisingly) without breaking it while a large piece of the tire rolls on my right heading to Michele who was riding behind me - fortunately he avoided it and missed by millimeters. During our first stop "Incredibilo!" was on the lips of the guys who witnessed the incident. Every single one of them was surprised that me and my bike escaped this thing totally scratch free.
Without other issues we make it up to Marrostica where we meet the rest of the PmB guys.
Its quiet medieval square just got overpopulated by bikers. We drive up to Monte Grappa where we make our first stop. Fantastic view point.
This place is one more chance to remember how much blood has been shed in Europe during various conflicts and wars (WW1 in this case).
However, Italian food is always here to bring back the fun just in case you missed any.
Next stop: Colle Santa Lucia. 2250m high. So cold (9C beginning of July) and so beautiful up there but who cares since the route is so wonderful.
We finally make it at Dobbiaco, one breath away from the Austrian border. What a lovely place and what a great hotel we stayed at. We were all so exhausted but happy to fill our eyes with all these beauties that we couldn't leave our stomachs unsatisfied. An epic dinner was the right way to end the day.
We dropped dead on our beds looking forward to the next exciting biking moments. Austria was waiting for us.
Stay tuned for part 2!