Balkans Holiday Revisited - Day 1-4

Elvie and I have been riding for 10 years or so, and we have been fortunate to be able to do at least one bike tour every year since. This is the first ride report we have done, so I hope it's not too boring and that someone might find it useful if not interesting. We set off in the second week of September having had a very stressful week before leaving which involved many hours without electricity, several visits from a very helpful electrician, and finally the magic words " all sorted " the day before our Channel Tunnel booking. Day 1 Ashford to Dole We have been using the Chunnel for a couple of years, and don't really seem to have got the hang of it! Something seems to crop up every time, mainly push starting our friends bikes when they refuse to start just before loading, and then having to catch a later train. This time however, I messed up by missing the call for the bikes to be inspected. We arrived in the bike lane only to be told to follow a white van that would take us around to be inspected. Having assured themselves we weren't terrorists and didn't have any explosives on board we were allowed onto the train, and an hour or so later escaped onto the gloriously empty French roads. We wanted to spend as much time as possible in the Balkans so we set off down the Peage and stopped overnight in the Etap at Dole. There was a Buffalo Grill next door, and after trying Buffalo for the first time it was an early night ready for the ride into Italy. Day 2 Dole into Italy Mt. Blanc was shrouded in cloud as we headed for the tunnel. There was no queue to get through so after we headed down onto the northern plain of Italy. The traffic got heavier, and more chaotic almost immediately and we pulled over early for the night not far past Milan. The motel was totally uninspiring, but our evening meal was cooked for us by a rugby playing chef whose friend had played against Caerphilly ( a village very close to us back home ) a few years back. He showed us the photograph taken to record the event with great pride. Day 3 Arriving at Rimini As the traffic the previous day had been so heavy we set off cross country in an effort to find empty roads. They may well have been there, but we couldn't find them! I think Clarkeson may have been correct when he said there were too many Italians in Italy. All the roads we tried were clogged with cars most of whom kept strictly to the speed limits, even if they were often on the other side of the road. We arrived at our hotel in Rimini which was the only pre booked hotel of the trip and set off to explore. Rimini was definately out of season. The Misano Moto GP had been held the previous weekend, and I think the town was preparing for it's winter hibernation. Day 4 Rimini to Ancona On the way we popped in here for a coffee. Unfortunately we didn't see the great man. We also rode up into San Marino, and then set off for Ancona, where we arrived in good time to catch the ferry. Here I am waiting on the quayside This was our ferry. This is the massive thunderstorm that broke just after we set sail. As you can imagine we were delighted to have missed out on a soaking, and after a very pleasant evening meal we settled down for a good night's sleep in our cabin. ( we're too old to crash out on floors and be fit to ride ) We awoke full of anticipation for the morning's short ride through Greece and the really exciting bit as we headed off into Albania. __________________ http://mogs-travels.blogspot.com