Counter started on July 10, 2003:
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The Greek Adventure to EP8 2003!!!
(Links of other EP8 pics at the end of this page)
Passo dello Stel(v)io!!!!!!!!!
In really few words this is what happened to the new-to-EP Greeks! Pol and me had quite an adventure during our 10-day absence from home...
- June 30, 2003
We leave from Athens to Patra, all boring motorway, temp is hovering close to 40*C. We took the Minoan Lines ferry to Ancona at around 5pm. A quiet and easy 20 hour trip, on a new and very luxurious ferry (235km).
- July 1, 2003
We arrived at Ancona at around 1 pm. Blast up the Autostrada, with a quick detour into San Marino. A friend had told us that there's a nice shop selling leathers and other biker clothing stuff at reasonable prices. Well, the place had terrible assistance and the prices were really rather normal. So we are back on the Autostrada, heading north to Trento, via Bologna and Modena. (490km approx, including the RSM detour).
- July 2, 2003
Wednesday is a free day for us, so it's a good chance to ride around Trento, see a (tinylittle) bit of the Dolomites and get some very good prices at Market 2 Ruote in Castelfranco Veneto. On the way back, we took the small roads to Asiago (stop for a pannino and capuccino) then more small roads to Trento. (250km).
- July 3, 2003
Early morning rise and leaving north. Autostrada until Bolzano, then SS to Merano and passo Reis. Rain and cold greet us (6*C said the thermometer on Nicola's K1200LT!). A brief stop before the Austrian border to add more clothing! Rain at Ludeck, too, where we meet with Dieter. We do the Furka Joch (the Austrian one, NOT the Furkapass), and have lunch at Eildrich.
Rain stops, we continue on Route7 through all Switzerland, till the French border at Basel. We briefly blast on German Autobahn, then turn right to Mulhouse. Late arrival at RG for dinner with everyone.
Great dinner party! (Lost count here!)
- July 4, 2003
Rainy day, so we decide the visit to Musee Nationale de l' Automobile, Mulhouse. On the way back to RG, more rain...
The evening dinner party is great once again.
(One more lost count of km's, but who's counting anyway?!)
- July 5, 2003
We take the "short" long ride (303km, not 355, as was proposed). Lunch at Raon d' etapes, and then some racing in the surrounding roads... Icing of the cake is a coffee stop at Col De Bonhomme. The weather turns warmer every hour...
Dinner at the top of the hill, at the farm with no electricity but the party is once again terrific!
- July 6, 2003
Wake up at 4 am for me, ride to Mulhouse, pick up wife, ride two-up to Basel. There's no train from Mulhouse to Basel until 10 am! She has to catch a plane from Zurich to Athens at 11:30! I leave her at Basel train station, safely into her schedule, then I ride A2 autoroute south and stop at a gas station to wait for the others around 40km south of Basel. We rejoin at almost noon.
Ride south to Luzern, Wassen. Turn west to Sustenpass, Grimselpass, Furkapass, half of San Gottardo, then south to Bellinzona, Lugano, Varese, Orino, Carletto's Castello. Great party, we are here uninvited, but we have a wonderful time, and Carlo found a bed for the due Greci. Unfortunately, Nicola will sleep in the couch... Tough day, really, ends at 1 am!!!
- July 7, 2003
Easy long breakfast at Carletto's. Varese, Lago di Como (terrible traffic!), Sondrio (boring!), Tresenda (Zozzo leaves), Bormio, Passo dello Stelvio, Spondigna (Dieter heads home, too), Bolzano, Trento.
- July 8, 2003
440km of Autostrada all the way from Trento, Modena, Bologna (at 210km/h my GS will do 190 real km/h!), Ancona, ferry at 5pm.
- July 9, 2003
Patra at 15pm, Athens at 17.30pm, another 235km.
Total for the trip: 3839 km.
The pics in the above pages are quite small in size. However, I took the pics in 1024x768, plus a few small videos. If you wish to have the cd for free, just email me a home or work address so I can send them. It's 176mb of stuff! (Oh, and dont forget to send YOURS!)!!!
Happy EP9 in Holland, 2004!
LINKS
(Updated 08/08/2003)
Georg Schaaf's very nice pics of EP8!
Marc Wandschneider's pics of EP8, at http://travel.lanfear.com/
Riky and Elena's lovely pics!!!!
Pascal's BIG BIG photos! 56mb worth of them at: http://pascalteam.free.fr/EP8/
Ingrid's lovely pics: at Pixum.de
Lennart Jansson's very cool pics: at his own place
Gina's pics: Part I, mostly pics of their Europe trip, with a few EP8 pics
Part II: Strictly EP8 pics here!
September 28, 2003: Update. How the bike fared in all this, and how it feels afterwards.
Oh... and I have PROOF that we did all those passes. (Sustenpass sticker is missing... Anyone can send?! Please?!)
